Trick or Treat

I can't believe it, Halloween night was hot! I know you are probably thinking how is that significant due to that fact that we live in the heart of the desert. But I swear it doesn't matter how hot it is outside, Halloween is always when the weather seems to turn. Usually we are trying to figure out how to get another layer of clothes on the kids without taking anything away from the costume, this year we were trying to figure out how to cool them off without losing the ability to identify what the costume was supposed to be of.
Since our Ward held our Halloween Party last night we had a chance to take the kids Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. The kids enjoyed it for the most part, but I don't think they were used to all the walking that had to be done. Especially since they are used to the Trunk or Treats were the next "house" is only steps away. It was also amazing to me how much candy people were handing out. Back in our day each house distributed a piece or two of candy. Today when we would stop at a house they were dropping handfuls of candy into the bags. In the length of two streets I had to dump Lincoln's bag out twice due to it being full- yes it was a small bag but still!! This trend seemed to get more pronounced the longer we stayed out. I guess there are just not as many people out trick or treating and people don't want to get stuck with all the candy!

Check Them Out!

Carving Anyone?

We spent the afternoon at Rachel's house today carving Pumpkins! Nothing like a last minute activity! And all I can say is Pumpkin carving has changed a lot over the years. You used to be able to carve a regular face and call it good. Now you have intricate patterns that have to be traced and then cut with exact precision. So when there are 6 pumpkins that need to be carved the task can seem pretty daunting. Especially when your helpers aren't very much help!
We started by cutting the tops off and letting the kids pull out all the guts. Too bad none of the boys wanted anything to do with touching the innards of their pumpkins! The girls at least attempted the process but the boys all freaked out when you tried to make them grab those slimy strings of gunk! So who got to clean all those pumpkins! The adults of course! And I must say we did a pretty darn good job.
Once all the pumpkins were cleaned out it was time for the kids to decide what they wanted on their pumpkins. I think our first error was letting them look at the precreated carving layouts in the book Rachel had found at the store. Because of course they all found the perfect image they wanted to use!! Rydman chose a picture of three coyotes on a mountain top. Emerie chose a head shot of one of the Disney Princess. Quincy wanted a spiderweb and a spider. Cutler wanted a "dinosaur"- it was actually a monster but don't tell him that. The babies were not nearly as particular so we left theirs for last. And even though the kids started out wanting to help, they soon got bored of the process. They did not quite understand why we had to spend so much time outlining the design!
I helped Quincy with her Spiderweb, and by the time I had gotten done with the outlining I realized there was no way that this pattern was actually going to work. The web was way to small leaving less than a 1/2 inch of pumpkin between the parts that needed to be cut out! I cut the first piece but then realized that even if I was really precise, the skin was so thick it was going to be nearly impossible. I knew she wanted a spiderweb, so I decided it would be easier to hand draw it on the pumpkin than it would be to follow the pattern! I think it turned out fairly well considering!
But by the time I was done with that one there was not much time or desire left to do something elaborate for Lincoln. Luckily he just found the carved pumpkins quite fascinating so he was more than thrilled with his face!

Happy Halloween

I know, it's not officially Halloween yet, but we had a Ward activity this evening so we got to celebrate it a little early. Lincoln is a blue three-eyed monster. And I know I am biased but he is so cute! I actually bought the costume while we were on vacation this summer, so I had to kind of guess what size I thought he would be 4 months later. And I think I got very lucky that he has not grown a millimeter since last week when I tried it on him the first time! It barely fits, but it is still dang cute on him!

He wasn't quite happy that I wouldn't let him have the camera, but you can see the whole costume in this shot! He is cute even when he is mad! Don't worry he got over it and had a great time pointing out all the interesting Halloween decorations. He really enjoyed all the skulls that glowed as he got to point out the eyes and noses on each of them. He wasn't scared at all with the dark halls and spooky music! He was also very interested in the candy items people kept putting in his bag. He wasn't too sure about having to carry his bag around but he was definitely interested in its contents. Especially the suckers. He had is first sucker on Monday at Rydmans' baseball game and loved it. So when he found one in his stash he decided it was a must have right then.

Luckily, he stayed awake long enough to get home and make it into the tub. As you can see he also has learned how to stick his tongue out! He thinks it is hilarious.

