Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted the girls to focus on thankfulness for the month of November, so I made a "Thankful Tree" and every day we've been adding leaves with things that we're thankful for.  Sometimes we're thankful for silly things like "purple monkeys" or "funny clowns" or "hula dancers", but I've been impressed with all the things that the girls have thought of.  Some of my favorites are "making words", "leaf storms", "rainbows", and "plants and grass".  I'm also very thankful for family, friends, Jesus Christ, and all that we have - a warm home, food to eat, and healthy bodies.  We truly are thankful for so many things and feel blessed that we have all we need.

One day I thought it would be fun to make turkeys.  I don't think they've ever seen real turkeys, so they weren't sure what we were making.  The girls kept calling them chickens.  And that night at dinner, they seemed very surprised to find out that we were going to eat turkey for Thanksgiving dinner in a few days.

Misc Ramblings

• Last night our ward had a Talent Show.  The girls have been so excited about being in the talent show.  Ken and I were worried that they'd get scared at the last minute and wouldn't want to participate so we kept it simple, but they surprised both of us and danced and participated in our skit just like true daughters of a thespian ;)
• I think Amelia has inherited some of my Dad's "engineering" genes.  She is always trying to make something with whatever is on hand.  The other day Amelia wanted to make a leotard for Sophia so that she'd have one to play in.  Amelia undid the serged edges on 3 scarves, then came and asked me for a needle so that she could sew the scarves together with the "yarn" she had just pulled off the edges of the scarves.  I was way impressed, and sorry that I couldn't actually make a leotard out of scarves - maybe I should have put on my "engineer" hat . . . or at least used some duct tape.
• One of Ken's bosses from AZ turned 50 and invited us to her Pajama & Whipped Cream Birthday Party.  Instead of attending the party in AZ, we had our own pajamas and whipped cream event.  Amelia loved it . . . Sophia thought we were too silly. 

• So a few weeks ago, I made this amazing caramel for dipping apples in.  It is delicious!  I halved the recipe and it still made a ton.  And who wants to eat that many apples, right?  But I discovered that if kept in the fridge, it is the perfect consistency to scoop out a chunk and eat like a piece of caramel candy.  Perfect for a little "I need a piece of sugar right now before I throw a fit too" moment.

Happy Halloween

I'm not a huge Halloween fan.  I've actually disliked it for quite a few years.  But I must admit that in the last few years, I've been warming up to the holiday.  I've always liked picking out and carving pumpkins . . . and it appears that my daughters like that too.  I was surprised that both girls "dug in" so enthusiastically.  Maybe it was because I gave them free reign to be dirty?

Neither girl would look up at me while they were digging out the "guts".  They were "too busy" to smile ;)

Apparently Daddy wasn't too busy to look up and smile for Amelia.  (And on a side note, I wish Sophia would keep her clothes on.)

2 of the 3 finished pumpkins.  We didn't get a picture of Ken's pumpkin with a light in it, but you can see his in the next picture.  

Choosing (and making) costumes is definitely the most stressful part of Halloween for me.  I stress about it for months.  I was thankful when the girls chose something easy (and both chose the same thing).  The costumes turned out like I had planned and the girls seemed to be happy with them, so that's a plus, right?

I went as the "Master Gardener".  I had a sign - so people wouldn't wonder why I was wandering around in gardening gloves - but hadn't put it on yet in this picture.  Me and my "can't hold still" blue flower - love her to pieces.

We went to our ward's Trunk or Treat as normal, then decided to come home and trick or treat a few houses in our cul-de-sac (the first time we've gone door-to-door).  Amelia loved that idea and wanted to keep going.  But then she complained that her trick-or-treat basket was too heavy . . . definitely time to go in. Amelia and Sophia's favorite treat?  A Pez dispenser they got from our neighbor.  They were fascinated by how it worked.  They haven't tried the candy yet, but I'm thinking the actual dispenser will be more of a hit than the actual candy ;)