Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! It seems like this has been the never-ending holiday this year. With parties and movies and costumes and pumpkins, Halloween has kept us on our feet. There were some firsts this year worth mentioning:

Grant helped carve (or at least gut) his pumpkin this year. Last year he slept through it. He wasn't quite sure of the feel of the slimy seeds and when we'd take them out of the pumpkin, he would put them back in. He also thought the pumpkin was for eating and so he sat nibbling on the cap of his pumpkin.Our finished Pumpkins Jane and her cousins, Addy and Brynn, with their pumpkins. (They came and joined us for carving)We went to our first Trunk-or-Treat ever this year. I have been opposed to them for several reasons but it's hard to get out of going when you are on the Activities Committee. It wasn't too bad but I still prefer the old-fashioned way of trick-or-treating.
The Gang Although this was not Grant's first time trick-or-treating, it was the first year he understood how cool it is. He went up to the doors with Jane and loved sorting through his loot when we got home. Jane really enjoyed Halloween this year and continues to ask, about every two hours, when we are going trick-or-treating again so "I can get more candy". Yikes! I was surprised at how few people were out trick-or-treating. Even when the rain stopped, there weren't that many kids out. What has happened to this holiday? Saturday I opened the paper to one of my favorite columnists, Robert Kirby. He wrote a spectacular article on Halloween and how much it has changed over the years (read it here). It really summed up my feelings on the subject and made me laugh out loud.
We had a good Halloween but I'm glad we have 364 days until the next one.

Our Pumpkin Harvest

This year we grew our own pumpkins. We thought they would be a nice little addition to our vegetable garden. Instead, they took over the garden and the flower beds. But this is what we have to show for all that:

11 bright and happy orange pumpkins!
(and a family who can't wait to carve them!)

Field Trip!

Jane's preschool goes on a field trip once a month. Last month they went to Thanksgiving Point's farm. It was so fun and interesting. Jane and Grant loved watching and feeding the animals, going on a tractor-wagon ride, and learning about the animals. Jane was even brave enough to go on a pony ride!! I was so proud of her!Petting the calfLearning about what we get from sheepPetting a bunnyJane on her pony ride!

This month, the preschool went to a local pumpkin patch. They did a fun scavenger hunt, walked through a short corn maze, went on a hay ride, and got to sit up on various tractors. Grant stayed home with Trent for this one, so it was just Jane and I exploring this fun autumn location.

The corn maze

Taking a rest and having a snackJane and Gracie riding the tractor Farmer JaneI was so nervous for Jane to start preschool. Maybe it's something to do with my baby growing up. I don't know. But I have been so impressed with how well she is doing. She is learning and growing and making friends and absolutely loves going to preschool. Her teacher pulled me aside and told me she's ahead of the whole class on her letters (she has passed off the entire alphabet in capitals and is now working on her lower case letters.) I'm so proud of my Jane. What a smarty pants!

This is Halloween

This Saturday was the annual Bassett family Halloween party. We found out a week before when the party would be and at that point, I'd bought all the fabric to make costumes for Jane, Grant, and Trent. Needless to say, I spent much of last week at the sewing machine. But it paid off. While I still need to finish Grant's dinosaur hood and Trent's tunic, I got the costumes done just in time for the party.As always, Cathy B put on a great party! We had an excellent lunch followed by games and treats and good times. It was so fun to see all the kids dressed up and Jane and Grant had a blast!
Later that night, we left Grant with Trent's parents and took Jane to go on a "Halloween Cruise" on the Provo river. It was fun to spend one on one time with her and she loved the Pirates and the pumpkins.
Tonight we are watching, "The Nightmare Before Christmas"--a classic, in my book. There is a chill in the air, the sky is gray, and it smells like fall. This is Halloween----and I LOVE IT!!!

BFFs

Lately Jane and Grant have been the sweetest little friends. It makes me think back to when Trent and I started feeling we should have another kid. The feeling we both got was, "Jane needs a buddy" and I'm so glad we got her one! These two are so dang funny together! Jane loves to boss Grant around and he's happy to ignore her. They love to squish into the toy car together (mainly because neither one wants to let the other have a turn) and ride around the deck laughing as they go. On Sunday, I caught them in Jane's room having a read-a-thon. Jane had unloaded an entire shelf of their bookcase into her room and there they sat "reading" books and having a good time. Yesterday I found them in Bubba's room with an assortment of objects and Jane explained they were having "preschool" and that she was the teacher, Miss Jane. I'm so happy that these two get along so well. I'm so grateful that we got Jane a buddy, and I'm so glad it was Bubba.

Speaking of The Bubba: we thought he was our calm kid. Not so. Lately he has turned into this mischievous little guy getting into everything and destroying anything he can get his hands on. The TV buttons are his favorite, right up there with remotes, the computer keyboard, and anything that belongs to Jane. He has also shown a complete dislike for naps, much to my dismay. Luckily I've got him back to at least one a day but for a while there, he was refusing naps all together. I don't get it--he is so active all the time it tires me out just watching him. I don't know how he doesn't just crash. He has also shown a new interest in dancing. It cracks us up! Every time he hears music with a catchy beat, he starts bobbing, swinging his arms, and grinning from ear to ear. He's always been obsessed with music--every time he hears music or an instrument being played, he stops whatever he's doing and is totally engrossed. But now he's taking his love of music to a physical level and it's so fun to watch. He's growing up way too fast!