Costumes and Carvings

Halloween felt sort of uneventful this year compared to other Halloweens in the past. We only got dressed up twice: once for the ward Halloween party, and once for the actual holiday itself. We didn't dress up as a family to go along with a common theme this year like we've done before. Instead, the day before and the day of the party, we all just picked random costumes to wear that we already had. So, I guess that also made it the cheapest Halloween we've had yet!

Micah wanted to be either a vampire or Elvis this year. He ended up being dracula:

Kanyon wanted to be Spiderman. Wish granted! The twins wore this same costume 2 years ago:

Jonah wanted to be a zombie. Thankfully, we had a costume to fit his wants; this was a costume Ammon wore 3 years ago:

Ammon said he wasn't going to even dress up this year, and he said he didn't want to go trick-or-treating either. But, the day of the ward party, I finally convinced him to dress up. He chose to be a ghost. Then I painted his face white, added a white feather boa around his head, and picked out some white gloves. He went as "Einstein's Ghost". Pretty clever, I'd say!

I had worn black all day to school the same day we'd had the ward party because it was "Black out Drugs" day for Red Ribbon Week. So I threw on a pirate's hat, and some silver accessories, and went to the ward party as a "Pirate's Wife".

Josh wasn't going to dress up either, but minutes before we left to go to the party, he decided he didn't want to be the only member of our family to NOT dress up, so he came up with this Golfer's outfit last minute, and I thought he did a pretty good job of it!!

The night before Halloween, we carved all our pumpkins. Josh picked the 111 lb. one to carve, and all the boys picked 40+ lb. ones out of the patch to carve, too. Mine was a green, regular-size one, but compared to the others, it looked tiny!

Josh carved a fleur d'lis sign on his because his favorite team is the New Orleans Saints and that's their symbol.  I carved a music note into my pumpkin. For the boys' pumpkins, I had some examples of jack-o-lantern faces on a Halloween decoration, and I had the boys each look at the faces, and tell me which one they liked and would want carved on their pumpkin. They all picked different faces, and I carved them all using one kitchen knife. We've never bought a pumpkin carving kit or carving tools, and I'm proud to say that I can still do it the old-fashioned way! I thought they all turned out great!

On Halloween, I wore a different costume all day to school. I painted my face green, wore a witch's hat, a music shirt, a black skirt, and black heels. I was a "witchy musical teacher". During my first period class, a boy walked in, took one look at my costume, and said "that costume is fitting for you". I laughed so hard! It was exactly the reason why I picked it!!

Halloween itself felt like a marathon. Jonah and Micah had their costume parade and class party in the afternoon, then I took the 3 younger boys to the Merchant's trick-or-treating on Main Street for an hour after school and their buckets got filled with candy, then we all went to the Halloween Carnival at the school. Ammon and I volunteered in booths almost the entire time (2 1/2 hours), and the boys went around doing all the activities and getting prizes and candy at it. Then Josh took the 3 younger boys trick-or-treating at some of our friends' homes and around the neighborhood, while Ammon and I stayed at the Carnival to work until it was over. Then we all came home, had Family Home Evening, and for dessert we ate the cupcakes and cake the boys won at the cake walk before heading to bed!

I just LOVE Halloween! It's in my favorite season, and I love the harvest smells and sights, and the cooler weather. I love Halloween decorations, and I love any chance to dress up! The boys like it because they get loads of candy (that they're STILL eating even now). And it's fun for all us doing pumpkin growing, selling, and carving!

Fall 2011 Top Ten

Fall is over! It's my favorite season of the year, and it went by in a flash this year. Working full-time really makes time pass so quickly, and I feel like I don't have enough time to enjoy all the small things in life as much anymore. But, I'm grateful for my Top 10 Lists, because they MAKE me take notice and enjoy some of the little things that happen in each season of the year! Here's my Fall 2011 Top Ten List--9 out of 10 items got accomplished!

1. Watch Ammon's football games.

This was his second year of playing the sport. He is a fabulous player, and we all had so much fun attending his games!

2. Celebrate Jonah and Micah's birthdays.

We celebrated their special day for about a week, and they were so happy!