Pumpkins & Baseball

Lincoln picked out a pumpkin today with Nana, Aunt Rina, Aunt Christina, and Daddy. It was kind of an impromptu stop after a rousing visit to Sams Club so there are no pictures from the actual event, but from the sounds of it everyone had tons of fun.
The "Pumpkin Patch" they stopped out had everything from a petting farm to a trampoline. Lincoln had great fun as he chased the goats around along with petting ducks and chickens. He even got to go in the jump house! (He loves to try and jump and even gets two feet off the ground quite often so I bet this was right up his alley!)
And the pumpkin they picked out his a perfect size for him. He loves to carry it around but his favorite thing to do with it so far is to treat it like a ball! He kicks it around like a soccer ball and has even thrown it like a baseball! So it is amazing that it is still in one piece. (Thanks Aunt Christina for chasing him around the yard in an attempt to teach him what to do with a pumpkin!) And as you can see he even thinks his pumpkin is quite tasty!

After an already full day we spent family night at Rydman's baseball game. They are in the middle of playoffs right now. So we decided it was time to take in a game before the season was over. But tonight might not have been the best game to watch. The kids played well, but the ump was a complete moron. I try to be understanding of those people who work as ref's because I know from experience that it is not easy. But when you are blatantly making calls that are completely wrong and favor one team over the other, I stop feeling any sympathy for them. I mean this guy was over the top! ( There was one hit that went down the first base line and dropped behind the first base man in the grass which allowed three of our players to run in. But somehow after the third run came in the ball ended up being foul!! If only there were instant replays in Little League!) The boys played well, Rydman only ended up getting up to bat one time, but he did not even get to swing as the first pitch hit him in the hip. He did end up making a run for the team thanks to the next few batters so that was good!
They ended up losing the game but it is a double elimination tournament so they still have at least one more game. Hopefully they won't end up with the same ump!

Good Luck GiGi!

My grandmother is playing a concert tonight in Denver. She and a fellow piano player have played together for the past 8 years. Tonight is performance number 9. I sadly have not been able to participate in very many of these concerts, but the ones I have been too are always amazing. So I am sure this one will be no exception to that. She is an amazing Piano player. A talent I am sorry to say was not passed on to me! So even though we won't be there I know it will be great! I can't wait to get this years CD's! Love you GiGi!

Love's to Read

Lincoln loves his books! That is usually the first thing he will pull off the shelf. And he especially loves it when his Aunt Rina reads to him. (This is not the best picture of Lorina but it captures Lincoln's interest pretty well. Thanks for instilling a love of books at such a young age Aunt Rina!

Girls Night Out

Last night our ward had our annual Relief Society Overnighter at Worthen's Cabin. We had quite a few ladies show up which was very nice. We had great food and great fun with everyones participation. It is always nice to have a little time to spend with just the girls. I did not actually stay overnight, but it was fun nonetheless. I got to play a rousing game of spoons (sorry Emily for any bruises you may have incurred from sitting next to me!) and played two games of Hokie 5-only one of which I won. (but I toss that up to beginners luck!) Sorry I don't have any pictures, I took my camera but left it in my bag which I left outside in the car. But I believe there are plenty of pics floating around out there, some of which I'm sure will end up in cyberspace eventually!

Interviews

Today was Justin's interview. What is somewhat interesting is that this is his very first one. In all his life and with all the different jobs he has been through he has never had to interview before. Usually he ends up being asked if he wants a job. So he is not used to having to ask someone to hire him. But he thinks it went okay. He said they asked a lot of strange questions about when the last time he had been in an argument with a coworker and what he did to resolve it. He was hoping for more of a get to know you type conversation, but he answered as best he could and now we play the waiting game. I guess they are not going to make their final decision for two weeks. I figure that is when it will start getting busier due to the pending holidays. So since we have no other option, we wait and hope for the best!

Step 2..

Well Justin went for the walk through today. Basically they just reviewed what the job would entail for any one who did get hired. I guess there were a few folks there that Justin did not think understood that the job would entail heavy lifting. And I guess the lady giving the tour just kept repeating that fact. Justin was not sure if she was hoping these questionable folks would get up and leave or what, but it was just repeated over and over for everyones benefit I guess. He goes again tomorrow for an actual interview, so hopefully that will go well and we will have another income again!

Cross Your Fingers!

Justin has a walk through with UPS tomorrow morning. He filled out an application online a few weeks ago because our friend Bill informed him they were hiring. And lucky for us he happens to work there. So he has been throwing his name out there and trying to put in a good word for him. He even made sure that they put his name on the email for this walk through! (Thanks for your support Bill!)
I guess at the walk through the basically review what the job actually entails. They show you the warehouse and describe your responsibilities if you were to be hired. I am not sure if there is an interview process after this walk through or if they get a feeling for you as an employee just from this short time they have or what. But we are keeping our fingers crossed they offer him a job. It would really be nice to get a steady paycheck again.
I just hope he can handle the hours. Justin is not much of a morning person exactly. Not because he could not be, but because he tends to stay up too late in the evening. If he gets the position the hours will be something like 3:30 to 9:30 am or something close to those numbers. Needless to say he will definitely need to change his daily schedule of events!
I would love for him to get this job but at the same time it has been nice to have him at home. He and Lincoln are bonding and some of those little jobs that have been sitting around waiting to get down are making their way off the list!

