For Halloween this year, my kids dressed up as Star Wars characters. Emma was Queen Amidala. Her costume looked OK on the hanger, but it was AWESOME on her. It came with a plastic mask that didn’t look like much. But when I painted her face and dressed her up, she looked great. She was the star of the show at Disneyland. Everywhere we went people commented on her great costume.

After I did Emma’s make-up, I wished that I had some green to paint Nora’s face for her Yoda costume. How convenient that there was a Sephora right at the entrance to our hotel! I went there on our way out to the park and picked up some great green make up. It was the perfect color and very pigmented. A little went a long way. Nora loved it! She loves make up and any kind of cream she can rub on herself.

I know I should have been more careful, knowing Nora’s history, but I wasn’t. When we got home Sunday night I started unpacking the suitcase, but I didn’t get it all done. I left it open on my bedroom floor and went to bed. The next morning was the usual mad Monday morning dash, compounded by the fact that we just returned home late the night before from a trip. As I was getting ready for the day and making lunches Nora and Ian were playing with the green make up in the bedroom. I yelled out to the kids that it was time to leave for school, but they didn’t answer. I walked into my bedroom to find two kids with the green make up all over their faces and all over my carpet. The nice heavily pigmented make up was great when I put it on for Halloween, but not so great on my carpet or on my kids faces on a school day.

I madly cleaned them up, but I know there was some left. I’m sure their teachers thought I was a negligent mom and that they hadn’t been bathed since Halloween. Oh well, I am sure it isn’t the last time Nora will get into make up or lotion!

I did a little photo shoot with my own kids tonight. I just haven’t been photographing my favorite (HA!) subjects lately. My kids are so sick of my camera and it always ends in frustration for all of us. But I have really been wanting to get a good one of the three of them together. Tonight I took them out onto the golf course behind my parents house. There were so many great spots to use! I was able to get a few good ones of them together. Yippee! I have lots of keepers and a bunch to edit, but here is one to tide you over.

Apparently Ian has been quite the ladies man at school this year. I posted a few days ago about his “kissing incident“. I guess he has 3 girlfriends, now

One of them, though, wants to concentrate on her school work instead of flirting with Ian. Look at what she wrote to him:

How cute is that?

So far none of the teachers has spoken to me about it. That usually means it isn’t too big of a problem yet. We have had a few talks with him about it. I didn’t expect to deal with this in Kindergarten already. If this is what it is like now, I can’t wait for the teenage years!

Last night I went to back to school night at Soaring Wings. Ian’s teacher told me that he has a crush on one of the new girls at school.

When I got home I asked him about it.

“So, Ian, tell me about Malia.”

“She’s a new girl in my class. She is my new girlfriend” he said smirking. “Now I have two girlfriends. Malia and Denali. And do you know what?”

“What Buddy?”

“I kissed Malia on the lips. So now I have to marry her!”

I just about fell out of my chair. I tried to be a good parent and explain that it isn’t OK to be kissing on the lips. But I had all I could do to not burst out laughing!

I didn’t take these photos of my kids. Unfortunately, they just don’t cooperate for me. I’d much rather photograph someone else’s kids–it is a lot more fun for everybody. These were taken by my awesome photographer friends, Katie and Dan, at Peekaboo Photos. I know I have put quite a few photos on this blog lately, I thought I better put some up of my own kids too.

Ian has been in the learn to skate program for the last couple of years. He started out on figure skates and then graduated to hockey skates this year. Little by little he has been getting better. After the last class, he was finally able to skate forward and stop on his own. Those were the requirements to start the Learn to Play Hockey program.

He has had a set of hockey equipment for quite a while. He still needed a few things to complete his uniform. I had to find him a cup and athletic supporter that would fit him. That was no easy feat. He is so skinny that most were too big. I finally found the smallest and cutest little cup I couldn’t wait to see him in all his equipment.

He was so excited when I told him that we had signed him up! Every day for weeks he asked if it was starting. I was worried that when the day finally came he wouldn’t like it as much as he thought he would. Luckily, he loved it.

Scott took him and got him all suited up. He was a little tentative at first, but he was thrilled to be on the ice for the first time in all his gear with his stick. He still needs practice skating, but he loved the program. He got to skate with the puck and practice shooting it into the net. He fell down quite a bit, but with all the equipment, it didn’t even bother him.

Ever since I was pregnant and found out we were having a boy, I thought about the days ahead and hoped he would want to play hockey. I can’t believe that the time has flown by and he is ready to start playing. He still needs lots of ice time and plenty of practicing, but the hockey days have begun.

This week the theme is beach photos. Since I live in Utah, I’m not near a beach I dug out one of my photos from our last trip to Maui. It really doesn’t showcase the beautiful beach, but it does fit the theme. I love the expression I captured on Ian’s face.

Be sure to check out I ♡ Faces to see all the amazing photos that were entered in this week’s contest.

Be sure to check out I ♡ Faces to see all the amazing photos that were entered in this week’s contest.

My photo placed 4th this week. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!

I have been faithfully entering the I ♥ Faces contests every week. There are always so many wonderful photographs. Each week I enter I hope that it will be my week. I can’t tell you how many weeks I have spent hours on my photo, and then been disappointed when I didn’t win. I just kept entering hoping that soon it would be my turn–and this week it was!

Last week I took the kids out in the backyard one evening to snap a few photos with a lens I haven’t used in a while. Everyone else I know who has it just raves about it, so I wanted to play with it a little more. Ian was in his PJs and I just started taking a few photos of him. I got one that I really liked.

I have been so busy lately I hadn’t had a chance to check to see what the I ♥ Faces theme was. I was so happy when I saw that it was “Let’s Hear it For the Boys” I knew which photo I wanted to enter.

Unfortunately, I am having some trouble getting the colors in this photo to show up the same way on my blog as they do on my monitor. I have been having this problem lately with many of my photos. I think I know how to fix it, I just need to do a little reading up on it to figure out how to fix it.

Anyway, I was thrilled to place in the top ten this week! It just gives my confidence such a boost.

Thanks to everyone for their nice comments, too

Be sure to check out I ♡ Faces to see all the amazing photos that were entered in this week’s contest.