3. Attend Jonah and Micah's baptism and family get-together.

Their baptism was such a wonderful occasion, and we felt blessed and spiritually uplifted!

4. Harvest the garden.

We had the best yield on our crops this year than we've ever had!

5. Sell pumpkins in the patch.

We were open for 3 weekends, and only had 20 pumpkins left at the end of the 500 we started with!

6. Go trick-or-treating on Halloween.

This is the first year that Ammon didn't go, but I took the 3 younger boys, and they got a lot of candy! We went trick-door-treating at the ward party and we went to the Merchant's Trick-or-Treating on Main Street in Salmon on Halloween.

7. Party for Josh's birthday.

Although the celebrations weren't what we originally planned, Josh still got treated like a king for his birthday!

8. Play in the leaves.

The leaves stayed on the trees until November. They fell rather quickly, and then it snowed...so we only had two days of playing in the leaves this year.

9. Go 4-wheeling in the mountains.
I envisioned riding ATV's as a family in the mountains on trails we've never been on and looking at the beautiful changing colors of the leaves on the trees. I really wanted to do this, but unfortunately, it didn't happen...

10. Host Thanskgiving dinner.

This was the first year since Josh and I were married that we hosted Thanksgiving in our house. And I loved it--it was one my favorite Thanksgivings of my adult life!

Live & Love Life 365 (November)

Day 305: Josh made dinner tonight, then he helped the twins with their school magnet projects, and then he went to Ammon's Parent Teacher Conference all just to free up time for me to get my own projects done that I'm behind on. I love him so much and I'm so grateful for his kindness!

Day 306: Josh, Kerry, and I went to Idaho Falls this afternoon to participate in the "Scratch for Schools" lottery. We won $165 for the elementary school, and we had fun, too!!!

Day 307: I watched old TV episodes of "Top Chef" and a chick flick in bed this evening. I was somewhat depressed after school, and after dinner, I put myself to bed. I'm so grateful for DVR, because the shows kept my mind off more stressful things, and I felt better after several hours.

Day 308: I worked most of the day at home for my golf course job, and it felt good to get things accomplished for it that I've been needing to do for a month! John took me out for a late lunch this afternoon for a break, and we had good conversation! After dinner, I took the boys to Family Fun Night at the Sacajawea Center put on as a fundraiser for the Alt School. The boys had a great time, and I was glad we went. Then tonight, Amanda and John and I went to see the movie "Moneyball" in the theater and sang karaoke after. The movie was inspirational and good, and we sang new songs at karaoke and had a good time together!

Day 309: Josh and Ammon went to Pocatello for the Salmon football playoff game, and I stayed home with the three younger boys. I played Super Mario Brothers on the wii with them for a while, and we had fun doing it! Then tonight, I took down all the Halloween decorations and put out the Thanksgiving decorations. I love decorating my home for holidays! It makes me happy!

Day 310: Because of Daylight Savings ending today, I got to sleep in a whole extra hour! I was so overjoyed!!! Tonight we watched Amazing Race together as a family; I just love watching that show! I made home-made seasoned popcorn for us as we watched, and it was yummy!

Day 311: Today was Josh's birthday, and even though we were unable to celebrate today due to work all day and meetings all night, the boys and I serenaded him while he was still in bed this morning! And then at the dinner table this evening, we all talked about things we love about him. I sure love that man!!!

Day 312: I found a remote that goes to my CD player at school, and it has really helped me be a teacher. It's amazing how a simple remote can make such a difference in my day. I've been wishing I had one ever since I took this job last year, and I found it over this past weekend in a bag stuffed in a drawer with all the manuals. I'm SO thankful I found it!!!

Day 313: I love watching Top Chef, and I'm so grateful a new season is airing on TV again. I watched the new episode tonight, then watched old reruns of music from GLEE episodes. DVR is definitely my friend!

Day 314: We finally started celebrating Josh's birthday tonight. The boys and I wrapped his gifts, gave them to him after he came home from work, and then I took Josh out for a birthday dinner at Bertrams. He had steak and mashed potatoes, and I ordered some pumpkin cheesecake for him, too. I had a bad day at school today, but I loved celebrating his birthday with him and my family tonight!