Peek-A-Boo

Lincoln loves to hide and wait for us to play Peek-A-Boo with him. Today he found a new spot to "hide" inside the cupboard where I keep my pots. (He of course had to empty it of all the pots first!) Once it was empty it was the perfect little spot for him. He went in and out quite a few times. He would even get mad if he could not get the door closed or if we took too long to find him.
The only problem with this game is that for some reason when I was a child I would "hide" from my Parents on purpose. It did not matter if we were at the Fabric store of the Aquarium. I thought it was great fun to put everyone into a panic while they tried to locate my hiding spot. I don't think at that age that I understood the pure terror that was probably going through my Mothers head as I stood in the center of the fabric rack smiling to myself. I am surprised she ever took me anywhere! I sure hope Lincoln doesn't follow my footsteps in that regard!

Born to be A Star

Now I am not sure where Lincoln even got the idea that you are to talk into a black object, but lately everything small and black has been a microphone to him. First it was his Dad's flashlight and then it was the handle of the light at the Carnival. He was just jabbering away into the handle bar! It was hilarious. He sure does have a lot to say, not much of which we understand, but he can still hold a conversation regardless!

Jacobson Carnival a Hit

Rachel just finished the annual Jacobson Carnival last night. And it was awesome as usual. What was nice this year is that they were able to tweak the stuff we had created for my school carnival to fit theirs. They created a few more games, but overall the preparation was definitely not as time consuming as years past. I must say they had quite a few more people than we did at ours so I think they were able to raise quite a bit.

Kerri and her family were even here for the night as a pit stop on their way to Utah so they got to join in the festivities. And we all got to see baby Levi for the first time. He is so cute and so little. It is hard to remember how little Lincoln really started out when I look at him now as a toddler. Lincoln wasn't much into playing the games but he had a great time running around the field.

The weather could have been better. It was a little windy, but nothing horrible. All the games stood up and everyone seemed to have a great time. But Rachel may never be relieved of her duties as Carnival coordinator if she does not stop doing such a good job!

My Boys are Back!

Justin and Lincoln are home. I really did miss them a lot while they were gone. It's strange to have the entire house to myself. Even stranger to not have to pick up the same toys at least three times a day or gather socks up from the floor to place them in the appropriate clothes bin every night. But even though I missed them they had a lot of fun up in Utah with the rest of the LeFevre clan. They got to go to the Hogle Zoo, a Bounce House/Trampoline Indoor Fun Park, Park City via Provo Canyon, Lion House, and Ikea!

There never seems to be enough time when you go on vacation because there is always so many things you want to do. But I think they fit in quite a bit considering! They even got to go eat at the Red Iguana. A little Mexican restaurant hat was showcased on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives. Justin said it is definitely a place he would go back to. They also ate at the Lion House in Salt Lake. But Justin said he most likely would not opt to go there again. As the prices were very high for what you got I guess. He did concede that it was cool to be in a place where the prophet lived so long ago, but he would have been content just to see it from the outside.

He was quite impressed with Ikea though. And can not believe that Vegas does not have one of there own. Maybe someday! Lincoln loved being with his cousins but I think he wore everyone out! It sounds like they had a ton of fun and I wish I could have been there. But work held me back. Too bad we don't have anything to Harvest down here!!

Breast Cancer Awareness Walk

The Breast Cancer Awareness walk was today. This is the second year that I have participated and it was just as nice as last year. My school put together a team last year which is what introduced it to me. So when they created one again this year I figured I would join again. I asked Rachel adn my Mom if they wanted to participate also, but Rachel had a very busy Saturday this year so only my Mom was able to join me. But we had a good time. We really like the fact that it is so close to the house. And there seemed to be a lot more people this year than last. We did not see as many people there that we knew as last year. But we did run into my cousin Allison and her Family. Her two little boys are getting so big!

Bachlorette Weekend

I am all alone this weekend! Justin and Lincoln went with his family up to Utah to see Landon and Erin and the girls. (It is the Potato Harvest up in Idaho so there is no school!) They left bright and early this morning and I am already missing them!