October

October was a fun month at our house.  I love it when the leaves start to change colors and the air gets crisp.  It is something I have really enjoyed about moving back to Idaho.

At the beginning of October, I took the kids out to Twin Bridges and took their pictures in their Fall/Halloween shirts.  I decided to make shirts that weren't too Halloweeny so that they could wear them more than just in October. Each kid picked out their own crow image and then we used freezer paper to make a stencil of it.  We used fabric spray paint to paint the image on the shirt.

Sterling was chosen as the student of the week in his class in October.  He had a lot of fun making his own poster.

Every October we have a big Halloween party for all of my extended family.  This year, I decided to make this mummy bowling set for the party.

We also decorated the front of our house for the party.

 The crows were a new addition this year.  I like the creepy "Birds" feeling it gives the front of the house.

 The next picture is the kids in their Halloween costumes.

 Originally, Quin was supposed to be a skunk, but the skunk costume was a little small, so he ended up being a chubby monkey.

 Truman was so excited to be a firefighter.

 Avalon had her heart set on being the white witch Glinda from the movie Oz the Great and Powerful.  Her costume was a little tricky.  She did not want to be the Glinda from the Wizard of Oz and it was impossible to find a reasonably priced Glinda costume from the new movie.  In the end, I bought a wedding dress for $15 from the DI and I altered it to fit her.  The skirt was easy enough, but shrinking a woman's size wedding dress top down to the size of a 5 year old was a bit tricky.  Plus, I had to change the costume to look like the dress in the movie.  In the end, I was cursing satin because the fabric would fray at the seams if she moved to much.  I was also cursing beads because I kept breaking my sewing machine needle.  I think it came together pretty well, though, and she was happy.

Sterling was soooo excited about his costume.  I took him to the army surplus store and let him pick out some stuff.  He is particularly proud of his real antique army helmet.

 Avalon got glasses in October.  Her eye test from school came back recommending that we have her eyes checked.  Her eyes weren't bad enough to really need glasses.  The eye doctor said it was optional, but that she could use a pair for reading if we wanted.  I figured I wanted to give her every advantage in school possible, so we got the glasses.  She loves them.  She considers them a fashion accessory.

 

 

Sterling and Avalon also both got their school pictures taken in October.

Quin also started walking in October.  At my birthday party, he suddenly got up and walked across the room.  He has gotten really good at it since then.