the REAL Halloween

Well, the real Halloween finally arrived and so we all decided to have different costumes because we were sick of the old ones!  Xander decided to be a "teenager", Eliza was a "cowgirl", Violet was a "ballerina" and Abby became a pirate!  We also got to trick or treat with Uncle James and Giselle!  It took her a couple houses but she quickly figured out that she would get candy.  It was awesome!  We made it around the entire neighborhood and got so much candy.  Not enough for my "teenager" but I told him it was plenty for this year.

Halloween Preschool Style

Abby and her preschool performed some Halloween songs for us.  SUPER fun!

Kid Dates!

Ben got to take the girls to Disney on Ice and so they got all dressed up.  Xander and I went for a long bike ride and treat stop at Jamba Juice.  We made 15 miles.  Such a fun day!

More Halloween Fun

Time for Halloween take 2!  (Have I mentioned Im not a huge fan of Halloween?).  This time we did make-up!

2nd Grade Field Trip Time

I got to chaperon a class field trip to the local grocery store.  I got super lucky and only was responsible for a couple kids including these two cuties who got real cold in the walk in freezer! 

Happy Birthday Nana and Traveling Visitors

LOVE our Nana and LOVE that we get to be close to her.  With Nanas newly discovered food sensitivities we gotta get to work on new yummy treats for her.  Until then, we will feed her her favorites!

After dinner we found out that Uncle Chuck and Aunt Lois were traveling through and needed a bed for a night.  My kids were so excited!  They are obsessed with my Great Aunt & Uncle after visiting them this summer.  We ate dinner and learned a fun game called Boula, Boula!

Making Halloween Costumes & All Goblins

 

I'm not a Halloween super fan so my kids don't get super fancy costumes.  Xander wanted to be Carlos form Disney's Descendents movie so he made his costume all by himself!

Eliza doesn't like costumes and usually ends up without them pretty quickly.  She wanted to be a vampire this year...simple enough!

 Abby wanted to be the black cat

 Violet is a pirate...she was kind of being Lindsey Sterling in her Master of Tides video but we forgot the violin! 

 The final product:

 My 4 cuties all ready to go!

 At the school Halloween carnival we played games, decorated pumpkins, and saw the kids Halloween decorations.  The kids put together a whole room of information on Dia de los Muertos and we learned a lot!

 We played on the playground

And Xander ran around with his buddies. So weird that he is old enough to take breaks from us old folks!  Glad I can trust him

Out of Control

Starting to feel old...this adorable child of mine found the original IPOD I have had that my sister gave me.  These weren't even out when I was a teenager- I carried a walkman or discman!  She LOVED the idea of plugging and being able to listen to music.  Can you believe it still works?

Our missing sock pile is out of control!!  HELP!

Ward Camput!

The kids were so excited for our annual ward campout.  I was so excited I got an ear infection!  I made it to the dinner and campfire but I went home to sleep!

The kids had fun with Ben and I slept off the pain!

Walk to School Week!

Our school participated in Walk to School week.  Because we attend a school outside of our neighborhood, we have always driven until we are closer (we are 5 miles away) and walked the last few hundred yards.  My kids have asked for a few years to ride their bikes instead.  Well, we finally did it!  Xander and Eliza and I rode 5 miles and made it before the bell ran at 825am!  I knew Xander could handle it--he has done it before BUT Eliza has never done more than a mile or so unless she was attached to Ben or I.  And she did it!  She did amazing.  I am so excited for this milestone for her and our family!

I LOVE teaching

More fun teaching preschool!  I have been teaching preschool groups in my home(s) for 5 years and it is hard to believe that it is coming to an end!  We exploded some ivory soap!

 I teach in the kids classrooms too! I help other Moms teach FAME (Fine Arts Mini Experience).  each month we teach about an artist and a composer.  We taught about Van Gogh this semester and each kid got to paint their very own Starry Night!

 We also studied Modigliani and elongated a self portrait...

Such fun times!

A place formerally called a LAKE

We have been living in a serious drought.  I grew up on this lake and seeing it this empty is tragic.  We are on water restriction.  I wanted to take the kids to see some of the old settlements that have emerged since the water levels are low but we only make it to our side of the lake :).  We had to hike for 2/3 of a mile before we could get to water!  Oh how we need water!

Called to Serve

We have been waiting for this day!  When Papa married Grammy Ann it was very clear that serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was what they wanted to do together.  They got their applications in and we waited.  The day finally came and we all gathered at the Coleman/Webster house.  We all made guesses and had anyone who couldn't make it on speakerphones or skype.  Grammy Ann read the call and they will be serving in Accra, Ghana for 18months starting in January.  So excited for them!

I love my house most at...

SUNSET

We get to see beautiful sunsets every night as we dine...it is amazing