Day 315: Josh and I went to Idaho Falls this afternoon for an overnight stay that I gifted him for his birthday. We each got hour-long massages simultaneously at the massage school, and it was my first hour-long one ever! They were so relaxing! We ate dinner at Chili's and then we spent the night at the Destinations Inn in the Hawaii room!

Day 316: Josh and I went to the Idaho Falls temple today and did a session. Then we did some shopping and had lunch at Costa Vida. I LOVE eating there!! After we got home this evening, we went out with Amanda and John and karaoke and danced. It was a peaceful day and I had a spectacular night dancing with Josh!

Day 317: We ate the pumpkin cheesecake I made for Josh's birthday dessert after dinner today. It was the last of our week-long celebrations for his birthday. It was so yummy! The kids have been dying all week to have some! On Thursday, Kanyon even included in his dinner prayer to "bless daddy to like his cheesecake"!

Day 318: I had an awesome class today at school--my last class of the day with 2nd graders. They were the most perfect class that I've ever had. They listened when I talked, they obeyed when I gave them directions, they were kind and polite and nobody ever had to be scolded or reminded to do something. It was like a dream for a teacher! It's never happened before and it made me so happy!

Day 319: I was able to use my digital projector and new laptop this morning for the first time at work! I used it for the 5th graders' lesson and I loved it!

Day 320: I worked all evening making soup and pumpkin cheesecake for teacher's birthday treats to take to work tomorrow. I was glad that I was able to be home all night so that I could get everything done that I needed to!

Day 321: I went with Amanda to the midnight premier of "Twilight: Breaking Dawn" tonight at the theater in Salmon. It was my favorite Twilight movie yet! We had such a great time! Before the movie, we went over to John's house, and he fed us Tomato Bell Pepper soup and it was SO delicious!

Day 322: Today was the most pleasant Friday I've had in a long time. It snowed 2 inches during the night, so when the boys woke up, they were SO excited to see snow! They played outside in it all morning, and they got along, too!!! They made a snowman with Josh this evening in the backyard, too!

Day 323: We went to Amanda's tonight and Josh and I got our {much needed} haircuts. We sat around with John and Amanda's brother Billy and his wife. We giggled and chatted and ate, and then we decided to have Amanda wax us. I got my feet done, Xandi got her eyebrows done, and Josh and John got their upper arms done. It was so enjoyable to be together and try something new!

Day 324: Josh was called to be in the new Elder's Quorum Presidency today. He is 1st counselor again. As he got set apart after church, I felt so peaceful and surreal. I enjoyed feeling the spirit.

Day 325: I loved showing Thanksgiving youtube videos to my classes at school today. We had so much fun in music!

Day 326: Today was the end of my 2-day work week, and I am so glad...I need a break from school!

Day 327: We cleaned the house all day getting it ready for Thanksgiving here tomorrow. Josh was a great help and we got so much accomplished! It feels so awesome to be inside a clean house!

Day 328: We hosted our first Thanksgiving ever today! Josh made the turkey and mashed potatoes, I made the stuffing and gravy and pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake. Kathy brought ham, rolls, salad, and drinks, Scott brought cherry and apple pies, Gid brought yams and salad, and Barb brought ice cream, salad, and little weenie wraps. Dinner was SO delicious!!! The turkey was cooked perfectly, the mashed potatoes were made with the red potatoes from our garden, and the gravy turned out so good! It was the most peaceful and relaxing Thanksgiving we've had in many years. After dinner, we all sat around watching home-movies and then played the wii together. It was just an amazing day!

Day 329: We got our Christmas tree this morning. We went with members of Josh's family to cut it down. It's a gorgeous and full tree! Josh picked it out and he did great! This afternoon, we played games with Josh's siblings and we had such a fun time! We played Scruples and Apples to Apples and the Dice #100 game. This evening, we saw the Parade of Lights on Salmon's Main Street, and it was the best one I've seen yet. I just loved today!

