Trunk or Treat!

Josie saw Dr Aldous on Monday at 11:45, she had a strange strain of strep. She was able to attend school the next day because she was not running a fever and the antibiotics were super strong. Aldous said kids were staying home for 10-14 days with this most recent strain of strep. Justin hobbled home in the Hamster Wagon, not even making it halfway to work. He made it to the Country Mechanic shop. Bad news, terrible news. The Hamster Wagon needed about 7k in engine repairs, the engine could explode at anytime. For all purposes that car is now extinct. Instead of using Justin’s vacation pay to scrub the credit card debt we are now looking at using it for a car down payment. Stoopid cars and money. Justin’s last day of work is November 10th with Pennant. He will start with Cascade on November 15th. Just to make sure we had three strikes the heater crapped out. Nick came over on Wednesday, figured out the new heater fan unit failed. He ordered a new motor that would arrive the next Wednesday. It was very cold downstairs the next week! Brrrrr. 

Wednesday there was a fun rain storm right when school was excused. All the kids were at school with me enjoying the benefits of 30 computers (aka Minecraft). The rain was pouring down, even the lure of electronics could not stifle the pull of rain puddles. I felt like the Pied Piper leading the children outside to splash in the rain. Phillip looked completely ridiculous with Josie’s tiny umbrella! The rain was cold and refreshing! Since we were all wet it was logical to go to Walmart for trunk or treat candy, light sabers, and R2D2s. Josie found a Bob Bilby hand puppet with the Bluey toys. We love us some Bob Bilby.  Then home for soup and hot chocolate. The rain is magical. 

Thursday was a big day for me at MCO. It was the day of the attire check. I sent out all the emails and info as requested 2-3 days before Thursday. I made checklists to use for each chorus printed on different colored paper. Thursday I left school at 3:10 thanks to Jill who volunteered to be the warm body in the computer lab for the last 20 minutes of school. I arrived in time to instruct a team of volunteers for the attire check. Jenn said not to use the star stickers, so we did not at first. With the younger kids it soon became apparent that some were squeezing through the gauntlet without their attire checked off. I went back and put stars on all the kids waiting in the foyer sending several back to the front for attire check. The process took a couple of hours! Justin picked up the little girls and Everett so I could stay and finish up the forms. Now the hard part: entering the data AND emailing hundreds of parents about changes to finalize attire. 

Friday was a teacher work day for the upcoming end of quarter and parent-teacher conferences. The kids slept in, vegged, and watched TV. It was amazing. I photographed baby Hadley, Sara Davis’ new baby girl. I quite enjoyed the change of pace. Amelia worked from 9-3 pm in order to attend the ward party. Friday evening the kids donned their Halloween costumes for our ward trunk or treat. Melody Ipsen, Josie’s friend came over to play for the afternoon. She joined the fun! Evelyn’s new friend Sophia met us at the church for the party. Amelia and Evelyn’s hair was tricky to figure out with long braid extensions. This year the line up was: Amelia as Princess Leia on the planet Endor, Phillip as a T-Rex with a light saber, Everett as a ninja guy, Evelyn as Princess Leia, and Josie as Ladybug. Fergus went as sweater boi. We shared soups and bread for dinner. The kids marched and announced their costumes in a parade. I morphed into a trunk monkey for the trunk portion. 

Saturday morning I photographed a bride, groom, and close family. Their wedding photos did not turn out at all. They hired me to recapture their bridal photos. It was freezing! The groom is from Jamaica, quite the opposite of a cold Idaho fall morning. Josie was intent to carve pumpkins Saturday evening. Amelia was tired after her very last day of working the Farmstead this year. I was exhausted, everyone was exhausted. Josie reluctantly agreed to postpone to Sunday afternoon. Evelyn and Sophia went to a Halloween party around noon. I picked the girls up, they were in the backyard picking up chickens! I got to hold the sweetest fluffy thing ever. Josie even got a treat back with a Witch’s finger lollipop. 

Sunday afternoon all I wanted after church was a nap! Instead Justin got a nap while the rest of us carved pumpkins. I was jealous and mad! Stinker. I broke out his drill, circle cutters, and the Dremel tool just to use the big guns. We watched Nightmare Before Christmas while we gutted and carved. Evelyn wanted a pumpkin house and Josie wanted a Ladybug design. The girls worked hard to gut their pumpkins and I helped with the cutting. Justin, Amelia, and I attended a CES fireside with the presidents of BYU and BYU-I in attendance. The topic was on church education for 11th-12th graders looking for continuing education. Amelia is feeling more and more that BYU-I is the place for her. Her cousin Renee is there and she is excited about their choir programs. The cookie made it worth it! Kidding! The messages about education were very inspiring. A reminder that the knowledge we learn in this life can come to the next life.