Let the season begin!

First, Happy Halloween and Hello Thanksgiving! 

 I love holiday time. Mostly, anyway. I love the celebration, the family time, the fun activities.

 Oh, and here is Ammon shortly before going out to trick or treat. hehe.

This year we decided to do a Star Wars theme. In case you can't tell: Logan is Luke Skywalker, Madi is Princess Leia, Grant is Clone Trooper Rex, and Ammon was Yoda. My mom helped me to make the Skywalker cape and Leia gown out of old sheets she had at home. I bought Logan's shirt and pants at a Salvation Army in Jamestown, NY. We were going to make a cape and headband Yoda ears for Ammon, but found them on-line for $5, so I just ordered Grant's costume at the same time. We had fun!

Now for the forgetting part. I can remember being at different stages in my life and thinking to myself, very specifically: I'm not going to forget! I swore I would not be a no-fun adult.

And yet, I am finding, that is exactly what I am becoming.

I am feeling a lot this way lately, whether it is in working with the boy-crazy Young Women in our ward or with my kids who love to have fun (fun=mess).

I wanted to have a special Halloween menu yesterday. For breakfast we had pumpkin pancakes with chocolate chip jack-o-lantern faces and apple-cider syrup. That was yummy and fun. For dinner I thought I would make a delicious pumpkin soup (it ended up being butternut squash because the pie pumpkins were sold out), steak, and home made rolls. Well, the rolls were a hit. I loved the soup (so smooth, rich, creamy), but the kids. . . well, they kept reminding each other to eat so we could go trick-or-treating. I'm kicking myself for putting so much effort (mess) into making something that wasn't even a success. Next year I WILL remember to make something more kiddish for dinner.

The biggest forgetful moment was the moment we got home and the kids dumped out all their candy all over the living room floor. I started panicking. . . "Why'd you do that? Hurry, put it back in your bag! Ammon is going to get it!" I viewed dumped candy like dumped legos. Then I started seeing pictures on facebook of kids with their loot, and I remembered those days (which means I forgot if I had to remember) when we dumped out the candy so we could revel in the enormity of junk food and put it in groups of "good" and "gross," chocolate and non-chocolate, chewy and cruchy. Joe says it is a silly thing to feel so badly about, but I really feel awful. This morning I let them dump it out on the kitchen floor and when they get home from school I will probably encourage them to do it again.

So next year: fun food, fun mom. Hopefully I won't forget.

The Boy Who. . .

Today the boy who made me a mommy turned EIGHT! Here is how his day went:

 He woke us all up at 6:00 a.m. We made everyone get dressed before opening presents. Grandma and Grandpa stuck Halloween cards in the birthday box for everyone, which explains the money, but not the funny faces.

Logan opened presents. He got some very cool Transformers from Grandma and Grandpa, a Darth Vador Lego watch from Mom and Dad, some Phinneus and Ferb school supplies, and an Optimus Prime Lego set. 

I chose a Darth Vador watch for him because I thought the Darth Vador man was very cool.

Logan requested Coffee Cake for breakfast (just a yummy (whole wheat) cake. The McGregor's don't drink coffee).

And this is what the kids did as soon as they got home from school. (Madi took this picture)

During school Mom made a cake and included another surprise toy--Master Yoda. If you were wondering, this says, "May the Force Be With You." In case you didn't know, it is pretty hard to write with those frosting spray cans. It looked easy, I thought it would be easy, but it tricked me.

Grant, Ammon, and I surprised Logan at school by joining him for lunch with a Sonic Kids Meal. Grant and Ammon were perfect and Logan was excited to see us. (The only hitch is that Grant is no longer content to stay with me at home. He spent the rest of the day talking about when he turns five he gets to go to school, too.)We will have to do it more often. 

Logan requested breakfast burritos for supper. Yum! We didn't have to fight anyone to eat!

Logan won't tell us what his wish was, but it doesn't matter because he didn't blow all of the candles out the first try. Grant was very helpful. (And Logan very understanding.)

Then for Family Home Evening we carved the Halloween pumpkin. The kids had fun sticking their hands in the slime. Logan chose what to do for the eyes, Grant chose a circle nose, and Madison picked out the mouth (they drew them on a separate piece of paper as practice). 

We lit a candle and turned off all the lights, but alas, we do not know how to make the camera's flash turn off, so you cannot see how truly spooky it really is. 

In honor of his eight years, here are eight things you should know about Logan:

1. He is very aware of others' feelings and emotions. He is also very sensitive to what people say. He loves a kind word and feels very hurt when someone is upset at him.
2. He is an awesome reader. His favorite books include Harry Potter, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and anything Star Wars.
3. Logan loves Star Wars and Transformers.
4. Logan loves to help his brothers and sister, and he is also helpful around the house.
5. He is a little shy at first, but silly and fun when he starts to feel comfortable.
6. Logan is business oriented. Once in a while he surprises us with his ideas (for example, one day while in the car he said, "If I had my own store, I would sell things cheaper so that more people would come and buy things. I would sell more, which means more money." When I went to buy a birthday treat for his class I asked him what he wanted--cupcakes or cookies; he told me "whatever is cheaper." I ended up buying the more expensive cupcakes with Transformer rings on top because 1. a few weeks ago he told me how cool he thought they were, and 2. I wanted him to know that he was totally worth the few extra dollars for cupcakes.)
7. Logan loves the gospel. He wants to start fasting, and he recently set a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon by himself. He has read through the kid-versions of the Bible and Book of Mormon many, many times. Just a few months ago he told me his favorite day of the week was Sunday because he gets to go to church.
8. Logan loves to make lists and write down his plans. I love finding his little papers all over the house--well, I love reading them; I guess it would be nice if they weren't all over the house, but oh well.

Logan, you are the best boy a mom could ask for. We love your personality, thoughtfulness, and good example. You are a wonderful big brother. Thanks for being part of our family and for being YOU!

Robin Hood, Maid Marion, and King Richard

It was a warm night to trick-or-treat, the kids came away with lots of compliments and way too much candy.  Grant got to watch from the stroller.  

Logan's Halloween Parade

Logan's class made bear costumes and invited us to watch their class parade.  They then sang a few songs in front of the school.  Madison was invited to eat a snack with Logan and one of the teachers commented that she looked like she belonged there.  I'm pretty sure she agrees.  Maybe next year.

Pumpkin Carving