HALLOWEEN

 A couple of days before Halloween we carved pumpkins.  I roasted the seeds and the kids devoured them.  On Halloween I made a scary dinner with jack-o-lantern pizza and oranges and witch's finger breadsticks with blood marinara sauce.  The kids get a kick out of it.  For their costumes, Alex went as Pippi Longstocking complete with the monkey Mr. Nelson.  She made his outfit herself.  Shane was a cowboy and Kenzie was a cowgirl.  Maggie was a fairy with light up wings and a special butterfly wand Alex helped her make.  Bridget was a chicken.  Like most toddlers, at first she wasn't sure about trick-or-treating but ran up to doors by the end.

PUMPKIN FESTIVAL

 We drove down to Circleville for their annual Pumpkin Festival.  We had never been before and wanted to check it out.  It was fun to walk around and see all the shops, food trucks, and carnival rides.  We bought some pumpkin donuts that were so delicious!  We also tried some birch beer soda and pumpkin whoopie pies.  Alex, Shane, and Maggie did the fun house.  It was a fun outing.

BIG AIR

 The primary Activity Days had an activity at Big Air, a trampoline park.  I had never been to one.  There were so many activities, and it was really fun.

GENERAL CONFERENCE

 We had a full house for the Sunday morning session of General Conference.  We invited our friends, the Phillips, over for brunch and to watch the first session.  Good company, good food, and most importantly good talks.

MAGGIE'S SOCCER PICTURES

 Picture day for Maggie's soccer team wasn't until nearly the end of the fall season.  Here are some "official" pictures of Maggie and her team.

UPDATED KITCHEN

 We really want to do a total remodel of the kitchen.  The owners before us painted the countertops, and now they are flaking off.  I can't knead dough on the counter or flakes of paint will get in the dough.  When I simply wipe the counters the paint flakes off.  The counter next to the sink is always black with mold no matter how much I try to keep it clean.  The paint on the cabinet doors is sticky.  We tried to clean them because they had food and fingerprints on them, but then they just ended up sticky and still look dirty.  Unfortunately, it is not in the budget to do a remodel for a few years, so I decided to do a cheap facelift to make it look better for now and to try out a few color schemes.  For the countertops I spent several days scrapping off the paint (I had blisters on my hands from the scraper).  I then used an appliance paint to paint the countertops white.  I stripped the paint on the upper cabinet doors and repainted the boxes and doors.  I used a gel stain on the lower cabinets and then sealed both the top and bottom cabinets with a coat of polyurethane.  I got a black stainless steel spray paint and painted all of the hinges.  I bought black stainless steel handles for the drawers.  Lastly I sewed new curtains for both of the windows and the back door.  It isn't the final look we want but it is a definite upgrade!

CRAZY HAIR SHANE

 Alex decided to do Shane's hair, complete with bows.  She then took a video of him doing a silly dance.