Kids Halloween Party

Earlier this week I decided to have a little party for the kids and their friends to celebrate Halloween (because goodness knows my kids are counting down the days for Halloween and this was just one step closer to getting there). Here they are in kind-of costume. I promise on Halloween day I will spend more time. Jax is Robin, of course, Noah is Batman, and Ellie is Cat-woman.

Thank you Pinterest. I felt so creative making these fun Halloween snacks (with much help from friends!).

Mummy hotdogs.

Andrea prepared a spooky craft for the kids while they awaited lunch. I think Scarlett was the only one focussed enough to finish. Well done Scarlett!



Barb prepared some sing-along time for the kids. (How can you guess that she's the Primary chorister in church? Haha!).

And Ellie is already out of her costume. That didn't last long!



I love their faces in these pictures. Barb must have been very animated.

Cassie prepared a game of Halloween Bingo! When I asked the boys what their favourite part of the party was Jax said this game (Noah of course said, treats). What a great idea!

Thanks again to Sarah and Tarilyn for bringing treats (I promise they were there, you can see Charlie in the background of a few pictures), and thanks Sarah for taking pics!

I heart Halloween! And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't counting down the days just like my kids! I can't wait to get them all dressed up and out trick-or-treating! The nice thing about going out with three kids when you're the Mom is that you get three-times the candy in one round. I mean, I don't eat my kids candy. Fine. I do.

Crash!

My laptop has officially crashed. Meaning I have to share my computer with my husband. Meaning I won't get to post as often as I would like. Sad. Please bless we can get a new laptop soon.

Amen.

I Hope They Call Me On a Mission

My oldest nephew, Zach Kerr, is leaving next week on his mission to Winnipeg!! I cannot believe that he is already old enough to be leaving on his mission. I remember the day he was born. I used to change his diapers. And now he is taller than me and his voice is lower than mine. When did this happen? I will say I have been really impressed by him. He is always and forever the gentleman. If he sees that a door needs to be opened or things that need to be carried to your car, etc, he is the first to notice and do something about it. I'm really proud of him. He will do well in life. And he will be a fantastic missionary. I enjoyed listening to his testimony and hearing the Kerr boys sing a medley of Mission-related song. At the very end, Zach soloed the line, "We'll bring the world His truth." And of course hearing him sing that made the Emotional-Spirit zap me. For one, it made me grateful for willing young men to go out and serve the Lord and teach people about His gospel. For another, I was grateful that Zach was one of those boys. And for another I, of course, thought about my own two boys. One day I will be Shannon watching my boys give their farewell talk and sending them on a plane to who knows where. Huuuuggggggghhhhhhh.... Bitter sweet!

Of course, what is a family gathering without soccer? (At least when it involves Johnny). Jackson was SO pumped to be playing with the big kids.

Jared and Linds got a new teeny-tiny puppy! There were a few moments where I thought this dog was going to die right on Shannon and Justin's lawn by way of the soccer ball. Look how ready he is for it though. Haha! Cute!

Madison was the best helper! And by best, I mean, I did not see Ellie the whole time because she was playing with her and taking care of her. AND, she wanted to.

...even when she was like this.

Here are just a few of the cousins: (L-R) Aaron, Ashlynn, Noah, Evan, Josh, Megan. I am pretty sure they spent most of the afternoon on this thing.

I always love family get-togethers. Especially when it comes to exciting family events like Zach leaving on his mission. All the best to you Zach! Love you!

Pumpkins!

Every year I always think to myself, "I am going to be so creative and make the coolest-looking pumpkin!" I honestly wanted to spend time on it this year. Promise. But this is how it usually goes....

"Don't touch that knife!"

"Sure, I'll help you draw the face."

"You don't want to scoop the goop out? Okay, I'll help you."

"Please don't scoop the goop out, you're making a mess."

"Just let me finish drawing the eyes on MY pumpkin and THEN I'll cut it out for you."

"I can't remember where the candles are. Let me go find them."

And then I look at my untouched pumpkin while every one else is finished and end up whipping something together quickly so we can light the pumpkins altogether and put them outside. There's always next year right? Or shall I just accept that holidays are now always and only about the children? I think the solution is carving pumpkins with just the kids one night and then adult pumpkin carving on another night after the kids have gone to bed! I'm so smart. Next year I guess. Either way, it was still a lot of fun. I love watching my kids learn and grow and have an opinion (for now). Look at how happy and cute they are! I guess I'm alright with Halloween being all about them (for now).

