Service Day

So why is it that serving is always more fun when it is done for someone else?  I mean, to get my kids to clean up our own yard would be like pulling teeth (except Jack, of course.  He is such a hard worker.  He came home and raked our yard after our long morning.)  But tell them we are going to do if for some complete strangers as part of our ward's service day and they are all about the work.  Well, good for them.

We worked on this yard first.

And then the added bonus--the guy next door said, "Hey, can you do my yard too?"  So we literally raked leaves through a forest down an entire mountain.  Who knew leaves could be so heavy.  Here are the before and after shots of his yard.

Way to go guys!  It feels good to serve.

All In One

OK, so here's the all-in-one halloween update.  You know the drill--going to the trunk-room-or treat and carnival inside the church building, carving pumpkins after aforementioned activity (thus the face paint on Olivia), trick-or-treating at a friend's house because trick-or-treating in our neighborhood was on a Sunday this year so we had to crash another neighborhood where they actually did it on Halloween night. The kids didn't get very much candy this year (fine by me) because the houses were so far apart and we spent a lot of time walking and not very much time trick-or-treating.  And they were all tired so we went to bed early.  It was fun, but sad to say we are kind of outgrowing Halloween at our house.  Only one more year for Olivia and then it will only be Jack for a few years.  On to bigger and better things.

And thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa, for the awesome costumes.  Last night a friend asked about Jack's travel plans with Grandma and Grandpa in a couple weeks and they said, "Now is this the same Grandma that makes the great costumes every year?  Is there anything they can't do?" To which I responded, "Nope, they're pretty much awesome!"  And they are.