Halloween Party

We went to a Halloween party tonight at our friend's house and had a great time. The kids love hanging out with them. They laugh, giggle and love every mintute of it. The older kids started chanting, "Trick-or-treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care I'll pull down your underwear." I certainly didn't encourage it, but I did see how Lexi was lighting up because she had actually learned that from friends at school this week.

Coloring




Dinner

Games

2011 Trunk-or-Treat - Part 2

We went to another trunk-or-treat tonight. Our friends who are LDS, but attend another ward (congregation) invited us to go with them. The kids loved seeing each others’ costumes and going around gathering candy with their friends. We got to spend time with a cowgirl, Moaning Myrtle, a nice witch, and a surfer.

2011 Trunk-or-Treat

Tonight was our church trunk-or-treat party. I was in charge of bringing two water coolers full of ice and water. I also signed up to bring corn bread. I asked Steve to come along & handle the coolers. It was a fairly cold night, so I had to add layers to Lexi's costume.

The evening started off with people decorating their trunks. I only had pumpkins that Lexi, Jordan and I glues ribbons onto. Then, we had chilli and corn bread for dinner. There were games for the kids to play. Finally, it was trunk-or-treat time. I handed out candy while Steve walked the kids around filling their pumpkins up with TOO many sweets.

Halloween Spirit

Sadly, public schools here do not allow the classrooms to celebrate traditional holidays. There are fun little ways around it like this week is Red Ribbon Week. It is a week devoted to saying no to drugs. On Monday, they had cowboy dress-up day because kids give drugs the boot. On Tuesday, it was school spirit day so Lexi wore her bling shirt. On Wednesday, it was sunglasses day, because drugs are shady. Today, it was slippers day and I don't remember the point. I had Lexi skip out on this one. I thought a nice Halloween shirt would be better, especially since tomorrow is red, white and blue day.

Primary Program 2011

Today, Lexi and Jordan had their primary performance at church. This ward (congregation) has an enormous primary (program for kids). I knew the kids wouldn’t be in the spotlight much, but Lexi like all the kids, had a line to say. She practiced saying, “I will obey my parents.” When she stepped up to the microphone to say it, the Primary President whispered something to her. She looked at her strangely and then said, “I will prepare for baptism.” Lexi whispered something to the lady as she was walking away. When she got back to her seat, she was motioning to me about the lady. I just shrugged & smiled. Later, she told me that the lady told her someone else’s line. I explained that Lexi handled it well and that the show must go on.

School Artwork

Lexi brought home her latest artwork from school today. She used crayons and paint to create this masterpiece.

Fashion Girl

Since the weather is a little cooler this week, I pulled this shirt out for Lexi to wear. I like it. She looks great in black and everyone loves Paris. Her best friend at school told her that she looks like a fashion girl.

Sunday in October

I took a few photos before church today. In the one below, Lexi is showing off her scratch that Jordan gave her last night. Lucky for him, the punch she gave him, before he did this, didn't leave marks. Fun times!

Halloween Shirt

Lexi wore her Halloween shirt today. I just love holiday shirts. I bought this one last November on clearance. It is nice to pull it out and be able to have her wear it.

First Report Card

Lexi brought home her first report card today. This year, it is all about getting + and -. Either the kids are understanding the lessons or they are not. Obviously, Lexi is doing well. In fact, her teacher sent home two more papers with his assessment of her reading and math skills and she is excelling at both. She is off the charts. A few weeks ago, she actually passed off the 50 sight words that need to be completed by the end of kindergarten.

More important than all of that, she is really enjoying kindergarten. Every day, she tells me about her best friend, Dominique. She talks about all of her classmates. I am glad that she is socializing and enjoying her school days.

Paper Jack-O-Lanterns

This year is flying by so fast that I hardly realized that we should be getting eager for Halloween. Of course the kids have mentioned costumes, but they do that all year.

This evening, I decided that it was time to do our annual paper jack-o-lanterns. I free-hand cut out the pumpkins and their pieces. Then the kids get to glue them on. Lexi was in a silly mood. She preferred to mimic their faces and add emotion to the event.

First Missing Tooth

Lexi's first tooth fell out this afternoon. When I picked her up from school, she showed me that she could wiggle it with her tongue. Once we got home, like she often does, she pulled out her left-over snacks. She was munching on carrots when I happened to look over at her and see that her tooth was missing. I had her spit out what was in her mouth, but it was too late. The tooth was gone. I guess she swallowed it.

She cried a little at first because she was surprised and because she wanted money from the tooth fairy. I told her that she might want to write a nice note for the tooth fairy. I am guessing that the tooth fairy would have sympathy for her and still give her a little money.

Jacket Weather?

This morning, it was actually cool enough to wear a jacket on our walk to school. I think the temp was in the upper 50s and it will get up to the upper 80s today. I didn't wear a jacket, but the kids did. Lexi was excited about wearing this jacket. We got it at the San Diego zoo on their clearance sale last year about this time.

This weather is exciting! I am just happy that the a/c isn't running non-stop. This is a little early for cooler weather in Houston. Sometimes, it is still hot at Halloween. I hope it continues.

Playing in Bins

This weekend was conference, which is when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints broad casts the messages from church leaders. There are four 2-hour sessions, two on Saturday and two on Sunday. It can be seen on the BYU channel or on the internet. I wanted to watch all of them, so that kept us near home both days.

We had a nice relaxing weekend and actually got a chance to enjoy the weather. The kids spent Friday night at their dad's house. I was able to do yard work and grocery shopping before they came back Saturday morning. We watched the first session and then headed to the park for a picnic, playing on the playground and a long walk around the lake. We watched the afternoon session and hung out at home and in the backyard that evening.

This morning, the kids got up and emptied their toy bins so they could play in them. We had breakfast and I took them for a LONG walk to a park. We were gone for about an hour and a half. We came back to watch the first session. Between sessions, I had planned a little bbq in our backyard with Steve cooking of course. We had steaks and veggie kabobs. What an easy Sunday for me.