Halloween at the Kerestes House

Our family loves Halloween! There really hasn't been any big holiday for a while so we really go all out! We decorate our house full of cute Halloween decorations. We have been collecting for over 9 years now so we almost have just as much as our Christmas decorations. We just love it! We never do anything creepy or scary it is just the cute stuff. We even had a few lights out on our yard with a huge blow up pumpkin.

I also held a children's Halloween Party here at our house for all the preschool children. We had a great turn out. Over 17 mom and kids. We played lots of games, made a craft, and ate lots of yummy food. Kody and Kamden loved it!

We also went to our ward Trunk or Treat! We decked out our van but I forgot our camera. We had lights all over it and Mike even tied our blow up Pumpkin on top. But the kids were so sad because we have won every year for the last 6 years but this year we didn't win. You should of seen their face. But the man in charge said we couldn't win again so he picked someone else. But we were just fine with it because it was a great learning lesson for our kids. That we don't do it for the prize but we do it because we have fun doing it together. It is a great family project. So mike says he will be ready for next year and will just have to step it up a notch!

We also went to downtown Ghoulish night which was awesome! The town had free games, activities, and let the kids go trick or treating. They loved it!

We also went to our mall and the boys received a bucket full of candy. They even played a few more games and rode a ride!

The kids even received a package in the mail from someone ghosting them. It was filled with lots of candy and prizes!

Our library also had a Halloween Party for all children because it was Teacher Conference so there was no school. So they had a really nice party during the morning for all kids. They decorated the room very cute and had lots of games for the kids to play. They also passed out tons of candy and prizes.

This year we really enjoyed all the activities as a family. We look back now and just smile watching our sweet children enjoy this time of year! They had fun ghosting and going to all the activities. They all had a SPOOKIN good time especially MOM AND DAD!

Hallloween

I love to make Halloween crafts with my kids! We make these stuffed ghost every year because this is something I did when I was a little girl. My boys had a blast making these as you can tell because look how many we had to make! Kody made a Mom, Dad, Boy, and a girl for a ghost family! Talk about cute!

We also made pumpkin man, skeleton, and pumpkins for Halloween! Every morning Kody and Kamden would say good morning to their skeleton Man! They would call it Mr. Bones!

Each year we like to carve pumpkins. Kallee made the cute face, Kyle of course did the Virginia Tech pumpkin, and Kody made a cute little face! Kamden didn't want to carve his pumpkin because it would HURT IT!!! So to this day he is saving his pumpkin. I think that is one lucky pumpkin he picked!

This is a Picture of Kyle's candy just from our neighborhood Trick or Treating. This didn't include the ward Trunk or Treat, Ghoulish Downtown Greensboro, or the Library. He had about this much more up in his bedroom from all the events this year! He says it will last him all year until he gets another stash next year! He really means this....He will hardly share with anyone!

Here is a picture of Kallee's candy that she got from Trick or Treating. She likes to divide it up into two piles to see if any of her brothers would like to trade with her. She is always successful with that one! I can't figure out why!!!!

Halloween

Kody had a blast this Halloween! Everyday he woke up he would ask me how many more days until Halloween! He couldn't wait to get all the candy! This year he wanted to be Duke from GI Joe! He looked adorable and if only you could have seen him run from house to house this year Trick or Treating. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him! That was my favorite part of the night was watching him run and ring each door bell. His entire face sparkled when they gave him a treat! Kody was adorable this year!

Our neighborhood is the perfect spot for Trick or Treating. The houses are close together and there is a lot of houses. The people here give you a hand full and not just one piece. So Mike and I have to join in on the fun. We didn't want to be short so we bought plenty of candy. Each year we have over a 150 Trick or Treaters come visit us!

Even Kallee this year dressed up and joined in the fun. She had a blast getting all the yummy treats. She usually eats her entire share of candy within the first week. This year she got more so it actually lasted a little bit longer but not by much! Just last night she dumped her bag out and was bummed because all the good stuff was gone. She was left with her seconds but decided she would just have to get more next year to last her a little longer! The best part is....You can't even tell she ate it all. Thanks to Gymnastics she burns it all off and could even use a little more!