(p.s. Noah originally wasn't wearing pants, so like a good Mom I made him go back inside the house and put pants on since it IS, after all, October. Who needs socks or sweaters though, right?)

Just so you know, growing up, Halloween was the most exciting event of the year! I remember lying in bed with Sarah and asking her what she was going to dress up as for Halloween. And it was August. THAT is how much I love Halloween.

Not much has changed. Except that I sleep next to Joe now.

Beware. More Halloween-related posts to come.

Kissing Cousins?

So Hannah was over the other day, and she and Jax are such buds. I love it. It's to the point where Jackson will cry when she leaves (wonder where he got that from?). Anywho, Sarah and I noticed it got really quiet downstairs for an unusual period of time so we decided it was time to check on them. We first found Hannah with a tube of lip gloss in her hand and gloss all over her lips (and surrounding area as you can see) while Jax was hiding under a blanket. He finally poked his head out to "surprise" me and surprise me he did! He too had lip gloss on. Of course.

Hahaha!

Aren't they just special?!

* * * *

The best part about this post is after the fact, Sarah told me that as she was driving away, Hannah yelled out the window to Jackson, "Thanks for all the kissing!" I missed that part so hearing that from Sarah made me laugh out loud! I just had to ask Jackson about it. (I knew there had to be another reason their lip gloss was so messy). So I asked Jackson and he was a little more shy/reserved about it, but I DID get it out of him that they did, in fact, kiss. I asked if he kissed her or if she kissed him. He said HE kissed her. A true man.

Now just find someone that isn't your cousin.

And wait until you're 21.

My Sunday Reflections

So today I cried. Multiple times. The first three times were during Jackson's Primary Presentation which was so adorable. I accidentally missed last year (we were out of town and I forgot. I'm a good Mom), so this was officially his first year in it. He was so excited to be able to go up and sing for every one. One of our Bishopric members mentioned how Brother Jackson was on the stand with him (Chris Jackson is in the bishopric), and Jax turned to me and said, "He said my name! He wants me to come up on the stand now!" Haha! So cute! Beforehand I asked Jackson if he was going to sing nice and loud and smile and he did just that. He did the token wave as most kids do, hung off the front ledge, looked bored during the parts he didn't know, etc. My favourite part was when they started playing the intro for "Follow the Prophet" and Jackson said animatedly, "Yeay! This is my favourite song!"

I was so proud of him.

Tears. Of course there were tears. Tears of joy and pride. Tears from the Spirit that those kids emanate. At the end they sang, "I Am a Child of God." If I wasn't crying beforehand I was most certainly crying then! They asked the congregation to join in on the last verse and hearing all of those children singing descant with the adults, it just sounded so beautiful and the Spirit of what that songs testifies was so strong! I am a child of God.

Of course. More tears.

Then Sunday School happened. We talked about Paul from the New Testament and focused in on faith. Our teacher used the analogy of how sometimes we put ourselves in cruise control. It's so easy to glide along in life, but if we are not actively strengthening our faith, our testimonies fade. Trials are the things that test our faith. With our current situation at home, Joe has a desire to go back to school and get his Masters in Business and we are in the thick of many unknowns. Where will he get accepted? Will we have to move? Will we have to sell our house? What if we don't sell it in time/get renters? If he doesn't get accepted in January, what are we going to do for the next 8 months until September? I don't like unknowns, but that lesson reminded me that sometimes Heavenly Father blesses us with hard choices or unknowns or trials to get us to remember that we need to rely on Him. It is a reminder that I need to get on my knees in fervent prayer more often and feast upon the scriptures. It is a reminder that although hard things happen, God is in charge and He knows me and my situation. Faith!