Day 330: Josh's siblings left today to go home, and the house seemed so quiet. We had the missionaries over for dinner, and they played Uno with us while we waited for dessert. Then tonight, Amanda and John came over for cheesecake and we played Scruples. Being with Josh, Amanda, and John always feels like home to me. I love my friends!

Day 331: I went for a day trip to Boise today with John and Amanda. We sang the entire car ride down and most of the way home! I love singing and harmonizing with them!

Day 332: Josh was home for Family Home Evening tonight, which is rare because he usually is gone to meetings. I'm so happy when we can all play and be together at FHE!

Day 333: Josh put the lights on the Christmas tree today while I was at school, and I'm so glad! I am the one who usually puts the lights on it, and it was so nice of him to do it for me this year!

Day 334: I do not like Wednesdays at school. The things that made me happy today all happened tonight after I got home from my long day...Josh had made dinner, I played wii with Kanyon, I got some laundry done, and I made some more pumpkin puree.

Do you know the Pumpkin Man?

I am married to a miracle grower. Josh has a green thumb, and is so good at growing plants! He's the reason  why our grass is green and our bushes are perfectly shaped, and why our garden and pumpkin patch are so bounteous. He amazes me with his ability to make things grow...because I am so bad at it!

This is the third year that we've grown a pumpkin patch. This year, we started working in it in May. Josh rototilled the area:

And the boys picked rocks out of the soil:

And then we planted our pumpkin seeds, and the vegetable garden around the perimeter of the pumpkin patch:

This spring, Josh built new sprinkler stands out of recycled mower blades so that as the pumpkin leaves grew, the sprinklers would be taller and be more effective in watering the pumpkin patch more evenly than in years' past.

The watering system worked great! By July, this is what the pumpkin patch looked like:

We worked together weeding it every week, and Josh did all the watering throughout the summer. By August, it looked like this:

Because of the warm weather we had so late into the early fall, by September some of our pumpkins were already turning orange. We began picking the ripe ones off the vines and putting them in storage in sheds. We grew 5 varieties of pumpkins, and I loved how colorful they looked together in the shed!

We opened for business the last 3 weekends in October. We were open Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 5pm. We were blessed with really beautiful weather every day we were open! The pumpkin patch is a family project that we all work on together, and it's a good way to teach the boys how to work. Ammon mows lawns for people in the summer to earn money for his mission/college savings, so Jonah and Micah currently earn all the profits from the pumpkin patch for their mission/college savings. That's why I decided to call it the "Lil' Munchkins' Patch of Pumpkins" because it's all for our sons. 

We grew about 500 pumpkins in the 1/4 acre patch. The weekend before we opened, we picked all the rest of the pumpkins off the vines and put them in piles in the patch and covered them before the first hard frost. Due to weather conditions, however, we had to throw about 100 away because they became rotten. It was unexpected, and we were saddened that we had to do that; we'd never had so many rotten pumpkins before. Because it stayed so warm so long this fall, we had to keep watering the vegetable garden along the perimeter of the patch, and since the pumpkin's leaves were so giant this year, the soil in a section of the patch was very damp, and the pumpkins sat too long in it, and they began having rot spots which spread through the pumpkin.  

The friday morning of our opening weekend, we took the pumpkins out of the piles and spread them all over the patch. It was such a beautiful site to see all the pumpkins laying in the field!

Each year we are open, I like to add something new to the patch. Last year, we added the haybale maze. Edward (my father-in-law) built a new maze for us again this year! It's fun for the kids to run around in play in!

This year, there were a few additions to the patch. At the check-out area, we sold pumpkin pies that I'd made with pumpkins from the patch, and customers played a guessing game to win candy prizes for correctly guessing the weight of the largest 3 pumpkins we grew.

The largest pumpkin was 111 pounds! That's our biggest pumpkin we've grown yet! This is a photo of the biggest and tiniest pumpkin together!

And here's a photo of the boys hanging around the ginormous pumpkin!

Another new addition to the patch was the cinderella pumpkin carriage backdrop that I created. After stressing over the project for weeks, I was happy with the final product!

