Happy Halloween 2012

Ben decided early on that he wanted to be a werewolf for Halloween.  As the month of October went on I would ask him what he wanted to be for Halloween, and the answer was always the same.  So we finally took a trip over to party city to find a werewolf costume.  They did not have anything so I decided to buy a few things and make it up myself.  Well, Ben thought it was great and he happily wore his werewolf costume to school. He ran around the house growling and acting like he was going to attack us.  I told him to be nice to people and not to hurt anyone.  I was a little nervous because Ben has a tendency to get a bit carried away with things and I did not want him to "become a werewolf" at school.  At the end of the day he came home from school and there were no phone calls from his teacher so I am assuming he was a "friendly" werewolf.

This Halloween was a bit strange for us.  Hannah was away at camp KEEP for the week.  Haley went with a friend from school to a Halloween party at her church and Ben did not want to go trick or treating, so we decided to pass on the ward trunk or treat party and stay home to give candy to the neighborhood children.  It was actually a very relaxing evening!!

Ben did want to try on Russ's new BYU football uniform 

so that he could look cool while posing with Haley.

All for a good cause....

Haley, Hannah and I got up real early today to join lots of girls from dance to run/walk in the Multiple Sclerosis 5k.  We had made tutus for the girls to wear and they had team t-shirts.  We ran in honor of Taylor who goes to school with Haley.  She used to dance with the girls until she was diagnosed with MS a few years ago.  I had  planned on just walking the 5k with everyone but when I got out there it was all I could do not to run....so finally after a few minutes I had to take off running.  I told the girls I would meet them at the end.  It felt so good to run!! I am very grateful for the ability to run!!!

Warren Jr. High Spaghetti dinner

Haley plays the flute in the 8th grade band.  She performed while I worked in the kitchen serving dinners and Russ sat in the audience watching.  This is the big fundraiser for the students to go to Disneyland in the spring.  

Bread

 I started making homemade bread way back when I had only a few children.  I liked the idea of healthy, wholesome, yummy bread filling our tummies, so I didn't mind the work involved to get it.  Fast forward several years to me having my fifth child and all thoughts of making bread flew out the window, along with keeping my house as clean as I would have liked it to be!  I figured the bread from the grocery store was just fine.  About two years ago I started thinking about that homemade bread once again.  There is nothing quite like fresh warm bread out of the oven with butter and honey!! So I bought all of the necessary ingredients and set out to surprise my family with yummy, homemade bread once again. I even grind my own wheat so that the flour is fresh.  I haven't had to buy store bought bread since then.  My children love it when they come home and smell that delicious scent of freshly baked bread.

A new secretary at Ronald Reagan Elementary

Hannah ran for student body class secretary......and she WON!!!!!

Here are the new student body officers along with the Principal, Dr. Irvin.....

A wonderful Saturday...

Russ and I have come to love our Saturday morning spin class.  Sure it means that we have to get up earlier than we would like to, but it is well worth it!! We get to the gym a half hour early to ensure that we get a bike and then we do a few warm up exercises while we wait for class to begin.  The next hour is full of loud music and hard core spinning, sweating  and fun!!  It feels like you're going to die at the 30 minute mark but once you pass the hump it is so invigorating. I really like to push myself, and I love that this class allows for a great challenge. Plus, I love that Russ and I can take the class together!!

Later in the afternoon we planted our winter garden.  One of the benefits of living here in Bakersfield is that we can have a garden year round.  This winter we planted broccoli, snap peas, lettuce, strawberries, cilantro and brussel sprouts. We have never had brussel sprouts before and thought it would be fun to try them. This photo only shows two of our three planter boxes.  We love having raised garden boxes.  We have no weeds and fewer insect problems.