We had a delightfully uneventful General Conference weekend. I didn't have to shop for new toys or art supplies or treats to keep the kids occupied. They just pulled out stuff we already had, and sat and listened and were so good. Gemma spent the last session in the playroom, which was fine. She had been so great. Jack and Hazel gave little synopses of each talk as they ended, and Todd and I realized next time around we ought to give them notebooks. Hazel, especially, is ready to take notes as she listens. We are so proud of them.
I went with Gemma and her preschool class to the pumpkin patch. She was so excited to go. She spent a solid hour jumping in the corn box. Then she got a wagon and picked out the biggest pumpkin she could find, took it for a walk up and down the rows, and compared and traded as she saw others she thought were bigger, till she found The One. It was cute to see her process.
We came back to the pumpkin patch with the big kids and some buddies a few days later so they could all party in the corn box again.
We've been so good about not driving to school whenever possible. We mostly bike, but sometimes the scooters and the rollerblades come out, too. I love it. Even if we walk, anything but getting in the car seems to get our morning off to a better, happier start. Fresh air and healthy bodies are a blessing.
Hazel was awarded Student of the Month for fairness. (Also, it was crazy hair day during Red Ribbon Week.) Her teacher's message on the back of the certificate mentioned that Hazel includes everyone and looks out for those who are on the fringes, and that she makes gifts for others and is generous and kind. These are traits of hers that she's held for a long time. She's always been compassionate and she definitely shows her love through thoughtfulness and gift giving.
A week later, Hazel was awarded for earning over 100 Accelerated Reader points since the start of the year. She was one of only three kids to reach that point level already. I'm not AR's biggest fan, but I do love that Hazel has found a way to be acknowledged for being such an incredible reader. She blows through a big stack of library books each week, and according to the tests she's had at school, she is comprehending text at a middle school level. This truly is one of her strengths. It's fun to think of her as a three-year-old; she was such a vocabulary vacuum, always picking up new words. Now she sits at the computer and types up funny stories. She's very literary.
My game club is going strong. My co-chair Katie threw a murder mystery dinner for October's game night. It was tons of fun. Everyone dressed up and acted silly, and it made for a great night.
We went to the kids' school Halloween carnival for the first time this year. We've been missing out! There were tons of games and no candy and the kids loved seeing all their friends in their costumes before the big day.
No surprise, but our firecracker Gemma LOVED scooping out pumpkin guts! She went nuts for it when we carved our pumpkins.
Gemma was Rapunzel for her Halloween party at school, but she carried her hair around the whole day and didn't put it on. On the way home from school, I told her I wasn't going to buy her anything else, but that she could wear whatever she wanted from the dress-up box - she didn't have to be Rapunzel if she didn't want to be. She was excited to realize the freedom she had and was delighted to be a wizard instead (don't you dare call her a witch - she was definitely a wizard!). She'd been talking for a few days before that about being a wizard next year, so I'm glad I made a good mom move and figured out how she felt about things early enough to liberate her in her costume choosing.
The neighbors in our culdesac absolutely spoiled our kids. Between big handfuls of candy, homemade cereal mix, and - literally - entire buckets full of candy for each kid, they all felt like they had more than they needed before we even left our street. That made it easy for us to slow down and enjoy the crazy Halloween street in our neighborhood without worrying about knocking on many more doors. This street is nuts. Every single house decks out big time. There's a live band and a food truck, and some intense carpentry in the decorations. The two houses on the corner had a pirate ship battle, complete with firing cannonballs and splashing water. It's like Disneyland. It's outrageous.
