Alissa ordered herself some elf ears for Halloween. This is the first year that she has money, so she's having fun looking for a costume. An elf is just one of her ideas. She also ordered a choker that makes it look like her throat has been cut.
October 16th - This is the Harry Potter Sorting Hat. I just thought I should take pictures before I send it, in case something bad happens to it and I need to prove it was good before I sent it.
October 17th - Brinley's cool Tic Toc video and a Snapchat video that I did.
Somebody on Etsy requested for me to make a hat to look like the character in this book. I really like how it turned out. I almost forgot to make the hat, though. I finished and took it outside for pictures. When I was getting ready to package it, I realized my mistake. So, I quickly whipped up the hat. I only got a few pictures of the owl with the hat, before I packaged it and sent it out.
Brinley wanted brownies for her birthday, instead of cake. I wasn't smart and I put the candles in the hot brownies. The candles started melting into the brownies. That was a bummer.
Brinley is funny. Look how creepy she is in these two pictures. She did a good job looking really scary.
I did another vendor event today. I van't remember the name of it. It didn't go very well. I had been hesitant to do this event in the first place. The person running it, contacted me after I did Tremont Fest. I checked out the location that it was going to be held and decided that maybe I shouldn't do it, since it seems like a place that not many people will come to. It said that it was going to be held at an RV park in Perry, Utah. It seemed really out in the middle of nowhere. I decided not to do it, but the person asked me a second time. I debated for awhile, then the week before, I decided to just do it.
The way it was described was not how it ended up. She made it sound like she was a part of the RV park and this was for the RV park grand reopening. But, she wasn't a part of the RV park. She lived in a house across the street from the park. She had everybody set up their booths in her backyard. It was a horrible location. She had told us there would be bounce houses, a rock climbing wall, swimming, and all sorts of fun. There was fun, but it was all over at the RV park. Not anywhere near where we were set up. Very few people came. A few of the vendors, backed out at the last minute. One vendor, saw where it was, and left before they could set up. Then, when she called them, they told her that they had a family emergency. Another vendor set things up, then took it all down, shortly after it started and it was clear that nobody was going to be coming to this. They told her that they had a family emergency. The person in charge went somewhere for a half an hour or so. While she was gone 3 vendors cleaned up and got the heck out of there. Then, slowly, as the day went on, everybody cleaned up and left. The event was to go from 11:00am to 7:00pm. At 4:30pm, we were the only vendor left, besides the person who organized it. I felt bad leaving and the few people who had actually come to the event, were at my booth painting. I made $38.00. I wouldn't be surprised if I am the only vendor who made money. It was bad.
My cousin Terri was so nice and came to help me out. She brought a canopy. It was so helpful. Her kids were bored out of their minds, but I really appreciated having her there. It was so fun to talk with her. She is really good at business, so I was picking her brain for advice and ideas. Alissa was the only one of our family that came with me. She spent most of the day curled up in a chair and reading her book. It was really a long boring day, since there was hardly any business.
Roger and I went hiking. It was so much fun! I love hanging out with Roger and hiking felt really good. After the hike we went to a weird Italian place and got some really yummy custard and Italian ice. I can't remember what it was called, but it was yummy.
The first part of the hike was really hard. The trail we took was called the Crimson Trail. We heard that there are two different places to start the hike. One way is harder than the other. We choose the one, we thought would be the easiest. We could tell on our way down, that we had taken the easier trail, but it was still really hard. It was a mile of uphill. It was rough, but worth it.
It was a busy day for me. I woke up thinking that I was going to get the kids to school, go to the gym, clean the kitchen and vacuum, then relax and crochet for a little bit before all the Halloween fun started. But, I was wrong! I got a message from a friend asking me about the Halloween party for Brinley's class. I'm a room mom in her class and their party was today at 1:45pm. We had discussed decorating sugar cookies, but when we had that discussion, I thought we were talking about the fall carnival (which we already had). I did the photo booth for the fall carnival, so I just figured that she changed her mind about the sugar cookies. I don't know why I hadn't realized we were talking about the class Halloween party. So, I was surprised to realize that we were in charge of the party and we needed to get on it, since the party was coming fast.
I got the kids off to school and got right to work. The kitchen was a disaster, since I didn't clean it at all last night (because I thought I'd have lots of time in the morning to get it done). There were a ton of dishes to wash and get out of the way, so I'd have room to make my cookies. I got the kitchen clean and started on the cookies. My partner room mom, Shari, went to the store and picked up the things we'd need to decorate them and a few ingredients I needed to make the icing. I worked hard, but not quite fast enough. I was about 10 minutes late to the party. But that's okay. It all worked out. It was just super stressful trying to get everything done in time. The party was a success! The kids had fun! Here are a few pictures of Brinley's class and 2 pictures I made her take with me. She hid behind me in the first one I took. She is really funny and really good at making funny faces right as I snap the picture.
The top picture is Brinley with her whole class. She is, of course, making a funny face.
The kids got home from school and got dressed in their costumes. Parker decided to be a minion, Brinley decided to be a boy, and Alissa had an idea that didn't work out, so she can't decide what she is. She said burn victim at first, then decided zombie, then a neighbor said she looked like road kill. She just couldn't decide what to call herself.
