Harvest Festival and Scary Face Pankcakes

So, the first two pictures of this post really have nothing to do with the rest. ha!  I just had to share them.  This morning, I stepped outside to take Evan to school.  In one side of the sky, there was a beautiful full arch rainbow.

To the east, was a beautiful sunrise.  I couldn't help but marvel at God's handiwork.  It was so amazing and beautiful!

This evening, my crew of 4 plus Sarah and Silas went to our church's Harvest Festival.  We had such a great time!  When we got there, Evan and Silas had fun playing musical chairs.

Payton and Sarah won pop playing a game of ring toss.

 Karsyn and Addi's first order of business was to get their faces painted. 

Karsyn got a horse.

Addi got a purple seahorse.  Would you expect anything else?

Payton played Putt Putt.

As did the little ladies.

Check out that swing!

 Payton and Karsyn LOVED playing musical chairs too.  They won quite a few times.

Evan and Silas had so much fun!

Bowling with Karsyn and Addi cracked everyone up.  The ball kind of went everywhere!

Look at that form!

The duck game is always a favorite.  The little ladies played it about 8 times.

Before we left, Payton got her face painted.  She looked like a doll.

After the festival, we headed to IHOP for free scary face pancakes.  You know, because we didn't get enough sugar from the carnival. =)  You may question my sanity for taking 6 kids to a sit down restaurant on my own way past bed time.  I pondered this myself as I was driving there.  I'm pleased to say they were all great!

It was such a nice night!

Life Lately

This week, we celebrated Red Ribbon Week at school.  The kiddos had some sort of special way to dress every day to bring home the point that drugs are not something you want to mess with.  Tuesday was wear red day.

  Later in the week, was Wacky Tacky day at Payton and Addi's school.  Addi was quite wacky and tacky.  The big sis was too cool to get her picture made at school. 

This week, the kiddos and I went for a nice long walk at the park.  Sometimes, a walk just does you good.

 Karsyn had her Fall/Orange Party this week at school.  I sneaked out of my class party to grab a few pictures of her having fun with the parachute.  

Evan was one of a handful of students selected to go to an Extreme Math field trip.  Jason went along too.  These guys had so much fun and learned so much.  They got to watch a presentation from the world champion human calculator.  I loved the pictures my guys took in the photo booth.

Seventh graders are weird. 

Karsyn, Evan, and I have been able to walk a few times this week to get the girls from school.  Karsyn loves to run!  She is sooooooo fast!

 Addi made a great jump shot at basketball practice this week. I love it!  She's always so excited when she makes a basket.

Other than helping Payton with a big report she has due and making 1,240 trips to Wal-Mart for Halloween party items, that's what our little family has been doing.  Hope you have a Happy Friday!

What's Up Wednesday {October 2015}

It's the last Wednesday of the month, that means it's time for the What's Up Wednesday link-up.

Answer these questions and link you post here to join in on the fun.

The bonus question this month is - What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe?

What we're eating this week...

This is a crazy, busy week.  Aren't they all?  So, we are sticking with some fast favorites - taco salad, turkey chili, baked chicken, crock pot pork chops, and sandwiches.  

What I'm reminiscing about...

All about Halloween.  It's such a fun family night.  Here's one of my favorite pictures from when we only had 3 kiddos.  I just love this!

In 2012, we started the tradition of taking our Halloween pictures in Uncle Billy's front yard.  I really look forward to this every year.

And here's our little family last year.

What I'm loving...

I'm loving the My Fitness Pal App.  I've been keeping count of my calories for a little over 3 weeks now.  This app makes it soooo easy.

What we've been up to...

Dance, GoJu, Gymnastics, Basketball, Academic Team, Band, Master's Club, Youth Group, Lego League, Geography Bee, After school tutoring....I've got some pretty active kids and I do a lot of juggling.

What I'm dreading...

Trying to do all the housework I need to get done this weekend.  We have so much planned, yet there is so much that I need to get done.

What I'm working on...

We've been working on Evan's bedroom for a while now.  From the floor up, everything's been changed.  We have some finishing touches on the floor that Jason's working on as I blog. =)  Then, we have to find something for those walls.  I've also been working on our dining room/office decor.  We recently hung this picture and decal.  I really like how it looks.

What I'm excited about...

I get to see my sister and my niece Jessi tomorrow.  I haven't told the kiddos they are coming in yet.  I'm going to surprise Payton and Addi at their class parties by having J-Bird show up.  I love it!  I'm hoping Karsyn can keep the secret.  She asked me if Jessi was coming and when I said, "I can't say."  She asked, "Well, is someone from Missouri coming?"  She's too smart for her own good.  I'm not sure how we'll surprise Evan just yet.  We have to think of something good.

What I'm watching/reading...

The only show in it's current season that I watch each week is Grey's Anatomy.  The girls and I also watch Dancing with the Stars when we remember it's on.

What I'm listening to...