Kyle this year wanted to be a Stars War character and so that is just what he was. Let me tell you he was the biggest trick or treater in our house. After we thought we were all done he talked his dad into going up the hill and go go go until everyone turned off their lights. He did exactly that. I have never seen so much candy in my life from Trick or Treating. He went to several different Halloween parties so it really added up. Halloween Night was the biggest candy night ever!

He is Mr Smart so he told his dad every time he rang the door bell he figured out if he was extra nice by telling the person something they would give him extra candy. So he even went to the extreme of telling some lady her wreath on her door was beautiful and he liked her sweater! Of course she hooked him up! Leave it to KYLE to figure that one out! But he loved Halloween and had a very SPOOKIN TIME!

Check this out!!! How cute is Baby Kamden wearing his bat costume! This is his first year ever that he actually wanted to wear a costume! In the past, we either tortured him by making him wear it for at least a picture or bribing him. But this year he wanted to wear a costume! WOW was I ever excited. Only being 2 years old he new exactly what to say and couldn't believe just by saying a couple words that people would actually give him candy. This was is best night in his whole life. On top of that Mom even let him eat a ton of it!!!! He was nothing but SMILES on Halloween!

Ghosting

Every year for Halloween our family always has to ghost someone in our neighborhood. So this year we decided to put it to work. The kids choose two different families and ghosted them. The funny part was the got busted on Kallee's friend Jessie. They are from a different country so didn't know how this works. So when they opened the door they first thought it was a bomb or something strange. They ran in and got a baseball bat and came looking for the person who did this. Well, the scarey part was Kallee and Kyle where hiding behind there car and so Jesse's dad came around and found them. They all have never laughed so hard before. Kallee and Kyle will never forget their hearts pounding so fast and this family screamed and even came looking for them with a baseball bat. YIKES! But it ended up being all good and for sure this GHOSTING will never be forgotten!

Halloween

Kerestes Family ready to go Trick or Treating!

Happy Halloween!

Kerestes Family at the Library Halloween Party! We had so much fun! We played games, won prizes, treats, and even ate popcorn! They had it during the morning when the kids didn't have school. The library was decorated and even had a firetruck for the kids to see! Afterwards, we went to Krispy Kreme and each ate an orange pumpkin doughnut! Yummy! We enjoyed the day together!

Kallee made this Haunted House at Activity Day Girls! Way to go Kallee!

Kyle's Football

Kyle you had a great Football season playing for the COWBOYS! You learned how to tackle and run really fast!!!! You made a lot of great friends and many memories!

Today Kyle was your last Football game for the Season! Your team didn't make it to the playoff championship game but you guys game them a good run. You almost did it until the last play was called back and they made a touchdown! But you walked away with your head held high!

Kyle Kerestes Oct. 2010
Cowboys Football Team
8 Years Old

Labor Weekend Camping Trip

Our family had so much fun camping in the Colorado Rocky Mountains we decided to skip everything we had over Labor Day Weekend and go camping. We went to Jack Rabbit Mountain Campground which is a campground surrounded by a huge lake up in the Chattuge Mountains in North Carolina. Part of the lake is in Georgia where we did most of our hiking in.

We arrived Friday night around 7pm and came home Monday evening around the same time. We had the best time ever being out in the beautiful nature. The weather was amazing. It was perfect during the day and even the night. We ate lots of good food thanks to Kevin and Rebecca for teaching us in Colorado. We ate Burritos, Stir Fry, Hot dogs, Casadeas, Homemade brownies, homemade M&M cookies, Reeses cookies, Cherry cake, and tons more.

We went fishing on a hike, swam in the lake, hiked up to two different falls. We also found lots of beautiful rocks with quartz and Mica in them. We played lots and enjoyed sitting around the campfire.

Mom's favorite part was seeing her children be so happy and not have a care in the world. She loved listening to their laughter and seeing their big huge smiles. She also loved sitting around the campfire talking about special things and discussing the gospel as a family. We knew none of this would be possible without our Heavenly Father and Savior. It was neat as a family to be together and be able to experience this.

We will never forget all the fun times we shared together. We can't wait to go again!

