We love Sesame Street

Jessi won't stop watching this. The only problem is that she now wants long braids.

Halloween 2010

Halloween. I have a real love-hate relationship with this holiday. I like the festivities, the pumpkins, the kids having fun. I don't love the stress of planning school parties, costume trauma, too much stinking candy. I hate getting scared and I hate gore.

I do it for these guys.

Jessica was Tiana from Princess and the Frog. Her favorite part of Halloween was getting to wear makeup.

Christian was going to be Harry Potter. Then he saw this at Target and changed his mind.

Bev was going to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Then, she saw this cat lady costume at Target and changed her mind.
Andrew wanted to be Poseidon. I thought, "Oh, that will be easy--just wrap him in a white sheet and call it good." It was a little more complicated. Gold spray paint saved the day. It changed a devil pitchfork into a trident and a princess crown into a crown fit for the god of the sea.I couldn't find gladiator shoes in a kid size. So, I got some Hannah Montana sandals and some leather and went to town. I had him close his eyes when he first tried them on--to avoid him seeing the Hannah Montana in the shoe. When he took them off he saw it and said, "Mom, you are humiliating me as a man.

They were not the most sturdy shoes ever, and we had to do some repairs every time he wore them, but he was satisfied and that's all that mattered.

Andrew and Bev had big plans for trick-or-treating. They wanted to hit a lot of houses. Because of the rain, they just did our neighborhood.

Mike took the kids around and I stayed home to hand out candy.
They all came home with their buckets full. They then entertained themselves for the next hour by trading candy. The next day, I had them choose their favorites to put in a bag. The rest got put away or sent with Mike to work.
We actually got four pumpkins from our patch this year. Bev got the big one, which she wanted to carve. The other kids wanted to use the potato head decorations. Christian chose to use the pirate stuff on his. His pumpkin's bottom stem thing had unfortunate placement. Christian thought it was the funniest thing ever. I told him he needed to stop talking about his pumpkin's private parts or I would have to make the pumpkin some pants.

last week's pictures

Jessi was on the floor in my bedroom watching Princess and the Frog while I did laundry. I grabbed my camera because she just looked so sweet.

As I pulled in the parking lot to pick up Jessi from tumbling, thousands--I'm not exaggerating here--of birds covered the parking lot. I was the first mom to show up, so they had not been disturbed. As I drove in, they took off over my car. For a few seconds, the sky was almost black with birds. I have never seen anything like it. I was really glad to have been in the car--the van got splattered with bird poop. As we were leaving, they came back and I grabbed the camera.

Andrew and Bev had their piano recital. They take lessons from Katie, our sweet neighbor who lives directly behind us. They got to dress up and play Halloween songs. They did great.

Andrew had his last season game. His team goes to the playoffs this week. He had been sick, but thankfully started to feel better on Friday. He was really stressed that he might miss the game. The dads get to help hold those post thingies that mark the downs.
Andrew loves football. I never understood how people love it so much. I do now.

My favorite photo is one that will have to remain in our own private archives. It is a picture of a sick Andrew in a hot bubble bath with Tiger perched on the side of the tub. He stayed home from school for most of the week, and she was by his side.

We are a little obsessed with gum around here. My sister Melanie told me that her kids liked trying different kinds of gum, so I started buying lots of different gum. It has all been fun and games until I found stepped-in gum on the carpet of the car and another piece stuck to the back of one of the chairs. A certain child is on "gum restriction" right now.
The only things that remain of the garden are the parsley and some carrots. Christian would eat them straight from the ground. I have strongly encouraged him to let me wash them first.
Last week we got our first big snowfall of the year. I had to venture out to taxi kids to school and back. On days like that I want to stay home. I don't like being cold.

the pinewood derby

I am playing catch-up with the blog. I always have the best intentions, but then when push comes to shove, I end up choosing Oprah or Law and Order or reading to my babies or sleep.

So, I have made the goal to catch up over the next few days.

Two weeks ago we had the Pinewood Derby. Mike is the Cubmaster and I am the Primary counselor over Cub Scouts, so we were in charge of the event. We thought we planned well, but we quickly found out that we were unprepared for a few things.

We were not prepared for the intensity of it all. We had some scoring issues along with some other problems. We learned a lot from the experience. Part of me wanted to do another one next week to improve it and fix our mistakes. The sane part of me is grateful it will be a few more years.

Our most important goal was for the kids to have fun. I think we succeeded in that.

We made the decision several months ago to include the girls in the derby. The girls and the boys had such a great time.

