The Travelocity Gnome costume

Adam is funny when it comes to Halloween costumes. He never wants to be what I want him to be which this year, was a soccer goalie ghost. I got him to dress up as the ghost for his friend's halloween party last week, due to lack of having anything else, but I could tell he was not happy with it. A few days after the party he came to me and told me he wanted to be the Travelocity Gnome. Okaaaay! (note sarcasm). So, on to the internet I went trying to see if they even have those costumes. The answer to that was Yes - for $39.99. No way am I spending $40 on a costume for Halloween. So, I gave Adam two choices: 1. Be the goalie ghost (which I thought turned out awesome) or 2. I will make you a Travelocity Gnome costume. He begrudgingly chose the second option. So, I went to Target and purchased an oversized mens blue shirt and then went to Roberts and got stiff felt, red posterboard, and ribbon and came up with this (all for around $10):

Pretty good if I do say so myself. Adam was even impressed and that is hard to do.

Alex and Abbi were much easier to dress. Abbi decided she wanted to be a 50's girl and we found this cute costume at Walmart:

Alex changed his mind several times. Throughout Halloween day he went from being a Lego Knight to a pirate to Elmo. For Trick-or-treating he was this:

Carving pumpkins

We bought a fat orange pumpkin

The plumpest sort they sell.
We neatly scooped the inside out
And only left the shell.

We carved a funny funny-face

Of silly shape and size,
A pointy nose, a jagged mouth
And two enormous eyes.

We set it in a window

And we put a candle in,

Then lit it up for all to see

Our jack-o'lantern grin.

Happy Halloween!

My fabulous girls weekend in Disneyland

What can I say about 4 fun-filled days with my friends in the Happiest Place on Earth? It was a fabulous, entertaining, rejuvenating, happy, laughable, stay-up-all-night, laugh-till-you-hurt, free-fallin', good time. It was so nice to get away with Lori, Shelly, and Debbie and what a better place to go than Disneyland. We left our families Thursday morning with a kiss and jump in our step and made our way to the airport. After a short 2 hour flight, we skipped off the plane and headed straight towards Disneyland. From that moment on it was non-stop laughter and fun as we rode screamin', Tower of Terror, Madderhorn, Peter Pan, teacups (well I watched on that one), The haunted house, Midway Mania, Splash Mountain... well you get the idea. We hardly slept and by the end of our trip our stomachs hurt from laughing so hard everyday... Poor Armand (but that is a whole other story.) By the end of our 4 day vacation, we had ridden every ride (sometimes two or three times) and eaten our way through every churro stand. We were so sad to see it come to end but have vowed to make it an annual event. Thanks Ladies for being a kid with me again and for making our trip to Disneyland so much fun!

MMM, Churros!

Being Brave on the Tower of Terror

(Notice the death grip Shelly has on Lori and Debbie. She wasn't going to let them chicken out.)

Me, Shelly, Lori, and Debbie

General Conference Weekend

I haven't always loved General Conference - especially as a child but as I have grown "wiser" I have come to love and look forward to General Conference. To hear the testimonies and the counsel of our leaders is so motivating and uplifting and the spirit it brings into our home is amazing and peaceful. This past weekend was no different. I loved listening to the many talks and it never fails that one or two of the talks seem to have been written specifically for me. I can't wait to receive the Conference talk edition of the Ensign so I can re-read the talks.

One of my favorite things about General Conference is that it gives me a chance to get with my family and do some crafting. While the men went to Priesthood session, here is what my mom, my sister, and I did. It was so easy and so much fun. The idea and the kit for these cute pumpkins can be found here on my sister's blog. She is so creative!

During Sunday's session, Alex and I made yummy chocolate chip pumpkin bread while Adam and Abbi made scrapbook pages. It made for an enjoyable afternoon.