Then Relief Society happened. The lesson was about eternal marriage. There are a few people in my ward who are divorced or who are struggling in that area and it was a huge reminder of what I have. On one hand, I was so sad for those people who did not have the same blessings that Joe and I enjoy. On the other hand it made me grateful for what I do have. Joe and I share love, communication, understanding, commitment, loyalty, fun-times/laughter and we are united in our faith. And because we share these things we are happy. Suddenly, my fretting over if or where Joe was going to uproot our family because of school and all of those silly details didn't matter so much. Those are so small in the eternal scheme of things. It put things into perspective for me. Joe and I have been married and sealed together in the temple for time and all eternity so that we can return to live with our Heavenly Father again and Jesus Christ and all of our children. It makes me grateful for a loving Heavenly Father. Perspective! I am so imperfect and have so many things to work on, and having these answers today to concerns and questions that have been on my mind felt like an outpouring of blessings that perhaps I did not deserve. Tears.

Of course, there were tears.

Balance?

The poor middle child.

All of us middle-children know what it feels like to be left behind or forgotten. I feel so bad for Noah sometimes. Jackson is the first, so we spend so much time teaching him and forget that Noah is only a year and a half behind and needs to learn and grow too. Ellie is the youngest AND she's a girl, so she gets all of this extra special attention (and it helps that she is also at a needy age). Noah is generally happy to play by himself and do his own independent thing. Or is he? Lately Joe and I have noticed him acting out a bit and I can't help but wonder if I am giving him enough attention as a parent. Today I put it to the test. I put in some effort to "play" with him specifically as I did with Jackson at that age. I always think, "well, Noah has Jackson to be buddies with" which is true, but I often forget that he needs my attention as well. So, I sat down on the floor with him and we built a space ship out of legos and put together lego-guys and guns. I also went over sounding-out some letters with him and then we ALL got some out-of-the-house time and went to McDonalds to play on the slides for lunch. It made such a difference in his behaviour. At McDonalds, he kept turning around and waving to see if we were watching him. He was so happy. It was so cute and made me feel a touch guilty for not being more aware like this earlier. I also found that by doing this, Ellie was grumpier and very needy! Haha! Where is the balance? Does it exist? If I spend more time with one child, another feels left out. How do I do this so that all of my kids are equally happy and feel equally valued and special?

Hard!

ANNIE!

Thanks to these two lovely ladies, I had the time of my life performing in the musical, Annie, as Miss Lily St Regis. Kelly Stebner (left) played Miss Hannigan and also helped with choreography in the production. Her talents seem to know no bounds! I had no idea someone so graceful and elegant could pull off such a mean ol' awkward and gangly Miss Hannigan (I promise that's a compliment). And Jayna (right), starred as Miss Grace Farrell AND directed the play! She did an absolutely amazing job and I feel lucky that I was able to work with her and witness her in action. I learned so much from these two lovely ladies and am sad we only have two shows left together!

These orphans did an amazing job. In many ways I felt like they were more professional than some of the adults in the cast! These kids knew every line and sang with such clarity and energy with each performance! My mother-in-law even said that she felt they were better than the Annie cast she saw at the Citedel.

Miss Hannigan was easily my favourite character. She had such spunk and sass! In the scene above Mr Bundles (Nima Maham) is awaiting to get his bum slapped, which makes me laugh out loud every time. (Can I just add how impressed I was by my dear friend, Nima? He added so much fun to the cast and managed to sing AND dance, ...which I wasn't sure he could pull off seriously. Well done!). I cried laughing at "Little Girls." Sometimes solos can be boring in a play, but she was hilarious in this! (Yes, that is underwear on her head).

This is the first group number I was in, "I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here." I learned how to fake-dance in this number thanks to all of my real-dancing friends and their tips! It totally makes me want to take dance lessons so I can do all of the same fun tricks and know all of their cool lingo! (Watching So You Think You Can Dance only gets you so far). Above: Paula Wood, myself, half of Jordan Butler, Janine Hodder, Carley Payne, Darren Balderson, Samantha Dewing, Gill Stebner.

Here's Danny Butler as my swindling boyfriend, Rooster, myself, and Kelly in Easy Street. I cannot begin to tell you how much fun this number was to learn! I don't remember things, so I had to go home and practice the choreography a TON (my kids can attest to that). The hardest part was after learning all of the athletic dance-steps, we realized we somehow had to sing AND dance at the same time. Haha! I tried to prepare myself better by singing while on my eliptical so I could get used to singing and breathing heavily at the same time. It was hard, but so fun and I think we pulled it off in the end. And whatever we lacked there I hope was made up by our smashing dance moves and hilarious lines.



Here's the reprise where Rooster and I come back in "disguise."





