This sweet, thoughtful, energetic, creative and silly little lady turned 5 in October. I wanted her day to be special so I let her decide how things should go.
She wanted a pony pinata and with limited choices in town, we decided to make our own.
This is how it turned out. Can you tell it's a pony head?? Teslyn has five fingers for turning five years old.
When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, I fully expected her to name some princess or pony or something else she loves to be turned into a cake. Not this girl. She's all about flavor and color and if it tastes good and looks pretty that's all that matters. We went with a homemade yellow funfetti cake with strawberry buttercream frosting. And she wanted to be able to decorate it just how she likes it. I let her pick out the candy and sprinkles herself too. She takes her cakes very serious.
She has been working on writing her name and wanted to spell it on her cake as well. She did awesome!!
Look at that face! So full of adoration and pride for her masterpiece! And most of all, excitement to eat it!!
She also chose to have cupcake flavored Italian Sodas with her cake. She loved that.
We weren't sure where to hang the pinata since it was dark outside, so Nick very bravely held it up with the broomstick while the kids smashed it in to get the goods out. It was fun. We've decided to have friend birthday parties on only the even numbered birthdays so Teslyn gets to wait for that for her next one.
After Teslyn's birthday we moved full-fledged into Halloween time! This is a really cute pumpkin patch out in the country a few minutes from our house.
Couldn't decide which picture I liked best so here are the both!
Mia (13 months) discovered how fun it can be to climb up into the dishwasher when it's open. Her favorite is to grab a bowl and spoon and pretend to stir stuff. She is also really good at finding necklaces and putting them all on.
Here she is with the necklaces on again, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the ipad and signing "more." She must have been wanting more of a snack or treat! That's about the only sign we can get her to use.
Sweet baby face sleeping in the car.
Our strawberry patch, which we were obviously really excited about, was starting to slow down as the days were getting shorter and cooler in October. Here Nick is gathering one of our last harvests before the frost came.
Nick also picked apples from a co-workers tree and brought them home for me to make applesauce with. It was my first time, and so easy and yummy. I will be doing that every fall for sure.
Cute girls picking pumpkins from the grocery store. (Where they are a lot less expensive than the pumpkin patch. Shhh!)
Mia was so excited to be big enough to ride in the shopping cart car!
I loved running outside in the early summer mornings, but the days were getting shorter and there wasn't enough light to make me feel safe so I started to run with Mia in the jogging stroller while Teslyn was in preschool.
Those October mornings with the crisp air and colorful leaves were something else. I just love it so much. Can't wait to do that again.
In October we also decided it would be a great idea to buy a couple used vending machines. Why not, right? The CEO of the clinic that Nick works in gave us the ok so we did it. It's a busy clinic and patients that are there for long waits have asked about places to buy food so Nick decided to act on that need and make some money off it. We found a candy machine in Coeur d'Alene and a soda machine in Spokane. Those machines are really heavy. It was a long a stressful day but it all worked out and has been totally worth it!
The idea was for it to be a way for Owen to have a little job where he would keep the machines stocked and collect the money. Nick will take the kids to do that about every other Saturday. One machine has already paid for itself! Owen even gets to pay tithing on the money that is collected.
We've been surprised at how much candy bars the employees in that building consume! We might be able to pay for a trip to Disneyland in a year or two if we are lucky.
Back to Halloween time! I made a couple batches of my annual caramel apples to send to work with Nick and give to ladies I visit teach. They are a favorite treat around here.
Nick and I get really into Halloween and we try to get something each year to add to our decor. This year it was this creepy ghost for the playroom window above the garage. At night I put a black light lamp under him and turn on his glowing red eyes. It looked very cool! We are not afraid to do things scary around here. The kids love it too.
Owen was a green ninja.
Teslyn chose to be a little witch.
Mia was a little pumpkin!
Mommy witch and her little witch. I am a witch every year. It's fun for me.
Before dinner I took the kids trick-or-treating up and down the main touristy street in town because the shops hand out treats for the kids. It's super cute and fun. The best was this random pirate and his booty chest on wheels.
Then we went home and had a feast on a dead body for dinner. Salad brains, Stew guts, breadstick bones. It was pretty quick and easy compared to some previous years.
After filling the tummies with healthy food, I took them out in the dark to treak-or-treat in the oldest, spookiest neighboorhood in town! Not really, but kind of. It's so fun. Nick stays home with the baby to hand out candy because he knows I enjoy running around in the dark a lot more than him. And that's what it's all about to me. Not the candy. The candy gets rationed for a few days then hidden and forgotten then thrown away a few months later when I find it again.
We love Halloween!
What better way to end October than a visit to the temple to redeem the dead? ;-) The day after Halloween I removed my black nail polish and drove the 1 1/2 hours to the Spokane LDS Temple.
Nick and I take turns going every other month. It's not ideal but it's what works for us right now since we live farther away. I enjoy having the day to myself to spend in the temple then grab some lunch and do a little shopping in the big city without any kids!
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