Pumpkin Carving!

Sunday after church we carved pumpkins. Rylee was really anxious and wanted to start the pumpkin carving right away. The rest of us were not so anxious and wanted to eat and watch a movie and take a nap, which we did. Poor Rylee. Finally I let her get out the supplies and we decided that our foyer was the perfect place to carve pumpkins. Kefford and Kenedy were still off dozing so it was just the four of us for a while, I sent Rylee up to wake up the other two but Kenedy did not want to carve a pumpkin and Kefford ambled down a little while later just in time to help Rylee carve her design.

We got our pumpkins from the farm again this year which is pretty awesome that they have the resources and let us take as many as we want. I love having pumpkins to decorate with on my front porch and now that we have used some of them for Jack-o-Lanterns I feel a need to go back to Nyssa to get some more for decor. 

I decided to go with a classic Jack-o-Lantern face and am pretty pleased with how my guy turned out. 

Ryker wanted to do a cyclops and used a cookie cutter for the eye. He tried to use one for the mouth but it was starting to bend the cutter so he backed off and just used a knife. 

Rylee wanted to use a bunny cookie cutter for her design but it was not working as well so Kefford helped her find a bunny design online and had her trace it onto the pumpkin. He carved the shape out for her since she was not wanting to handle a knife just yet.

Avynlea had the idea to do the cookie cutters. She said she thought of it last year and then saw people doing it online, but it was her idea first! :0

She used the cutters to do a cute clover.

I think our Jack-o-Lanterns turned out pretty awesome this year. It was a painless and pretty fast process for all of us. A member of the Bishopric stopped by in the middle of our carving to ask Kefford, Kenedy, Ryker and I to speak in church on December 18th. So much time to prepare and worry and stress, I am not sure how I feel about how much time we have but hope we can do a good job. Hopefully this will help our new Ward to get to know us a little bit better. 

Peterson Halloween Party!

This year our annual Peterson Halloween Party was back at my house, where I hope and plan to keep it at from now on. I like having something that brings the family together in my home and taking the stress off Alison for once. 

Before the party Avynlea and Rylee got dressed up in their costumes and we headed out into our backyard for some picture taking. 

Rylee and Avynlea both decided a year ago what they wanted to be for Halloween this year. Rylee wanted to be Little Red Riding Hood and I found the cutest pattern at JoAnns to match her vision and mine also. I did not realize until after I bought the pattern that it was an adult size and they did not have it in her size. My friend Deena came over and helped me adjust the pattern so I could make her dress. It turned out so stinking cute and her and I both love it. Now that I know our new ward is a dressing up for Halloween type ward I am seriously considering making this costume for me. I do have it in my size after all. Rylee is such a beautiful Red Riding Hood!

Avynlea was Belle in her yellow dress last year and this year she wanted to be Belle in her blue dress. I could not find a pattern for this dress anywhere and so I had to piece different pattern pieces together and get creative with cutting up said pattern pieces to get the look I wanted. I think her dress turned out adorable and she looks like a beautiful Belle straight from the movie. 

Little Red Riding Hood

Belle

I wanted some pictures of the two of them together and Avynlea could not find her black shoes so she borrowed Rylee's for her individual shots and then had to go barefoot for the duo shots. 

I love these beautiful girls!

I couldn't believe how tall Rylee looked in these pictures and had the girls do a back to back picture so I could compare their heights. Rylee is definitely outgrowing her big sister!

For the party I did a baked potato bar and had a lot of yummy fixings to put on top, I also baked rolls to serve with them. I went to Costco to get some things and I was planning on buying rolls there but could not find any so I decided it was no big deal to make them myself. They must have been really good because they went fast and out of the 4 dozen I made I ended up with only 6 left over. Bob even told me they were good!I had the party guests bring their favorite Halloween treats and we had a lot of goodies for everyone to choose from. 

One of my kids thought Sadie and Charlotte were too cute and took pictures of them. I love that my kids love their little cousins and love having them around.

