Halloween Party 2011: The Games!

It's hard to first remember and then get good pictures of the action!   Finally remembered at the end of the 2nd game. 

Here is Daniel trying to throw 13 eyeballs. Michael is helping!

Fun with straws: First try to suck up ingredients and put them in the pot for the Witch's Stew:

Then use the same straw to drink some of the Witch's Brew--but you have to wear silly glasses!

Pumpkin Roll: Use a broom to roll the pumpkin across the Finish Line!

A little time for some crafts while Grandma puts the food in the oven!

Then Pumpkin Hop Scotch...

...and finally a Pumpkin Walk for a candy treat!

Later when Grandpa got home, he wanted to be part of the fun!

Halloween Party 2011 Part 2: The Guests!

We had some amazing guests at the Halloween party!

Two Beautiful Butterflies!

 A Princess with her handsome Prince

(who also doubled as a Construction Worker)!

 And a Delightful Dog and his Puppy Dog brother with a Dog Catcher thrown in for good measure!

Kids love dressing up for Halloween.  They love everything about their costumes.  The butterflies even wanted me to take a picture of the backs of their costumes!

 And so the Prince and Princess wanted me to take a picture

of the back of them as well!

Love kids and Halloween!

Halloween Party 2011 Part 1: The Food!

It is so fun having another family in the area so I decided to expand my annual family Halloween party to include a dinner on Friday night.

I tried to come up with things that kids would like. 

I knew there was no way I would get a picture while the party was going on so I took these before they arrived.

Haunted Graveyard:  This one really got gobbled up!

Freaky Fingers: Also very popular.  Yay for vegetables!

 My "Mummy" Loves Pizza:  Looked even better after the cheese melted!

 Jack O'Lantern Pizza: Perfect for kids!

 And to finish it off: Some ghosts and pumpkins!

It's Pumpkin Time!

We had a fun outing this afternoon.  It was warm and sunny

and we drove up to Apple Hill. 

The kids had lots of fun playing with the pumpkins!

A quick break to eat a yummy apple donut.  Everyone got a small pumpkin too!

Then it was back to the pumpkins! 
It was amazing how long they were entertained!!

It was even fun to roll pumpkins!

In The Details of Our Lives!

I never pay attention to the speedometer on my car.  Sometimes Dan asks how many miles are on my car to see if it time for an oil change.  I never have a clue.  But yesterday I happened to look because we just did an oil change

 and this is what I saw!

So I had fun running an errand so I could watch this happen!

I wrote about the miracle of mini vans a couple of years ago

and how my praying was in part responsible for them. 

This car also has a prayer story!

In  the fall of 2002 Amanda was teaching English in China and she would be returning in early December and was hoping we could help find a car for her to buy and take to Seattle the first of the year.   I had a little Honda at the time and we were wishing we could sell it to her.  It would be perfect for her needs.  I was Young Women president at the time and having a 2-door car was not working in that calling.  The holiday season was fast upon us and Dan and I were both so busy.  I started praying that we would be able to find a car for us that we could afford and that would be reliable so we could sell the smaller car to Amanda.    But I also added a PS to my prayer:  Could we possibly find this car without having to take a lot of time to do it?   I knew neither Dan nor I had any extra time to research or go to used car lots.   Unbeknownst to me, Dan was adding the same PS to his prayers.  The next Sunday was Ward Council meeting and as the auxiliary leaders entered the bishop's office for the start of the meeting, I walked past  his desk and saw a flyer sitting there.  It was advertising a 2000 Toyota Camry for sale. It had low mileage and was a good price.  It had been owned by a church Family Services counselor and the church was selling it. Hmmmm, I thought.  I bet the bishop will post it and tell the whole ward about it and every bishop in the greater Sacramento area will be posting it today as well.  We don't have a chance of getting that car.  As the meeting progressed I kept waiting for the bishop to mention the flyer but he never did.  Afterwards, I asked him about it.  Oh, he said, I was supposed to bring that up and let everyone know about it.  Are you interested?  Yes, I am, I replied.  He said: Just take the flyer then.  Early the next morning Dan called the phone number on the flyer, we went to see the car and had it checked out by our mechanic and later that day we had the car!  Couldn't have taken any less time. 

I have always felt that that car was truly a gift, one more little tender mercy, one more little reminder that the Lord knows us each personally and wants to bless us. 

Any one for a road trip??