Presidential Election 2008

I voted, Did you?

Our Halloween

Flash back from past Halloweens.

RJ's first Halloween 2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Savannah's first Halloween 2006

2007

2008

Thursday night we went to Boo at the Zoo. This week has been so nice. I think it was the first Halloween we had with warm weather.

A lot of little kids were excited to see Strawberry Shortcake. One even went chasing after Savannah and her mom grabbed her and we heard her explain "No, that is a little girl in a costume, not the really strawberry shortcake." It was really funny.

The kids enjoyed fun crafts and games as well as the candy. Most of the animals were wake and about during the night. It was fun to see them.

This was my year to take the kids out trick-or-treating and so according to Jared, I had to dress up to. I had an old black cat tail and ears, perfect for a last minute costume. It was such a warm night I was so amazed that Idaho could have good weather for Halloween.

RJ and Savannah had a blast. RJ had a list of houses he wanted to visit and Savannah pointed to each house saying "That one next"

Recipe blog

So I am starting a recipe exchange blog. I want to get all my favorite recipes on the computer to help declutter. I would also like to added to my collection and try new things. If you want to be a co-author and share your favorite recipes to the collection send me your email address at jmw319@gmail.com

If you already have a recipe blog let me know. I'd be happy to stop in.

The new recipe blog is http://warmyourtummy.blogspot.com/

Pre-Hallween Fun

WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES!!!

Friday night we found a pumpkin patch. This was the kid's first pumpkin patch experience and it might be their last for awhile since there is no Halloween in Europe, as far as I am told. They had fun picking out their pumpkins. RJ picked out the biggest he could find, weighing about 50 pounds.
Savannah's found a pumpkin just her size, weighing at 4.5 pounds.

They were both very proud of their finds.

They also found Brownies on a stick:

Look closely, I am actually in a picture!!

I thought this was a fun shot:

At home Savannah enjoyed drawing all over her pumpkin. It was a little too small to crave anyway.

Jared about ready to cut into the monster size pumpkin:

Savannah trying her hardest to help scoop out the insides:

Can't quite get it:

Almost there:

After the pumpkin was all cleaned out, Jared decided to try to put Savannah inside the pumpkin. Oh, the things we do to our children.

While all this was going, RJ was working on the perfect face for his pumpkin. After two pages of drawings (front and back) he finally decided on a face.

The kids enjoying the success of their work.

Daddy's handy work:

Saturday night we made out annually graveyard pudding dessert. This year I let the kids decorate it. The did a great job trying to make it look like a scary grave yard. Afterwards, we enjoyed a family movie night, Night at the Museum, which was really good.

Both RJ and Savannah were invited to a friend's Halloween party. Here is a little costume preview for the year. Savannah as Strawberry Shortcake and RJ as a Knight.

Savannah's Protector.

Savannah has always been a tough little cookie. She has had no problem defending herself and usually demonstrates her powers on RJ. He takes it and usually doesn't fight back. The past few months I have noticed him defend his sister around others. It has been nice to see him stick up for her but lately I think it has been getting a little out of hand.
Last week the kid's were at my Aunt's house playing with Seth while I was at a Doctors appointment. My Aunt told me later how protective RJ was of Savannah. How she was sitting in a chair and Seth was sitting close by. RJ was sure Seth was trying to get Savannah out of the chair so he hit Seth telling him to leave his sister alone. We have had other similar situations. Last night was a little worse and we decided that a talk is in order.
We went to a friend's house last night for dinner. They are in the process of building a house so they took us out there to see it. The kids were all playing in the back yard while we took the tour. All of a sudden we heard Savannah start screaming. Jared went out to investigate. By the time he went out there another little girl Savannah's age was screaming. The story he got was that this little girl pushed Savannah so RJ came over and punched the little girl for pushing his sister.
Later that evening we were back in their apartment. Savannah was playing with a book. She put it on the couch and moved on to another toy. The little girl asked me if she could look at the book. I said yes and gave it to her. Once Savannah realized the girl had the book she had been looking at, she got all upset. She tired to take the book away and we took her away from the situation telling her to share and that Emily was looking at it right now. Well she didn't like that very much and she ran down the hall to get her big brother. She took him by the hand dragging him into the front room all the time yelling "Get her, RJ. Get her"
This was the first time we have ever seen Savannah ask for RJ's help. RJ usually just steps in. We had a hard time not laughing at what was going on. But we realized this protective stuff is getting a little out of hand. I enjoy that RJ is protective of his sister and that Savannah knows that she can rely on him, but I can see this is getting out of control and so we will be having some talks with the kids.