Boo Bash 2022

Our second Halloween adventure of the year was Bryan's work party. Halloween is kind of a big deal when you work for a candy company and they go all out. We came home with ridiculous amounts of candy, including three boxes of full-sized candy bars that they handed us as we were leaving, just because.

Having all the costumes finished the day before made this party much smoother. I did have to redo Phoebe's makeup, but I think I improved on my first attempt.

Costumes Upon Costumes

After several nights staying up too late, and a mad dash to add finishing touches, the Halloween costumes were finished in time for us to be late to our ward Trunk or Treat activity on Wednesday evening. Ready for the reveal?

Originally Topher wanted to be a polar bear. He changed his mind when he saw this Paw Patrol Chase costume at Walmart. It was the easiest of all the costumes.

Sometimes my kids grab my phone and take pictures without my knowledge. This was one of those times. Sophie desperately wanted to wear makeup for Halloween, so I added a little glitter to her eyelids.

Sophie's costume was the most time consuming for me. I used the instructions from Make It and Love It. I made Sophie's wings smaller and used floral wire instead of a dowel on top to give her more mobility. I also added wrist straps. She chose the colors and the order, I did the rest for the wings. She made her own antennae.

Phoebe also had a make-up component to her costume, here she is in progress. 

And this was the result. I thought it was awesome. It's good that I can still use those stage makeup skills from college, with some help from YouTube makeup tutorials.

She was a dragon, though most people guessed she was Maleficent. We blame the horns.

The most awesome part of her costume was something I didn't build. On Sunday evening I was reviewing different wing tutorials when I told Bryan I was probably going to make them out of wire coat hangers. He said he had an idea and took that task on. Her wings are made out of PVC pipe and spray painted black, then covered in sparkly purple lace. They can extend fully and flap. They are amazing. Small children kept gazing at those wings in awe.

Cooper wanted to be a mistborn from the Brandon Sanderson Mistborn series. I made this cloak without a pattern, which kind of astounds me, I didn't know I could do that. A mistborn cloak needs to be shredded so that when the wearer is flying through the air (in the book, Cooper did not plan to fly) the cloak flutters around them. Here's another picture I didn't know existed. This is me cutting the cloak into ribbons shortly before we were supposed to leave.

It's made out of jersey (the same fabric I used for Sophie's wings) and started curling up right away. I had a roll of 4" wide black ribbon that I cut into long strips and pinned to the empty spots between the fabric strips on the cloak while Cooper was wearing it. Then, as the activity was about to start, I threaded my sewing machine and sewed all the strips in place. It made the cloak look epic. I realized while writing this post that I haven't gotten a proper picture of the updated cloak, so I'll need to do that.

The day before the Trunk or Treat Peter decided what he wanted to be. Taking a cue from a different Brandon Sanderson series, he chose to be a windrunner from the Stormlight Archive. I got a yard of faux leather from Walmart that afternoon and used one of Peter's T-shirts to create a pattern on brown butcher paper. The sleeves were a little tight, but otherwise it fit nicely.

Peter built his own spear using craft foam, an extended curtain rod, a small piece of PVC pipe, and electrical tape. He also used washable marker to draw veins on his arms and neck. Phoebe drew the symbol of the windrunner on his forehead.

I threw my costume together in the few minutes before we left the house and put my makeup on in the car. Since I'd been building costumes all week, I went as a costumer. No one actually knew who I was, but some of them guessed young Cruella from the new-ish movie of the same name. I haven't seen it yet, so now I need to watch it to see how close I was.

Bryan played his favorite Halloween role and handed out candy while he sat in the open trunk of our van. He enjoys being the candy man.

We went home tired and carrying way too much candy. It was fun anyway.

A Good Old Fashioned Hayride

Yesterday Sophie, Topher, and I went on a field trip! This was an official, school organized field trip for Sophie. Anyone who lives in the state of Pennsylvania can attend the school, so there was no way that her whole class could be there. We drove an hour and twenty minutes each way to be part of it, and the joy it brought her made that long drive worth it.

We spent about two hours at an orchard that also had a small farm of animals, piles of pumpkins, hayrides, a market, several storybook character displays, and a huge wooden playground. Oh, and it rained/drizzled pretty much the whole time we were there. Thankfully it was warm enough (in the mid-60s) that we weren't too chilly, even with the rain. Both kids loved it, in spite of the face Topher is making in the last picture. The best part for Sophie was getting to meet her teacher and several kids from her class in person. When the other kids spotted Sophie they got so excited and they immediately made her a part of the fun they had been having.

It was a good day.

Playground:

Hayride:

Live From Our Church Building: It's the Primary Program!

