Witches, Pumpkins and Tombstones

Elle and Easton LOVE Halloween--all the scary decorations, all the Halloween activities, getting pumpkins, carving them, and of course, picking out a costume. We have a lot of fun, but I have to admit, by the end of the month, I'm sort of relieved when it is all over. I'm glad they love it though and I love to make it fun for them.

GARDNER VILLAGE



Our kids look forward to seeing the witches at Gardner Village every year. It's fun to wander around and find them all. And of course, we always make a stop at the candy store.


PUMPKIN FUN

We went to Mabey's Pumpkin Patch and Elle and Easton got to pick out their own pumpkins. (Jayne fell asleep on the way there so we picked out one for her.) They loved walking up and down the rows searching for the perfect pumpkin and couldn't believe how big some of them were.



They couldn't wait to carve their pumpkins! Elle wanted to carve hers like her Halloween costume, so she carved a vampire and it turned out awesome! Easton wanted to make his a "Super Mario" pumpkin like his costume, but I had no idea how to do that. Luckily, he found a skull that he liked from a pattern book we have so he poked all the holes and I helped him carve it. I think it turned out pretty scary and he loved it! Don helped Jayne carve hers and did a cute jack-o-lantern smile.



Elle and Easton LOVE all the decorations. They are always telling us how our house is boring and not scary enough so they were thrilled when we went and got a few scary tombstones and spiderwebs for our front yard.



How cute is Jayne? I love this little girl!

Hee Haw Farms

(I am way behind on blogging but wanted to catch up on some of our Halloween activities.)

We went to Hee Haw Farms, for the first time, and had a great time. We got there a little late so the hay ride wasn't running anymore but we still got to wander through the corn maze, go down the huge slide on potato sacks, and play in a big box of corn (Jayne's favorite).





The corn maze was fun but the clues were a little confusing so we didn't make it all the way through. The kids still liked it though.






All the kids loved the big sandbox of corn! Jayne was a little unsure at first, but after a few minutes, she was laying in it, digging around and even tried to eat some. It was funny!



The slide was fun! Easton loved it! He had the biggest smile going down.



We love Hee Haw Farms!

Tiger Pride--Responsibility

At the Elementary school, they give out Tiger Pride awards to students who exemplify certain attributes or traits. Each month it is a different trait and a child is chosen from every class. We got a call from Elle's teacher, Mrs. Weichers, that she was chosen from her class for the month of September for "Responsibility." Elle is definitely very responsible. She wakes up every morning on her own (way earlier than she needs to), gets dressed, gets her own breakfast (because, again, it is way earlier than she needs to), practices her piano and is ready by the door when it is time to go. (She gets really frustrated that Easton doesn't have the same sense of urgency to get to school on time as she does.) She gets her homework done, helps me with things around the house and is a great big sister for Jayne and Easton too. We are so proud of her. She was thrilled when she found out and got the award in front of the school at the assembly.


Elle with her teacher, Mrs. Weichers

UEA

We headed to St. George for UEA, toward the end of October, with our friends, Fletchers and Foxes. It was so nice to have a weekend away and enjoy the sun before winter comes. The kids loved exploring, we played some tennis and the guys got to do a little golfing. My favorite thing though was going to Zions National Park and hiking. It was so beautiful and the kids are great little hikers. I love enjoying the outdoors!


Riding scooters along the trail




Easton loves lizards and he was determined to find a one. We looked and looked and luckily, Jill saved the day and spotted one. He's a little guy but it's still a lizard. Easton was thrilled!



Of course, we had to make a stop at Thomas Judd's Candy store.



Their candy spoils



We brought our tennis rackets and Elle and Easton played for the first time and loved it! All the kids were so cute to watch. It was hard to get a turn using the rackets because they were having so much fun. Tanna, Jill and I did get to play a few matches though. It was fun!



Easton, Ava, Elle and Drake



On the swing-Easton, Ila, Drake, Jayne, Elle


ZIONS NATIONAL PARK






Hiking up to Emerald Pools



At Emerald Pools









All of us hiking down


Jayne was so cute holding both handles, like Don, on the shuttle bus down to the parking lot


What a great weekend!

Fall Soccer

Easton had a lot of fun playing soccer this fall and we loved watching him. He did AYSO for the first time and learned a lot. He had a great coach and they play 3 on 3 so he got a lot of playing time. It was a great experience!



Scoring a goal!



Easton and Drake



Easton's cheering section (How cute are they?)

Pajamas, Parties and Park City

Lately, Jayne has been taking her pajamas and her diaper off when I put her to bed, which can turn into a real mess if her diaper is full. We tried different pajamas but she figured out how to take them all off. Finally, we got some footed pajamas, cut the feet off of them and put them on her backwards and luckily she can't get them off. Her new thing is putting her shirts on over her head and wearing them like belts too. So here she is reading books to her babies in her backwards pajamas with her "shirt belt" on. I love this little girl so much!



Elle and Easton are so cute! They came into our room one Saturday morning and told us to hurry downstairs because they had a surprise for us. We walked into the playroom and found ribbons tied all over the room and home made signs that said, "Best Parents Ever" and "We love you!" They said they were having a party for us for being the best parents. They set the table and got breakfast for us (pancakes reheated with candles in them, chocolate no bake cookies and chocolate milk that tasted like drinking pure chocolate syrup). They even had presents set out with cards they made. It was really sweet! Oh, and of course, I took pictures and even video so that when they are teenagers and think we are the worst parents ever, I can show them that they used to think we were ok. :)



Jayne loves to dress up and she loves her big sister, Elle.



Don and I got to have a night away in Park City with some friends. We had dinner at "Purple Sage" and then stayed up in Deer Valley for the night. We stayed up late talking, had a big breakfast in the morning and then walked along the trail by the Big White Barn in Park City.
(Hanks, Middlemisses, Don and me, Knights)

Fun with family

We were so excited when my brother, Scott, called and said that he and Heidi and cute little Alec wanted to come visit before they have their new baby girl in November. They wanted to do some hiking and just hang out. Unfortunately, the weather in Utah is very unpredictable and they just happened to fly in during that crazy cold front where it snowed and rained all weekend. So much for hiking or doing anything outside with little kids. We still had a lot of fun though. We went to the Children's Museum, had a fun dinner out, played with the kids and stayed up late laughing and playing the usual, "Settlers of Catan."



Scott, Heidi and cute Alec



All the kids at Discovery Gateway Children's Museum-Alec, Elle, Easton, Jayne



Elle loved playing store



Easton had fun in the ball section



Jayne LOVED the playhouse and did not want to leave



She was so cute playing on the huge xylophone



Alec is such a cute little boy! As soon as he got to our house, all he wanted to do was play ball and it was the same at the Children's Museum. That little guy loves balls and he has a great arm already. It is so cute!



Playing news at the News Desk






Easton thought the helicopter was really cool



Jayne loves her daddy



We had so much fun with our kids and it was great to be with Scott, Heidi and Alec

And the day they left to head back to Denver, the sun came back out. Pretty funny!