Carving Pumpkins

We carved our pumpkins tonight.  I almost forgot!  We have been so busy 'doing' Halloween that I almost forgot the most important decorations!  Hailey wanted a scary face and Paige wanted triangles.  For the big one we attempted to make it a girl and give her eyelashes. 

Here's a link to last year's carving...they are growing so fast! 

Hailey drawing the face

Paige drawing the face

She is so sweet!  Our Chickadee.

Along the walk of the house

Final product


Carmel Apples

The other morning Hailey asked to make an apple pie.  So yep, I went to the store and bought a bag full of Granny Smith apples.  There were so many in the bag that I also got some Carmel to make Carmel apples.  Some how, I was able to get only Hailey in the kitchen one afternoon after her nap.  Paige was busy playing in the play area.  So I had her help make the apples.  And yes, they turned out even better because she wore her Super Ballerina costume. 

Both eating them.  Paige dressed as a gymnist. 
That's what she was playing in the play area. 

Waldorf Halloween Carnival

 

On Saturday night the girls' Waldorf school had a Halloween Carnival.  The High School students put it on and manned all the games and activities.  All of the costumes had to be original (no cartoon characters, violence, etc).  They had games, a cake walk (that Hailey won!), food, horse rides, bonfires and much more fun.  It was Brian's first time on campus and the girls were very excited to show him around and most important for him to see the goats, geese, ducks, chickens, sheep and pig.  My mom was able to come with us which made is extra special for the girls.  They love her so much.  It was a really fun night.   

 

Ready to watch a puppet show

Decorating cookies with Nanny

Mama in the picture

A new fav of mine.

Paige playing bean bag toss

Hailey playing bean bag toss

Nanny, who held their magic wands all night. 

Super Ballerinas!

Hailey

Paige

 

The debut of the Halloween costumes finally got to occur last Saturday night.  After my attempt to make seahorse costumes, the backup plan turned into Super Ballerinas.  My mom and I added some sequins to some arm guards and socks and made crowns and magic wands, put a cape with a tutu and TaDa!!!!...Super Ballerinas.  The LOVE the costumes.  They especially like accessories, so this fit the bill perfectly.  They are really cute and love sharing their magical powers of creating unicorns, flowers, rainbows and sunshine.   Happy Halloween!

The Bumbebee

Just a sweet pic of my Bumblebee heading to school.  I LOVE Gymboree's clothes.  This is an outfit I got at a secret box sale probably for about $7.00 including the socks and hair ties.  Box Sale's ROCK!

Adobe Fall Fling

Paige's school does a fun Fall Fling each year where they have a few carnival games, crafts, food and one big event.  Along with wearing your favorite fall attire (no costumes) it was also Crazy Hair Day.  I found a cute idea of putting the plastic spider rings in their hair on Pinterest.  Me, being my sometimes frugal self, had kept the rings that they gathered Trick or Treating last year and used them.  It turned out really cute.  Last year the big event it was a Reptile display.  This year it was a fire truck!  Very cool.  Both girls got to attend along with me.  We had a really nice morning.  I feel so lucky that their schools do something special for holidays.  I have a few friends who have said their children's schools don't or can't celebrate.  That makes me feel sad for them.  We have had such fun at all our events.  Here are a few pics of the girls at Adobe. 

Hailey's hair 'do

Paige's 'do

Hailey face painting

 

Paige face painting

Paige playing games with her school friends

Hailey playing games and eating popcorn

Paige with her new teacher, Mrs. Hart

Both with Paige's current teacher, Mrs Hamilton who is
 due to go out on maternity leave any day!

Firefighter Paige

Mama in the picture putting out the fire

Holding the fire hose

October Swimming

We put a cover on the pool in order to extend our swim time.  We can usually swim through the end of October.  This was last Friday, Oct 22 and the girls were swimming at 5pm.  Yes, life in Arizona is awesome....and....they are two very lucky girls.

