Happy Halloween


Today we went to a Halloween party at Austin's house. They came in their costumes, played games, decorated pumpkins, and cupcakes and played outside. They had a blast.

Emma painting her pumpkin at the Halloween party.
LSU Cheerleader trick or treating at Daddy's office.
Handyman, construction worker figuring out this whole trick or treat thing.... and liking it!

Hope you have a SPOOKY DAY

A wedding reception, a birthday party, a halloween party

So this week end we went to my cousin Farrah's son's (Matt) birthday party. They had cotton candy machine, games, and a hay ride. They also had a visit from the chicken lady herself. Emma had a blast & I enjoyed seeing my cousin and other old friends.
Then we went to Melissa's (my cousin) wedding reception. It was also nice to see so many old friends from the stake I grew up in. Then we went to a Halloween party at Christina & David's house. She let the kids paint pumpkins, decorate cookies, they had a pinata, and had poppers (the kind you throw on the ground) and light sabers (as Emma called them), they are the light up necklaces you get at the fair. Over all we had a busy but very fun day! (the baby is John & Lavonda's son- Hunter) my nephew









Gymnist?


Emma has been in gymnastics for the last few months. She has for the most part enjoyed it and learned a lot. She has a natural talent and her teacher says she is really good. I am able to see how she compares to the other kids only in the last 5 min of class when all the parents get to come in and watch the kids do a move or a trick. Emma did a dive roll (using the props) all by her self. All the other kids needed help or could not even do it right when they had help. I am aloud to be biased I am her mom.

Well the last few weeks she has been misbehaving and we have not known weather to take her out or not. But today she had a great day and we have talked about it and decided to keep her in. We don't want her to be a quitter and we want her to have something that she loves. So we are excited that things are back on track after many talks with her and her teacher. I know we will have bad days here and there but hopefully they will be less and less as she grows.

a little black n white




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Botanical



Today we visited the Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful day! We also had a picnic, a photo shoot and took a walk. The kids also went to the dentist this morning. They both did great and more importantly their teeth are in excellent health.
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Spencer Man


Just today we were in the grocery store and Emma kept stopping to look at things and was getting left behind. So I would go back to where she was and say "Emma come on! 1-2-3." Then I here this little voice coming from the stroller and it is Spencer saying "Ca-on, 1-2-3" in his little baby voice. I starting cracking up!
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Steak & Stake

Last night Steve took me on a date. He gets the great opportunity of being taken out to great new places for lunch at his job and he thought I would like this one. It is called

Edohana Hibachi & Sushi

1501 W State Highway 114
Grapevine, TX 76051
Phone: (817) 251-2004
It is not as nice as this picture below but it was awesome! I have never had a dining experience like it. The chef comes out and makes your food to order right there. And by the way it is yummy! I will give you a few tips don't fill up on the first course (soup, salad) they are nothing special. Don't worry you get a ton of food! I was stuffed by the end. Also when you get your menu, ask the waiter to explain if you don't know what something is, they are happy to explain it to you. I got the Sukiyaki which is just terriaki steak. It was good! Also you will get entertainment and dinner. If you have never been it is a "MUST GO!"

After dinner we went to Stake Conference "adult session" it was amazing. I loved the talks and cried many times. Steve and I had a great talk on the way home about things we want to change in our little family. Over all we want to be better so the Spirit can dwell in our home. The stake president talked a lot about being a dad and mistakes he has made, things we can do to be a better parent. Love & understanding helps us to have more compassion. President Vigil gave a great talk. He talked about the Saviors qualities and attributes and challenged us to look in the scriptures to find more characteristics that the Savior has and try to bring those into our life. He said his favorite scripture was Alma 26:11-12 Where Ammon says: I do not boast in my own strenghth ...........my heart is brim with joy, & I will rejoice in my God. Yeah, I know that I am nothing; as to my own strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many mighty miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever.

Another thing in the talks that stood out to me is I want to go to the Temple more often. Also that pride is to seek the praise of man. Humility is to seek the praise of God. I need to work on this. Also I am going to work on other things but those are more private. Over all I had been in a bad mood that morning and going to conference and on a date with my sweet husband made me so happy. I am so grateful for my eternal companion and the gospel in my life.

Pumpkin Patch







Well it was not fun but we did it. It was HOT, CROWDED, and I lost track of Emma more than once. SCARY! I don't think I will take my kids again unless they are much older (like 3 years from now). I might take Emma by herself next year. You really need one adult on one child. Anyways we did get a few cute pictures out of it.









Spencer's face kinda matches the characters faces.

How to make blocks



HOW TO:

First you cut the block of wood, then sand off the edges.

Then you cut scrapbook paper to the same size as the front of your block. Then you get Modge Podge and glue the paper on with a very thin layer. Also modge podge over the top of the paper and the rest of the block to seal it all in. This also helps protect you from splinters. Then wait for it to dry (if you do a thin layer it only takes 5 or 10 min to dry). Then you lightly sand edges again to give it a rough or torn look. Then you stencil the letters on with black magic marker. Then modge podge glue the spiders or pumpkins (little confetti) on. Then tie the ribbon around it. It is super easy. I am also going to make more for other holidays. I could not believe how easy it was!

Also you can put your kids pictures on there & it works the same. Our stake primary presidency also made I am a child of God blocks for all the primary kids. They actually painted the blocks and then added stick on letters and glued a picture on back of Jesus. All the same concept with a different twist. Here is a picture of the front and the back.

What we did today

This morning we went visiting teaching. Then we came home put Spencer down for a nap and Emma and I did a puzzle. Then Emma painted a bird house.
Then later on in the afternoon we watched my friend Michelle's son- C. They all had a fun time playing.
Then I went to Enrichment and we made these cute little Halloween decorations. It was so fun. I got to know a few people that I don't know very well. It was fun to be crafty.
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Sushi

Emma has learned a lot from gymnastics. This is one of her favorite things to do, a backbend. She can be seen doing this at any time around the house.
Steve is a lover of sushi and he had a hankering to make some last night. Here is how it turned out. He said it was yummy. Since I am not a lover of sushi, I will take his word for it.
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This is what we affectionately call, "The Bean Game." It is much more fun than saying "Bohnanza." It was given to us when as a house warming gift when we moved into our home in BR. It is played with a deck of cards with comical illustrations of eight different types of beans (of varying scarcities), which the players are trying to plant and sell in order to raise money.[1] The principal restriction is that players may only be farming two or three types of bean at once, but they obtain beans of all different types randomly from the deck, and so must engage in trading with the other players to be successful. The original game is for three to six players and takes about one hour to play.

I got this explanation from Wikipedia. Love it. Saves time. Anyways like most other games, you have to play it to find out how much fun it really is. (It can be purchased online at www.gameoutfitter.com) Our family highly recommends this game if you are looking for a great time. WARNING: you might become an overly competitive person while playing this game!

October Dinner Groups

We do dinner groups in our ward and last night we hosted. We had the 3 couples come. We made gumbo, rice and bread. Steve cooked most of the meal. It was yummy. Then we played the bean game. We had a blast! Thanks to my mom and sister for watching the kids for us. We love yall!



I made this Frankenstein. We though he looked a lot like the veggie tales character.

More Decorations
This is our table, all ready for quests. Thanks to Holly for letting me borrow some decorations.
Emma colored these Halloween pictures and they hang on my fridge.
My mom & sister made these cookies for us. Cute hu!
This is the corn husk wreath I made a few weeks ago with Colleen and Holly.
This is the sign I asked my friend Holly to paint the letters. She did a great job.
I made these cupcakes for the occasion.