Halloween Helm Style

We love Halloween.  Next to Christmas this is our families favorite time of year.  During the month of October, our family creates different names for our normal food.  Feature from the Black Legume, Bog, Batwing Soup, etc.  On Halloween night we have our best meal of the month.  All month long the family has input into not only what we should eat, but what it should be called.  Over the years, we have created standard names for some of our favorites.  This year we ate our big meal the Sunday before Matt left for the MTC.   Our menu consisted of:
Lizard Tail Pot Pie

Bloody Skulls with Brains

Served in our Halloween special dishes with Fizzy Blood to drink.  We finished it off with with Coffin Crunch for desert.

So for Halloween night we went to the ward potluck dinner.  We took Blood and Guts for our dish.

Another tradition for our family is that after you turn 12 you create and construct your own costumes.  I was very pleased with the childrens choices this year.  They used great creativity.  Mandy started it all off using dollar store little girls tutu and wings.  She was The Star Fairy of McDonalds.

Jessica decided to go as her Great, Great Grandmother, Cora Berry--who was an indian.  She was an herbal woman from the Midu tribe.

Joshua went as a character Alex Rider, from the book Scorpia by Anthony Horowitz.  He was a teenage spy who turned assassin.

I was most surprised by Daniels costume.  He went as Captain Moroni.  He had help from his sisters and brother with his costume.  It was unique.

He wan't so happy in this picture as he was told that he had to wait until we ate at the church for more food.  Twelve is hard when you are always hungry.  Bill had a pie for the pie making contest and took 3rd place.  He is here with one of our friends twins Daxon.  Whenever we are in the same place with the Shelly's, we usually get the fun of holding their twins.  They love the break.  I usually have Breslyn and Bill usually has Daxon.   We are buds.

Fact is that our teens are usually surrounded by the children of the ward.  I have heard more than on parent say as we walk into a place, "Good the Helm's are here, now I can have fun too and not worry about our children." 

Now onto Socktoberfest--how did I do??  Well I almost got 1 pair finished.  Just 2 inches to go, but at midnight (even with the fall back part)  I just couldn't knit anymore.

However today I finished my first ever pair of socks.  I have to admit that I am hooked and look forward to making the next pair.  They are truly a great take along project.  Next on the needles?  Finish Jessica's scarf and begin one for Matt. 

Matt Goes to the MTC

Elder Matthew Helm flew to Utah today where he will enter the MTC.  Emotionally our family is having a difficult time with this as we will miss him very much.  In a great effort to hold it together, we forgot the camera.  We used his camera and a soldier took a picture of the 3 of us at the airport.  When he sends it I will post it here as well as updates and pictures from his mission. 

We miss him tons and have been crying all afternoon, perhaps soon we will smile again, but not now.  We are proud to have a missionary, it is what we have prepared him for since he was born,  but letting my son go is just too hard for me today.  Right now, I am too sad to write anymore.

Family Night--Dancing To The Oldies

Family Home Evening is our favorite time of each week.  One of the really cool things is that with all these teenagers and almost teenagers, we can have some really cool discussions about the scriptures.  We have been asked by our local leaders to have our lessons from the Preach My Gospel book.  So we are currently working our way through the section titled "Attributes of Christ"  Each week we take a different sub heading, learn what there is to learn and mark the scripture chains in our scriptures.  After we finished the scripture part of our evening, we thought we would get out the old record player and play some of what our children call "the oldies", or in other words, music when Bill and I were young.  I don't remember getting old, but if my music is the oldies then I guess that makes me old.  Anyway the evening went as follows.

Bill was the DJ for the evening and started out with "The Streak", we all especially like the phase in there where the man calls "Ethel you put your clothes back on"

Ethel put on an truly horrified face for the camera and the laughs began.

Next thing you know, Mandy is rocking at the table, because really, who can stay still when there is good music to be had.

The next song Bill put on was "King Tut" and the children felt that we needed to add all appropriate movements.  By this time they are all up and movin and groovin.

During "The Hussel" (probably spelled wrong)  Mandy showed Jessica that you could do the Macaraina to the Hussel and so forth. 

Next thing you know all are doing the Macaraina to the Hussel and the floor is rocking.  (Note to self, check 100 year old floor joices before next oldies night)

Rocking on with "Taking Care of Business" Mandy and Daniel are so in the groove.

Then out came the drum sticks and Josh volunteered to be Daniel's and my drum set.  (we never really touched him)

The night finished with Bill singing "Domo Arigato Mister Roboto."  We laughed so hard.  It was a great night.  We are blessed as a family for this time together.