We drove the kids to Kristy Spencer's(the color guard coach) house. She said she'd give lots of candy to anybody who came, since nobody trick-or-treats to her house. Then we stopped at Tonya's, because she also said nobody comes. After that, we dropped Alissa off at Erin's house so she could hang out with her friends on Halloween.
Parker and Brinley were excited to get home and go trick-or-treating with Khloe and her brother Korver.
Parker and Brinley went trick-or-treating to a few houses while they waited for their friends to get here, then they came back and chillaxed with Roger and I. I made some yummy Taco soup. I always forget to make dinner on Halloween. I get so caught up in all the trick-or-treating fun, and I just forget. I'm usually busy helping kids get ready, then I go out with them. I don't even think about dinner until we got home, but by then, I'm too tired and full of candy, so we just skip dinner. It's not a wonderful way to do things, but that's just how it always happens. So, this is the first year in a really long time that I remembered to make dinner. Go me!
Dinner was yummy! Parker and Brinley's friends came and they went out trick-or-treating. Roger and I had been planning to sit out by the fire in the front yard, but it was windy when all the trick-or-treating fun started. So, we decided to wait and see if the wind calmed down. Eventually, it did, so we got to have out fire! I love sitting out by the fire. This was a good night for it too. It was cold, but not too cold. The neighbor next door was dressed up like a creepy clown and he was walking the street, scaring people. It was fun to sit out and watch. 2 boys came to our house and as I was giving them candy, they were looking toward the clown. They told me they aren't scared of much, but clowns freak them out a lot. They were so nervous to get past the clown. They snuck across the street and hid behind a truck. The clown saw them and eventually went walking toward them to surprise them behind the truck. When the boys saw him, they panicked and the both took off running in opposite directions. One kids turned and yelled to the other as he ran, "You went the wrong way!" They were both terrified and kept on running. It was really funny to watch.
Roger and I listened to an episode of 'Lore' while we were out here. We had to keep stopping it when trick-or-treaters came or when Parker and Brinley came home and they would come out to talk to us. It took a long time to get through one episode.
They had a lot of fun trick-or-treating, and, as always, they got a ton of candy on Century Drive. That is the best street on Halloween. We love it. I took a video of the kiddos showing me all the yummy treats that they got.
After going through their candy, the kiddos came out to sit by the fire. But, they thought that was boring, so Brinley asked if we could put the spot light on the trampoline so they could jump. Brinley and Khloe got tired of that really quickly, so they went inside to play. The boys stayed out and kept jumping. Roger saw the clown walking by and he asked him to go in the backyard to scare the boys. It was funny. I tried to get the camera going to record it, but I didn't get the recording started in time. I was a little bummed about that.
Alissa had to wake up early again today. She was so sad to not get to sleep in on her Saturday, but she was okay with it, because it was for Color Guard. She loves Color Guard. The Color Guard met at the school and rode in buses with the band, so they could march in the Peach Days Parade in Brigham City. They were a little worried about how things would go. Apparently, they have had problems in the past with people booing at them. The Box Elder Bees (the high school in Brigham City) are their rivals. I learned that, that is the reason the Bees don't march in the Fair Parade anymore. Too many people were rude and Booed at them. I think that is really sad. Anyway, Alissa was worried about what it was going to be like, because their coach warned them that they had problems in the past. Luckily, they didn't have any problems. Today went really well. We didn't get to go and see her at the parade, but her coach took these pictures and shared them.
Parker was chillaxin' with Forest and wanted me to take their picture.
Alissa ordered a shirt for her birthday. It is a shirt with some reference to a YouTuber she watches. She was so excited to be getting her shirt, but it took almost a month to get here and she was getting impatient and worried it wouldn't come. When Roger checked the mail today, her shirt was in there. He threw the package out of the mail box and into the road and said, "What is this crap doing in here?" Alissa and I both looked at it, confused. Then we realized what it was. Alissa was so excited, she ran to get it, but Roger picked it up again before she could grab it. Then he started running away with it. It was really funny, because he was making funny noises and running in a really weird way. He so goofy! I love it! Anyway, Alissa chased after him trying to get it. I was laughing so much. Then I realized, this is funny, I should be recording this. I pulled out my phone, got it to the camera and tried to hit the record button, but somehow I kept missing it. It's because I was still trying to watch them while I started to record. I finally got the camera recording right as Alissa got her shirt from him. So, I recorded her opening it. She is so happy to finally have her shirt. She loves it! She keeps pointing out that it feels like a lot better quality than any sweatshirt she's had before. She'a really happy about that. She also, discovered that the front pocket is big enough to hold her tablet. It looks funny when she has her tablet in there, but it fits.