Ally-Nerd, Madi-Owlet, Brooke-Angel, Asher-Goofy, Tayvia-Minnie Mouse, Qiana-Pocahontas, Rylee-Little Red Riding Hood, Evalyn-Piglet, Hazel-Daisy Duck, Brielle-Mulan, Isabelle-Bat

James-Clown, Sadie-Doc McStuffins, Kelly-Bumble Bee, Avynlea-Belle, Kinsley-Mermaid, Jenna-Sophia the First, Audrey-Butterfly, Xander-Mickey Mouse, Charlotte-Owl

Caleb missed out on the group shot so we had to get a picture with him and the other two babies. Caleb was a penguin and he looked so cute and comfy.

Baby Caleb on his first Halloween.

Kefford told Kelsey he could go to the party and that he would take over at the Barnyard until he got back and then they would switch. By the time Kelsey got back to Emmett it was pretty busy and Kefford just stayed until closing. I was bummed that he could not make it to the party at all and again hope that next year things can work out differently. 

I had a really great time and enjoyed being around my Peterson family and having them in my home. Here's to another successful Peterson Halloween Party!

October Fun!

Our Varsity boys football team did not do so great this year at all. We had some really bad losses and they were not easy to watch. But they managed to win enough games to make it to the state playoffs. They were scheduled to play against Madison in Rexburg on Thursday night. Every football team needs their cheerleaders so Kenedy was able to travel to Rexburg to cheer on her team. It was a last minute trip in a way and I was not able to schedule things so that I could go and watch. In hind sight I fell like I could have and I wish I had, it would have been fun. Although driving by myself four hours for such a quick trip does not sound fun. Since it was in Rexburg Kenedy called up Sara who is living in Idaho Falls to tell her she was going to be cheering out there to see if she was able to come and watch. Of course she was going to do whatever she could to go and watch her favorite cheerleader and I am so glad it worked out with her schedule that she was able to be there. 

 Kenedy and Sara

The kids got a package in the mail from Aunt Trista who has been living in Montana since she got married. It was a fun surprise filled with Halloween treats and goodies for the kids. I was able to get pictures of all but Kenedy who was gone before I could pull out the camera. 

Saturday was the last day for corn maze fun at the Barnyard. I decided to go out there for one last visit before it closed for the season. I took Avynlea, Rylee and Avynleas friends Makenzie and Rose. Ryker was already out there with Kefford and Kenedy was not interested in coming. I went through the maze with Avy and her friends and Avy acted pretty confident about knowing which direction to go but she was almost always wrong. The only time she got it right was on the last turn. We had a lot of laughs over her direction skills and although we were not always correct we managed to make it through in a good time. I think it's pretty cool that the guys had this idea and were able to make a good go of it for the first year. I was not always happy with the amount of time that Kefford was gone and although I supported him 100% it was hard not having him around as much the past month and a half. Living 20 minutes away makes it not so convenient to pick up and hang out with him all day and evening, the time and gas also making it not so easy. He was not able to participate with us in a lot of family things and I hope that next year they can work out a different system so that he does not have to miss out on everything. For now I am glad it is done and we can start being a family again. 

Avynlea, Rose and Makenzie

Saturday night was the Linder Ward Harvest party. Even though they are not our Ward anymore they still feel like family and we wanted to go and be with our friends. Plus not having to make dinner for one more night is always a plus. We had our Verona Ward harvest party friday night and even though it was hard we forced ourselves to go. Kefford was of course in Emmett and Kenedy had cheer practice. Kefford was able to make it a little bit late and Kenedy as well. Avynlea was at a birthday party and was not able to attend. So for most of the party it was me, Ryker and Rylee, And although they were at the church for all of the night they spent most of their time outside running around and I was left to be the loner sitting at our table trying not to feel like a loser. It was hard being at a party not knowing anyone. I was able to talk to a couple of people and I am glad for that. I realize it is going to take a while before this ward feels like our home ward but I hope it happens sooner rather then later. One thing I did love about the Verona ward party was that all the kids dressed up and a lot of the adults. It was fun to watch everyone and see all the cute and creative costumes. I did not dress up but I did wear my festive skull shirt. They had a chili cook off and I loved the chili I got, it tasted like my taco soup. After dinner they cleared away the tables for a dance party and I really liked that. Kefford and Kenedy would not dance with me the fast dances so I went outside to find Rylee and dragged her inside to be my dance partner. She was fun and we enjoyed getting our groove on. Kefford said he would dance with me on one slow dance but I felt really awkward and did not take him up on it. I am not sure why I felt so weird but maybe next year we can have a do over. 