And we still had the guessing game where if you can guess the weight of your own pumpkin with 1 pound, you get 50 cents off. People were so excited when they guessed right! And we still had a seating area for families to take photos in. This year, we made it out of straw bales instead of regular benches:

We had really great sales this year. We piled the pumpkins into piles in the field each Saturday night until the following Friday, when we'd spread them all out in the field again.

By the final weekend we were open, we'd sold a majority of the pumpkins and the field starting looking more empty rather than mostly full:

And by the last weekend, sales had slowed down, so the boys and I spent a lot of alone time in the patch. To fill the the time, they played different activities. Jonah and Micah played in the wagons and wheelbarrows that they used to help carry pumpkins to customers' cars. 

Ammon liked to hit some of the rotten ones with a golf club:

And Kanyon liked playing the nintendo by himself at the house when the rest of us were in the patch! Once in a while, he came down to visit and during one slow time when all four boys were around, I coerced them letting me take their picture!

When closing time came on the last day we were open, we only had 20 pumpkins left of the 400 that we could sell. We were so happy with sales this year! It was enjoyable for all of us! All of my favorite pumpkins in the patch got sold. I love funky pumpkins!

We only had one tall pumpkin this, which are Josh's favorite. Here's the Pumpkin grower with the tallest one we grew:

I love butt-crack pumpkins, and this year we had two:

This one was so adorable, it was all flat and bent over, and it looked to me like a kid pouting in time out!

This white one was in the shape of an apple! It was so unique!

We are already looking forward to next year's patch, and we're already talking about new ideas to include! We love doing the pumpkin patch! It's a great family project and it is so much fun!

We Three Sing

I love to sing.

And I love to be with my friends John and Amanda.

About once a month (sometimes more, sometimes less), I get to combine both loves, when my friends and I go sing karaoke together!!! Half the time, Josh comes too (he doesn't sing, but he sure can dance!!!), and when he joins us, the night feels perfectly complete!

The three of us love to harmonize with each other, and there's songs that we've found that match our different voices well as duets, so there's some songs Amanda and I sing, some that John and Amanda sing together, and other songs that John and I sing. There's also certain songs that we can ALL sing together, and we sing them quite often because we've learned 3-part harmonies for them, like: Landslide, Suds in the Bucket, Total Eclipse of the Heart, Rolling in the Deep, and I Think We're Alone Now.

John is the High School music teacher and every year in the fall, he puts together the Salmon Idol competition as a fundraiser for the music department. He needed a special musical number for the Junior Show this year to fill time while the judges were tabulating scores, so he convinced Amanda and I to join him in singing one. I wanted us to sing a song that would be very easy for us to learn because I was already pretty busy and didn't think I could memorize a new song, so I requested that we sing Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now". Thankfully, Amanda and John agreed with my suggestion, so we began practicing.

We edited and shortened the song, then we decided who was going to sing which solo parts, then we practiced all our 3-part harmonies individually and collectively. After we had the singing down, we began choreographing dance moves ourselves. This took us several hours and a few practices to get, because we changed our movements multiple times. After the singing and dancing were all decided, then we discussed our costumes. We decided to go with an early 90's theme: John dressed in a turquoise and hot pink track suit, Amanda donned the rainbow-striped sweater, and I wore faded denim and a KISS t-shirt.

In the middle of October, the day finally came for the Salmon Idol performance. Amanda and I got our hair done at the salon she works at, then she did both of our make-up and touched up our hair, and then we got ourselves in costume. We looked ridiculous!!! We couldn't stop laughing--we were so giddy!

I can't remember the last time I had my hair ratted so big, or the last time I wore blue eyeshadow, or had red blush on my cheeks...perhaps not since the 90's?!!!

The Salmon Idol show is now divided between a Jr. Show and a Sr. Show. The Jr. Show is for ages 14 and under, and the Sr. Show is for ages 15 and up. We performed at the half-way point of the Jr. Show, so by 5:30, our performance was done and we could enjoy the remainder of the shows.

I was so proud of the three of us! We all remembered our choreography, and we had such a fun time performing! I've competed in the Idol show for 3 years, but this time I loved everything about being on the stage, because I didn't have to stress about being judged!