Halloween Festivities

Thursday was our second day of Halloween celebrations (the first was our ward party on Tuesday night). This is the only day I got pictures of the girls in their costumes this year. Thursday afternoon I went and helped with Lydia's class party. One mom was a fortune teller, one mom brought a "donut on a string" game and one dad ended up leaving town for a funeral, but sent cookies and decorating supplies. I brought a "Don't Eat Frank" game and a craft where they could make ghosts, jack-o-lanterns, and Frankensteins out of lollipops and tissue paper.Lydia plays "Don't Eat Frank" with some classmates.Lydia pretends to lick her Jack-o-Lollipop at school.

That night was the school Fall Carnival, where costumes were optional, so we wore ours. As soon as we got there I helped pass out the pre-ordered tickets, so I sent the girls off to eat on their own. When they were done, they came and got some game tickets. When Shawn got there, I went and ate with him and then we walked around to find the girls, check the silent auction items, and to see what all the games were. Have I mentioned how nice it is to have big kids that can go off and do things with each other and their friends? I really enjoy watching them be independent and sociable.

Here are the girls ready to go to the carnival.

Lydia - the Zombie Bride - rises from the dead. This costume won her an award (top three out of hundreds) at our neighborhood trunk-or-treat Saturday night. She was so thrilled!

Evelyn, our little "Spider Geisha" or Japanese girl, as we call it. (Authentic chopsticks from Taiwan in her bun - thanks Melissa!)

Lissy - the 50's girl. She came home and told me she wanted to be an "80's waitress." I was perplexed and didn't realize that an 80's waitress had a distinctive look. She said, "You know, with roller skates and a poodle skirt." (Edited: Lissy is apparently decade-challenged. She was clearly thinking of a 50's waitress.) Thanks Mom for the poodle skirt! Isn't she cute?

And here I am. As dressed up as I have been in years. My skeleton shirt and skeleton earrings are just the beginning. The hours I spent at the tattoo parlor
are really what make this costume shine.

That's right, I'm a crazy rocker. As crazy as I get, anyway.

Pinewood Derby

(the Boo is a Halloween decoration and is not intended to be our opinion of Dad's car)

The Pinewood Derby. Something we won't really have to worry about - what with having 3 girls and all. However, this month, Shawn had the opportunity to brush off his pocket-knife and whittle himself a Pinewood Derby car. After the initial whittling of the car, he sat down, showed us what he had done, and the suggestions just started coming.
"You should make it pink!"
"You should make it purple and pink!"
"You should put flowers on it!"
"Don't forget some bling"
So, being the awesome dad that he is, he made a car that is a tribute to his daughters. And his wife too, I guess, since we raided the scrapbooking and craft supplies. It is pink, with a lime green stripe down the top. It is called "chicaclan" - our family's "team" name. The number 5 stands for the number of people in our family. It has "bling" for headlights and some other embellishments for "tail lights." The hot glue gun was employed for attaching the bling and flowers.After making his car we all had the opportunity to go cheer him on at our ward's Elder's Quorum Pinewood Derby and Potluck. Let's just say that Shawn's car did not win any races, but he once again won our hearts by being such a sweet, fun, entertaining guy. Oh, and he did win the "Sweetest Ride" award. Wahoo!

Lydia's New Glasses

Lydia needed new glasses - BADLY, and the new insurance had just kicked in, so she was first on the list of appointments. She is rather tough on glasses (imagine that!), so we looked for some frames that appeared to be indestructible. They are a bright pink on the inside, and have bling and peace signs on the sides. The peace signs are what sold her. I think she looks so smart and adorable! She thought she looked like a teacher, especially in this outfit.

Random Pics

I love the view out my kitchen window! Not necessarily the shed and houses, but the leaves just beginning to turn and the mountains (or foothills) in the background.
This is how I often find the girls when it has gotten quiet enough for me to wonder what they're up to. Felicity has been teaching the girls to crochet and I was hoping to catch them all in the act. (We even took a trip to the craft store to let them each pick out their own skein of yarn.) Instead of crocheting, they were just vegging. Actually, Lydia does have her yarn. It is a deliciously soft, gorgeous teal yarn.

Day Trip: Part Two - Charcoal Kilns

We almost didn't get to see these or learn a little Idaho history, because I told the "boys" that we had to be back in time for the General Relief Society Broadcast and dinner our stake was doing. But then, I decided that some more good old-fashioned family time outdoors, while the weather was so nice, would be just as lovely.My memory is not so good, but I'll try to explain what these are, because I thought they were pretty cool. I'd never heard of anything like this before and honestly hadn't ever even wondered how charcoal was made. These beehive-shaped kilns were at the base of some low mountains. Only a few remained, but there used to be a dozen or more. Back in the day, they would bring the timber down to these kilns and load them up to the top. Then they would seal upt he kilns and burn the wood to make charcoal. The charcoal was then transported across the valley to the mines to be used in smelting.

The top opening. You can just see the top of the doorway in the background.A view from a doorway up to the top opening. They were renovating this one, hence the ladder.

The gang standing next to them. You can see how big they are!

The remaining kilns.

Day Trip: Fishing at Birch Creek and Petroglyphs

Goodness, it has been so long since I posted, I don't even know where to start. I'll start with pictures - that's always fun! Towards the end of September we went on a little day trip with Jeff one Saturday so he could show us one of his favorite fishing spots. It was just past Mud Lake on Birch Creek. We picked up some snacks and bait in Mud Lake and the girls got to try their hand at splitting a worm and baiting a hook. Felicity was fearless, but Lydia was a little more squeamish. (No pictures since I was helping to tear the worms in half - ick!)Evelyn didn't try it. She was more interested in the fruit snacks.

Yes, there were lots of cows. We drove through a herd with their cowboys on our way up.

Felicity and Lydia aiming for the ripples.
Daddy giving Evelyn a fishing lesson.

After we fished for awhile, we took a little drive out in the hills to see some AWESOME petroglyphs. Here's Lydia and her Vanna White impression.

Lydia and Evelyn had a blast climbing into every nook, cranny and "look out" they could find.

Felicity preferred to hang out with the guys.

I did manage to get a picture of the three girls together!

When we climbed up on top of the rock formation, we were treated to this lovely view.

Lydia and Evelyn enjoy the view from their "box seats."
To be continued.....

A New and Separate Blog

I have decided to start a separate blog for my crafting, recipes, and general creating - Crazy House Creations. I am well aware that it will not be the crafting super-site like many out there, but this way if you don't want to read a mixed blog, you don't have to. I will keep our family "journal" on this original blog - Crazy House. A link to the new blog will be in the side bar.