As most of you know, we have a kindergarten girl now! Evelyn absolutely loves school. And when I say she loves it, I'm saying you have never met a child that loves it more. The other day I asked her if she had a choice between going to school and taking another trip to Disneyland, she said, "Ooh, that's kind of tough...but I think I would rather go to school. Yep, I definitely would." Whenever I want to bribe her into something I tell her, "Evelyn, finish your lettuce, or you can't go to school today." You wouldn't believe how fast those veggies are consumed!
She is learning so quickly too! She is able to sound out almost all the words in her books. I keep writing the letter combo "Ou" and wincing because every time she comes across that one, she has to pinch me, to make me holler what sound it makes. I didn't realize how much it took to teach a kid how to read, and how much the English language doesn't conform to it's own rules.
Here is my fall project this year. I also worked on a Halloween wall hanging with owls dressed in costumes. I guess I am into owls lately. But I didn't finish that one, so I guess you'll get to see it next year.
This is how Evelyn ran around looking all month. Seriously.
My little puppy is getting so big! We all adore her though. And I am flattered that she has picked me as her favorite. It's not that I am anything special, but she loves me. It's nice to be adored. We all went up to Vivian Park in the canyon a few weeks ago, and we just dropped her leash and gave her freedom. Whenever Michael or Evelyn called her, she ignored them. But when I called, she came frolicking up, and she would follow me anywhere: whether it was on the child's playground or down the slide! What a cutie! She did develop a taste for going down slides. All I had to do was say, "One, two, THREE!" And she'd plunge headfirst down it. If I was still sitting at the top, She would desperately try to climb back up to me.
Here was Penny's Halloween Costume. Lol! She's the spookiest Minnie Mouse I ever saw! Michael thought I was nuts to buy a costume for a dog, but I told him she is my replacement baby, and then he quieted down. After we bought her costume, Evelyn decided she wanted to be Minnie Mouse too, so they could match.
This is Evelyn's pumpkin. Designed by Evelyn, Carved by Daddy-Boy. I thought it turned out rather nice. Though I don't know why she named it "Pene". (That's her way of spelling "Penny.") We carved it too early in the season though. About a week and a half ago Evelyn came in from taking Penny out and she was bawling! I asked her what was the matter and she exclaimed that her bat's head fell backwards into the pumpkin! If that was ten days ago, you can imagine how it looked by last night. I tried to tell her that her pumpkin was just getting spookier, but I don't think she agreed.
Here was my Halloween costume. It's the first time in years that I have actually really dressed up for Halloween. I thought it was fun to try and emulate Belle's hair. I thought it turned out pretty well despite that it's too short. The dress is so gorgeous and I was glad to find an excuse to wear it. It's a bit too flashy for church.
Here are our (OW!) twin girls. I wish we would have been able to find a matching red costume for Evelyn, but I suppose it's better this way so that you can tell them apart. ;) Evelyn is so funny with Penny. She is definitely having a harder time with this puppy training thing than Penny. She always wants to be a dog and she runs around dragon-style and gets Penny nipping at her, and we have to charge her money for the Penny-Jar. The other day I just got sick of the whole thing being so ineffective, and we grounded her from Penny that evening. A few minutes later, we heard Evelyn serenading Penny, "I love you so much, Penny, I would to anything for you! But I can't because I am grounded from you!" I thought it would make a great 50's love ballad.
Elvis returned once again this year. We had an extra great Halloween this year. Usually I hate Halloween: I am not impressed by the scary things, the gore, or the immodesty. When I tried to explain that to Evelyn at the beginning of the season, she exclaimed, "But why!? I LOVE Halloween!" I tried to help her see that there were good things and bad things about the season, and we tried to make it fun by focusing on the good things. Then for her scripture this month we worked on articles of faith number 13.
Then all through the month Evelyn's enthusiasm carried the whole family, and I remembered how I felt about the season before I became aware of all the nastiness. By the time Halloween night came around all of us were just as excited as if we were the ones going trick-or-treating for the first time. (Evelyn only has done the mall, or just a couple houses in years past.) We went out for two hours and had had such a fun time! There were a few pretty scary experiences, and I was even grateful for that. When I asked Evelyn at the end of the night if she had a good time, she said, "Yes, but I understand what you meant about Halloween now." When I asked her what she meant, she said, "Most of it was fun, but I didn't like the scary parts and the selfishness. Most kids didn't even say thank you!"
She is such an amazing little girl! I love that little one!
