Some Halloween

This year we enjoyed a church Trunk or Treat (Fernando was a farmer, Mia was a garden fairy, Talia was a flower, Tiago was a sheriff, and I was a ladybug). Talia found happiness on some kid's tricycle that was sitting in the parking lot.

Dance class allowed for dress up and Tiago dawned his new Darth Vader look.
Mia scored a free face painting session at the Doctor's office after hear ENT appointment. The lady's skills were awesome, her lack of clothing around her bust line wasn't. Ah, the price of freedom. (pun on our ability to choose and the price of the artistry). I know, funny!


So what can I say. . .halloween kind of came and went, but we did have some fun. Like a party that was the brainchild of Mia that exploded into a 90% committal rsvp list. (when does that happen) and Tiago becoming the masked man himself. Double bonus was a shopping venture that happened Saturday and surprisingly Target still had tonz of costumes at a whopping 90% off price tag. So we now have a full Star Wars cast for under $10. (BTW, I also scored some other pretty standard costumes for about $2 a pop which was very satisfying since the original price was in the $30-$40 range). I couldn't help but buy Tiago 2 Nascar
racer outfits, a Thomas the Train thing, some interesting illusion of a costume where it looks like your kid is riding a horse, a Zebra giddy up, and Princess Leia, a Storm Trouper, Obi One, a Jedi robe, and Young Darth Vader. (hopefully this will curb the amount of times I find Tiago playing cars or warrior in Mia's princess dress. Now the boy can dress up in some real dress up clothes for boys.)

Loopy Sue and her Primitive Friend

So I love my calling in the nursery. I have tried to find ways to make the whole nursery scene feel more like a real class then just a glorified daycare. The closer I have come to that goal, the more enjoyable the calling has been and the better behaved the kids are. Loopy Sue here is my creation to fill the void of the doll-less nursery. I didn't want to spend the money on plastic dolls that would be impossible to keep clean, but I didn't realize how challenging making rag dolls would be for me. I am up to 4 dolls and hopefully will have more soon.

Sundae Prayer

For FHE we try to make the lessons short but sweet. This particular lesson was derived from our concern for lack luster prayers in our home. The kids are still learning how to pray to their Heavenly Father, but the prayers are a bit more than repetative and shallow. So, we thought we would have Sundae Prayers. We asked the kids what things need to exist in a prayer. We sang the Pray in Faith Song which is an excellent reminder of such formats. For those of you unfamiliar with the song it goes a little something like this:

I kneel to Pray
Everyday
I speak to Heavenly Father
He hears and answers me
When I Pray in Faith

I begin by saying dear Heavenly Father
I thank Him for Blessing He sends
Then humbly I ask Him for things that I need
In the name of Jesus Christ Amen

The kids got a bowl, spoon, ice cream scoop, and the chance to use their mouths by just giving us the basic format. To get any of the good stuff, they had to think of things they were grateful for and the things they needed help from their Heavenly Father. Then for prayers that night we reminded them to give a ice cream prayer. It worked pretty well for awhile, but we still get the 2 second meal prayer that Tiago blurts out on a daily basis. I guess it is a work in progress.

The Closest Thing We Have. . .

San Antonio is fabulous this time of year. The temperatures are wonderful and the summer long heat is a distant memory/nightmare. We would love to be out exploring nature, but the closest thing we have is our YMCA rock wall





and the OP Schnabel nature trail located behind the gym.


There is quite a bit of exploring that we need to do. It's always fun to have Bambi and his family show up every now and then.

Pumpkin Patch Picture Attempts

Bridal Veil Falls

With undiscovered photos popping up, our Utah trip seems to need another post. In Provo Canyon (stunning anytime of year) there are two places we were able to hit: Squaw Peek outlook with our traditional Mimi's Breakfast and Bridal Veil Falls. It was amazing driving up to Squaw Peek lookout with the fall colors and it happened to be Raptor Day. I tried to make a joke about how dinosaurs no longer exist and that the people had all been fooled, but none of the avid aviators were thinking I was very clever. Bridal Veil falls was impossible to find the trail head, but was worth the 15 minute trek. It was fun to tell the story of Fernando proposing to me on the hike 7 years ago. It was 11 years ago that my room mates and his room mates went on the hike and Fernando took a dare to stand under the falls with the reward of a hug from me. Cheesy, no?

Just in Time for Halloween

Each month, I host a recipe exchange. Each month has a theme to which we all prepare our given recipe. This month's theme was an easy pick. If you are interest in the recipes. . .check out the blog at Something Tasty. During the night, people were complaining about the excessive mosquitoes terrorizing our neighborhood. One lady confessed that she loved mosquito bites in comparison to spider bites. Shocked, I blurted out "I have never been bitten by a spider. That must be awful."

Fast forward to this morning. I am out trimming our unruly bushes in my week attempts at being a yard keeper. I had thought to pull out the gardening gloves, but didn't bother since I was planning on keeping a distance with my pruning shears. Lured in by the easy pull out weeds, I stooped to detangle our decorative grass. I swatted away some unseen pest that stung my wrist. I was irked by the apparent return of the mosquitoes. As the wound began to fester and swell and burn and cause a sort of tingling sensation, I realized that no mosquito bit me.

I finished my misshaping project and went to google my injury. Not promising. Every site listed my symptoms as worrisome to say the least. Too bad I hate going to the doctor just to feel like I am some strange hypochondriac, but at the same time, I love having two opposable thumbs. The scary reality is I have killed a few black widows and brown angry looking spiders and we live in scorpion territory. All my in house Doctor (aka Fernando) suggests is to monitor its "progress".