We LOVE the new song "Feel It" by Toby Mac.  It's so fun to sing.  Every time we are driving down the road and it comes on, we blare it and all sing along.  Click here if you'd like to listen to it.

What I'm wearing...

A jack-o-lantern shirt with cupcake smears all over.  I also keep finding stickers in my hair.  I'm a preschool teacher and it's party week.  Enough said.

What I'm doing this weekend...

We are going to our church's carnival on Friday.  On Saturday, we have a basketball game, birthday party, and trick or treating.  I can't wait to spend time with family.

What I'm looking forward to next month..

Addi's basketball wraps up next month and then Payton's starts.  It's been a year since Payton's played.  I can't wait to watch her again.

What else is new...

Nothing really. =)

What is your favorite Thanksgiving recipe?

If you are looking for a very easy low calorie, low fat recipe, you might try this Pineapple Angel Food Sheet Cake.  It's so light and so moist and you don't have to feel guilty about eating it.

I look forward to doing this link up again next month.

The Weekend What

This weekend was a whole lot of busy and a whole lot of fun.  Friday after school, we took Addi to speech therapy, then, rushed Evan to his friend Kyle's 13th birthday party. The girls and I grabbed a quick dinner, picked up Miss Emily, and then went to a painting class.  I was so excited when the art studio offered a pumpkin session.  I really love watching these girls paint.

   Here's their finished products.  This one is Payton's.  Mr. Johnson said that Payton's was really, really good!  Then, he looked and me and said, "I'm not just saying that either."

This was Karsyn's very first painting class and I think she did great.  I didn't help her at all.  She worked so hard to follow the directions. I love all of her autumn leaves.

 Addi took a few more artistic liberties than the other girls.  You can see that she painted a rainbow in her  leaves and made her pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.

 Emily did amazing!  She has so much natural talent.  Emily was so sweet and let me keep her painting.  It had nothing to do with the fact that I begged, pleaded, and cried. ha ha ha!

Here are my artists with their masterpieces.

When we got home, I hung Emily and Payton's painting up by the pumpkin picture that my Grandma Paula painted.  I love having all of these pumpkins in my kitchen.  I have the perfect spot for Addi and Karsyn's paintings, I just need to find some easels first.

Saturday morning we got up bright and early.  Payton had to be at her school for Lego League.  It was picture day for Addi in basketball, so we had to be at her game early.  The Lego League sponsor is also Addi's 1st grade teacher, she was kind enough to give Payton a ride to Addi's game after their meeting.  Here's Addi out on the court.

During half time, Addi made her very first lay up.  Her cheering section went wild!  This game was a little harder fought, but the Pink Panthers still pulled out a win.  Saturday evening after Jason got off of work, Evan and he went to clean out his car.  Our plans for the evening were to go grab Stephen and then head out to Grandma and Papa's house to celebrate Papa's birthday with Uncle Brian and Aunt Stephanie.  The girls got a little antsy so we waited outside for the boys to get home.

After we got to Grandma's house, Evan and Stephen played a game of Chess.  Evan won this game, so a rematch was in order.

 For dinner, we gathered around the fire pit to roast wieners.  It was a first for the kiddos and they LOVED it, but no one as much as Karsyn.  She enjoyed it so much!

 I think I'm going to put a fire pit on my Christmas list, because this was so much fun.

 I'm not sure what Evan was trying here. ha ha ha!  Oh, and doesn't Mr. Stephen look nice in his new contacts?

 This picture of Karsyn and Uncle Brian is just way too cute!

 After hot dogs and s'moores, no one really wanted cake.  But, we still sang happy birthday to Papa and he blew out his candles.

Then, it was present time.  Karsyn, in her totally Karsyn way, explained what everything was to Papa and how to open gifts. LOL!

 Then, we played a few party games.  Grandma came up with some Minute to Win it type games.  The first game was to see who could pull the most tissues out of the box the quickest.  It was Addi vs. Karsyn and the baby sister won.  Although, we were all mildly certain that she cheated.

Up next, was Mr. Stephen vs. Evan. Evan took the win for our team.

We played a few more games, then the kiddos wanted to play some board games.  Stephen beat Payton in a game of Chess.  Payton's been learning how to play in G.T., so it was a little bit of a harder fought game than Stephen had anticipated.  Before we left, Evan and Stephen had a rematch.  Their game was a draw.  I think everyone enjoyed their evening.

Sunday morning, we got up and went to church.  Jason and I had a great lesson in Sunday School and the sermon was also great. After church, we headed to Aldi to buy groceries.  Luckily, it wasn't too crowded and I was glad to get it all done early in the day.  That afternoon, I took a lovely nap.  It was so nice!  Sunday evening, we did some pumpkin carving.  Here's our first jack-o-lantern of the season.

Karsyn fell asleep before we got this pumpkin carved, so we'll do one more before the end of the week.  We have a crazy week ahead of us and I think I'm ready for it.  Hope you had a great weekend too!