HARVEST PARTY

The church we have been going to had a Harvest Party on Friday night.....it was HUGE! There was tons to do -- bouncy houses, games, a rock wall, laser tag, food and more.......and each time you got done doing something you got a couple of pieces of candy. The kids loved it!

Cameron and Rena decided to try the rock wall. Cameron did pretty good......

Rena couldn't even get up one step, but she was so proud of herself for trying - and if you asked her today she'd tell you that she "did" the rock wall! She got a little lift from the worker so that we could at least get a picture.....

HALLOWEEN PARTIES

Friday was FULL of Halloween parties. I managed to make it to all 3 classrooms to celebrate.

First, I went to Rena's classroom. They had a lot of fun Halloween activities to do. They got to play musical chairs to Halloween music, make a pumpkin puppet, decorate mini pumpkins, make a pumpkin crown, play a few games outside and eat cupcakes and juice.....

After Rena's party I headed over to Cameron's classroom to help with his party. They got to have cupcakes and juice, make a couple of different crafts with food and watch a movie while munching on popcorn....

Last, but not least.......after the elementary school I headed over to Maleah's preschool and helped with their party. (I didn't actually have to help do anything in her room, but I got to be there and even decorate my own cupcake!)

Maleah was so excited that I was there to see her special job that she had chosen for the day.....she was "line leader"!

Time to decorate cupcakes.....

Time to eat cupcakes.....

Maleah and her teacher Miss Bonnie.....

After Maleah's party we headed back over to the elementary school to pick up Cameron and Rena to get ready for our next party at the church..........

RED DAY & CRAZY HAIR DAY

Friday was "red day" and "crazy hair day" for the kids.

The elementary school had red ribbon week last week - which is "anti-drug week" - they got a red ribbon on Monday that they wore all week that said "If you're not drug free - You can't hang with me". On Wednesday they were suppose to wear their shirts inside out because "drugs turn you inside out". And on Friday they were suppose to wear all red. Since red is Cameron's favorite color he had a lot in his closet to chose from.....

Rena didn't have quite as much red to chose from and she also wanted to wear something Halloween for her Halloween party so she went with red tights, red hair and a Halloween shirt! Maleah's school didn't have red day, but had crazy hair day. She went with lots of pony tails and lots of colored hairspray......

In case anyone wants to know - a little history on red ribbon week:

Twenty years ago, in 1985, the National Federation of Parents for Drug Free Youth joined with the DEA and implemented a Red Ribbon campaign that spread to places as far away as Europe. The National Red Ribbon Week is celebrated every year October 22-28, and is dedicated to Kiki Camarena and all of the people who have been wrongly killed due to the violence of drugs. Since then, millions of Americans have gotten involved in, and been touched by the Red Ribbon Campaign efforts. No other single drug prevention movement has had such an impact on so many lives.

Enrique (Kiki) Camarena's story and the whole history of red ribbon week is at: http://www.prc3.org/redribbon.htm

Here's the "red ribbon pledge" that the kids had to learn and say everyday last week:

I pledge allegiance to myself, and who I want to be.

I can make my dreams come true if I believe in me!

I pledge to stay in school and learn the things I need to know,

To make the world a better place for kids like me to grow.

I promise to keep my dreams alive, and be all that I can be.

I know I can and that's because I pledge to stay,

Alcohol, tobacco and drug free!

ALICE THE BALLERINA

Rena came home from school one day with a project to disguise a turkey. We pulled out our craft supplies and she came up with "Alice the Ballerina". It took her longer to decide on a name for her turkey than it did to actually make the turkey. First it was going to be "Chicken", then it was going to be "Angelina" and after a few other choices she finally decided on Alice. She was so proud of Alice and couldn't wait to take it into her teacher.....who loved it also!

Here is Rena and Alice.....

PUMPKIN CARVING

After our stop at Home Depot it was time to carve the pumpkins! Nobody liked the gooey insides so Jeff and I got stuck cleaning out the inside of the pumpkins. The kids liked designing their own faces, though, and they turned out pretty cute.....

Jeff & Cameron decided the drill was needed for Cameron's eyes.....

The finished jack-o-laterns.....

Maleah and Rena's.....

Cameron's.....

PUMPKIN FARM

Sunday morning we took a drive to Temecula, CA, about 45 minutes from us, to go to a pumpkin farm.

The farm had a fun corn maze. The kids eventually got us through it.....

How tall is everyone this fall? Let's find out.....

Just checking out the pumpkins.....

The farm had a petting farm with food that you could buy for the animals. Cameron wanted nothing to do with it, but the girls did a little bit of feeding and petting.....

The girls also decided to take a pony ride. I was surprised that either of them wanted to do it, but they both seemed to enjoy it.....

Cameron was going to try the pony ride, but then decided he would rather take a ride on the "train".....(everyone got to chose one thing to do).....

In the end, the pumpkins were so expensive that we ended up buying just a few mini pumpkins at the farm and on our trip back home we stopped at our local Home Depot and everyone picked out a pumpkin for $2.99.

Luckily, we all had a good time doing other things at the farm that no one was too disappointed that we didn't pick our pumpkins there. AND, we took the $45 that we saved (by not buying at the farm) and went out to lunch! :) It was a good time!

HALLOWEEN CARNIVAL

Saturday afternoon we headed over to the kids school for the big Halloween Carnival. There was a lot to do and it was really a lot of fun.

First, we went on a couple of bouncy toys and rode the swings. The swings were a big hit with Rena and Maleah (Cameron didn't even want to give them a try).....

Second, we got sno-cones and popcorn. The kids really wanted to do this first, but I convinced them to have a little bit of fun before we sat down for a break!

Next, we decorated pumpkins. I think the kids would have stayed here all afternoon if I would have let them. They really had a fun time and their pumpkins turned out great.....

After pumpkins we played some games. Cameron got all 3 rolls of t.p. into the toilet!

Cameron did the "lego walk" and the girls did the "webkinz walk" a couple of times. Unfortunately no one won anything......

And right before we left Cameron visited the "aches and breaks" booth for a fake wrap on his arm. He made up a little story on our way home about how his injury happened and when Jeff got home from work he heard about how Cameron fell on his skateboard and hurt his arm. Jeff wasn't too concerned - Cameron wasn't very convincing! :)