HALLOWEEN- EPISODE 2

The weather threw a big rod in the works for our Trick or Treating night. I sent Princess P out with D for a quick tour of the block and 10 minutes later lightening is flashing across the sky, thunder is rumbling and hail is pounding. I guess D picked her up and ran for home (they were already on their way back because it was so cold). P was sopping wet, in tears and madder than a hornet. D was laughing.

We went up to Grandma and Grandpa Gordon's to show off costumes. Here they are with the cousins and Little C's buddy. Little C didn't want all the make up from Frankenstein, so he was a nerd.

Here they are with my little niece. She is the cutest baby!!

HALLOWEEN- EPISODE I

The elementary school had their costume parade yesterday.

Princess P dressed up as.... A PRINCESS! Gee, what a surprise... Here she is with her 'fairy god mother' (a friend in her class).

Little C dressed up as Frankenstein again this year. Here he is with some friends.

That night my little sister had her birthday party, i.e. THE PUMPKIN CARVING EXTRAVAGANZA. We went and ate yummy soups (with homemade noodles even), carved pumpkins, visited with friends, ate lots of cookies and had a great time!

Then we came home and lit our jack o' lanterns. A very fun first day of Halloween!

HAPPY BOODAY TO MY LITTLE SISTER

From her Halloween-time birthday to her obsession with Stephen King, my little sister has always been one of the most interesting, quirky, unpredictable girls I have ever met- and I mean that in every sense of the word! She is fun, crazy and beyond unconventional. They are the best parts of her.

As sisters, we have always gotten along well and had a great time with each other. I think I always understood her better than anyone else in my family. We had a link based on that unconventionality.

These 1990 photos tell our story better than I can. (I'm the one on the left). The outfits, hair-do's, and make-up are the result of just hanging out together. We were reliving our 'new wave' past that night and creating sisterly bonds.

We are lucky enough to live only four blocks from each other and still have a great time together. I am so glad she is my sister- Heavenly Father knew we needed each other. I love her with all my heart.

MY AMAZING SISTER & HER STORY

The NBC news in Denver did a 2-part story on my sister, her children, her blog and her amazing resiliency. Here is a link if you're interested. Don't forget to watch the video too.

SELF-PORTRAIT POSTERIZATION

One of the assignments I give in my design class is a self-portrait. We take photos in class and the rule is that they have to decide on a non-traditional portrait pose. Then we take the images into PhotoShop, let the computer posterize them for us, blow them up on a big board and paint them. Some of them turn out very fun and I just thought I'd share a few.

Here is my daughter, S. I LOVE IT!! So much personality!

Very fun perspective of I. The foreshortening is great!

This flirty one is of T!

K's has lots of personality too!

This is definitely one of my favorites EVER! So fun!

So, if your facebook profile needs a new look, here's a bunch of ideas for you!

CRAZY HAIR DAY

This week is Red Ribbon week at our school, so today the kids needed crazy hair.

Little C usually has a faux-hawk anyway, but we decided to put it in spikes. Princess P was in true diva mode today and not thrilled about anything this morning. Her high and low ponytails seemed to put her in a better mood-- until she found out she didn't have time to make a lunch, then it was right back into the pout . (Wow is she going to be a fun pre-teen!)

CARVING OF THE PUMPKINS

Our traditional pumpkin carving family night at the barn was held tonight. This year my sister-in-law made chili and we had a great time carving pumpkins and watching 'How to Train Your Dragon.'

Princess P did a Jack Skellington face, D did a skull, and Little C had me carve a scary face that I messed up and broke part of. :( Oh well, I never claimed I was a master carver!

TOOTHLESS

Princess P lost another tooth and she is so thrilled!

The ToothFairy came and brought her a dollar (usually it takes the ToothFairy 2 or 3 nights to make it to our house, so we were proud of her). I hope the other front one comes out soon. I LOVE it when kids are missing both front teeth!

FAMILY PROCLAMATION FHE

In Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, our Bishop asked us to read the Proclamation on the Family for Family Home Evening. Since I had the lesson, I decided we would do it. I looked online and found this site with some good lessons ideas.

It was based on Paragraph #7 in the Proclamation.

We read scriptures and quotes from the prophets as we added each part of the house to learn how to strengthen our home and family. Then we ate ice cream!

ZIP LINE

Yesterday we went up Maple Canyon to be outside and enjoy the beautiful fall weather. The leaves were still very colorful and it was a gorgeous hike.

We hiked up to the 'Pipe Dream' area and set up a zip line.

Here is A zipping along on the zip line. It wasn't very fast, but the boys loved it!

Even Princess P loved it. She climbed up and did it twice.

Here is a squirrel that kept watching us. He has red eye he was so close.

I asked the boys to pose for me and this is the result. What a bunch of goofs.

