Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin carving, I admit, has never been my favorite thing to do. I kept putting it off this year, so I was happy when Brandon's mom called and asked if we wanted to come over Saturday night for a last minute Halloween party, and to carve pumpkins. You will have to excuse the poor quality cell phone pictures. I was so bummed that I forgot my camera but still wanted to capture the moment. These pictures are kind of out of order too.

Here is Brandon hurrying to get Levi's scary faced pumpkin carved before we had to leave for the adult session of Stake Conference.
The girls were so excited to carve theirs by themselves. I tried to step in and help was was quickly shooed away, lol.

Nana ended up helping Tori with hers a little =)

Here they are digging out the pumpkin guts. Levi's facial expression cracks me up. He had just had a good smell of the inside of the pumpkin and you can tell that it totally grossed him out! You'll notice that the girls pumpkins are the painted ones from Levi's party. They talked Nana into washing all the paint off once they had cleaned them all out.

There's a smile! He finally got used to it after a while, and after daddy told him to toughen up =)

See what I mean by these pictures being out of order? lol Here are Alexis and Tori before we began.

Brandon and I had to leave for conference before they were finished carving, but here are their finished masterpieces. From left to right we have, Alexis's goofy faced pumpkin (kind of hard to tell until it is lit), Tori's kitty, and Levi's scary faced one.

Tender Mercies

Lately I have been feeling discouraged, a little disconnected in my prayers. It has been frustrating and something I am trying to work on. I know Heavenly Father sends us tender mercies when we need them so that we know that he is there and that we are not alone. I had a sweet experience this past week that I wanted to remember so that when I start feeling the way I have been feeling it can bring me comfort. It isn't a huge thing, some may think it is kind of silly but I know it was a direct answer to prayer.

I had packed a lunch for Brandon to take to work. I have been doing that to save on money and this day was no different. He has forgotten his lunch in the past, and it hasn't been too big of a deal because he would just stop and pick up something to eat. Well this particular day was a few days before pay day. There were no extra funds available for him to stop and get something, and so after he left when I walked in the kitchen and saw his lunch sitting on the counter my heart sunk a little. His cell phone is currently MIA so I couldn't call him really quick, and he was supposed to stay late at work so he really needed to have something to eat. I sat down in the front room worrying about what to do, and I said a quick prayer, praying that there was some way for Brandon to remember that he forgot his lunch and come back and get it before he got all the way to work (he doesn't work close by) Well a few minutes later I heard the door knob jiggle and I was so relieved that they had come back (the kids were with him because he takes them to school on his way to work every day) I jumped up to help with the door, and when I opened it I saw Tori standing there. She said "Dad forgot his lunch!" Well it turns out as they were driving along Tori had suddenly asked Brandon "Dad do you have your lunch?" This had to be around the time I said my prayer. Tori never has asked him this before, and it was totally out of the blue. That is how I know it was a direct answer to my prayers. I am so grateful that my sweet Tori was so in tune with the spirit that she was able to hear the promptings of the holy ghost that morning. It was such a little and simple thing, but yet really touched me. Heavenly Father does hear my prayers, even the little ones. I am so grateful for my sweet children. MY patriarchal blessing says that through my children my faith will be increased and my testimony will grow and I know that is so true. =)

Flashback to...Preschool Graduation

Back in May, Levi FINALLY graduated from preschool. I emphasize finally, because it has seriously felt like he has been in preschool forever! He started right when he turned three, even though it was a year before he was supposed to so that he could receive speech services through the school. So after 3 years of preschool it was time to move on! He loved preschool so much, made many great friends and grew very fond of his teachers. They had a fun picnic at a park, and handed out diplomas to the kiddos. Here is Levi proudly holding his. Here is Levi and his good buddy Wyatt.

Here's Levi giving a hug to his teacher Miss Hendricks before she gave him his diploma.

Here is Levi with both of his teachers, Miss Hendricks and Mrs. Jones. They were wonderful!

As much as he loved preschool he was so ready to move on to kindergarten. He will never forget the great memories he made in preschool though!

Flashback to....Labor Day

For Labor Day this year we went with some good friends to Chatfield Reservoir. The kids were so excited to have one last fun adventure before school started the next day. Brandon has a spot that he has taken the kids before that they love, so we headed there. The kids had so much fun playing in the sand/rocks, swimming in the lake, and fishing.

