Halloween 2017

So Halloween was a little bit different last year. The night before our very packed and exciting day Mia came down with pink eye.   I was not optimistic that the day was going to be a happy one for all involved, but tried to change my attitude. We have a friend in the ward who is an ophthalmologist (Brother Bowman) and he called Mia in a prescription after Jon sent him a picture of her goopy eyes. We started the drops that night (knowing that once she was on them for a day she'd no longer be contagious) and were reassured that if she stayed quarantined during the day she'd be fine to go trick or treating in the evening.   

Jon got to go see Lydia perform at school with the rest of the first grade in their Halloween concert. She did a great job! And being the sweet and considerate girl that she is, she took off her witch hat so that she wouldn't be blocking any of her classmates. Love her!

Sophie had a great time at her class party. Her teacher said she didn't need any help so we stayed away and enjoyed hearing about it later. Couldn't have gone with Mis'a pink eye anyway! And then she got to come with me to Lydia's. Jon was able to stay home with Mia so I could do what I needed to at school. Being the room mother I got to plan it and we had plenty of support from the other parents. One of the moms volunteered to do face paint but couldn't stay the whole time so I got to fill in for her while she was away. And I tried out my skills on Sophie first. I definitely could use some practice but the kids loved it and the party in general was a smashing success! Two classes and forty some odd kids. I love being in the classroom again! So glad that everything came together.

And the actual trick or treating was the best. As always. Trips to the grandparents to start the evening. Late afternoon, actually. Nothing terrifying happened at either grandparents. Which was a bit of a shock and rather unusual after previous years encounters. And Uncle Tophe offered to watch the house. So nice that we could all go out together! Mia kept saying, "This is fun!" after trick or treating at each house. Until she didn't.  And then she let us  know that we could go home at any time. But seriously, getting candy from neighbors?! Is there anything better than that?!! Soph refusing gloves and running ahead leading the way. Always our fearless leader! Pretty sure her hands felt like ice when I finally got to see how she was doing. Lydia hesitating at every single home. "Do they have a dog???" So. Slow. Going.  The dog fear was real. But the girls really like the Waters dog Granger. Liked, I should say. We asked TJ about Granger and if she'd been put in a room for the night so she wouldn't run out when trick or treaters came. And that's when we found out that poor Granger had passed away. Hopefully we didn't make things too awkward! And Lydia survived the rest of the night. Always hesitating at each door until she knew she wasn't going to be surprised by a barking dog. Mia saying, "daddy! Swedish fish are not sour!" Soph's cat Midnight joined us for the evening and Soph insisted on going to the Greens after each house. She kept riding her broom from house to house. Hat's flying off every ten feet. Bowman's checking in on Mia to see how she was doing. I love our neighbors and neighborhood! Such a fun night!

 And just because I can't resist. Let's talk about our pumpkin carving for a minute. Sophie's sweet Primary teachers (Brother and Sister Hayes) gutted pumpkins for her and her entire Primary class. Soph told me how she wanted the face to look and I went to work. I know I'm not a pro. Jon is. And he's had so much fun letting the girls choose which Halloween picture they want transferred onto their pumpkins. And they always look so professional! But this year we had an extra unaccounted for pumpkin that was gifted to us and I went to work on it. 

Basically it's a reject. A total reject. Poor guy wants to be part of the cool kids. But as you can see he's separated from the others by Sophie's broom. He's not sitting in front of any of our girls. Can we just talk about this for a minute? It would seem that everything I put my hand to turns to dust. Or just sadness. Jess tried to make me feel better by saying he's the cute goofy pumpkin friend. So sweet. 

I'm going to tell myself that...  But let's be honest, Jon and I just about died laughing at my goofy pumpkin reject next to his professionally carved masterpieces. And he didn't even get out all his cool carving tools for these beauties!

Lydia and her tender heart

 In early September of last year when Hurricane Harvey hit Lydia came home telling us that her teacher, Mrs. Eskelsen, was a hurricane survivor. The school had told the students about what was happening in Houston and Lydia told me, nearly in tears, as we walked home about a woman walking in muddy water with her dog on her shoulders. She said that the homes and the cars were full of water. She described images she'd seen of muddy water and the streets being full of it and people losing their homes because things were so bad.

The school was collecting stuffed animals for the kids who had lost so much in addition to collecting money so that they could raise funds for a particular school in Houston. Lydia wanted to be a part of it so much. She ran right upstairs when we got home with a Ziplock back, determined to fill it up with the coins in her piggy bank. She said she'd promised her teacher and that it was her money and that these poor kids needed it so badly. She found two stuffed animals she wanted to donate. And she couldn't stop her tears while she talked about it and how she needed to donate to both the BYU and Utah bins so that it would be fair. The school was making the donations a competition by letting the kids choose which school to donate to including Utah State. And seeing as we cheer for both the Y and the U how could Lydia possibly choose?? So we sent her with some money (not her piggy bank collection) and she donated to both schools.

After the Houston fundraiser discussion in class Lydia went up to Mrs. Hilton and said, "I really like all my stuffed animals." So Mrs. Hilton told her, "it's okay sweetie, you don't have to give any of them away." And Lydia stood there for a minute and said, "no. I do. Those kids need them more than I do." So Mrs. Hilton told her she would love to take her home with her and Lydia said, "that's what Miss Shelley said last year!" I love this little girl and her tender/giving heart. And I'm glad her teachers love her too!

 On picture day she dressed up in a pretty flower dress with a white flower in her hair. I curled her hair and she was all set to go. When I picked her up from school both the secretary and one of her teachers told me that she had a scare with a bee. And she was pretty upset about it. So I asked her about it. And she said, "Mom! I can't ever wear this dress again! The bees totally thought I was a flower and landed on me!" It was definitely a little traumatizing for her. She didn't even want to put flowers in her hair after that. Not that I blame her. Bees are not my favorite either and if we can keep our distance from each other, so much the better!

Back to the fundraiser. Lydia ended up bringing in a stuffed animal each day the donations were being collected that first week. It made her so happy to think that some poor kid who had been through so much would get to have a little something to cheer him or her up. I hope she stays so positive and kind and generous always!