GARDEN RECONSTRUCTION

Big C decided we needed to redo our garden walls from wood to cement. When he decides to do a project, he means business.

Here it is, all formed up. The guys (boys) have been helping too.

He also wants to add a green house, but I am opposed to that idea. I spend enough time in the garden without having to feel like I need to spend more to justify buying a green house. (I am not fond of gardening).

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CAKE

THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE

1 PKG DEVILS FOOD CAKE MIX (i just use whatever choc. cake mix i have)

1 PKG. INSTANT CHOC. PUDDING

1 CUP SOUR CREAM

4 EGGS

1/2 CUP WATER

1/2 CUP OIL

1 PKG. CHOC. CHIPS

COMBINE ALL INGREDIENTS AND MIX WELL. POUR INTO WELL GREASED BUNDT PAN. BAKE AT 350 FOR 40-45 MIN. LET COOL 1 HOUR. GLAZE OR SPRINKLE WITH POWDERED SUGAR.

PUMPKIN PATCH TRADITION

It's that time of year again, when the Gordon's hit Beck's Farms pumpkin patch. It is a very fun Family Home Evening tradition.

Here are my naughty children who refuse to smile nicely for their mother. (it took quite a few tries just to get one this good).

The little girls are always willing to pose for me though. What a bunch of cuties!

Little C couldn't make up his mind. There are just too many to choose from out there!

Here are the moms...

and the dads. Afterwards, we went and had hot chocolate and donuts at the park. My kids had such a good time it was spooky! Ha ha!

BLINDSIDED

On Tues. I got a call from the Executive Secretary of our ward. He asked me if I could come in for a minute to talk to the Bishop. I said sure. I drove to the church thinking it was no big deal, after all, he didn't even ask for my husband to come with me.

As soon as I walked in the building, however, I knew I was in trouble- the whole Bishopric was there and they asked me where my husband was. He was there at scouts, so they went to grab him and then proceeded to ask me to serve as the Relief Society President. I was very horrified. I DO NOT feel ready, but I guess Heavenly Father has different ideas for me. Of course I accepted and they sustained my counselors and I today. I almost threw up. I am VERY overwhelmed!

On a lighter side I found this on the internet and couldn't resist putting it on here as an illustration of a woman called to serve as RS President. I'll do a before and after photo of me and see how true it turns out to be...

FALL RIDE

Big C took me for a ride in the evil Rhino. I was dying to see all the fall colors before they are gone and I almost missed it.

Here he is.

Here we are on top of Bald Mountain. It was cold, but BEAUTIFUL!!

See what I mean? I LOVE the mountains!

PARADES, PAINTINGS AND PHALANGES

This is my painting from this morning. It was Columbus Day, thus the flag.

Here is Princess P with her cousins watching the high school homecoming parade. (We also went to the college one the next day and got tons of candy, shirts, balls, etc... very fun!)

Here is a recent photo of A's fingers (phalanges). I think they are looking really good and he's got most of the movement back in them. Hopefully the brace is coming off this week...

HOMECOMING HIJINKS

It is our high school's Homecoming this week. Do you think I could talk my 16 year old son into getting a date? No.

He has been willing to participate in the other festivities however. Here he is in his powder puff volleyball outfit last night. It is S's old track team uniform. Lookin' good, lookin' real good!

ERICKSON HOME

P and I painted on Friday.

Here is my painting. I always make my houses too skinny and tall. Is there a psychological meaning in that??

Here is Pat's. I love the strong contrasts in her painting.

PRINTING- A PHOTO ANTHOLOGY

I took Princess P and Little Miss B (niece) with me to print my linocut yesterday. It was very fun, but they were bored. I guess I am not as exciting as I like to think I am.

Princess P grabbed my phone and started taking photos, so here is the process in pictures. It kinda looks like I'm working at a fast food place with my matching hat and apron.

The finished product. I am pleased with my first linocut in over 20 years. I think I'll call it 'Fear of Needles'. No, that's boring. 'Shot to the Heart'? Nah, how about 'It Will Only Hurt for a Minute'? Anybody got any better ideas?

TODD, YOU WILL BE MISSED

We have terrible luck with cats, well, pets of any kind actually. We have been through 4 kittens/cats in 2 years. We have lost most of them, but yesterday was the most tragic. Our Todd (about 6 months old) was hit by a car in front of our house. I asked Big C to go take care of it, but he delegated the job to my two oldest sons. I am still very upset about that, but that's a story for another time.

I had to go to my Relief Society art group, so Big C and the kids buried him and made him a headstone.

Here is a photo of Todd taken by Princess P on my phone. She and Little C are REALLY going to miss him, but I think Todd's brother Kevin is going to miss him the most. Very sad.