Halloween- My Creative Time of Year

I recently read a parenting book that talked about the importance of creating.  I realize that is not a strong aspect of my parenting or my personal life for that matter - except in the month of October.  Maybe all my Halloween creativity makes up for the lack during the rest of the year.

This year Kate had her costume all planned out.  Hermine Granger complete with robe, tie, and scarf  all homemade, need I add - no borrowing from a cousin either.  The scarf was knit on the annual Yellowstone trip and sadly, irritated my hands quite a bit.  I jumped into the costumes after arriving home and realized my hands were done with it.  But I had three costumes to make - luckily my Doctor gave me a weeks worth of steroids and I worked like a mad woman to finish them all before the drugs ran out.

Emily's Merida (Brave) costume was tricky but a lot of fun and Lily and I had a great time designing her Wonder Woman costume.  She was pretty particular but once we finished it she wore it as often as possible.

Andrew copied this idea from the Internet and it got a few laughs.

Natali used the well loved poodle skirt - yet again.  A never fail classic (Thanks Grandma).

Mack had a lovely gorilla costume all ready but in the end he went to a friends house and only wore it for about 15 minutes at our Halloween dinner before he was too sweaty and took it off.  So we don't even have any pictures of it.  

Our Halloween dinner was a blast with 21 kids in attendance.  Needless to say I was so busy in the kitchen I didn't take any pictures.  But the kids loved it. 

First Day of School Fall 2017

 Kate ruling the school in 5th Grade - Mrs. Simmons class.

 Barely holding back the excitement to be back in school -2nd Grade in Mrs. Willis's class.

 Lily - not so sure about sending everyone else off to school but not complaining about having more "Mom" time.  She actually started preschool a few weeks later with Mrs. Ashley and loves it.

 Call them crazy - either that or they are just excited that the walk to the bus stop went from .5 miles. to .05 miles with the bus driving right into our neighborhood.

 Last year in Middle School!

 Andrew with his new "hair style" and a big smile - ready for 7th grade.

 Showing their true emotions about going back to school.

Can't believe this girl is a Sophomore already.  Only three more years and she's out of here - Yikes!

Loving Summer

 Oh summer days - we love you!  Andrew fishing in the back yard.

 Mack and Andrew were semi forced into seeing Phantom of the Opera.  Maybe not the best pic for their first exposure to musicals, but in they end they both had good things to say.  And some of the comments didn't even involve the refreshments.

 The boys spend a week up at Camp Morrison in McCall for scout camp.  Andrew found a lovely moss wig and earned his swimming merit badge in spite of 40 degree water temperatures.  Over the course of the summer Mack earned 9 merit badges and Andrew 8 - impressive.

 The kids and Greg spent a weekend in Utah at an extended Rush reunion.  Natali got to model some of Grandma Rush's old clothes.  Here she is in her wedding dress.  The kids will never forget the massive slip 'n slide and the endless supply of creamsicles.

 The littles and I spent a day at the art museum in Boise.  They loved the gardens.

 One of the best parts of the summer was the return of Elder and Sister Dame!!  We were all so happy to have them back close to us.  Here they are at the airport they day they flew home.

 Summer wouldn't be complete without ballet performances of Beauty and the Beast.  Gaston and Belle were fabulous and the cat - random but cute.

A last hurrah at the zoo with Andrew, Lily and Emily before school began.

 The day before school started we took the whole crew over to Grandma house to have an eclipse party with Wilfords.  We were able to see totality for just less than 2 minutes.  It was such an amazing experience to feel the air get colder and see the strange lighting as the sun got darker and darker.  I loved seeing the 360 degree horizon but were less excited about the unwelcome mosquitoes coming out.  Then one tiny sliver of sun peeked out and the effect was gone.  It only took the smallest bit of light to end it - amazing! 

None of our photos of the actual eclipse were any good and I forgot to take any pics of the lighting or the kids - so we took these much later in the day.  It was such a cool experience.

A Week in Paradise

We spent a whole week enjoying the beauty of McCall.  Nani and Randy joined us and Greg actually took the whole week off.  It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the time together.  We drove the boat into town to enjoy ice cream alley.  The kids loved the boat ride and all the tubing on the way home.

 We did a nice hike up to a mountain lake.  It was uncharacteristically warm so Lily and Andrew took a little dip.  I just dunked my head.  The hike was hot but it was such a beautiful view.

Of course we picked a lot of berries, took lots of walks, looked for wild life, swam, and dug in the sand.  The three oldest, Randy, and Greg, rented side by sides and spent one day driving around the mountains.  I managed to do a fair share of reading.  We all love this place.  

Mesquite by way of Reno

We headed to Mesquite to spend the weekend with Don and Teresa and to be there for Baby Rush's blessing.  A weekend was not enough.  The girls loved hanging with all of Teresa's girls and Don kept the big kids entertained with yo-yos, snakes, and games.  It was amazing.

Don's friend brought over an albino Burmese Python.  That thing kept everyone occupied for a long time. 

Nani and Randy were there as well and Nani had some games planed.  Eat the gummy worms out of the whipped cream was a hit.  But the highlight of the evening was a game where you caught goldfish and carried them to a bucket.  You got 1 point to carry it in the net, 5 points to carry it in your hands, 10 points to carry it in your mouth, and Nani jokingly threw out 100 points if you swallowed it.  Well Andrew climbed in the pool.  Caught his fish.  Put it in his mouth and promptly swallowed it.  a few girls may have cried but the rest of us couldn't stop laughing.

 This toy Barbie jeep was a favorite with the girls - and Andrew too!

Then we were off to the heat of Mesquite.  My car read 120 degrees one afternoon.  It was so hot! But the kids still had a blast.  Nani had a crazy dinner one night where everyone had to eat with awkward utensils.  They loved it.

 The trip wouldn't be complete without trips to the splash pad (both the water one and the drinks one)!

 Boys will be boys.

 And Lily will keep us smiling.

On the way home we stopped in Utah to visit Grandma Lula.  She remembered Lily and I but for the first time ever didn't know everyone's names.  How amazing is that!  She has 41 grand children and more great-grandchildren than I want to count, is 94 years old, and up until now has know all of my kids names and faces.  She is incredible.