I love to see the temple, I'm going there some day. . .

Yesterday we took Matt to the Winter Quarters temple to recieve his endowment.  It is a wonderous thing to watch your child serve in the temple.  They begin when they are 12 doing baptisms for the dead and then when the time is right they go back to recieve their endowment.  Going on a mission is one of those times.  It is an exciting time, but sad too.  Life will never be the same again for my son.  He will come back changed, as all things must.  I feel as those women of the indian tribes long ago who sent their sons out for their vision quest, setting up a tepee for them while they are gone because they knew that they would return full men, ready to take on the responsiblities of an adult in our culture as well as our church.  But for today we are joyful.  There were 14 of our ward family there with us to experience this event.  I am thankful that they took the time to share our joy.

Meanwhile back at home, Mandy had a day of fun planned for her brothers and sister.  They went to a corn maze. 

They went in extreemly excited.

And were given a map.  There were 4 checkpoints along their path that they had to be at to be successful in completeing their course.

Consulting the map.

The boys figure that they know the way and so run ahead.

Mandy goes the wrong way and Josh turns her around to help her back on track.

They are successful in reaching the end.

All are happy.  Following the maze, they all went on a hay ride.  It was an enjoyable time for all.  Now to go home, make pumpkin muffins and curl up in polar fleece blankets--made by Rachel-- and watch a good movie.

Socktoberfest

So I was surfing the internet, looking at knitting websites when I stumbled onto one that explained a celebration of the accessory that we call the sock.  It is a knitting festival that has knitters all over knitting socks this month.  On October 1st you cast on your sock and knit socks all month long.  Then at the end of the month you post a picture of all the socks that you knit.  If you are a newby then maybe you didn't even finish one sock and if you are an expert you might make 16 pairs of socks.  So that made me think.  I have been knitting since my grandmother taught me when I was 7.  That is a whole lot of years and yet I have never knit a pair of socks.  I have thought about it, bought yarn and patterns for them, but never actually made socks.   So Mandy and I decided that we were in.  We were going to celebrate the sock all month long. 
On October 1st we sat in our living room, Mandy with her neopolitan ice cream yarn (pink and brown) and me with my giggle year (flecks of green, blue, purple, pink, and white) and we cast on our first ever sock.  We have knit when we have had a free moment and with conference we were able to knit alot.  This is so much fun.  Here is my sock so far.

Conference was amazing.  The speakers gave me much to think about.  I often think of General Conference like a grand feast--one that fills your soul up to full and then keeps on filling.  The music was joyful.  Our entire experience was one of peace and harmony.  I am thankful for technology so that we could watch it over the internet.  We are blessed.

The McCrud

So what happens when you have 2 children working at McDonalds, they just happen to have big wigs coming to town and well one or more of the workers are sick?  You get to pass the McCrud along to all the other workers.  I am here to announce that it has hit the entire family with the exception of Ethel and Matt.

Mandy was the first to go down.  Then I got it, followed by Bill.

Josh was next, and he wasn't so much sick as his blood sugar was totally wacked. 

Daniel was next and his messed up his asthma and sounded more like the croup than the others.  Daniel gathered all the things that were fluffy--including the cats and made a nest in the living room. 

 I think it is morphing.  Jessica was the last to go down with it.  She is the most healthy of the family and it only took her down for one day. 

Trivia question????  How long does it take a family of 8 people and 2 missionaries to drink 1 gallon of orange juice??

5 minutes 30 seconds--most of that is used in finding glasses and pouring the juice.  We have consumed massive quantities of OJ, vegetable soup, and herbal tea.  Most are feeling better now.

Homecoming week

Since I have a child in High School--Jessica. And since I have a child in the band--Jessica.  I need to be involved in homecoming.  One thing I learned this week is that I do NOT take good pictures at 5:30 in the morning.  However. . . homecoming=spirit week=wacky days.  Here is Jessica.

Dress up day

Wacky Holiday--she is the blue bunny of Easter--think ice cream

Cartoon day--Felix the Cat

School Pride Day--I so wasn't awake yet

Game Day just before she put on her band uniform.

I was going to take pictures of the band on the field, but well there was a big thunder and lightning storm and so the band got sent home, due to the instruments making great lightning rods.  I just loved it when the announcer said "We are required by law to inform you that the metel stands you are sitting on may draw the lightning."  Talk about the mad rush to leave.  Oh the football team had to stay and finish the game.  We lost.