The Linder Harvest party was a lot smaller and hardly anyone dressed up. My girls wore their costumes and I think they felt a little weird but not too bad since we were among friends. The Linder Ward also did a dance party and this one was a lot more fun. They played Thriller and Katie Christianson led us through the dance and Kathi Buttars taught us the dance steps to Cotten-Eye Joe. All of my kids danced and it was a ton of  fun. I danced so much I was super sweaty by the time we got home. It was a good night.

I got some pictures of my kids dancing to Thriller.

 The last song was a slow song and Ryker was dancing with little Owen Hurst, Rylee danced with Julses Hurst and Avynlea wanted to dance with me. It was fun.

Kenedy showed up for a little bit of the Linder Party, she was dressed up for a couple of Halloween parties she was going to. I thought her make-up looked really cute and was impressed with the great job she did. I requested her to send me pictures of her face since I didn't think to take a picture when I saw her at the party, she was in and out so quick as well, and she sent me one of her self and then one of her and her friend Anna. Cute, spooky girls!

Drama and Choir

While looking through some boxes that have been in our attic since we bought our first house I found my old High School drama sweatshirt from our production of Macbeth. I completely forgot all about this sweatshirts existence and had fun going back through memory lane for a little while. I posted it to my friend Michelle on Facebook who was in it with me and we had fun reminiscing together. After I washed it I decided that since it still fits I should start wearing it again, which I do. 

Rylee had parent/teacher conference last week and she was really excited to go since she got to take home her Salt dough map of our great state of Idaho. At the conference I was told how great she was and that she is doing awesome in everything. She is already at 69% of AR goal which is fantastic and is in the highest reading group. What a great kid!

We had two choir concerts to go to last week. First was Kenedy's concert on Monday night. She is in the A capella choir this year and they wear robes for their performances. I was not particularly enthused about going but it was a good concert and kept my interest the entire time which is fun. Kenedy did awesome and looked beautiful  onstage! Tuesday night was the middle school concert with Avynlea a part of the 6th grade choir. This is the first year they even had a 6th choir and I thought they did great. Avynlea looked cute and sang great and I had fun watching this one as well. Great job girls!!

Homecoming

A couple of weeks ago Kenedy showed me a picture of a fancy hairdo and asked if I would do her hair like that for homecoming. It looked like something I could do so I said yes. So an hour before her date was to arrive I got to work. I did her hair and then she wanted me to do her make-up. I have to say both turned out exceptionally well. I really feel like I am getting somewhat good at this hair business. She said at the dance she got a lot of compliments on her hair and was always happy to tell them that her Mom did it. Pat on the back for me!

Since I spent more money on the dress then I was hoping to I told her she had to borrow shoes. She was able to get some on loan from her Grandma Alison which I thought was pretty cute. When we went dress shopping I set a budget in my head of what my max amount would be for spending. We went with Deena Warner and her two girls, Kenedy's besties, Megan and Lauryn. We went to a couple of stores in the mall and Kenedy found one dress she liked and was willing to try on. Luckily it had enough modesty that we could fix the parts we had issues with. It was a beautiful dress and hit the max amount I wanted to spend. It was too short and the back had a big cut out that we had to fix. I bought a tulle petticoat off amazon to fix the length problem and Kenedy wore a black tank to fix the cut out problem. Easy peasy and no one knew the difference. Kenedy said that her cheer coaches were at the dance rating dresses and one of them placed Kenedy's in her top 5 and the other placed it in her top 3. I love that Kenedy was able to see that you can be modest and have a beautiful dress that others admire all at the same time. 

The total look...She is so beautiful!

Avy and Isabelle wanted a picture with Kenedy, it was fun for them to watch this process and dream about when it would be their turn.

Trey arrived with the flowers, his Mom ordered the corsage and boutonniere together so that they would match. 

Having never done this before Emily stepped in and demonstrated how to put the boutonniere on properly. Andrew made a great model!

They looked so good together and Kenedy told us the next day how much fun she had. I loved being a part of this process with her and am happy she gets to have such fun experiences.