They are FIVE!

My twins are FIVE! Wow. I really enjoyed looking back through pictures. I could remember the days so well! I made this movie (five minutes long because they are five!) including two of their favorites songs. I've sung "Christmas Bells" and "Jesus Said Love Everyone" countless times. Happy birthday girls! I love being a mother of twins!

You can also view this on youtube here.

To celebrate their birthdays we're having a SPOOK-tacular Costume Party from 9:30-11 with lots of friends and  games, activities and crafts. Activtites include the following: Pin the Bowtie on the Skeleton, Make a Witch's Hat, Bean Bag BOO, Ghost Pop, Balloon Bat, Puppet Show (by Abby), Monster Mash and Movie, Coin Cackle, Mummy Wrap Race, Don't Eat My Spook, Pumpkin Pals, Spooky Songs and Story (by me!), Ghost Ghost BOO (instead of Duck Duck Goose), and Pass the Pumpkin. 

I made a princess castle cake for Jane and spooky cupcakes for Emma. They go along with their foam house backdrop they picked out at the store. Will add photos soon.

To celebrate Halloween we're going to get our annual dinner at Sonic (gotta love those 50 cent corndogs) and trick-or-treat the neighborhood. 

37 Ghosts

I made 37 of these ghosts out of felt for YW, visiting teaching ladies, kids' school teachers, and twins' birthday party favor bags. I put BOO notes on the back for each occasion. They turned out cute!

And on Thursday Abby came home with ochre (yellow pigment the indians used) on her face from her Maidu Museum fieldtrip.

Ward Halloween Party

We got our picture taken first thing and then we enjoyed carnival games, chili/hot dog dinner, fresh popcorn, a hay ride and trunk or treating. Ross stayed after to clean up. When I brought the kids home they did some candy trading.

Costume Parade at School

As part of the Harvest Day festitivies the kids had a school-wide costume parade and then classroom parties. I manned the TK playdough table with orange dough in take-home bags and lots of sequins and beads and cutters to play with. I had no free hands to take a picture of it. I dressed up at Elastigirl. That morning we had yummy donuts and I re-read a creative card by Abby. Here is my status from Facebook: How did this Halloween Eve birthday girl celebrate her morning? Cleaning, prepping homemade play dough, and then over to the school for the costume parade. After I hosted the TK class pumpkin play dough station. Abby dared me to wear my birthday crown. So I did. And I threw on my Incredibles costume last-minute. Tonight is the ward party and I'll wear a different costume.

Birthday Email From My Mom

Happy Birthday dear Andrea!  Wish we were there to personally wish you a Happy Birthday!  You are a great gal! We love you so much!  You do such a great job in all that you do!

Happy Birthday and lots of love,

Dad and Mom S.

Andrea's favorites are:  All the holidays; she enjoys the traditions of each one and trying to make it special.  She loves Mexican food, but for simple eating, toast, cheese and graham crackers and milk are ones she chooses.  She love peas, pears and apple pie and cheesecake.  She loves Snicker candy bars, the number 5, the letter A.  She loves to help at school.  She is a volunteer to run off many papers for Allen's class and she corrects facts tests for Abby's class. 

     Her favorite outing is going to the library.  Her favorite book as a child was The Spooky Old Tree.  Now she likes the Hunger Games, the Train to Potevka, ones by LDS authors, and many others.  A favorite is reading to her children.  She loves the color yellow, hippos as a kid, and monkeys now which are very fun to watch.  She loves the hymns The Lord is My Light and I Am a Child of God.  She loves sound tracks from movies and loves to collect them. 

     She loves to play softball, and watch BYU football and NBA sports with Ross.  Her favorite movie is The Sound of Music, and TV show, Saved By the Bell.  She loves to exercise.  She gets up way early to run or walk, etc.  Her hobbies are playing board games, doing projects while she watches a movie, singing in the ward choir, writing on her blog, teaching piano, being Beehive Advisor, and "enforcing the law" (one child teased.)

    She loves small trips with her family seeing sights near wherever they live.  Her favorite place to visit is Utah.  Places she'd love to visit are Brazil and New Zealand. Ross, Allen, Abby, Jane, Emma and Jill are the top of her favorite list!!  

Note: She sends this out as a mass email to everyone in the family and includes LOTS of pictures.

Family Fun Night

The city of Roseville had a Family Fun Night with face-paint, balloons, games and trick-or-treating. We came home and celebrated by birthday with a pizza dinner and cheesecake. Then I opened presents--ukulele, Walter Mitty DVD (old one), Chitty Bang Bang soundtrack, three undershirts, two bookshelves (which Ross already put together) and six playground balls (so we can play Four Square better on the back patio). Why did we do it on the 29th, the night before? Because our ward is having a "party" for me (aka ward trunk or treat, chili cook-off) on my birthday. :) Isn't that nice of them? :)