We needed to get Forest tired. He was being a stinker, because he had too much energy, so Alissa and I decided to take him for a walk. Parker said that he wanted to go with, but was going to ride his bike. When I let Brinley know we were going, she said she wanted to come also. Then I went to tell Roger we were all going and he decided he would come too. He was finishing something up on the computer, so we waited outside for him for a little while. Alissa is getting really good with her singing and Ukulele playing, so she was outside playing a song. She had decided she was going to take it on the walk with us. I loved the idea of having someone provide the music for our walk, so of course, I said yes. While we were waiting, she noticed her flag sitting in the garage and remembered she is marching in a parade on Saturday, so she decided to take the flag instead. That way she could practice. Brinley and I were bummed not to have her music on our walk, but liked the idea of feeling like we are in our own parade. Brinley carried the ukulele and pretended to play it. I put Alissa's parade music on my phone and that was the music we listened to. Roger finally came outside and we headed on our walk. It was fun having the music and Alissa doing her routine. At one point, on the way back, a little girl, standing in her doorway, got so excited as we passed. She ran in and told her parents to come and see. It was funny to have an audience for a little bit.
We like to walk on a road that is next to the train tracks. Roger is always saying he wishes we could be there when a train is passing. But we always miss it. I took Forest on a walk by myself one day and the train came while I was out. But, it hasn't come when Roger's been there. But today, was our day! The train passed while we were there! It's not super exciting, but it's still fun. We waved as the train went by and the train driver honked his horn and waved back. It was fun.
We are really enjoying our long weekend. It feels so nice to have a break. Life has been so crazy and busy all summer. I am relieved to finally have a chance to relax. I felt bad, because we usually have more chances to sit out by the fire during the summer. I've been wanting to sit outside and have a fire for a really long time. We just haven't been able to, because I was always too tired to stay up late, since I had to get up so early in the morning for work. So, today, we finally got to sit out by the fire! I was very happy about that. I am still feeling tired and overwhelmed from how this summer has gone, so I'm sure I didn't do a good job at showing that I was excited, but I was. It's just hard for life to get back to normal and feel normal again. I don't like it. I'm really hoping things can start feeling better soon.
We had sparklers left over from the 4th of July. We had bought a really big pack of them. We had a lot of fun playing with the sparklers tonight. The first part of this video, is a slideshow with pictures and video clips from our night all set to music. Google photos has the fun options to create that. After that, it is the video I took from the night.
Earlier today, we got to experience an earthquake. It was pretty exciting. We were excited to have felt it and got to experience it, since it wasn't too big and scary. The center of the earthquake was in Idaho, near Lava Hot Springs. The earthquake happened there at 5:56pm (actually, they had a smaller one at 5:55pm, then the biggest one at 5:56pm, and plenty of after shocks that we did not feel) and we felt it here at 5:57pm. We know what time we felt it, because we looked back on our security video in the kitchen to see if we could see anything moving. You can barely tell, but the fan moves and the video cut out for a second.
I was downstairs looking for something in the closet when the house shook and made a creaking sound. I all of the sudden felt really dizzy. As I stood there feeling like I was going to fall over, I grabbed the door to steady myself and tried to decide if I had just imagined that or if it had really happened. I quickly realized it had to have happened, why else would I all of the sudden feel motion sick. Then I remembered the chandelier in the room. I looked up at it and it was swaying back and forth. The house definitely had shook. I went to the family room to ask the kids if they felt that. Alissa and Parker had been laying on the couch watching TV. Parker thought Alissa had shook the couch. Alissa thought she had just imagined it. Brinley had come down right as I got in the family room. She had been upstairs sitting on the toilet when it happened. She said she felt it. It almost shook her off the toilet. She was scared, because she didn't know what had happened. She got out of there as fast as she could to see what was going on. We were all excited that we got to experience an earthquake and it was scary or really bad. Brinley was really nervous after that, when Alissa mentioned after shocks. I think it is funny that Brinley was on the toilet. she's embarrassed about it, so she is going to leave that part out of the story when she tells her friends. She's funny.
Alissa got to perform at her first football game. This was also the first football game she ever attended, so that's fun. Their costumes were 80's clothes. So, we did Alissa's hair all 80's. She looks really cute.
They performed the school song at the beginning, then did a routine during half time. I forgot to bring cash, so we didn't get in and sat down in time to watch them perform them school song. Brinley and I were standing outside the gates and the color guard had their backs to us, so we got to see their performance standing behind them and through a gate. I felt bad for not being prepared. We had to go back to the truck and get some money so we could get in and be there for half time. Brinley and I went to Kents and bought us each some candy, so we could get cash back and watch the game. It was a bummer coming late, because we had a hard time finding a place to sit. We found seats and were able to record her performance. I hadn't realized that Brinley had been recording most of what had been happening. She's funny. She kept recording while we were getting to the game and dealing with the needing cash situation. I will get those videos uploaded eventually. They are on the other phone. Here's 3 videos that Brinley took of the performances. She recorded all of the groups that performed and then the battery died on the phone she was using, so she didn't record the color guard performing. But I recorded that, so we're good. I had brought my good camera, so I could zoom in and get some good pictures of Alissa, but when I pulled it out, I realized the battery was dead. I was bummed about that.
It looks like she got part of the color guard performance recorded before the phone died.
Their coach took some pictures of them before the performance. They changed costumes after they performed the school song.