Rock Shop

On our way home we couldn't drive past the Rock Shop. So we stopped and looked at all the beautiful rocks. It was a great ROCK shop but we came home empty handed from the store because we decided we found enough rocks from here for Mom to put in her Rock Tumbler. But the kids still had a blast. They at least got to get out of the van for a while and look at cool rocks from around the world.

Fishing up at Jack Rabbit Mountain

Just a little walk across the road from our campsite and we decided to cast our lines. What a surprise our kids pulled up!

Over 30 of these little fish. They had a blast doing this. They would just barely cast their line in and within a couple of seconds out pulled a little fish. They put them in a bucket to see how many they could catch. They funny thing is Kody and Kamden dumped it over and WOW did we ever have fish flopping everywhere. We had to scramble to put them all back into the lake.

They won for catching the biggest fish at Jack Rabbit Mountain Campground! Huge whooping 2 inch fish!

Hiking

Mom wanted to go Hiking so she got a map and directions to some falls. Well, Dad fell asleep and Mom took a few wrong turns but it ended up being O.K. She didn't quite get to the falls she wanted to but found something else. We did do to Hikes up to 2 different falls. They were so beautiful. We loved it so much. The air was cool and crisp. The nature was spectacular.

The only problem was Baby would not walk one time. He would not put his feet on the ground because of the dirt and SNAKES! So we ended up carrying him the whole time. Boy, did we get a work out. Which was good after eating all that good camping food around the fire!

Hiking in Snake Territory

Can you believe me out of all people would even go hiking with signs like this all over the trails. But I did it and was so proud of myself. Let me tell you everyone was trying so hard to trick me. With brushing sticks on my legs to putting stuff on my head. By the end, I could of really had a snake and would of thought it was just someone teasing me. But thank goodness we didn't see anything!

Funny moments

There is always funny moments camping but Mom won this time. We all went down a hiking fishing trail that had different trails to take you to the lake to fish. Well, we set off with our 4 kids along with our 4 poles. Dad wanted to try one spot which was super rocky so I said I would take the kids down to the next one with less rocks. Well, we got to the spot but it was covered with fallin trees and rocks. Kallee and Kyle said "Mom lets just go over them." I said, "No, It will be to hard with Kody and Kamden so I will walk down a bit farther and go around them." They decided to go right over them. Well, they made it just fine but I had a whole other story.

I so got stuck in a foot of mud. Holding both Kody and Kamden in my arms along with a fishing pole. I tell you what I could not get out of the mud. Both of my legs were stuck. Kallee and Kyle could see me and couldn't help but laugh. They ran over just in time before I panicked. A huge spider crawled over my covered feet. I was so helpless holding both boys and the pole. So I passed them the boys one at a time and threw them my pole.

But I couldn't get my feet out still. So, I had to wiggle my feet out of my shoes and then dig for my shoes in the mud. I finally fished them out and was covered in mud.

When Mike saw me he busted out laughing and just said WOW! What happened to you.

Later that night as we sat by the fire we compared it to our Heavenly Father. How there is so many obstacles in this life. But no matter what ever happens he is always there for us. Even though the path way may seem so hard it is always worth it. We can't give up but to just keep on going. Whenever you are stuck he won't forget you but will always help you out. I choose the supposedly easier route but it turned out to be the hardest route of all. Just like Satin likes to make everything look so wonderful and sugar coated but it's not the best and easiest route to go. It ended up being the toughest route of all. Just like Heavenly Father and our Savior he is always there for us. Just like Kallee and Kyle came to help me out. I really don't know what I would have done without them. I couldn't have put the boys down in the mud. But I know just like they helped me out our Heavenly Father and Savior will as well. They are there and will always be there even when you feel STUCK!

Family Pictures

We had so much fun as a family camping here at the lake. We had a wonderful spot with lots to do around us. We could see the lake from our spot and walk right to it within about 3 minutes. We found a lot of beautiful rocks that had mica in them and also lots of quartz. We walked down the lake and Mike found a cove that was beautiful. We fished for a while and then we walked and found awesome rocks!

Dad loved being with his kids and playing with them!