Sadly, because of wardrobe changes that could not happen quickly enough (what with them wigs and mics!) I had to cut myself out of two and a half group dances! Sad. But it made life a little more relaxing backstage. These people were amazing!

Another one of my fav scenes was Rooster and Hannigan in disguise trying to get Annie and the "fifty thousands big ones!" p.s. Can I just say how amazed I am at the gorgeous back drops? Props to the scene painters!

Every time Jayna would sing, "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" I cried. The worst of it is I had a scene directly after this number with the orphans, and Lily St Regis canNOT be crying right before she has to be all mean and Lily-like. Thanks a lot Jayna!

The "poker" scene with the orphans always kinda freaked me out because it meant I had to rely on remembering my lines and ACTING! Heaven forbid I would have to "act" in a play! A word or two, I can remember. But more than two sentences? Aaaaaaaaaah! All in all, it was a really fun scene and the orphans kept telling me it was their favourite of the whole play. Probably because they got to beat me up and push me around.

Nima. I had no idea on Friday night that Nima was going to appear with the "President" (Jordan Butler) as Punjab. The audience was hysterical and I had to hide behind my wig in order to not bust a gut laughing. I was not the only one on stage trying to hold it back.

Little Girls Reprise, another fav! Except, instead of watching off stage laughing, I have to be onstage in character! That was difficult for me. Well done Kelly!

Jayna, Erica Smith (Britney Butler also played Annie), and Mark Bennet also did an incredible job! Well done cast!

Finale number (that I sadly had to be cut out of again because of time. It was a fun one too! Don't worry, I sang off stage ...while watching forlornly.... Sniff.... sniff....).

My cute orphans!

Left to Right: Amy Hirsche, Paula Wood and Barb Butler did an amazing job as the Boylan sisters in "You're Never Fully Dressed/Oxydent." They had such tight harmonies and sounded (and LOOKED) lovely!

The bows. I got to bow right in front of my hubby and Jackson (thanks for taking all of these pictures Joe!)

Jackson did NOT recognize me after the show and kept pushing me away like I was a crazy lady. Haha!

I had so much fun and cannot believe we're already almost at an end. This is one of the most fun and challenging experiences I've ever had. Not challenging because the people I worked with were beasts (quite the opposite!), but because I was able to challenge myself. I've never done anything like this before and I had no idea that I had any of this in me. It felt good with this being my first musical to be able to push myself and see what I was capable of. This experience was so much more than memorizing lines and choreography (although that was a huge part of it), I found that I made new friends, and the friends I already knew I grew closer to. It honestly felt like being apart of a family (as Joe had put it to me). For many of the people there, that was already the case since the Butlers are related to practically every one involved, but they really helped me to feel apart of this production. So glad I had that opportunity and I hope it doesn't end there, because I was loving every minute of it!

A huge shout out to my super supportive husband! Thanks for cleaning up the dinner dishes and putting the kiddos to bed every night so I could go out dancing with another man!

Dance Diva

So tonight after my Seven Brides rehearsal, the cutest thing EVER happened! The "brothers" in the play were going over one last number and were singing it to one of the girls in the play who was working on choreography with them and at the very end of the song, she got sing-asked to the Bishop's Ball Dance.

It. Was. The. Cutest.

I was beaming all the way home about it. And I wasn't even the girl. Haha! Do you remember being in your early 20's, single, looking forward to this or that dance or YSA function because so-and-so was going to be there? Sheesh! It totally took me back. Remember when guys actually put effort into being creative to impress you? To be fair to all the husbands out there, there's not really anything for us married folk to be asked out to. Our creativity stops at Famoso's and an action flick.

I want to go dancing.

Where is MY Bishop's Ball?

Venting complete.

We love Granny's!

No wonder the kids love coming to Granny and Grandpa's house. We're always doing something fun. A few weeks ago we managed to pull together a fun little back yard outing, with hotdogs and s'mores! Yum!

Fun times! I love the simple things.

We love you Granny and Grandpa! Thanks for always making it a blast for us!

Co-Writing

Any time I try to sit down at the piano, I have a friendly little helper who LOVES to help me write. She gets right into song-writing mode and climbs on my lap helping guide my hands to the right notes. Who needs their own inspiration when you have a little girl to pound those keys and sing along for you? Looks like she may need to take a cut of all my future work at this rate.