Fall Has Arrived!

One of my very favorite activities this season, is my mom's Annual Halloween party! She typically has it earlier in the month, but we all had other commitments in the beginning of October, which made this party a bit later than usual. This party has always seemed to mark the start of Fall for me. I love it. Throughout the year, my mom puts on AMAZING parties. Whether it be for a holiday, a baby shower, a bridal shower, or WHATEVER, my mom has the gift of "Party Girl." I always look forward to her "events." The decorations are GORGEOUS, the food is INCREDIBLE, the company is FABULOUS, and it is so much fun to plan your outfit for these occasions. But once a year, we get to gather at my mom's house for an intimate party of just our immediate family, where "casual" is expected.

The food remains grand...







The activities are still fun...



The kids always rock their costumes...







And we just get to hang with the family...







In preparation for this party, I got the urge to make Caramel Apples from scratch for the first time. This was such a fun activity for me during the week. I had done quite a bit of research on the internet, looking for the best caramel recipe, but it turns out there are a lot of complications when it comes to making homemade caramel, and then dipping your apples into it. I combined tips from 3 different recipes and then formed my own strategy.

I first made the caramel...



And then I dipped the apples...



And then they got their first coat of chocolate...



And then they got bedazzled...



The most fun was watching the kids (and older "kids"), pick the one they wanted...



I've spared you all of the "secrets" to caramel apple-ing, but should you care to venture in this activity, I'd be happy to share them with you. :0) This was a pretty "spendy" activity, but it was well worth it, and I would definitely do it again next year (or week, lol).

This week, we FIIIIINALLY (according to the kids) broke into our Halloween Pancake Molds...



And after watching The Biggest Loser this week, I was inspired by Ana Kornakova and all of her fancy hair styles. I couldn't wait for Bea to wake up the next morning so I could play...





And speaking of "playing", I caught the kids playing nicely together on more than one occasion...



And "Hi Ho Cherrio" seemed to be the game of the week...



Wyatt drew us more pictures...







Wyatt helped make dinner...



After MOPS we went to McDonalds with our friends...



And we were all fascinated by the bee that kept going in and out of my drink...



We had a lunch playdate with friends...



And while the littles were playing, the mamas got to eat AMAZING food, and watch a certain televised wedding together. ;0)





Wyatt had a wonderful opportunity this week. He absolutely loves public speaking and teaching. For quite some time the Coordinator of the childcare for MOPS has been letting Wyatt read the Bible Story to the younger kids while they are in their class, which he has loved. But, for the passed few months he has been asking to teach the Bible lesson in his regular Sunday School class on Sundays, and in his Sparks class at Awanas. But so far, I do not believe he had been given that opportunity. Well, last week, his Awana leader had pulled me aside when I went to pick up the kids, and she let me know that Wyatt had asked if he could talk to the kids about the importance of tithes and offering (something he has been learning about in school recently). Apparently they were going to be focusing on that topic the following week anyway, and they had wanted to let me know that Wyatt was going to be giving the lesson the next week. I was so excited for my son. :0) Using his notes from school, we practiced his "speech" over and over at home in the days leading up to Wednesday...



He did AWESOME on the big night! It was like second nature to him. He was so well prepared. He read his notes great, and then he felt free to ask the kids questions about what he had just shared with them (something we did not practice). I have no idea what Wyatt will do in his future, but if his present is any indication of his future, I am going to be beaming with pride for a LONG time. He is such a special child, and I am so excited to see where Wyatt lets the Lord lead him!

(OK, calm down Elizabeth, lol.)

This week in school, Beatrice learned about the letter "K"...



And the kids got to make Kangaroos...





And Beatrice got to be King (I realize that that's not how this whole thing works, but "Queen" doesn't start with a "K", lol)...





And she learned about the color pink...



We picked up where we left off in our study of the United States this week. We discovered that Connecticut was the 5th state entered in to our country. We learned that Connecticut was named after this area that the Native Americans had called "Quinnehtukqut"...and that Connecticut has the oldest continuously operating newspaper in the United States (the Hartford Courant published it's first issue in 1764!)...and that the first school for hearing disabilities was founded in West Hartford...





And that dinosaur tracks were discovered in 1966 in Rocky Hill, CT by a bulldozer operator on a construction site. Archaeologists ended up discovering a total of 2,000 sets of dinosaur tracks at that site. After giving away most of the findings to museums around the country, they kept some for themselves, covered them with a dome, and turned the area into Dinosaur State Park. We created some tracks of our own. We first made playdough...



And then rolled it out...



And then made tracks in the dough...



After the dough had dried in the hot sun for several days, the kids wanted to paint their tracks...



We also learned that from the time the U.S. Patent Office opened in Washington D.C. in 1790, that it has granted more patents to inventors and companies from the state of Connecticut than from any other state. In addition to the sewing machine, the American bicycle, the portable typewriter, and much more(!!!), we also learned that the "wiffle ball" was invented in the state of Connecticut...







Once we got started, the neighbor kids started coming out of their houses like crazy...





We closed out our week with our Connecticut dinner. I served these delicious pan fried (in butter) chicken pieces, with an accompanying gravy, white rice and asparagus...



When it came down to dessert, I only had one real option. In all 3 of the books that I checked out on the state of Connecticut, they all referenced "Indian Pudding". I guess Indian Pudding would be our ticket! You first made the pudding on the stove with with milk, molasses, spices, cornmeal and eggs...and then you baked it in the oven for 2 hours...





As I told my friend, "It looks like doggy diarrhea, but tastes like gingerbread pudding. In both cases, I'm not a fan."

