bug, bug go away!

Last week, Khloe was stricken with a cough, runny nose, and a fever.  This weekend, Colton started coughing, lost his voice, and today, he woke up with a fever.  Billy took medicine to sleep well last night, because he can't stop sneezing, coughing, and blowing his nose.  I am on the mend along with Khloe.  I have had a cough, but I am feeling much better today.  I think Khloe is feeling better, too.  She had gotten a rough diaper rash on Friday (probably due to teething and diarrhea that came with her cold).  It's gone now, and she is coughing less and less.  But that snot!  She is a Snotrod, alright!  I feel like I am always wiping that nose ... and when it finally dries up ... it's snotty again in no-time!  I can't imagine living in a colder climate where you can catch a cold much easier during the winter.  I would probably never get a break from nose wiping duty!  Ick!

This weekend, I taught Cradle Roll A Sabbath School.  My friends, Gwendy and Duska, and I have been working on revamping the curriculum the class doesn't uses.  We organized the classroom, and we found props for this current lesson (about Samuel).  I taught it this week to show the current teacher how the lesson should look and to give her an example class.  I will continue to help--I will be the assistant for the next 6 weeks.  We have a lot of lessons left to organize (we're doing 8/year for two years worth of lessons), but it was much better last week than it has been since we've moved here!  So, I am happy to help out.

This is the Cradle Roll A room after we cleaned it up and decorated for Samuel.  In the left corner, there is a tent, bed, and small Eli, with a candle and Bible, sleeping in the bed.  I wish I could've shown you the before picture!

I started out with these pieces. 

Soon ... I had made this!

And finally, it turned into this.

Good idea, Dad.  It worked great!

Finished product ... and handmade by me!  I thought it up and carried out my plan.  I've never done anything like this before.  I was feeling pretty handy!  I could still use some training in power saws, though. ;)

Speaking of handiness ... I have been annoyed lately when I give the kids' a bath, I have no where convenient to put their wet towels after I dry them off.  I thought it would be nice to have a towel hook on the back of their doors.  Now, the towels can be out-of-sight, but still handy for bath time.  I'm feeling very handy this week!

Before

After 

In use!

On Saturday night, we spent the evening at Brian and Gwendy's house for their first annual Pumpkin Party.  It was super fun! Everyone had to bring a dish made out of some type of squash.  I made Creamy Pumpkin Pasta, pumpkin pie, and pumpkin swirl brownies.  There were a lot of delicious dishes to try.  We were all stuffed at the end of the night!  The kids had a lot of fun playing together and staying up late.  We can't wait for next year!

Here are my treats!  They were all tasty!  I, also, made homemade whipped cream.

The kids (minus Jonathan, Carson & Beckham).  Aren't they cute!?!

For a special fun bath time, I decided to throw a few glo-sticks into the kids' bath and turn down the lights.  They loved it!  Cole and Koki both laughed and waved the sticks around and around!  It was really fun.  Colton even talked about it the next day.  He said, "Mom, I had a lot of fun with the glo-sticks in the bathtub yesterday!  That was awesome!"  I think we'll have to do that again, for sure.

Bath time glo-stick fun!

Oh, the joy!

We've been getting ready for Halloween around here ... our costumes are all picked out, I've stocked up on candy to pass out, and the house is decorated for fall.  We are enjoying the cool weather hurricane Sandy has brought to us!  It was in the 50s this morning when I woke up!  LOVING IT!  Here are some of our fall-y pictures.

Our front stoop ... we're going to carve the pumpkins tonight.

Silly Colton with his "ugly teeth" lollipop!

Enjoying the cool weather at the park!

Colton with a row of scarecrows. 

Our neighbors "Booed" us by leaving baskets of treats and suck at our doorstep on night last week, so we "Booed" other neighbors with these baskets I made up.  It was a fun activity!

Poor Khloe ... she has had a rough week.  I guess lunch was just too overwhelming! 

On my run this past Sunday, I had to stop to take a picture of the gorgeous sunrise.  It was a super cool morning!  Great run in great weather!

Some wildflowers in our neighborhood.

On Sunday, the weather was so nice that we spent a lot of time outside enjoying it!  But as I was making breakfast, Khloe was pushing around this chair ... Billy had taken off an empty applesauce package that she was pushing around (on purpose), so she found some high heels to push around, instead.  She likes to push things everywhere ... but she likes to put things on what she is pushing.  I guess she is "shopping". Ha, ha!

They are so much alike!  Their favorite pastime ... pushing and going for walks.

She reminds me so much of Colton at this age. 

Poor baby Pheobe!  She is face planted in the seat, dragging her feet on the ground.  Our little girl is a walker!