Princess and the Frog

The kids got to wear their costumes four different times this year!

Joyschool Halloween Party

Dance class

Legacy Center Halloween Extravaganza

Maddie was so stoked to meet Cosmo! It was the highlight of her Halloween. She ran right up to him and jumped in his arms with no reservations (after giving everyone stink eyes and shy faces while trick-or-treating, this was surprising). He even gave her his autograph that said, "To my Princess, Love Cosmo". I have a feeling it will be on the fridge for awhile.

For the real deal Maddie let me doll her up a little bit! I know it's crazy but I have never touched her with a curling iron or make-up, so we had a lot of fun. That girl has got some long eye-lashes... She is going to knock the boys dead someday!

The final beautiful Princess...

...and the cutest frog you've ever seen! Ella loved everything about Halloween, especially the loads of candy. It was so fun to see her really understand and get into a holiday.

Here's the crew at the ward Trunk or Treat. It was wet and rainy and cold. Luckily we lived right across the street and just ran home to get warm!

Once There Was a Snowman in October!

We had a crazy snowstorm last week! It was Ella's first real encounter with snow... since last year she was still a baby and stayed inside. She was begging to go out and a touch it this time.

Cute little snow bunny! It was all fun and games until her fingers froze.

The snow didn't pack very well so we settled for a mini snowman.

It lasted a day and did a back bend as it melted. Ella loved singing the primary song about it.

I'm So Glad

When Daddy is home! We have lots of fun with him.

The girls loved raking leaves in their pajamas.



Such good "helpers."

Last night we carved our pumpkins! Daddy had a vision the moment he saw these pumpkins...


... and we think they turned out well!

Happy Halloween from Bert & Ernie!

Cutie Patooties

I love how Ella was swishing her skirt to the fullest while trying to keep up with her big sister.

Pumpkins and Apples

We went to a pumpkin patch last weekend with Dana and Landon.

The lighting was so pretty!


We found the perfect ones. Can't wait to show you how we're going to carve them.


Last night we made caramel apples. I have a huge weakness for them, and apparently my girls got it too.



Btw, I know Ella has a baby mullet. It was in cute pigtails till dinnertime. I can't cut off the curls cuz then they might be gone forever!

More Joy School

We are almost through with our unit of Joy School at the Andrews Abode. Thankfully we are still loving it, although I think I'll be glad to pass it on to the next mom!

We learn lots of fun and silly songs. Maddie and Ella were cute leading the music together.

We are now on Joy of the Earth. Last week we learned all about nature vs. man-made.

Mike about died when he saw I was making a flannel board lesson! These lesson plans are from the 80's, but yes flannel boards are still useful!

In our kindergarten readiness section the kids have been reviewing shapes and colors. Maddie has been pointing out rectangles, circles, and ovals everywhere we go. Even Ella is getting good at them.

Last Thursday we went on our Nature Walk. Ella was ready to go in her pink leisure suit.

The kids used "nature viewers" to look around them. They caught rolly pollies, picked my flowers, spied colors in nature, and rolled down the hills at the park. We ended with a hot dog roast in one family's fire pit.
This week we are talking about apples trees and seeds. We made seed collages, looked at the star in the middle of an apple, and ate homemade applesauce.

We also started this experiment and the kids can't wait to come back and see how it's going!

Checkmate!

Mike has a new match in chess (he has tried to teach me before but it never sticks). After explaining the rules, Maddie 's first independent turn was to coolly bump a pawn with her Bishop in the correct diagonal move! She has "won" twice now and loves to announce checkmate!

Fall Activities

Monday night we picked our first pumpkins. We deemed two orange enough to go on the front porch.

The girls were so proud of them.

They are not very big but it's fun that we grew them ourselves.


Dana came over last night and we made applesauce. My whole kitchen was a sticky mess, but it sure made the house smell yummy!

Maddie requested that we rake our leaves today. We don't have many yet but we collected enough to cover each other.

Winding up for a jump!

I love how Maddie remembers things we did last year, and how Ella joins in with wild abandon and has just as much fun trying new things!


I have such great memories of jumping in the leaves as a kid. Nothing says fall like crispy leaves in your hair and underwear. :)