Christmas Cards

It's that time of year again. Time to break out the trusty address book and start addressing all those merry messages of Christmas cheer. I don't know about you, but I like my Christmas cards to be nice and simple, so I can spend more time with my family. I've done hand made cards in the past, and while I love the creative outlet and how fun they can be, I need to make them months ahead of time rather than in December. And let's be honest, I just don't plan that far ahead. Maybe some year, but not this year.

In my opinion, the best cards to get are photo greeting cards. I love seeing how families have grown as they've added new babies, and how children have grown as the years go by. Now, don't get me wrong - all other cards are nice, and I am grateful to be counted among those on the "Christmas Card List" from each and every friend and family member who sends our family a card. So, please don't take me off your list if your card does not include a photo.

This year I have been checking out the beautiful card designs on Shutterfly.com. It really is hard to pick my favorite!

I also love Shutterfly's photo books. We treasure our photo book that has our amazing Disneyland memories. We also had such a fun summer last year, that I made a photo book of all our adventures, and then ordered copies for Grandmas and Grandpas and even Great-Grandmas for Christmas!

MORE Halloween Festivities

Our FOURTH day of Halloween festivities was on Saturday the 30th. We decided to go to a nearby straw maze after Shawn and Jeff got back from hunting. So we got everyone ready to go, drove the long way there (following the directions on the flier, but actually there was a much quicker way) only to find that we were there an hour and 15 minutes before it opened. No worries, Big Jud's to the rescue! It was just down the road and we were planning on making a stop there sometime anyway, so we just made it a lunch stop :) Shawn, Felicity and I split the famous Big Jud burger - one full pound of hamburger on a plate-sized bun. The fries at Big Jud's are delicious also - you know, the fresh cut Idaho potato kind.

After eating we went back down the road to the straw maze and had a great time. It was big enough to take some time, but not so big you got lost forever. We could go through as many times as we wanted, so a few of us went through a couple of times. It was a gorgeous day - overcast, but not too cold or windy.

The girls - ready to take on the maze.

Shawn is attacked by the Straw Monster.Lydia in a creepy tunnel.

King and Princesses of the Straw Mountain.

Our a-MAZE-ing family!Lissy and Ben make it out!

That night was our neighborhood trunk-or-treat. The kids got dressed up in their costumes again, we decorated our trunk, and drove over to the park where it is held. I have never gone with the kids before (Shawn has taken them), and I was amazed at the number of little and big kids running around! I definitely did NOT bring enough candy. We will need to bring 2-3 giant bags next year! It was fun to see all our friends and their costumes and everything was pretty smooth considering the number of people there. They gave out prizes to the top 3 favorite costumes and Lydia was so excited to win one of the prizes! It was a Jack-o-lantern treat bucket filled with a cool twisty-straw cup and other treats and trinkets. After the trunk-or-treat we drove around the "older" part of our ward to trick-or-treat to some other important people like the Bishop and the kids' primary teachers. It was fun to go all together as a family this year and the girls were happy with their haul. I didn't get any pictures of their candy though! They must be getting too old (or I am).

Girls and our "trunk" at the Trunk-or-Treat.

Basically, by the time the 31st rolled around I was glad to have Halloween over with! I think I even took down all my decorations that night so we could have a fresh start on November 1st! (Except my pumpkin lights - Shawn did get those down later though...)

Felicity's Party

During a conversation on why we don't "do sleepovers," Felicity decided that she wanted to have a Halloween Party. I told her she had to plan it and get everything approved. This was a week or so before Halloween. Well, Friday, she finally decided to get to it. She picked a Harry Potter theme, decided on some games and made a list of friends to call. Her 4 BFF's came over (even with short notice) that night for a few hours and played games and ate junk food. They played Don't Eat Harry (which Felicity made herself - email me if you'd like a copy) and Harry Potter Clue. Actually, I think they just talked and giggled more than anything else. Felicity had also planned on watching a Harry Potter movie, but they ran out of time and one of her friend's had a broken ankle and is on crutches and couldn't go downstairs anyway.