Halloween at Schnepf Farms

Jordan surprised me with a date night to Schnepf Farms with our friends Shawn and Nicole. 

Schnepf Farms is a working farm that has events throughout the year to teach the public about agriculture.  In the fall they have their annual pumpkin party.   

One of the things I liked about Schnepf Farms was that once you had paid admission everything is free once inside.  Intermingled between the gardens and orchards was so much to do!

We went on a hay ride.

The hay ride took us to the start of a 10 acre corn maze! 

I have been through corn mazes many times in my life but this was a whole new experience.     

 Once inside we quickly became lost. 

We walked around in circles, hitting dead end after dead end for what seemed like hours. 

Jordan has the best sense of direction and he was able to get us back on the right track many times.

 It was dark and you often felt the corn stalks hitting your arms, legs and face.  I was so glad we came before the maze turned haunted.  It would have been terrifying being lost in such a huge maze with people scaring you.  It was spooky as it was and I was glad to have Jordan by my side.

 Half way through the maze we saw a little girl who had gotten lost from her group.  She was about ten and the poor thing was sobbing.  We helped her find her family and afterwards talked about how scary it is to be lost to begin with, let alone being ten in a huge dark corn maze!

We made it through the maze in about an hour.  To be honest I don't think we actually went through the entire maze.  I think we got so turned around that we came out the same way we went in. 

After finishing the corn maze we went to check out the carnival.  They had a small roller coaster, a giant slide, carousel and swings.  We decided against the rides because of the long lines and instead headed to the petting zoo. 

 

Jordan had a pet goat named Cosmo growing up.  He was much more comfortable around the goats than Nicole or I was. 

 Next we tried our luck at the straw bale maze and then headed to watch the pig races.

They had bon fires where you could roast marshmallows, a puppy pen for kids to play with puppies and small dogs, a rock climbing wall and fireworks.  I loved everything!  It was such a fun thing to do with friends and we cant wait to bring our children in the future.  A Halloween tradition may have just been started. 

We decided to leave a little early,  (We weren't anticipating all the walking we would be doing and none of us wore great shoes.  Something to remember for next year.) and stopped at Nielsons for ice cream on our way home.  

After church we were invited to have dinner with Shawn and Nicole.  We are going to play games, watch a movie and hand out candy together.  Its nice to have friends in Arizona.

Happy Halloween!  

       

Trunk or Treat

For our ward 'trunk' or treat this year they had a chili cook off, carnival for the kids, candy and of course costumes.  

I have a love/hate relationship with dressing up for Halloween.  I have always loved creating characters, dressing up and over the years have come up with some really great costumes. I also love blending in with the crowd and not being the center of attention.  This creates my yearly dilemma about dressing up for Halloween.  Dress up and be the center of attention or not dress up and become another boring adult who just showed up to the event.

Jordan and I decided to go for it and picked characters from the pixar movie "Up".  The morning of the trunk or treat I woke up to finish my costume and hated it.  I needed something else.  So I headed to the dollar store and bought a blue t shirt.     

Came home and hand drew Carl and Ellie's house on a piece of freezer paper.  

 Cut the picture out with an exacto knife to create a stencil.

Ironed the freezer paper templates onto the shirt. 

Painted the house and clouds. 

After it dried for a few hours I pulled the freezer paper off and..... 

Carl and Ellie's house!

Add balloons and perfect! A costume for me that is basically a t-shirt and jeans.   

Jordan dressed up as Carl and I went as the house. 

It took a few of the kids a minute to figure out what we were, but as soon as they got it they loved it!  Especially Jordan.  He was the hit of the night making quite a few friends with the kids in our ward.  We had so much fun!  We met more of our neighbors and spent the night laughing, handing out candy and glad that we were one of those who dressed up.     

Pumpkins, pizza, and a patchy football game

Last night Jordan and I invited our friends Shawn and Nicole over to watch the Boise State game and pizza.  Although the game wasn't perfect it was still a lot fun to watch.   The game ended with a win 49-20.  

The national championship game is being played in Phoenix this year so Jordan and I are very excited at the chance that Boise State might have at playing in the championship game.  We will be there.  Go Broncos!      

After the game we carved pumpkins.   

My pumpkin started out as an owl in a tree.  Halfway through carving, it caved in leaving me with not a lot of options to fix it.  So I created a person.  If you use your imagination you will see a large forehead, two small eyes, an ear and a large smile.   

When in doubt add BSU to the side and it becomes a great Halloween pumpkin.

Jordan was much more patient and created a spider web.   

Nicole with her spooky ghost pumpkin and Shawn with his bat pumpkin. 

We always have a good time with the Echols and this was no exception. 

Intel offered a free corporate day at the Phoenix Science Center for employees and their families.  Jordan and I decided to go.  We like the discovery center in Boise and thought that this science center would be even more fun.  It was four floors focusing this month on the human body and how it works, how a home is made, the forces of weather and our digital world. 

Watching an open heart surgery being performed.  Very interesting and surprisingly not gross at all.  

