Halloween Carnival

Tonight was my neighborhoods annual Halloween Carnival. I don't know how many years they've been doing this but it's been since I was a teenager at least. It's always been something we look forward to every year. It's even more exciting now that it's in my own front yard. There is a cul-de-sac across the street and that's where the bulk of it is but in the past there have been a couple of games in my yard and driveway. Well, this afternoon I looked out my window and there was a giant slide in my yard. The kids thought that was pretty cool. Jaxson could hardly control himself while he was waiting for it to be time to go outside.

I think the crowd gets bigger & bigger every year. People who have lived here and moved away still come back for the carnival. It's pretty crazy.

They have lots of food to eat and fun little games for the kids.

They had the street blocked off and the train went up and down it.




I know most of my pictures are of Jaxson but he's the only one I saw most of the night. The others collected their tickets and took off. Haley spent most of the night working the snow cone booth and the ring toss booth. Nate also helped at the sucker tree stand. It was a huge success as usual and there was a huge mess to clean up afterwards. I guess that's the down side to living so close - you're stuck with clean-up duty. Good thing we have lots of great neighbors who are willing to pitch in and help. It really didn't take that long. I LOVE MY NEIGHBORHOOD!

The Halloween fun begins!

My step-mom Darlene invited us to her ward's Trunk-or-Treat on Tuesday night. For those of you who don't know what a trunk-or-treat is let me explain. Everyone meets in the parking lot of the church and decorates the trunk of their car. Then the kids get dressed up and go from car to car trick-or-treating. A lot of people prefer this method of trick-or-treating because you know everyone who is giving your child candy. Darlene asked if I could bring something to decorate her car with. With the short notice this is all I could come up with. Not very creative.

You don't really get the full effect with the flash on the camera. Here's one with the flash turned off (it's a bit blury).

Some of the people really got creative. Here's a couple.

This is a trailor that the kids had to climb up on and then get their candy out of this treasure chest.

This is Haley trying to get a kiss from Jaxson for some candy.

They also had a fun little train for the kids to ride on.

The kids had a great time. Thanks grandma Darlene for inviting us.

Field Trip to the State Fair

Yesterday I was able to sneak away for a few hours and go on a field trip to the State Fair with Jaxson & his preschool class. This was a rare treat for me because it's really hard to get away from all the little ones for very long. I'm just lucky that I have such great friends who are willing to help me out.

It was very crowded and we only got to ride 4 rides.

Jaxson and his friend Weston in front of Thomas the Train.



I was afraid that he would throw a fit when we got back on the bus cause he wanted to ride more rides so I splurged and bought him this $2 sword (what a bargain) and then he got a free stuffed animal so that kept him happy all the way home.

Jaxson was wore out and I got a little sunburned but we had a great time. Thank you soooo much Jill for watching all the babies. Your the bestest friend ever!!

Pumpkin Patch

Tonight we went to the Mother Nature's Pumpkin Patch with the whole family. Most of the cousins were there and they had a great time. Of course I drove the kids crazy with my camera. "Stand here, sit there, do this", I'm really over the top sometimes but I get some great pictures. Here are a few of them.

I didn't get any pictures of the kids feeding the animals. They were too fast for me. But I did get a pictue of this big, fat, ugly & very stinky pig.

The kids got to pick a small pumpkin out of the patch and sticker it (painting is a thing of the past now).

Then we went on a hayride around the farm.

Larry & I catching a quick picture at the end of the ride.

It was a fun night. We enjoyed being outside in the cooler weather and just being with family. Jaxson wasn't very happy when we said it was time to go. This is him holding on to the fence saying "I'm not going home! I'm staying at the pumpkin sage" (patch - don't know why he calls it a sage instead of a patch). But of course, in the end, mom & dad won the fight and he let go of the fence.

Indiana Jones

Jaxson is totally obsessed with Indiana Jones or "Ana Shones" as he says it. It's all he wants to watch and play with lately. He got this action doll for his birthday. Yes I know he's missing a boot but I'm just glad that he's got his clothes on right now.

He was so excited when dad took him to the store on Tuesday and bought him the new movie. There were a couple of parts that kind of freaked him out but overall he loved it!

He's watched them so many times that he's even got the music memorized. Here's a short video clip of him singing part of the theme music.

He wants to be Indiana Jones for Halloween. I found this whip at Wal-mart. It's pretty cool. It makes whip cracking noises and it's real SOFT so he can't do any damage with it. He's got the brown pants and tan shirt I just need to find him a real Indiana hat (the black cowboy hat he's wearing just doesn't cut it).

Stay tuned for the complete "Ana Shones" costume.

My Day

People often ask me how my day went or what do I do all day with these kids. Well, here's a glimpse of what my day is like. I'm currently watching 6 kids and they are all 2 except Kensie - she's 11 months. I really try to focus on developing their physical skills. This is best done OUTSIDE of course. Now that the weather is cooler we can really work hard at this one.

After a while they have to stop and refuel. They're taking a cracker break.

More play. This is one of their favorite things to do. Dig in the dirt and pick the leaves off the neighbor's tree. It drives me crazy because they get filthy, especially after the sprinklers have come on and the dirt is MUD. I have changed many diapers that are full of dirt!

Movie time. I believe the movie of choice today was Madagascar. I usually always have a movie playing and the kids will watch on and off. This just happened to be a time when they all wanted to watch. I didn't pose them like this. They always want to sit together on one couch which also drives me crazy because it always ends with one kid kicking another off or one kid sitting on another so he's crying. I try to tell them that there are 2 couches but they don't get it.

LUNCH! Pizza was on the menu today.

And finally it is 1:00, NAPTIME! There are only 2 that sleep on the couches. They rest are spread out all over the house in pack-n-plays. This is my favorite time of the day. I usually read a book or do a little stamping or just eat my lunch in peace. They all sleep till about 3:30 or 4:00 and then they start going home.

Well, there you have it, a small picture of what my life is like doing daycare. This was a fairly easy day. They're not always so easy. Sometimes they're downright crazy. But I always make it through with my sanity and wake up the next morning to do it all over again.

Happy Birthday Katie

We went to MiAmigos for Katie's 22nd birthday tonight. We had most of the family there with all the kids - 9 kids in all. I remembered half way through the meal why we don't take the kids to restaurants much any more. They are embarrassing. My kids don't have any manners whatsoever and they are sooooo loud! We did have a good time though. They made Katie wear the big sombrero and sang to her.



Of course all the kids had to have their turn wearing the really big hat!

Nate

Jaxson

We weren't sure if McKensie was afraid of the sombrero or the really loud waiters singing happy birthday. While we were there they sang to about 5 different people.

Haley This is my dad comparing his pinky length to Nates. He has only had half of a pinky finger since he was a kid. There are lots of stories about how this happened, some crazier than others. I'm not sure my kids even know what the TRUE story is. His pinky stub has been the topic of conversation at many family dinners.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATIE!

WE LOVE YOU!