October 12th

"Hi Joseph!"


"Good Morning to You!"


Rachel loves to help make the bed by bringing us the pillows.



Breakfast:  Oatmeal with prune juice and applesauce.


Morning calisthenics.
 

Joseph kicks so much that it's hard to keep socks on him.


Rachel and I went to Wal-Mart while Joseph took his morning nap.  I let her ride the horse because it was the 12th and I thought it would make a cute picture.


I used spray paint for the first time.  It was SO FUN!  Why haven't I done this before?


Before...


After...


Long after (a couple of weeks later)...


 

Before...


After...


Lunch.


I adore these little people.



We played with scrabble tiles.  I spelled out names for new Christmas ornaments. 


I have spent years wishing that I could participate in the Festival of Trees.  I didn't want to do it until I had a truly unique idea.  The inspiration finally came.  We are going to do a tree based on board games.  After discussing it with the Relief Society Presidency we decided to use it as a ward service project.  It will be less about remembering Elizabeth and more about the service Primary Children's Medical Center performs for all the children in our area.


It's always nice to get into pajamas at the end of a full day.

Trick-or-Treat

Rachel was uber excited to go trick-or-treating for the first time this year.

"Knock, Knock"


"Trick-or-Treat!"
 

"Candy!"


Don't mess with Warrior Tiger.


Rachel insisted on walking.  She walked until she wore a hole in her sock and tights.  Just look at that cute little toe peeking out.


Doug was a heroic dad and carried them the rest of the way.  Needless to say we didn't go to many houses.


Rachel and her loot. 

Little Red Riding Hood

This is the story of Little Red Riding Hood and The Little Woodsman.


Little Red Riding Hood's grandmother wasn't feeling well.  Red was going to take her grandmother some bread and cookies.


Little Red's mom told her to beware of the Big Bad Wolf and not to dawdle.


But once Red was on her way she checked to make sure nobody was around.


Then she sat down and enjoyed a snack.


"What else did my mom put in here?"
 

"Oh!  Was that the wolf?  I'd better get going."


With a cookie in one hand and her basket in the other, Red skipped towards Grandmother's house.


Soon she heard a sound.


She stopped and pulled her hood up over her pigtails.


Then she cautiously resumed her journey,


She stopped periodically to look around and listen for The Wolf.


The forest began to loom menacingly, crowding her happy thoughts.


She raced to Grandma's believing that she would be safe there.


I hesitate to tell you of the horror she experienced.  If it weren't for The Little Woodsman we would have lost poor Red and Grandmother to The Big Bad Wolf.


Grandma was so traumatized that she sent the basket of treats home with Little Red.


This time, however, Red didn't need to watch for the wolf.  She was free to picnic and enjoy her solitude.


She took several breaks along the way home.



She munched on bread and cookies, and gazed at the fall foilage.


On one such stop she was thrilled to spy a friend.
 

She called out to him.


 And invited him to share her goodies.


So they sat together.  Eating.


And talking about the day's events.  Red thanked him over and over for saving the day.


The End

Ward Halloween Party

My feelings about Halloween change from year to year.  But I've always liked to dress up.  Dressing up the whole group is four times the fun.  This year's costume centered around Little Red Riding Hood.  Doug was the Big Bad Wolf pretending to be Granny.  Joseph is the Woodsman.  I'm Little Red's Mom.


I was asked to take pictures for the party. 
 

Rachel's leg kept her from participating in all of the festivities.  So the whole family stayed close by.
 

There were tricks.



There were treats.



And lots of friends.



We had a great night.