They've been rehearsing for weeks after church, and we've all been listening to the songs over and over (Andrew and I could understudy any role :) Fortunately, the songs are all scripture so if I have to get a song stuck in my head, at least it's the Word of God!Jason was an ice cream salesman as the play was set at the mall. He loved selling "ice cream" to the big kids.
Beth was part of the halo express choir 
and a sheep...see her there under the white cloth? No, me either... 
They did a great job, all the kids in the show. There was a lot of talent to be seen that night. Best part...Jill slept on my lap the entire time so I could relax, sit back, and enjoy the show!I've uploaded a bunch of video excerpts to YouTube so I'd have them. Check them out:
The opening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KdgNGX7g3E
In the beginning was the Word: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRIEdT1S2CUMy favorite song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQVNOUYflUY
Kids losing steam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI3DzmcxOWw
The Wise Men song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6rXJlDO9uU
The finale song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaSKoraApto (Beth did such a great job at Away in the Manger - it was only the 4&5 year olds singing, and then there's Jason turned around...he told us he was tired :)
One problem - Jill does not wear hats! 
We tried and tried and tried and tried. 
We finally gave up...
met at someone's clubhouse, gave thanks, and ate! 
John deep fried one of the turkeys (we had three turkeys and a ham!)
What are you most thankful for? Everyone wrote on a post-it and put it on our wall posters. (See it there beyond Anja & Jill?) We had everything from my family to legos to I don't know! 
As for me, I'm thankful for my husband, my children and the peace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, which surpasses my understanding but gets me by day after day!
The leaves are beautiful on the trees and soooo fun as their falling and piling high! Capitalizing on their love, we spent some time learning about leaves and how to use them to ID trees. They now recognize maples, oaks, magnolias, and others (I must admit this was all new to me, too. In California I could only ID palm trees :) Together with some friends we visited a local nursery where we had a variety of trees to compare. 
We learned to use keys to identify the trees. 
We then did leaf rubbings, leaf collecting, pressed some leaves and created a leaf person. 
We even planted acorns we collected so we can grow our own oak trees!
And to finish, we're putting together a great tree notebook with all of our creations. Now we just have to patiently wait for spring so we can learn about flowers. I can't wait!
and voila...beautiful pumpkins! There were four pumpkins but Jill's didn't get carved so here's what we've got - 
Adam wanted a funny pumpkin and picked this face from a bunch of samples...
We showed him a youtube video of Jack Skellington after the pumpkin was carved...we couldn't believe he picked that face while wearing that shirt but he didn't really get it, he just liked his pumpkin. The irony was lost on a three year old.
Beth liked the dog face pumpkins and helped Andrew create a design that would look just like Cocoa...
It doesn't show up very well until you add the candlelight!
And here's Cocoa to show you just how much it looks like her - mostly in the ears :)
Jason couldn't find the design he wanted so he drew his own creation on paper - a one-eyed mean mouthed spiky nose jack-o-lantern. He got exactly what he drew. Yea, for independent creativity!!!
Pour Jill didn't get her own pumpkin since we were done after three but the candle in Adam's sure enticed her...
And then there's Jason...we didn't have the shirt but here he is at one year old.
Macy's was a big let down - no trick or treating and below average face painting (I'm such a critic but seriously - what is on Adam's cheek because I don't see a whale, and Jason couldn't get a bat like he wanted because they didn't have black - no black on Halloween!?!) 
but we smiled and moved on...For our afternoon adventure we hit the grocery store (another indoor venue :) This was a much more impressive stop. A baker was decorating cookies to order (we got a bat, a dog, and a fish). 
There were games to play all over the store (and I got shopping done!)
Our day finished off with classic door to door trick or treating with our cousins. We have: 
a cat, transformer, control freak (can you see the remote controls dangling from him?), wolf (mascot), Indian princess, princess, camp rock girl, and a bat (not pictured is Nemo who was waking up from his late afternoon nap).
Lots of fun to be had but maybe too much for Jill...she did not like the face paint and masks. 
The end of the day and each kid has too much candy, got to wear two costumes, and attended three events...not bad for a rainy Halloween!
Anyway, we planned a Prince and Princess party for the two of them. 
"I just have to make it through this song and then I get to eat!" 
Having practiced the week before, she knew this was good stuff! 
Caught you, Adam! He's knows it's good, too!
Zeke on the other hand wanted nothing to do with his cake. His mom did such a good job decorating it, I think he didn't want to damage it :) 
They both enjoyed digging into their presents - paper, things that make noise, and more paper!
Yummy food, great cake, presents, friends, leaving the mess for someone else to clean up...it was a successful party. Here's some more of the fun:
Jill LOVED the slide and crawling around the castle.