Between the Shoofly Pie from Pennsylvania, and now the Indian Pudding from Connecticut, this family is closing the chapter on all things Molasses!

Here's to looking forward to Massachusetts and their Boston Cream Pie! :0)

Cakes, Cookies, Crepes, and Corndogs

The kids and I have been loving all of the fresh breads we have been baking in the last few months. The study of the United States has afforded us the opportunity to make many homemade breads (potato rolls, homemade pretzels, etc.), but this week, we decided to try our hand at making our own loaves of French Bread to go with the delicious Pot Roast I had cooking in the slow cooker. There is something so fun...and interesting...about watching dough rise for hours in separate cycles...



But nothing is more satisfying in the bread making process, than eating your finished product. YUM!



Scholastically (in the organized fashion anyway), our week was fairly uneventful. We took a break from our study of the United States, as we had many special events to attend to this week. But, we did accomplish all of our required work. :0)

Beatrice counted 9 objects...



Glued pictures of "Gray" magazine cut-outs (this remains to be her favorite part about school. Although, considering that she doesn't have any "ouchies" and yet she has 10 band-aids on her body right now, apparently placing anything with an adhesive back on anywhere is fascinating to her, lol)...



And Wyatt continues to work through his curriculum (learning in great detail about birds...abbreviations...proper manners when meeting someone new...the job descriptions of people in the community...math...spelling...and of course, much more...)



In un-organized schooling, we found a crazy spider, and observed it for quite some time. Brainstorming about where it came from, and where it was headed (hopefully, not into our home!)...



We decorated for Halloween...



We did our chores...



And after a drizzly day, the kids and I witnessed the most beautiful rainbow on our drive home from Wyatt's Hip Hop class.



The picture does our siting so LITTLE justice! I had to wait until I came to a stop light to take this picture, and by that time, we had driven past the best angle to get a picture. This rainbow was exceptional. This was the first time I had ever seen a full rainbow...literally we could see the very bottom where it met the earth on the right side, all the way until it met the tip of the earth on the left side...A-MA-ZING! I look forward to the day when we can capture a jpeg image with our mind, and then upload it to our blogs, lol!

Our first special event of the week was celebrating Katie's birthday...again...but with "The Birthday Crew." We don't officially call ourselves that, lol, but in this past year, we have organically started meeting together for eachother's birthdays. I have so enjoyed this new tradition. In the past, it has just been the mamas who have gotten together to celebrate the birthday of our friend, but on this day, we included our kiddos. :0)



Later that night, my family gathered at my sister Jenni's restaurant where she waited on our table for the last time. My sister recently got a new job, and is leaving the restaurant business after hostessing, and then waitressing, and then managing, and then bartending, and then waitressing some more, for the last 2.5 million years, lol. :0) It would have made the most sense for me to have taken a picture of my sister in action...but instead, you get a picture of Wyatt and my dad from that night. :0)



The next day, Wyatt had a special photo session at Janie and Jack (a children's clothing store), that my mom had "earned"...you know how that goes...you spend so much money on clothing, and then you "earn" a photo shoot, lol. After the photo session, we went next door to Pottery Barn Kids, which was FAR MORE EXCITING for all 3 of us...especially when this lady has a (not so) tiny case of "baby fever".





After planning this day for about a month, this was finally the week that I got to go back to Disneyland. Except, this was a pretty special trip to Disneyland. There were 5 of us mamas that went...but we left our families at home. It sounds like a GREAT idea in theory...and it was. BUT I don't think any of us predicted how much we would miss our kiddos as well. So much of the excitement of Disneyland, is watching everything through the eyes of your children. We are happy, because they are happy...they are fascinated...they are entertained. :0)

In anticipation of this event, and to up-the-ante of our day, I made us Disney cookies...



We really did have a great time together...









And in the moments when I was homesick for my littles, I would stop and take a picture of something that I knew they would love, so I could show it to them later. :0)



In addition to eating cake and cookies on the way to Disneyland, we all enjoyed a corndog...



A bite of Jenni's crepe (stuffed with Nutella, bananas, strawberries, and peanuts!)...



A Dole-Whip Float...



And, well, if you can imagine, even more food! :-0

The following day, I spent the morning and afternoon loving on my family. Unfortunately, I had to be away from them yet again that night. Our MOPS group was putting on our biggest fundraiser of the year...our annual garage sale. The kids spent the night at Grandpa & Grandma's house, and I went to a friend's house to help organize the donations with several other friends. And then, bright and EARLY on Saturday morning, we went back to the house and worked the garage sale...



2-B :0)...



After a LONG day of work, I was reunited again with "mi familia." We were all exhausted by our separate activities. It was an early night to bed.

And finally, today, after going to church in the morning, the kids and I met up with my sister's family at Sea World's "Spooktacular" event. Unfortunately, before my sister and her family met us inside the park, my nephew Brady was running, and tripped, and split his head open on one of Sea World's cement benches. :0( My brother-in-law left with Brady, and took him to the E.R. for stitches. Wyatt was so happy and relieved to be able to talk to Brady on the phone...and while they were talking, Wyatt asked if he could pray with him...



I love to see our children love on each other. Despite the rough start, we managed to have a great day. We ran into a friend we haven't seen in YEARS...shout-out to Sarah! :0)



Our combined 7 children played together so well...





And we posed for LOTS of pictures, lol...











I'm looking forward to a quieter week this week...and the kids and I are looking forward to spending time with daddy tomorrow on his day off. :0)