It's Almost Halloween!

The library story time had it's annual Halloween party, so my friend Rachel picked up Bekah from school and just Ray and I went. He was Batman and I went as a purple witch! (Yes, I try to stay as close as I can to my true character so it's not a stretch for me to pull it off.)

Anyway, we had a great time together and Ray got a lot of loot which he promptly shared with his brother and sisters. What a sweet little boy!Every year my kids humor me for this picture, they think their Mom is crazy! However, I love pumpkin patch pictures. So this is the pumpkin patch at the local grocery store. It was a little too bright, but hey it's still cute!

I love this time of year, and I love Halloween! I guess I'm just a big kid a heart!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

It's October and time for the annual pumpkin carving contest

that we have for Grandpa Vic's birthday.

First we have to carve the pumpkins. We did that part at our house this year. Bekah thought the gutting the pumpkin part was gross, that's because last year she just painted her pumpkin. This time she got the whole experience!
Grandma Susy found a white pumpkin this year and carved it into a ghost.

She won the contest for the adults with this creative pumpkin!

Bekah carved a cat and a moon, she did some of the carving herself,
then Dad helped her finish!

Ray got to Tatoo his pumpkin. He is really pround of it!
Weston carved a bunch of things and faces in his pumpkin.

He even added bullet holes and then later painted blood on it too.

It turned out very colorful!

Even Dad got into the act, but he didn't want his picture taken
Ellie carved a pumpkin but decided she didn't like it so she painted this witch for Gramie.
Great idea Ellie!

I found the pattern for this pirate on the internet,

however it didn't turn out as good as the pattern !

So that was the first night!

The next night we all got together at Gramie and Grandpa Vic's

for his 87th birthday and the pumpkin contest!

Here are all his great grandkids helping Grandpa blow out the candles!
This is my kids and the other cousins telling about the pumpkins they carved!

All the kids won candy bar prizes. Ellie won a "1000 grand" for her witch, Weston won the "Hot Tamale" pumpkin, Bekah got the "Big Hunk" award for the biggest pumpkin,

and Ray won the "Cool" Pumpkin award!

It was a fun night, and we had a good turn out, and Grandpa Vic had a great party!

Leaves at the Dale Berg Park

Ray and Bekah have been having fun together outside this week since I've been helping Grandma Berg. They were having a blast in the leaves, so I had to stop and take some pictures.
Jumping in the leaf pile
Bekah was throwing the leaves in this picture, It kinda looks like Ray is eating them, Ha-ha
This is Ray, Bekah and thier little cousin Maylie
Little Maylie playing in the leaves!

Jr. Enginering at School

At school on the Oct 9th, a program called Jr. Enginering came and the kids were able to learn a bunch of different thigns for their age group, then that night the school hosted a show and teach where the kids got to teach thier parents what they learned. This is the construction truck maze for K- 2nd grade. Weston got to show Ray how they worked and give him a ride. Bekah, in red also got to have a ride.
Bekah showing Mom how to drive the big truck.
Bekah learned about dinosaurs in her class. They put on a play about baby dino's hatching from their eggs, it was really cute. She was embrassed in this picture.
Weston taught us about the color wheel, and if you spin it fast all the colors make brown. This wheel was hooked to a drill and it was spining when I took the picture!

Weston also taught us about prisms and light and rainbows. The kids had fun looking through the prisms to see the rainbows.Ellie taught us about hydralics, and how increasing or decreasing the amount of fluid in each joint causes them to move. This was fun because everyone got to play with the machines. Weston loved it, he made the machine pick up all the objects and drop them in the cylinder.
This is a picture of Ellie making the machine pinch her nose.
This was a fun night for the parents and the kids.

