Halloween Festivities

Tonight we had our traditional dinner of goulosh and cornbread at Grandma and Grandpa Clark's house.  My kids LOVE this tradition!

Here is the group that made it to dinner!

Clark and Austin on their way trick-or treating,
Bennett, Matthew, Kyle, Carson and Tanner...
And here is Haley's costume for school this morning.

It's been a "Hauntingly" fun day!

Happy Halloween

This past week, as we headed out the door to a neighborhood trunk or treat, and with 15 minutes notice, this is what the kids came up with.

They had broken all the rules:  NO cross-dressing and NO masks!

P.S. (Thanks to Cassidy for some respect!)
It wasn't that long ago that my preparations for Halloween began in July.  I would painstakingly sew each costume and think through all the details.  I felt like I was really doing something important as a mom to put such tender loving care into each child's costume.  

And if I do say so, they were darn CUTE!

Oh, to be young again!

HSM3

We arrived at the theatre at 10:30pm looking refreshed and alert, ready for the 12:01am showing of the long anticipated "High School Musical 3".It didn't take long until we were doing this.....
The girls were so excited to get decked out in their favorite HSM3 apparel...

to enjoy a really fun night with lots of friends watching a very "cheesy" movie!
I am now waiting up for Cassidy to return home from her HSM3 experience...

and I am TIRED!

Hurry home, Cass!

Tonight's the Night!

Curt and I, along with Haley and some friends, will be waiting in line for the midnight showing of this ...
And I couldn't be more excited...seriously!

So "Boo-tiful!

Every so often, Tia needs a creative outlet. School and work alone, can only be fun for so long. Today's inspiration was a cute little cookie she saw on Aunt Liz's blog. (We love to copy!).
So she packaged them up cute and took them as a little treat to the sisters that she visit teaches. (and it's only the 23rd of the month!)


Way to go, Tia. Not only are the cookies "boo-tiful", but so are YOU!

Nutter Butter cookies
Dip in white chocolate (melted almond bark or white chocolate chips)
Mini chocolate chips for eyes and mouth
Let harden on wax paper

Christian and Stephanie Fundraising Carnival

Buddy and Tia brought the kids that they worked with during the summer to check out the carnival.  David and Monica loved everything, especially dancing with the puppets!

Haley and Julie
Cassidy and Taylor worked a shift in one of the booths
Here is just a glimpse of the cuteness of it all.  There was not one detail left undone!

Christian and Stephanie Fundraising Carnival

Here are some more pictures from the carnival.  

Notice our awesome ward members working hard in the very WARM Arizona afternoon heat.

Christian and Stephanie Fundraising Carnival

Cassidy's picture was in the newspaper Sunday as part of an article about the fundraising carnival put on to benefit Christian and Stephanie Nielson.  It is unbelievable how much time, talent and love was put into this carnival.  We had many members from our ward who really made this happen.  The whole event looked awesome!  

At the end of the carnival there was a balloon launch with notes of love attached to the balloons for the Nielson family.   Each balloon had a silhouette of Christian or Stephanie. 

 That's where Cassidy's picture comes in!

A Mom's Payday!

Bennett was awarded the "Citizenship" award for his class today, along with his friend, Brooke. His teacher has told me on a couple of different occasions what a special boy Bennett is. I couldn't agree more! Bennett has a tender heart. He loves animals, babies and is so kind to those with special needs. One little girl in his class, who is autistic, loves to sit by him at lunch and tell everyone, "I love Bennett!" The teacher has kindly told her that she probably shouldn't say that out loud at school because it could embarrass him. He also loves our little neighbor girl, Lauren, who has Down Syndrome. Whenever she comes over she asks for Bennett.