 Jordan learning about our nervous system.

We spent about an hour in the science center. They had some really interesting and fun exhibits for kids.  It would be a great place to take our niece and nephews but for us we found it....a little boring.                 

Thank you Grandpa Newman

I went to the store the other day.  Jordan isn't much of a shopper and does not appreciate the idea of 'just looking around' so while he was working I took the opportunity to spend the afternoon at Target.
   
As I was checking out I noticed that the total was a lot cheaper than I thought it should be.  My immediate thought was "Wow! That was a great deal.  Something must have been on more of a sale than I realized."  I walked out to my car and started going over the receipt trying to see what was the big deal of the day.  That is when I notice that not all my items were scanned.  And not only was it not scanned but it was the most expensive item I picked out that was not rung up! 

I had a brief moment of thinking "Well, it wasn't my fault that the cashier missed it and so I shouldn't have to worry about it."  Then the image of my Grandpa Newman came to mind.  He was the most honest man I have ever known.  It was that brief image that got me out of my car. 

I will admit it, I walked back not thrilled about the inconvenience but hopefully thought "Maybe they will give it to me for free for being so honest".   It was rather uneventful when they said "oh, OK." rung the item up, I paid for it and left.  No praises for being so honest, no discounts given, no fireworks, high fives or pats on the back.  Just simply the knowledge of knowing that I did the right thing.

I am still learning how to be completely honest in all things and be truly happy about it. 

Thank you Grandpa Newman for being one of the great examples in my life.  For living a life of true integrity and for the reminder in a Target parking lot of the right thing to do.   
    

Date night

One of the things I love the most about Jordan is his ability to make friends easily and to keep his friendships strong regardless of moving, getting married, work and school.

   

Jordan met Shawn and Nicole while living in Provo.  Over the years they have stayed great friends and knowing them has made our move to Arizona so much easier.  They live in the same apartment complex as us and we are able to get together with them quite often.

 We decided to skip the usual movie for a night of haunted miniature golfing.

  

 Nicole and Shawn

The course had undergone a spooky transformation for Halloween.  As you played golf through graveyards the workers would randomly show up in costumes to hand out candy.  It was really fun. 

 Jordan and I after we both hit a hole in one during the game.   The first of many for both of us. 

Jordan and Shawn were nervous that their wives might not get along.  They had nothing to worry about.  Nicole is so sweet and we have really enjoyed spending time together.  

        

 Jordan made sure to keep us updated on the Boise State vs Toledo game. 

The final score 57-14. 

GO BRONCOS!!

I was the winner of the game getting the coveted holy grail on the 18th hole.   

Only in Arizona do you see Halloween decorations of pumpkins, cactus and chilies. 

Excitement in Arizona

 We had exciting weather this week complete with 75 mph winds, uprooted trees, downed power lines, hail and a lot of rain.  And that was just at our house!  

A tornado watch was issued for our area.  Being from Idaho I had no idea what that meant.  Luckily Jordan who has been through many tornado watches in his life explained that a tornado 'watch' means that there is a high chance that a tornado may form.  A tornado 'warning' means, find a safe place to hide and pray.  He told me that our apartment being on the top floor would not be the safest place, but do not go outside! Get in the bath tub and cover up the moment it switched from a watch to a warning.  Four tornadoes did touch down but luckily for us the storm moved further north.       

The storm came in like a wall of water and lasted less than a minute!  The power of weather is amazing!

A different kind of excitement.

 Most weekends Jordan and I spend our Saturday mornings at the local goodwill.  Every other Saturday is 50% off everything and we have been able to find some really great stuff.  Jordan looks for books and I am always on the hunt for new refurbishing projects.  

We have been looking for weeks to find kitchen chairs we can refurbish for our kitchen.  Finding one that is solid and well made has been a challenge. 

Finally we found one!!! 

It is disgusting and needs some TLC but we have big plans to sand and paint this chair making it into something beautiful for our home. 

Before we left the house to go to goodwill Jordan happened to check craigslist.  He saw an old dresser for free that he thought looked like it was in good condition, (we are always looking for extra storage). 

When we got there the family said that they had bought two dressers on craigslist a few weeks earlier for $30 and decided to only use one.  Not only did they give us the dresser for FREE but they also gave us these wood shelves.  They are perfect for our food storage!   

A little dirty, scratched up and in need of handles but I think this is a great refurbishing project.  The best part is that if it doesn't turn out it, we got it for free and can happily pass it on to someone else without feeling like it was a waste of time and money.

Now what color to paint it?

I also found this adorable pumpkin basket at goodwill for $.99 that I put on our bookshelves to make our home a little more festive. 

 It took weeks of shopping and a lot of compromising and discussion but we finally agreed....and our new leather love seat has arrived!  (The couch will be here in a few weeks.) 

We LOVE them.  Jordan loves how comfortable they are and I love that they are a soft leather couch with a modern look to them.  Now we can have our friends over and they won't have to sit on the ground.