Halloween Extravaganza!

We had a great time with our kids this year for Halloween. We realized that last year not only was Ben gone (the lost Indiana months) but I was pregnant and sick. So, we put in a little extra effort to make it special this time around. We started with carving pumpkins. We added a little extra twist- we used power tools! Ben's drill worked great and was fast and easy. Plus, it made pumpkin carving a little more manly for Conner and Ben. Ben decided to carve his pumpkin on its side and make an animal using the stem as the tail. Nice effort. Bad result (sorry!) I actually witnessed people looking closely at the pumpkin trying to figure out what it was (even though Ben wrote with his drill "ZEBRA" across the top. It really didn't look like anything.)

Our next fun even was our spooky dinner. I made Mummies (hot dogs covered in strips of pillsbury crescent rolls) Eyeballs (devilled eggs with olives for the pupils) Witches Brooms (made out of pretzels and fruit by the foot) fingers (carved string cheese with almond slivers for dirty finger nails) and ghots & bat chips (tortillas cut with cookie cutters and broiled in the oven). We even had Witches Blue Brew to drink (Koolaid). We listened to spooky music and had all the lights off with candles on the table.

We also had a great time trick-or-treating. Conner and Kate were great friends and always waited for each other and took turns ringing the door bells. It was such a beautiful night we could have gone on forever. But, alas, Mom and Dad get tired easily. My favorite comment of the night was when we stopped at a house and a nice lady came to the door to apologize for not having candy because they were just moving in. We thanked her and then moved on to the next house. En route to the next jackpot, Kate declared, "Them is upposed to have candy." She got over it fast. Thanks to the neighbors who gave out full-sized candy bars and to the neighbors who create a spook alley in their garage every year.

The highlight of the evening was when Conner was eating a Tootsie Pop and Sadie reached out for it. He let her have a lick... Of course, she loved it!

Check out all the fun in our picture slide show!

The Real Kate?

We talk a lot about Kate being our little "Quandy" because just when you think you have her figured out she will surprise you. Today she got some glow in the dark vampire fangs from a friend at preschool. She loves them! Yes, the girl who also loves pink, playing babies and shoes now also LOVES vampire fangs. She won't take them out. See what I mean by Quandry? So, I think this picture clearly shows the REAL KATE ASHTON!

Laughing Sadie

Sadie has been sick with the flu the past week and a half. She is now finally getting back to normal. The whole time she was sick she didn't cry or fuss. She was just super serious and gave us very few smiles and NO laughs. Well, my sweet Sadie Lady is back and she was laughing up a storm tonight for her big brother.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch at a local farm on Friday for a fieldtrip with my preschool class. Please see my Tiny Hands Preschool Blog to see all the details on that. I just wanted to highlight Kate in this posting. Here are some pictures of her from our fieldtrip.

Not only is she just absolutely gorgeous, but she is growing up so fast these days. She continues to be our little "Quandry" and you never know if you are going to get the sweet Kate or the Kate who just doesn't care. For example, the other day she swept the entire kitchen floor without being asked (did a great job too). But, just last weekend when my parents were here my mom asked her if she could have a hug. Kate's response: "Sorry, I'm all out." She continues to entertain and amaze on a daily basis. But she is also becoming so grown up and becoming a great little friend to me. To a person who never had a sister to grow up with, this is fun for me. I love my little Quandry with all my heart!

When life gives you giant paper...make giant paper airplanes.

When my mom came to visit last weekend, she brought with her about 20 pounds of really large paper. I was thinking it would be perfect for preschool projects, arts and crafts for the kids, scrapbooking, etc. Dads always have better ideas. Ben and the kids made giant paper airplanes out of the paper. They were awesome! They could fly from one end of the house to the other! The kids loved 'em! I think that Ben might even have had more fun than the kids!

So, every few weeks I go and get my hair done. It is a heavenly 2-3 hour period of time where I do not have to worry about anything. Or do I? I came home today to find Sadie playing with her new favorite toy...

I mean, really! At least Ben drank the Mt. Dew and didn't share it with the baby. Hopefully!

Conference Weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Baker

We all had a great time this weekend when Grandma and Grandpa Baker came up from Salt Lake to visit! For Ben and Crystal it was the most relaxing weekend in months. For Conner and Kate, they hadn't seen their grandparents since July so they were SOOO excited! We played Conference Bingo, everyone cuddled on the couch with Grandma, Sadie and Grandpa took a nap, and Grandma was nice enough to let Kate paint her fingernails. The paint may never come off her fingers... Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for everything!