Mike had the kids design their own cars. Andrew's was designed with speed in mind.
Bev's was more of a form-over-function kind of thing.
So, Mike helped the kids cut the wood and carve out the cockpit--is that what it's called? Anyway, they used the saws and the Dremel. Then he had them sand their cars. Of course, I couldn't resist doing a second sanding on them. Bev saw me sanding her car and made me stop. She said, "Mom, this is my project--stop."

I am as bad as those dads that don't let the kids touch their own Pinewood Derby cars.

I then helped the kids with the painting. Andrew would have let me do the whole thing myself. I will admit that I did glue the pin stripes on. But, he cut out the U of U sticker and painted the car.

Bev, on the other hand, wouldn't let me touch it until it came time to put the stickers on. She picked out her own paint and glitter and rhinestones and did the work with minimal help from me. I carefully put the glittered stickers on. They looked fabulous. Then, Mike went to put the wheels on and we realized that the first and last letters were behind the wheels. So, I took them off and did it again.

Ironically, Bev's car--that was built for it's cat and aesthetic appeal--got third fastest in the girl division. Andrew's was fifthish.

We are grateful it is over and happy that the kids had fun.

I get no respect.

Jessi drew this in church last week. She handed it to me and told me that it is me. I asked her what was next to me and she said it is a broom.

raising socially-conscious children

With the weather changing, I have done the annual clothing needs assessment. Andrew needs long pants and a hoodie. Jessi needs some jeans (hopefully some that will accommodate her tiny waist and long legs.) Bev and Kiki need long-sleeved shirts.

Friday, Bev and I headed over to Target to check some things off the list. We were in the girl's section when she turned to me and said, "Mom, it makes me sad--some of these clothes were made by kids."

Me: "Say what?"

Her: "We learned about it in Social Studies."

I knew she had been learning about the economy, but apparently she had learned about child labor as well.

She told me that she had learned that children around the world work for a dollar a day to help support their families.

Neither of us was really in the mood to shop anymore. We got the gifts we needed to buy and left.

As we were driving home she asked if we could only buy stuff that little kids didn't make. She is SO my daughter.

I took this global economy class in college where we studied U.S. companies that moved their manufacturing overseas for cheap labor. I didn't buy Nike or Levi's or Dole for a long time after that class.

I do now. I got apathetic. I just buy whatever my precious Target sells me--like a zombie consumer. I guess I better do some research. She's not letting it go. I overheard her telling Christian (as he was putting his laundry away) that, "Little kids probably made that underwear."

I love you Aunt Ava.

Ava Huff

1957 ~ 2010

Ava Jean Rawlinson Huff, 53, died Wednesday, September 29, 2010 at her home in Spanish Fork. She was born on March 23, 1957 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Neil C. & Verdene Finlinson Rawlinson. She married LaMar Elmer Huff on June 22, 1979 in Delta, Utah. They were later sealed in the Manti LDS Temple on April 3, 1998.

Survivors include her husband, LaMar, of Spanish Fork; one son: Jacob Elmer (Heather) Huff and one daughter: Jamie C. Huff, both of Spanish Fork; four grandchildren; four brothers and three sisters: Darryl (Claudia) Rawlinson, of Fremont, CA; Karen (Bruce) Curtis, Delta, UT; Gordon (Mickie) Rawlinson, Kanecohe, HI; William (Emma) Rawlinson, Las Vegas, NV; Duane (LaRene) Rawlinson, of Delta; LeAnn (Doug) Smith, of Garland, UT; Janell (Eric) Whitney, of Fayette, UT; many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother: Gary Lynn Rawlinson.

Funeral services will be Monday, October 4, 2010 at 11 a.m. in the Spanish Fork 6th Ward Chapel, 585 North Main Street, Spanish Fork. Friends may call at the Walker Funeral Home, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork on Sunday evening, October 3, 2010 from 6 until 8 pm or Monday morning at the ward relief society room one hour prior to the services. Burial will be in the Spanish Fork City Cemetery.

I am still in a bit of shock. She was only 53. Her death has caused me to consider my own mortality. At the funeral, her bishop talked about her unfinished paintings in her studio. He talked about the things she had started but hadn't completed. He said that if we knew when we would die, we may not begin anything. He mentioned that she was not ready to go.

At the cemetary, it rained...hard. When they brought out the casket, it was pouring. The pallbearers were dripping wet. The microphone stopped working and my dad was going to dedicate the grave. The bishop made the comment that Ava must be crying. When my dad went to say the prayer, the rain immediately ceased.

Ava was a very spirited person. She loved her family and grandbabies. She wasn't ready to go. For me, the total downpour symbolized that she was pissed--pissed that her life was cut short. The rain stopping was her accepting it.

I have thought a lot about being ready--being ready spiritually and physically, raising good kids, doing the things that are most important, taking every opportunity to love the people around me.