These 4 are such good buddies. We feel so blessed to have such good friends.

A favorite of the day was this big log that the kids found. They had a blast riding around on it.

Here's Brandon eating some of the yummy food we had to eat.

Brandon set up his chair and fished for a little bit. He caught a teeny little fish which all the kids got a kick out of =) He looks pretty excited too =)

Everyone wanted to take turns holding it. Oh the simple joys in life!

We stayed for a few hours, and could have stayed longer, but we needed to get home and get the kids bathed and in bed early so they would get a good nights sleep before their first day. It was a fun layed back day. We ended the day by going to Nellas, out new favorite frozen yogurt shop!

Flashback to...Levi loses his first tooth!

On June 29, Levi lost his first tooth. I didn't really believe him when he first told me that he had a loose tooth, because it was so much sooner then either of the girls lost their first one. Sure enough, it was loose and soon ready to come out. He was thrilled to let daddy pull it out, and even more thrilled to see the bloody empty spot in his mouth that was left behind (boys!! haha) Soon after this tooth fell out he lost his other 3 front ones leaving him with a pretty cute toothless grin =) Here he is right after daddy pulled the first one out, bloody mouth and all! lol

Flashback to.....Arf!

In May, the girls had another play they performed in for their musical theatre class. It was called ARF. They each were a different dog, lol. It was very cute and the girls did a great job. They had more lines this time, and they learned them all perfectly. Unfortunately 3 of Tori's lines got skipped =( She didn't seem to bothered by it. I was though! She worked hard on those lines! lol Oh well, there's always next time! Tori's name was Terry Terrier, and Alexis was Polly Pomeranian. Alexis had a solo in one of the songs that I just loved. It was a song all about how even if your small you can still do big things. It was the perfect song for her to sing because she has always had a hard time being the littlest. It actually made me get a little teary!

Alexis and Tori have absolutely loved being in musical theatre. They are currently working on their next performance, "Pinocchio"

Traditions!

I love traditions =) For as long as I can remember, my mom has always planned a fun Halloween dinner around Halloween time. It is a great memory that I hold dear from my childhood, and it has been so much fun to watch my kids create memories of their own! Each year, my mom adds more and more to make it a great evening. This year she sent each of the kids personal invitations in the mail. They absolutely love to get mail, and so when a card came for each of them one day they were so thrilled. When we got to my parent's house, my mom had goody bags for them to decorate. They loved this.

While they decorated their bags, we finished getting things ready for the feast.

There was a great spread of yummy food. Some of the things on the menu were, mummy dogs, bat wings, eyeballs, skeleton bones, slime, and witches blood! Sounds yummy, doesn't it? =)

Here are mom and Michael finishing up baking the beetles =)

Another great hit of the night was the costume box that my mom got out for the kids. It was full of all sorts of costumes that have been accumulated over the years. The kids had a blast coming up with all different kinds of fun and unique costumes.

My sister has been wanting me to post a belly picture, so here is one! Here I am 23 and a half weeks along with baby number 4 =) Michael took the picture, and although he did cut off my belly a little bit, you get the gist of it =)

After we all got stuffed from dinner we sang a few Halloween songs while our food settled and then it was time to go trick-or-treating! My mom bought all kinds of candy and then handed some out to each of the adults and had us go to different places in the house for the kids to come around trick-or-treating. This picture makes me smile. I warned the four of them that I was taking a picture and even counted to 3 a few times. It looks like my grandpa Park was the only one ready with a smile =) I love how my grandma is sneaking a taste of some of the goodies. I know I get my major sweet tooth from her =)

Here's Brandon trying to get in on some of the goods a head of time too =) First stop was uncle Reed.

Then Grandpa....

Then Great Grandpa Park and GG Then onto Great Grandpa Barker and Emmy.....
Then daddy!
Those are all of the pictures I got of them trick=or=treating because I had to hurry to my spot (the bathroom, haha) and wait for them to come trick-or-treating to me. Grandma and Michael were upstairs too for them to come to. The kids loved it =)

We finished off the night with yummy dirt and worms and eyeball brownies. We were all so stuffed still but managed to eat a little. I love all of Michael's funny facial expressions lately =)

Following in Uncle Michael's footsteps....

What a fun party and a great start to the Halloween festivities!