Thriller at Kingsbury Hall

Yesterday Josh surprised me with tickets to go and see Odyssey Dance Theater's "Thriller." I saw this a few years ago with my sister Heather and have thought Josh would really like it. What a sweet husband! He called me yesterday afternoon and told me that we were going to go on a surprise date. I actually had time to get ready and everything while the boys and Josh were at soccer practice. My sweet mother-in-law came and watched the kids and we had a great time! If you haven't seen it I strongly recommend it! Josh and I sat on the front row, which isn't the most ideal spot since we were right up close and personal with the freaky characters, but made it a lot more exciting! I was glad that I wasn't chosen by "Jason" to go up on stage and be his "lunch," like a girl a few people down from us.

The only downfall, is it is pretty scary for little kids. There was a little girl sitting behind us totally crying. The characters walk around at the beginning and are pretty freaky. Not to mention a little intrusive. I felt so bad for her because she was so scared. For the rest of the first act I watched everything from the point of view of a little girl, and she is definitely going to need therapy. Luckily her mom took her home after the first act and I could enjoy the rest of it without feeling like someone behind us was being scarred for life.

It was so much fun and I hope it becomes a family tradition(of course the boys couldn't go until they were 14 in my book)!

Rewards for Reading

Palmer and I have been reading faithfully every day to fulfill his 20 minute requirement for school. We had read some really great books together already. We had read the abridged Peter Pan, Wind in the Willows, Alice in Wonderland (seriously crazy book), Through the Looking Glass, Pinoccio, Doctor Doolittle and are currently reading Pippi Longstocking. It is something I look forward to as much as he does.

He is given a chart to fill out every month and he turned in his first one last week. He was rewarded with a gift certificate from Pizza Hut for a "personal pan pizza." We got pizza last night and it was so fun to see how proud he was of his accomplishment. I know there will be many of these to come (especially since Lincoln and Hunter want to start their own 20 minute programs), but I am so proud of Palmer and his determination. I think it was the best tasting pizza he has ever eaten, because he earned it himself.

Family 5K

Last week (yes I am way behind), one of Josh's clients had a family 5K. As Josh runs every morning he was excited to compete against other runners. The boys were also excited to participate (I was excited to watch) It was so much fun!

Palmer was so excited to run his first 5K and be a runner like Dad. He insisted that he was not going to ride in the running stroller. 

Anxiously waiting to start the race.

And they're off.

Josh is such a crazy! He got up the morning of the 5k and did his normal run, then he took 5th in the 5K! I was pretty impressed with him!

Lincoln and Hunter were pushed by our friends Brooke and Jonny in our running stroller, but Palmer ran most of the 3 miles. I couldn't believe that he had run that much, he is a pretty determined kid.

Hunter running across the finish line.

The boys did so well and were such good sports.

Josh was very proud to run with his boys.

Preschool Track and Field Day '09

Hunter was so excited to participate in Track and Field Day at preschool this year. Last year he watched his brothers do it and cried that he couldn't be part. This year he finally got to do it! When he came home from school he said "Mom, I wike (like) that school!)

Lincoln loved Track and Field Day. While we were driving home he told me how good he was at the high jump. Way to go Linc!

I think this activity is so fun. The note they send home is that track and field day is to get all of the "wiggles" out before winter. They give them ribbons and everything. Palmer was so sad that he couldn't do it this year (some things about getting older aren't that great), that he came home and found his ribbon from last year. I can't even put into words how cute everything was. This obstacle course was amazing. They had flags and banners everywhere. Once again above and beyond!

General Conference Quiet Kits

I always look forward to General Conference. The only hitch is that we usually spend a lot of it telling our kids to be quiet so we can hear. This year I decided to give them quiet kits to keep them occupied during conference. I had so much fun putting them together.

I just went to Walmart and got inexpensive things to do. Some other ideas would be puzzles or file folder games. We took them away from them between sessions so they would look forward to the next session.

I took it apart to show you what I put in it. It had things like coloring books, activity books, their conference book, blank paper, crayons, each got a Halloween book, snacks and army men (those may seem random, but they were a huge hit!)

I was sent these conference books last year by my friend Melissa. I didn't have time to do them last year. This year I printed them out and gave them to the boys during the Saturday session. We didn't give the boys the activity boxes until the Sunday sessions to keep their attention.

This is Palmer's favorite page. Hunter didn't quite get the concept, but he had fun coloring it!

And of course we had to have snacks. I didn't want to do sugar snacks because we did not need the kids on a sugar high. They didn't seem to mind and were happy to have some snacks in there.

The boys thought it was so fun to wake up to this surprise! I am hoping that this will help them look forward to conference.

The boxes were a success! The kids just sat and played with the stuff in their boxes. One of the best experiences with General Conference yet!

White Chocolate Halloween Ghosts

We had school off for UEA. We decided to make these cute white chocolate Halloween Ghosts. So easy can I tell you? Melt white chocolate (I did mine in a Pyrex bowl on the lowest setting of the even), dip, two chocolate chip eyes-done. I just think they look so cute. I think maybe I will use them as centerpieces for something, who knows what.

Pretty intense dipping.

This is what they looked like when they were done, cute no?

I think the kids loved when I set the chocolate bowl out and let them go at it, the best.

Now you have to wait for the chocolate to set up...or not :)

I don't think the kids really expected to be able to eat them as they are honestly dunked heavily in chocolate. They were so excited when I brought a tray of ghosts and a blanket outside.

Now that is a serious bite.

I couldn't eat mine (not a big fan of white chocolate, but the boys sure loved them).

The First Cold Day

I love autumn (yes I will probably say that 64 more times on here). Today was the first really cold day. We decided it was time for hot chocolate and doughnuts. Here is the recipe!