Not only is Bennett kind to others, but he is so thoughtful and considerate of me. Every night, before he goes to bed, he finds me in the house and gives me a kiss and tells me he loves me. Every morning before he leaves for school he shouts good bye with another "I love you". He is always quick to thank me for doing his laundry, making his lunch, fixing dinner, etc. Whenever we are together, he always opens doors for me and at church he carries my big, gigantic, enormous church bag. (and the other kids wonder why he gets away with things! I tell them to watch and learn!)

Today was a mom's payday...I am feeling very rich!

Family Pictures

Family pictures can be so stressful...as you can tell from the first picture! We managed to survive, thanks to awesome sis-in-law Jen, who was the photographer of choice! We were able to capture a few fun pictures and maybe even one for a Christmas card (that will be a surprise!) Here are a few of our favorites...

October Break (part 2)

The second day of break was spent doing a few projects around the house...

Putting up some Halloween/Harvest decor

Scalping, thatching, and seeding the winter lawn. Clark and Bennett were great helpers and stuck by Curt's side all day long. They even helped do Brother Standage's yard next door.

Eating lots and lots of fresh Utah peaches

Filling our water barrels for the year supply

Planting beautiful red geraniums in the front entry

It was a great break...now we are ready for a vacation!

October Break (part 1)

The kids were out of school, Thursday and Friday, October 9th and 10th, for October Break. Since Tia did not have the luxury of a break from school, we decided to stay close to home and get a few projects done and have some fun!

Bounce U with half of the neighborhood

Hanging out with friends, very BEST friends

Family pictures (post to come later)

So far, we are having a blast being at home and enjoying the awesome October weather!

Temple Blessings

Curt took three of the kids to do Baptisms for the Dead with E.T. and his girls. The kids always love to be able to go to the temple and feel the spirit there. Grandma tries to keep some family names in her desk drawer at the temple for the kids to do when they come. The highlight is being able to see Grandma and Grandpa, all dressed in white "doing the work". Thanks to a great dad who took time off of work to make it happen!

Encore, Please!

I loved choir in junior high. My required solos were not the most memorable. "You Light Up My Life" and "Superstar" by the Carpenters were just a couple that haunt me. Even then, I was still surprised that not one of my girls ever gave choir a try. I tried to convince them that it was fun! That they would meet lots of great kids, and that it was an easy "A". They just wouldn't do it.

So, how surprised do you think I was, when in the middle of his 6th grade year, Clark announced that he was going to take choir at Poston. I was so excited! I tried not to make a big deal of it, but inside I was hoping that his desire wouldn't fade.

Tonight my dream as a mother came true! Clark performed in his first choir concert! He looked soooo cute in his bow tie and suspenders. And although he didn't crack a smile on stage, I could tell he was loving it, too! It made for a perfect FHE activity and to honor the new choir boy, a trip to Golden Spoon was in order!

Thanks, Clark....You light up my life!

General Conference

I love General Conference weekend.

I love watching "my men" go to the Priesthood session.

I love relaxing at home with my family and listening to our
prophet and apostles.

I love fixing a big brunch...french toast, buttermilk syrup, omelettes.

I love having my husband home all day Sunday.

I love that the phone doesn't ring.

I love hearing the kids say, "That was such a good story".

I love hearing my teenagers quote scripture references
that they recognize.

I love watching my girls take notes on the different speakers.

I love the feeling that I get when I hear truth spoken.

I love the goosebumps and chills that I feel when the choir sings.

I love going to the Stake Center for the last session of conference
with all the kids in tow and being one of a handful of people there.

I love it all!

Car Show

The past two years Poston has put on a car show as a fund raiser. All the student council officers and reps are required to participate. It is a big undertaking! The kids were all up at the event at 6:00am Saturday morning and worked through the day. One of Curt's partners/friends showcased his car in the show. Curt enjoyed explaining Dave's car to a few onlookers and Tim reminisced of his high school days in the 70's in a car just like the one at the show.

We brought carne asada tacos up to the kids who were STARVING! They loved us!

We hope in the future the car show is not on conference weekend. We missed having them with us as we watched the first day of conference.