Walking around Jack Rabbit Mountain Lake in North Carolina

We had so many smiles over Labor Day weekend with lots of laughter. The funniest part was the smiles and laughter came from the Kool K Kids covered in dirt. WOW! This is going to take weeks to remove! They were rolling in the dirt, having dirt fights, playing in the fire, lake water, and JUST HAVING A GOOD OL TIME!

Camp Fun

Our kids love playing in the fire! They begged for a fire 3x's a day at each meal. We compromised and did 2 fire's a day. In the morning and at night. Every time we did they all had their fire sticks right in the fire playing a way. What a good time!

Kyle looks like he is up to nothing but trouble!

Kool K Kids playing in the fire.

Kody ready for some water balloon fun!

Jack Rabbit Mountain Campground

Swimming in the lake! We have never felt warmer water than this. I am from Wyoming so all the water is like ICE cold doesn't matter how hot it is for the day. But this feels great. The weather was even perfect!

Kamden playing in the lake!

Kody driving his truck through the warm lake water!

Kamden enjoying the GOOD LIFE!

Kallee's Cake

Kallee's cake she decorated and made to share with all her friends!

When we went to Wyoming this summer Grandma gave us a 4 tier cake pan. Kallee could hardly wait to try it out. So she did. She baked a cake and then made yummy icing to decorate it. She then did the put a few decorations on it.
Way to go Kallee!

Carowinds

Our summer fun couldn't end just yet and to end the school starting again boos the kids where so excited to hear that Kevin, Rebecca, and Jadeyn where coming to North Carolina to spend the day with us. The kids had a blast and I loved seeing my brother. We ate lots of yummy foods and went on tons of exciting rides. Thanks so much for a special day with us. We appreciate you flying this way to visit us.

Kody Playing Soccer

This is Kody's first season of playing sports. He has had a blast playing soccer this fall. He has done very well and we can't believe how fast he runs. Better watch out because here comes Kody to steal the ball and drive it all the way down to the goalie. Go KODY!!!! WHAT A SEASON! August- September 2010

Kody Playing Soccer

Kyle's big night for SCOUTS

Congratulation's Kyle...tonight you received your WOLF badge after only being in Scouts for 4 months. Kyle you love scouts and especially passing off achievements to earn badges. It helped this summer going to Wyoming and Colorado. We did so much between rock hunting, camping, and Grandpa Cottrell was a huge help. He did so much with Kyle to earn his marble beltloop and pin along with rock collecting, cooking hotdogs outside around a fire, fishing, playing sports, and much more. For a total of 6 beltloops and 6 pins! So congratulations Kyle and keep up all your hard work with MOM! We sure do love you and are proud of you!

BIG SCOUT NIGHT FOR KYLE

Happy Birthday Mike

This year for Mike's Birthday we decided to deck out his car while he was working at VOLVO. The night before the kids and I planned everything out. The next day Kody, Kamden, and I went to work. We stuffed his car with 75 balloons, treats, gum,, and cards. The outside we wrote on his window, put streamers, and a banner to wish him a HAPPY BIRTHDAY! We love you Mike and just wanted to make sure you had a HAPPY 34th Birthday! Love ya.....Love ya!

He was for sure surprised when he came out to head home!

Happy Birthday Mike

Summer Memories

This summer we were surrounded with family members who helped us create a summer to always remember. We did so much this summer as a family from Kyle's Baptism, Kerestes Family Reunion, the Cottrell Family Reunion, Camping in the Colorado Mountains, and our big drive out West to Wyoming. We had a great time together as a family and will always remember the small and simple things. We will never forget the smiles on our children's faces and we loved listening to their laugher. There is no better way to share your summer than with the ones you love the very most!

Colorado Mountains

Chillin with family in the mountains for the Cottrell Family Reunion August 2010

Fishing Pond

To top all the fun off Grandma, Grandpa, and Jessica had the biggest FISHING POND ever for the grandkids and even the BIG kids. The kids FISHED AND FISHED for amazing prizes. They HOOKED them up and spent a lot of time organizing this for the kids. They loved it and had so many smiles and lots of laughter. They put all their prizes in a bag to carry around camp and play with. My kids loved it and kept them good while we drove back 30 hours. They ate the candy and played with all the toys. It was a huge hit at the Kerestes home so THANKS a million for doing the FISH POND! WHAT A BLAST!