Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween

Chocolatey unicorn face--I love the teeth

A witch, a unicorn, a zombie, a Cinderella princess and an Indian princess


Carving pumpkins--a cat, a goomba, stars and stripes and a painted face


People ask me what I'm going to dress up as for Halloween. I just roll my eyes. By the time I get 5 kids dressed up 3 times each for different parties and trick-or-treating, I don't even want to think about changing clothes or putting makeup on.
We had a fun year this year. We went to the school carnival, the Nightmare Express which was a small real train and you ride through some haunted tunnels, a haunted house and Scott's work party. We also squeezed in some scary movies. Carving pumpkins this year was much easier. Alyssa and Amber helped clean them out and then they all carved at least a little of their own pumpkin. Not nearly as much work as usual. Alivia painted a cute face on hers but then got so excited she painted all over it and it was a big mess by the time she was done, especially as Soran was helping. On the 30th we went to our ward trunk-or-treat which was held inside because it was raining. Then we raced up to Scott's parents house and did a little door-to-door just to let the kids see how it was in the good old days. Then we went to the other grandparents' and had caramel apples (I asked for something healthy). Then we came home and put the kids to bed and played games with Ben and Cami. We should have enough candy to last until next year.

Octoberfest

October has turned into one big party...

Alyssa and Alexis at their first dance competition

Evening at the Ritz (stake semi-formal dance for adults). We got a group together and went out for dinner beforehand and Scott got me a beautiful pink corsage. They had dance instruction which was forgotten as soon as it ended, but we had a great time.


Scout trip to the fire station--Christian trying on their 90 pounds of gear


Livi's preschool field trip to HeeHaws farm--picking out a pumpkin


Livi, Soran and I on the hayride


Soran digging in the sand--that girl is a little pigpen



Alyssa playing flag football--they won about half their games


Other highlights of the month: Alyssa and Christian being chosen at Super Sentinels (students for the quarter who excel academically), Scott passing the FBI exam, Lehi Trafalga a couple times and seeing "Despicable Me" at the movie theatre over spring break, hiking to the hot springs up Spanish Fork canyon (it was so beautiful), and I got a job so I can pay off my hospital bills. I'm going to be a seasonal employee taking orders for gift baskets at home. It's full-time which has me very nervous, but it's only a few weeks, and we can do anything for that long. I just hope the kids' teeth don't rot out of their heads and they get showers. Sometimes those things don't quite get done when Dad's around. We've already had one snow shower, but we took it in stride this year. We've had a beautiful, long fall. I hope I've stored up enough sun to last all winter.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Autumn

Impromptu family pic







I love fall in Utah. The leaves are so beautiful, there are fruit and vegetable stands everywhere and the weather has been gorgeous. Although the nip in the air makes me dread the winter coming. We went for our drive up the canyon and got some pictures. The leaves weren't quite as brilliant as last year and there was a big fire in Salt Lake so the air is kind of hazy. But it was still amazing. The kids were already practiced up on their "oohs" and "aahs" and I think they actually enjoyed going this year.

I have never been into football, but this year we have become fans. Scott decided to play with his cousins and has had a good time. Except maybe the fist fight last week. They are getting pretty competitive. The first few games were early so I took the kids and didn't get a chance to watch, but now they're later in the evening so I put the kids to bed and go. It's fun to watch him and hang out with Holly and Grandma. Alyssa has also been enjoying her season. She has improved a lot. She was nervous when she found out she was the only girl on her team, but she's used to it and plays as well as they do. I will try and get some pics this week.

She LOVES her ballroom class (had I known how expensive that would be I might have changed my mind).And reading, of course. She's been inhaling about 2 books a day. She also had a campout with her class a couple weekends ago. Scott went with them and the got to rock climb, canoe, do obstacle courses and have smores. Spoiled girl.

Christian loves his piano lessons. He is a natural. He goes through about 4 songs a lesson and his timing is really good. First thing he asks when he wakes up is if he can go practice. I am so happy he's addicted so something other than an electronic device. Grandma and Grandpa took him to an air show in Wendover a couple weeks ago. He had a really good time, but I think his favorite part was going to the dollar store and buying toys and junk food. When he got home from his fun-filled day, he asked if he could have something healthy to eat. It was funny.

Amber smashed her finger last week in the car door when I dropped her off for dance class. Poor girl. It was pretty gross but she's doing okay. I gave her a special day off from school because she needed some attention and we went to Trafalga and got her free taco at Del Taco from school. I think she enjoyed having mom's attention solely to herself (and the babies).

Alivia has new "prins" (friends) from school that she loves and they love her, as she is constantly telling me. It is going really well and she is learning a lot. She is a sweet girl and so easy most of the time, until she gets near the computer. I can't keep her off!

Soran is, well, my two-year-old in a 1-year-old body. She is so into everything and her favorite word is "don't." She has learned to bite (in self-defense, I know) and while she only has 6 teeth, it hurts. She's like the kimodo dragon, she won't let go.

Scott loves his new job and the freedom it gives him to do other things. His car has been breaking down a lot and he's spent a few weekends working on it. He's so handy! I had my procedure in September. It was short and went well, but having a bunch of kidney stones at the same time was incredibly painful. I wound up in the emergency room to get some pain medication. Thank goodness that's over. And the doctor said I have a 50/50 chance of never having one again. Pretty good odds. Between that and the stomach flu I have been down a lot this month. I have become so grateful for my health. When they were putting me out the doctors couldn't believe I had 5 kids, and they said, "we better get you out of here quick so you can take care of them." No kidding. Well, now that my morning is gone, I'm outta here.