DZ Founder's Day

 

I will admit, I enjoy entertaining.  This is one interest that I inherited from my mom.  She does an over the top job of hosting parties.  We love Christmas time at her house.  Her decorations are BEAUTIFUL.  So I volunteered to host my sorority alumnae group at my house for our Founder's Day reception.  Ok, so I forgot that in October we reseed our lawn.  Which makes everything smell like manure and you can't walk on it.  Luckily my mom, does not do this to her lawn, so she allowed me to host the party at here house!  Yippee!  We had a ton of fun getting things organized and planning the event together.  She was a lot of help to me.  We had fresh flowers on all the tables and little touches of DZ throughout the house that I found on Pinterest.  It was a lovely party with several alum getting awards for 25, 35 and 75 years of membership.  The 75 year one was given to a woman who was 98 years old!  Wow. 

 

Pool side tables

Desset table

Pinterest

Pi Zetas from ASU reciting ceremony

The group!

US Presidential Debates

In the tent

I think I've mentioned that the girls don't get much screen time in their lives.  We feel that TV puts an imprint on their minds and does not allow their own imaginations to think.  Instead it stamps them with what they've seen on TV.   For example, if they watch a show about a horse, they will pretend to be a horse for the day.  Where as if they don't see a TV show, they imagine all sorts of things to be with huge stories behind it.  With this, they thought of it themselves and are learning to think on thier own and develop thier own methods for thinking.  But anyway, that's my convoluted explanation of one reason why they have little screen time. 

 

However, Brian and I find it important and very interesting to know about politics and the goings on the world.  So we really wanted to watch the US Presidential Debates over the last few weeks.  Thus, I succumbed to screen time and allowed them to watch, Barney Halloween and a couple Calliou shows while we watched the debates.  For the first one, I set up a tent with popcorn.  (Then I was picking up popcorn everywhere the next day).  And for another I set them up in their play area with blankets & pillows (no food this time) and they loved it.  As parents, we had to do, what we had to do.  So screen time it was! 

In the play area.  Geez, their eyes are GLUED!

 

A Moment

 

 

The girls come into the house and immediately take off their shoes.  The shoes usually lie in the hall between the laundry room and the family room.  However, this day they actually made it to the family room before taking them off (along with all their clothes).  I at first got frustrated that they had left them in the middle of the floor.  Then actually looked at them and saw how cute the tiny shoes were and was more than happy to scoop them up to take upstairs.  They are growing so fast.  

 

 

PS...I have had them in the brand called "Squeakers" since they started walking.  Theya re fantastic shoes with a big toe box, all leather inside and out and so soft for walking and holding thier precious feet.  

Peddling!

Paige has finally mastered how to peddle her trike.  I think I've mentioned that this is one of the gross motor skills that she hadn't mastered yet.  However she was swimming at the age of 2 1/2 years.  I think she just spends much of her time in the pool and not out to try the trike.  The other day she just got on and started peddling!  She was really excited and now rides it all over the patio.  She steers really well too in order to avoid falling in the pool!  Yay Paige!

(This was a day when the Princesses needed to wear gloves.)

Crafts

 

In our BOOed! box that we received, it included these cute wooden pumpkins that came with markers and wiggly eyes for the girls to craft.  They had a bunch of fun with it.  Hailey's is on the left and Paige's is on the right.  I think they both did a terrific job...but I"m just the Mama.  :)  I put them in my jewelry box and will treasure them forever.  I'll probably wear them when they are 25 yo and don't want to do Halloween with me anymore.   

 

Knowing how much fun we had with the pumpkin pin craft, when we were at the craft store on Saturday I saw these necklaces in the $1 bin so I picked them up.  Very good nurturing of fine motor skills and I had Paige do an ABCD pattern with her beads.  They enjoyed it.  It was also a good lead into learning time. 

Crafting

Hailey

Paige

Oh Bats!

 

Monday we made paperbag puppet bats to get learning time started.  I first read the book, Stellaluna by Janell Cannon.  It's about a bat who is raised by birds adn learns to sleep right side up instead of upside down.  The project was fun and successful.  The girls loved it.  It also transistioned really well into learning time.  I might be starting to get the hang of this learning time stuff.  Whew!

 

 

The bats needed to hang upside down.

Sewing...or pull & tug

Shapes/Geometry