October 2012

October was busy, fun, and still HOT!  With all the heat I had a difficult time getting into the right mood to decorate and prepare for Halloween, but I eventually got it done.

Some fun crafts I worked on in October.

I'm grateful that we could start the month with General Conference as it was a good way to recharge my batteries from the previous six months and prepare for the upcoming weeks while J-rod would be working night shift and I would have to take on my least favorite role, that of "single mom."  It had been forever since J-rod had to work nights and as such we were all dreadfully out of practice, but fortunately we managed to muddle along.  I was very grateful when his night shift rotation came to an end!

Even Jeffrey agrees: Night shift stinks!

(Did you notice how much Jeffrey has grown?)

C-sta helps to make General Conference treats: 

homemade "quick" donuts--YUM!

Listening to and watching General Conference.

Part-way through the month I was able to chaperon a field trip for M and the sixth grade to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix.  I'm usually not a huge fan of museums, especially when having to keep an eye on a bunch of tweens, but this museum far exceeded my expectations. Plus, the kids all behaved very well so it made for an enjoyable day!  With the short amount of time we got to spend in the museum--because of the travel time there and back, not long enough--we only got to see about a quarter of all that is available but what we did get to see was awesome!  I'd love to go back with our family and finish taking in the rest.  

The MIM

The highlights of the day included a short interactive concert in the museum theater by a Panamanian pianist/composer and his band. The audience got to participate by singing and dancing throughout the performance as prompted by the pianist, at one point he even picked two students from the audience to join him on stage and one of them was from M's school. After the concert the pianist and band held a question and answer session.  

Danilo Perez Trio

Instruments of Eastern Europe

The Czech Republic and Russia

Iceland, Denmark, and Liechtenstein

Italy, Spain, Portugal, and France

The United States

Our group really enjoyed the hands-on/experience room where they could play instruments from all over the world.  The GIANT gong was an especially fun one to play.  I especially enjoyed watching and listening to M and others (students, teachers, and even a few parent chaperons) play on the Steinway grand piano set out on the main concourse.  The piano was beautiful and I LOVE that there is a sign next to the piano encouraging anyone to sit and play it!

The Experience Room

Steinway

C-sta's preschool had a field trip to the zoo a few days after M's field trip, and since it was on a Friday (when the boys don't have school) we all got to go. It was so cute how excited A was about riding a school bus, especially since the boys and I had to drive up separately and she got to ride it with just her teacher's and friends.  

Riding the bus

The boys rode almost all the rides available and we all enjoyed our time there.  We learned that this particular zoo has many rare albino animals because the owner loves to collect them and seeks far and wide for them. We even got to see a rare albino wallaby that peeked out for a bit--that was a fun treat!

Happy Faces!

What we saw

Penguins in the AZ desert--

Li'l J was thrilled! 

Our Primary held their Sacrament Meeting program during October.  This was the first and last time all three of our kids would get to be in the program together, it was a bitter-sweet day for me as their mama.  All three did a good job, though Li'l J definitely stole the show with his antics (showing/goofing off when he shouldn't have and then not performing when he should)! Both J-rod and I were told a few times throughout that day by different ward members that Li'l J is a "rock star" in the making--awesome!?!?

Primary Program Day

As is the custom, our kids got numerous opportunities to wear their Halloween costumes: to school, then at the school Fall Festival, the pumpkin patch (on one of J-rod's rare days off when we were finally able to go pick out pumpkins), our ward trunk-or-treat, and then FINALLY on Halloween.  

Halloween Fun!

Continuing the trend from his understated Clark Kent costume last year, this year M chose to go as Peter Parker.  Li'l J begged me to make him a "Gravity Guy" costume.  "Gravity Guy" is a character from a video game Li'l J likes to play on my iPod, "Jetpack Joyride".  Putting together a costume from a computer graphic was kind of a challenge especially since I'm not very good at costume making, but fortunately what I pieced together worked well.  C-sta wanted to be Pinkalicious (from the books that she loves).  I searched high and low in the stores for this costume, but the only thing I found was online and it was priced wa-ay higher than I'm willing to pay for a costume.  So what to do? I turned to an amazing seamstress in our ward for help.  I was thinking she could teach me a few things and help me put together a simple costume, but when I met up with her she had already made C-sta a beautiful dress and then wouldn't let me pay her!  I was very grateful for this sister's talent and her willingness to share it with us and help make C-sta's Halloween dreams come true.

Carving pumpkins

My favorite Halloween costume?  There isn't one that I can recall from my own childhood, but in my adulthood I have LOVED when I can get my family on board to dress in a family theme.  As the kids are getting older the opportunities to get them to humor me on themed costumes are getting fewer and fewer.  I didn't really push for it this year; doing it all on my own I got to the point where I was just happy to have a costume for each of them by the time Halloween rolled around.  Maybe next year?

C-sta and her darling friend B having fun

Fun with C-sta