Sunday was our annual Primary Program and Sophie and Topher were thrilled to participate IN PERSON! Topher gave his line ("I feel the love of the Savior when he invites me to follow Him") clearly into the microphone without prompting. He had it memorized after only a few repetitions and was anxious to be in front of the crowd and at the mic. In other words, he takes after his mom in that area. He sang occasionally, but had reassured me beforehand that if he didn't sing he would just hum, and I guess that's what he did. The biggest win was that he didn't try to escape, which he had successfully done three times during their rehearsal the week before. He did climb onto the table he was sitting behind and then subsequently try to fall on his head off the other side, but I got out of my seat in the front row and gently pushed him back while mouthing the word, "No."

Sophie also did a wonderful job. She wrote and delivered a beautiful talk which I'll share below. The highlight for me was listening to her sing a solo for the final verse of I Feel My Savior's Love. It was lovely! We had practiced at home and she did a great job remembering to breathe and keep her throat and mouth open. She and I both heard lots of positive comments about the solo, including one from a young woman that said she was shocked and had no idea Sophie could sing like that. If she lived in the same house as Sophie it wouldn't have been surprising at all.

I didn't take any pictures of them before or after the meeting, so there's no visual evidence. Trust me, they were great.

And now, Sophie's talk:

One day a few weeks ago I was doing the dishes. My mom had just run upstairs to quickly put something away when Topher decided he would walk to the park all by himself. I heard the front door open before my mom did, since I was downstairs and she was upstairs, so I ran outside with no shoes on to stop Topher. By the time my Mom made it outside, I was about to get Topher. He was running fast and I was running faster to catch him. He finally stopped in the street in front of our neighbor's house and I caught him. I picked him up and carried him back home.

I love Topher so much that I was willing to go run outside in the rain with no jacket or shoes to save him. Jesus loves all of us so much that He was willing to give His life so we could be resurrected and live with Heavenly Father again. Isaiah prophesied a lot about Jesus’ birth and the miracles He performed and the Atonement and His resurrection. Isaiah chapter 25 verse 8 says:

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it. 

I bear my testimony that we can be like Jesus and we can show love to others by helping them, especially when they’re in danger. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Smile!

Monster Mash

Topher and I went to the library this morning. We spent so long gathering books and playing with toys that when we were finally ready to leave it was time for the early afternoon story and craft. I realized that this was Topher's first story time at the library. We stayed and, along with three other kids, heard a story about a monster sleepover and made monster bookmarks. Glue sticks and scissors were employed and everyone left with all of their hair still intact. I grabbed a library calendar on our way out, I think we should make this a regular thing.

Latent Costuming Tendancies

As we've planned Halloween costumes this year, I kept thinking that I had until October 31 to have everything ready. Then we were invited to a Halloween party the Saturday before, so that moved the date closer. Then Bryan's work party was scheduled for the Thursday prior to that, again my end date moved. Then last Saturday our ward announced that the annual Trunk or Treat activity would be held October 26, which means I lost one more day of costume prep.

I finally got to work.

I have not slept a wise amount, and I don't have anything finished, but I'm well begun on at least one costume. Here's a preview:

Peek-A-Boo

Photo credit: Sophie

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Feeding My Spirit

Someday I will be able to listen to all the talks in General Conference and actually retain most of what is said. That day is not today. Even with managing various children at my house, I was able to feel the Spirit and connect with several of the talks. These were my favorites.

Jesus Christ Is the Strength of Youth by Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Seeing More of Jesus Christ In Our Lives by Tracy Y. Browning

Beauty For Ashes: The Healing Path of Forgiveness by Kristin M. Yee

The Doctrine of Belonging by D. Todd Christofferson

Our Earthly Stewardship by Gerald Causse

Wholehearted by Michelle D. Craig

Lifted Up Upon the Cross by Jeffrey R. Holland

Happy and Forever by Gerrit W. Gong

Overcome the World and Find Rest by Russell M. Nelson

The Answer Is Jesus by Ryan K. Olsen

I love Conference, and I really love that I can continue to study and learn from the messages that were shared over the coming months.

Speed Writing

I'm staying up late tonight to support and encourage someone who needs to have all their assignments for the last three weeks turned in by 11:55 tonight. He started the day with fourteen assignments, including several that were overdue. He's down to two. I think it's amazing that he's moved through so much so quickly. I also think it's amazing (in a different way) that it took a looming deadline to finally shove him out of procrastination mode.

Those two assignments he has left? One of them is a 5-7 page narrative that he just started. He has a little over an hour to finish it.

Well Loved Books Are Like Dear Friends

Robbie Coltrane, the actor who played Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, passed away today. Hearing that sad news made me feel nostalgic, so we watched Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for movie night tonight. Well, we watched a good chunk of it before bedtime hit and we paused the movie to finish another day. I did not expect Topher to be so engaged, but he was hooked. 