True Believers

Today I had to have the tooth fairy/ Santa Clause talk with Ellie, because her school friends have been giving her a bad time about the whole thing. Poor sweet Ellie she cried to find out the Santa passed away a long time ago and all the parents of this world have to continue his legacy by being Santa to the kids he loved. I made her take the Santa Oath, to promise never to tell anyone that he is not real and to continue to help spread the spirit of Christmas, and to still believe in the power of Santa Clause. Anyway she was worried about all the reindeer who keep themselves hidden and Mrs. Santa who passed away too. Yet she excited to get to play Santa Clause this year to brothers and sister, and she thinks Sub for Santa makes more sense now that people play Santa for those parents who can't buy Christmas for their own kids. Anyway thought all of you might enjoy the challenges of having a ten year old Fun!

My kids pictures

Ray -2
Bakah -5
Weston-7
Ellie-10

I have been trying to find somewhere to have the kids' pictures taken for awhile, and everwhere I look is either too expensive to do all four of them or too big a of a hassle or not the right size of prints, anyway I decided to do it myself! Now, the lighting may not be prefect, or the colors bright enough, however I think they turned out quite well for a cheap Mom, a digital camara, and a nice white wall.

If any of you want prints let me know what size and I'll make you a copy, I can since I took them myself!

Happy 10th Birthday Ellie

Ellie had a great day for her birthday! It all started at 6:45 a.m when her Dad woke her up at the time she was born, by flipping on the lights and shouting Happy Birthday! I'm sure when she is older this will become more annoying, but for now she loves it! Next we had her favorite breakfast Cinnamon French Toast.

Then she got to open ONE present!
Her new school clothes for the day! Notice the shoes, they match the headband and pull the whole outffit together. Any way that's what Ellie told me when she picked it out! Her favorite color is still pink, but her second favorite colors are black and white.
After school she had a soccer game. Soccer is her new thing! Her team even won for her birthday, she made two saves that kept the score 3-2. Her team even sang happy birthday to her, she loved it!

This was her birthday cake. She had a soccer party. Notice the black and white candles!

Ellie blowing out her 10 candles! Wait, I'm too young to have a ten year old!
Some of Ellie's favorite presents.

Her new purse from Aunt JuLee.

and new movies from Grandma Berg and Weston and Ray.
Ellie had a great day. She is really growing up, and turning into a young lady. She's a big helper to her Mom, and I'm so excited that she is old enough to tend the kids for longer than an hour. Ellie loves to read, and she just got her test results back and she reads on a 7th grade level. She loves Harry Potter books and anything to do with horses. I love you Ellie. You are my Angel!

Ray makes cupcakes

Ray helping make the cake and cupcakes for Ellie's birthday.

He loves to work the mixer!

What's the best part of making cupcakes?
Licking the beaters!

Ray is such a big helper now that it's just me and him home in the mornings.

We really have a good time!

New free templates for your blogspot

My sister Jessi, in Switzerland found this blog that has free templates that are really cute. I haven't been able to figure it out yet. So my fellow bloggers figure it out and then I can call you with my questions since I can't call Switzerland.
Anyway, the site is http://www.matiekay.blogspot.com/. Check it out!

Train a child In the way he should go!

Last night we went to the store to buy the ice cream for Ellie's B-day party, and Weston wanted to buy a drink with his own money. Now at Smith's, where we mostly shop, they have these boxes by the change dispenser for Primary Children's Hospital donations and Ray loves to put my change in them and I've explained to my kids what they are for. So Weston buys his drink and then puts his hard earned change in the box, and the cashier says "Hey you don't have to do that. It's just a donation box." So Weston explains to her that he has a friend named Andrew in his church that has cancer and he goes to this hospital and the money will him to get better. The cashier was amazed, and I have never been so PROUD of my Weston. So kids do get some of the things we try to teach them!
I've added Andrew's Update blog under Please Pray for Andrew. Check it out

My Niece Maylie's Blessing Day

This is my beautiful niece Maylie, she only weighed 5lbs when she was born, however she is finally gaining weight and filling out. She is just precious!
This is the cousins picture I insisted on. At least everyone is looking at me, sort of.

After the blessing we went to The Kohler Farm in Midway for the luncheon, the kids had a blast making the Uncles and Dads push them on the homemade carnival ride(converted horsewalker)
It used to have a motor, but now it only works by man power.
Ray loved it! and cried when everyone was to tried to push anymore.
It was a fun day!