Halloween

We decided to go with a family theme this year (the Skywalker family, to be exact). Ethan was Luke, Madeline was Leia (Luke's twin sister), although she refused to wear the cute bun/ears wig, and Colin was their father, Anakin, aka Darth Vader. Madeline's interest in trick-or-treating did not extend beyond the very first piece of candy. Once she got that, she was focused on eating it, and once she finished it, she went to bed. The kids had a great time decorating the car, carving pumpkins, and handing out candy at the trunk or treat the church organized the day before Halloween. Kids make holidays fun.

Fun at the Farm

We made our annual fall visit to a local "farm," which is more like a giant, expensive playground. We always have a great time. We went mid-week towards the end of the day, towards the end of the season, and practically had the place to ourselves. I loved that. The boys made their way through the maze.

And climbed on tires.

And jumped in the bounce house.

We raced little plastic ducks.

And slid down the slide.

We rode the train, where Ethan looked so grown up.

Then took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch, which was pretty picked over by that point.

The kids got to pretend to drive the tractor.

And I failed to get one good shot of the three of them.

We managed to pick out some sad looking pumpkins, which Jason had to lug to the car all by himself.

Ethan played in the corn-filled gazebo, which the other two didn't like.

We fed the fish and animals. Which was about the time the sky changed colors and I assumed a big storm was headed for us. But the kids still managed some time with the sand toys. All in all, it was really fun. We'll definitely be back next year!

Mid October

Jason and I escaped to Las Vegas by ourselves for a long weekend, where he had a meeting for work. We left the kids with family here in North Carolina. It was pretty pathetic...Jason was getting up at the crack of dawn to run, then going to meetings all day, so we were sound asleep by 10 every night. And I did a lot of napping while he was away during the day. We had a gorgeous view from our hotel and a comfortable bed in a quiet room. That was about all I needed.

We did manage to meet up with Leanne's brothers and their wives for dinner one night. They are so fun. I ordered a vegetarian dish that could have fed the whole table.

One night we drove up to Washington to see my sister and her family and their new place, and to visit Jason's grandparents. In between the two we received a call that our BYU/North Carolina friend DanaLee Fox had passed away after an elective surgery. She was Jason's age and a good friend, and I miss her. A bunch of friends from BYU came to the funeral and some of them stayed at our place before or after. It was great to catch up with them, although not for a great reason.

The day after the funeral we hosted the Y-Guides troop here for a camp out in our backyard. They set up their tents on the empty lot behind our property and built a fire in the woods in our yard. They had a GREAT time and all made it through the night in their tents. I was expecting to wake up to eight 6-year-olds and their dads all on my living room floor. Random photo of Colin and Madeline being affectionate. They get along more often than not.

State Fair

Happy Birthday, Jason!!

WE LOVE YOU!

California Again

In early October we left Madeline with my family in NC and flew with the boys to California for Abby's baptism. Actually, I flew alone with the boys since Jason was already out west fishing with friends. Ethan, Colin, and I bunked at the Moores. We went to dinner at this great place near their house. Colin and Kate became friends. Henry and Ethan were inseparable, and Morgan and I stayed up late chatting (like old times). It was so fun. Jason and Chris arrived home the next day. We went to dinner near the beach and let the kids play before and after. The day after that we met up at Disneyland, where Ethan took on Vader. Colin fulfilled his dream of riding a monorail. He was so happy. This is the kids at Disneyland cracking up over a video that Morgan had taped of them playing on the sand dunes at the beach. They think they are so funny. Abby's baptism was beautiful and we were glad to be there for it. We also got to check out Ryan and Leanne's amazing beachfront rental in Oceanside. There are no words to describe it!