After he and Sophie went to bed and the boys were working on other activities, I invited Phoebe to watch the Harry Potter reunion with me. I hadn't seen it yet and had baskets of laundry to fold, so I needed a distraction. She happily joined me, even with the spoilers that came at the end of the special since she hasn't seen the last two movies yet. It was lovely and we both ended up in tears. Hogwarts still feels so magical, twenty years later.

I think it's time to go back and reread the story of the boy who lived.

Paparazzo

Me: Phoebe, your hair is looking so shiny and pretty tonight.

Phoebe: Oh. Are you going to take a pic-

Me:

The Happiest Place on Earth

Libraries are great for books

and toys.

Hooray for libraries!

All the Words

Fun fact about Cooper: he talks all the time. ALL THE TIME. He talks so much that we have to remind him to stop talking long enough to eat food. That's what's happening right now. He came downstairs for a snack before bed and I have to keep pointing to his plate of almonds so he continues consuming them. I'm really thankful that he's a teenager that talks to his parents and wants to share what is in his brain. I'm also thankful when he takes a break to eat and sleep.

Fitting In

"Oh yeah, this totally still fits." -Topher, in response to a jacket I had deemed too small during my annual family outerwear evaluation.

Germs Make a Comeback

Today's post was going to be my General Conference recap from last weekend. I'm going to save that for another day. Instead, I'm going to share this picture that Bryan sent me this morning.

After two and a half years of not catching germs from other people because we were isolating all the time, most of us have colds. Bryan caught it first, last week. It didn't seem to get passed on to anyone else, until early this week. Cooper missed seminary Wednesday through Friday because he was so sniffly. Wednesday afternoon my throat started to hurt. I actually thought I was feeling better on Thursday, until it was time to go to sleep. That's when I stayed awake until nearly 3 o'clock in the morning because I kept having to blow my nose. I slept in while Bryan took Topher downstairs for breakfast. And that leads us to the picture. Topher had no energy at all. When I came downstairs I discovered he was running a fever of 101.5, the only one of us (as far as we know) to run a fever with this sickness.

The good news? All four of us have taken COVID tests and gotten negative results. Peter seems fine, maybe because he's spent the majority of the week away from us? Topher rested for most of the day and was feeling well enough by the afternoon that he was back to jumping off the furniture.

Sophie and Phoebe, as of this evening, have mild sore throats. Poor Phoebe was supposed to go to a friend's birthday party tonight but had to stay home because of our germs.

I guess it's a good thing we've had so much practice doing at-home church, because I think we may need to revisit that method this Sunday.

Where I'm From

For her Language Arts class, Phoebe was asked to write a Where I'm From poem and given a very specific template to follow. She had to interview family members for the information and Bryan and I were her subjects. I love her final product. I think it's especially cool that both of her grandpas are mentioned, one by name and one by action.

Where I'm From

by Phoebe

 I am from books,

From Kindle, and Starbursts

 I’m from wandering and traveling, never staying in one place, roaming, moving, not settling down.

It felt like adventure, it seemed so free.

I’m from the great rocky mountains, the middle-aged maple in the back whose slender branches extend like outreaching arms. 

I’m from Christmas Eve soup and the noisy and bookish.

From Gilbert and Henry

I’m from the loud and loquacious and over-explaining.

From please be quiet and you’re very sweet.

I’m from reading your scriptures and saying your prayers,  from Book of Mormon Stories, and Scripture Power.

I’m from Utah, Norway, Denmark, California,  the Mayflower, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, the Powhatan lands, Scotland,  England,  the Isle of Jersey, and potatoes and corn.

From the science fiction paperback in Grandpa Marc’s back pocket, the fixing cars before you can drive them,
I’m from The Blog and photo albums.

I am from reading and writing, from creating and questioning. I am from answers and love, articulate and kind. I am from all around, and from here right now. I’m from joy and hope, and from hugs and kisses. I’m from love.

The Piano Man

Today was a big day. After a year of listening to a severely out of tune piano, a skilled piano tuner came for a visit. He was very chatty while he worked. We learned that the piano was made on March 11, 1961 and is made of spruce. We also learned that it was so out of tune that it couldn't be tuned all the way without breaking the strings. He tuned it so that it sounds beautiful, it's just not giving true pitches yet. All the notes are just a little lower than they should be. He said if it didn't bother us he could leave it like that, but then he found out we have singers in our house and recommended we tune it all the way up. I agreed, so he'll come back some time in January to tune it the rest of the way.

I'm so happy to have a tuned piano! With as much as the kids play it, I bet the neighbors are happy too!

Bling

We had told Phoebe she could get her ears pierced when she turned 10. Well, that date happened in 2020, so we delayed. And delayed. And delayed.

Until yesterday.

Before:

After:

She feels very grown-up.