Fall Crafts

I'm not the craftiest mom you've ever met, but we do have some standard fall activities that I did as a girl (thanks, mom!) and my kids enjoy as well.

Here we are after having made leaf pictures with two of Emma's neighborhood friends. We went on a leaf walk before that, which was, arguably, the highlight of the afternoon. Collecting leaves is tons of fun. The kids were very creative with their pictures this year, and we had a smiley face/clown theme that caught on pretty strong.


Apple turkeys - another favorite activity. We invited Spencer's pals (both older brothers to Emma's cute friends) to join us for this one and did it the first day of Thanksgiving break. Each child brought an apple, and we supplied the candy. This year, we tried Mike and Ike. They were tasty, but I think we'll go back to something gummy next year since these were a little hard to spear with a toothpick.


Spencer's apple turkey had lots of weapons when it was complete. The turkey had to have 4 hands/wings to manage it all.


Emma made a classic apple turkey with very colorful feathers.


John was very focused on putting the candy on the toothpicks...and eating the candy along the way.

Pumpkinville November 2011

Most folks go to pumpkin patches BEFORE Halloween, but we may have stumbled upon a new tradition. I bought a Groupon super discount pass to Pumpkinville, only noticing after the fact that it was good for the last week of September, Halloween, and the first week of November. Nice. We went the Thursday after Halloween and were blessed with the most exquisite 70 degree day and no crowds. Grammy and Trina joined us for the fun outing, and a good time was had by all.

The Pumpkinville experience starts with an animal farm. John had a good time pointing at the animals and saying "Oh!" repeatedly.

Then it was off to the hay ride.

There are forts to explore, a hay maze, hay slides, and loads of inflatables to play on. To top it off, we always sample the cider and free apples at the end.

Spencer's P-ville highlight: The football obstacle course
Emma's P-ville highlight: The football obstacle course



Emma surprised me by conquering this one. It wasn't very long ago that she had to be coerced and persuaded to get on a moon bounce, and now she can be found climbing inflatable walls and jumping down slides with great excitement. She kept telling me, "I'm a courage girl!" Yep, got that one on video.

I'm dreaming of a white...Halloween??

We nearly had a white Halloween thanks to a cold front that came through the Saturday before Halloween. My boys were thrilled. I played Christmas music to cope. Emma watched from indoors. She'll play in the snow when we get the serious stuff.

This is the first time John has been old enough to maneuver solo in the snow. Give the boy some boots and a shovel, and he is in heaven. Luckily he had Spencer to show him the ropes. That's one good big brother.

Charlies October 2011

For a friend's Halloween party this year, Adam and I were mirror image Charlie Chaplins, complete with a fun little routine for a costume walk-off. No pics of us, but we weren't the only ones who thought fake mustaches were pretty fun.


John was busy making a yogurt mustache and couldn't be bothered with our hairy version. He did, however, think our bamboo canes were great fun. Those have since been hidden to preserve the furniture.

A note from Spencer

*Spencer asked for a paper and wrote this out the other day. This is my kid, alright. All spelling and punctuation is true to the original.

Dear Santa

I love Christmas so mutch that I wrote this note in November.

I am excited to looking my stocking

Sincerely
Spencer

Happy Halloween!

Frankenstein, Samantha (the American Girl), and a little Giraffe sure had fun trick-or-treating tonight.

Spencer and Emma were in charge of ringing the doorbells, and John caught on fast, confidently thrust his little pumpkin bucket forward for treats, sometimes with a grunt. He thinks Halloween is pretty neat. Emma told me later in the evening that she said trick or treat for Johnny; both Em and Spence were good helpers with their little bro. I really wish I had videoed the whole thing.

We spent part of the night running the candy route and the rest of it hanging out on our front porch along with throngs of people. Adam and Spencer had schemed up a pretty great little adventure in which you could choose to do a few "tricks" before getting the "treat." Adam was manning a table with a series of tricks: a crystal ball with what looks like an electrical storm going on inside it that surges when touched, stirring of the witches brew (crock pot full of dry ice, water, and glow sticks), pulling eyeballs out of a witch's cauldron, and reaching into a box to feel the brains (spaghetti). For dramatic effect, fog and a black light. It was a hit! Many kids came through once and then brought friends for a second round. Thankfully, we had Gma and Gpa there to help with traffic control and back-up candy. Gpa even overheard one kid saying ours was the best house, and Spencer had several classmates come through the line. He has already started planning for next year.

Hoping your Halloween was just as Happy!

Utah Trip: Passing through Provo

First stop in Provo was the BYU Cougar Football Stadium where we got to hang out with cute cousins...

Meet some football players...
Hang out with Jared, a friend from our high school days...
And pass an afternoon with this exceptional family, Cougar fans all...


Next, it was off to Grandpa Bezzant's house, where we spent quite a few days. We arrived on Grandpa's 86th birthday and were there to see him open the gifts Mom had sent out.

This is a favorite. Grandpa runs what he calls the "Bezzant B and B," and there is just about always someone visiting or about to visit.

In fact, my uncle Dan and aunt Susan were visiting while we were. They are some of my favorite people. My kids think they're pretty great too. Here are Spencer and Emma helping Aunt Susan fill vases with garden flowers for Grandpa's birthday bash.


We also took a little trek south to Spanish Fork to see our dear friend Lori's beautiful new home. She was kind enough to host our DT Reunion. My friend CJ wins for the best write-up on the event, so I will link you to her post here.

Here's our Hall Advisor crew: Janna, CJ, Brooke, Lori, and me. I love these girls! We are spread across the country, actually across the world, but whenever I see them it is just like old times. We're not as consistent at keeping our e-mail chains going since we no longer share the same office hours, but the warmth of friendship and ability to share in each others' joys and sorrows remains intact. There was one very notable absence at this gathering. We miss you, Wes; I still haven't been able to find words to voice how much. And Lori - you are my hero. This home is built on a foundation of love; thank you for sharing it with us one summer evening.

This is my cute sister Michelle at her apartment. She is modeling the table that she and hubby Greg refinished and the chairs that they MADE together. That is one cunning couple!


Michelle came with us to the BYU Museum of Paleontology. It was a great (free) afternoon activity for us and the kids.


These are our scary dinosaur faces.


The museum has some fun hands-on exhibits.


There are some most impressive fossils to explore, and the kids even got to meet a student artist who had painted his concept of what a Giant Crocodile might have looked like when locked in battle with a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The picture is hanging on the wall behind Spencer.


After the Dinosaur Museum, we headed over to the Bean Museum, a BYU classic. Spencer had brought along markers and the summer journals we packed on the trip. At both museums, he pulled the journal out and started drawing specimens. Emma followed suit. It made me one proud mama to see my little scientists at work. They also had a great time completing the scavenger hunts available at the Bean Museum.
Emma with her summer journal.

Spencer with his summer journal.


Any time we are in the area, I like to take the kids down to Pleasant Grove to visit the cemetery there. We cut fresh flowers from Grandpa Bezzant's garden and took them to decorate the graves of my grandma and my cousin Kristan.



We also stopped by the Pleasant Grove Veterans Memorial to find Grandpa Bezzant's name.




A trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without a couple rounds of fun on the big red machine. Grandpa is nice enough to let the kids take turns driving. Here's John taking his turn.

Emma and Grandpa on Big Red.

Spencer and Grandpa - Spence drove with confidence, meaning he put that scooter through its paces.

Thanks for a great visit, Grandpa Bezzant. We sure love you!