Halloween

We had a relaxing Halloween morning. The clouds continued to blow out of the area that left for a promising Halloween night. We carved our pumpkins together. The kids actually participated more this year. Ryan made them pull out all the "pumpkin guts". They didn't really like that part. We didn't get as extensive with the carving this year. We played it simple but they turned out good. A ghost pumpkin and a heart pumpkin.

So this year we had Tinker Bell, a gypsy, a cheerleader and Karate Kid. The kids didn't know what a gypsy was so I just said they stole kids. My mom always said growing up that if we weren't good she would sell us to the gypsies.

The kids were very excited to start trick or treating. We went to our usual neighborhood and met up with some friends. Aidan and his buddies ran from door to door and the poor girls just couldn't keep up. Cassidy just stayed in her stroller and we would only take her to the people sitting in their driveways. So she did drive-thru trick or treating. She loved it. She ate like 40 suckers that night. We had a great night with no rain and lots and lots of Candy!

Trunk or Treat

This weekend has been much awaited and much planned for. Friday night was our Ward Trunk or Treat that I was in charge of. I spent the day decorating and Ryan was my errand boy, a cute one at that. Everything went really well for setting up. I had 2 of my friends help me decorate and I swindled the missionaries into setting up my tables and chairs. I even had time to go home and get me and the kids ready for the night.

The party went really well. We had soups and chilis and homemade rootbeer. Oh, it brought back so many memories. We had lots of people come. We had invited 3 families and they all came. I was so happy. Ryan had to take on the role of host to them while I was busy managing everything else. I was so glad he was willing to do that even though it isn't always his forte. He played the role well.

We had about 7 games that the kids had fun playing. Bowling, golfing, ring toss, dart board, coin toss, and even a plinko game THAT I MADE ALL BY MYSELF. (If you don't know what plinko is you need to go watch the Price is Right) After the games we did our trick or treating. Unfortunately it was raining and gusting wind outside so we had to resort to the classrooms around the building. I was very disappointed because the trunks are always fun but I figured I had used up my don't rain on my activity petitions on my 4th of July activity. It worked out fine just the same.

It was a great night! Exhausting but Great!

Ode to Florida

Our trip to Orlando was great! We spent a week there with Ryan's parents in a great condo. Here are our highlights



Visiting our old ward and good friends.

Seeing our old house. The trees have grown a lot.

Visiting the beaches both Atlantic side and Gulf Side. Clearwater Beach was gorgeous.

Feeding the alligators (a standing tradition)

Swimming. Lots and lots of swimming. The pirate ship pool was so fun.

Going to the Tampa Zoo. The kids fed a giraffe and rode a camel. How cool is that?

Playing mini golf

Eating gelati at Frozen Gold

Eating Hot Fudge sundaes at Girhadelli

Going to Downtown Disney. Loved the Lego store and could spend days in the Disney Store!

Life is good.

This is what I overheard Aidan saying to Lacey in the car on our way to a party.

"Aren't you glad you are down here playing instead of in heaven sitting around? I told you life is good."

Sleeping Sisters

It was naptime...............

Fall Festival

We had a great time at Aidan's fall festival at school. There were lots of games, popcorn, prizes and a hayride to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. The ride was so beautiful passing by the horse farms. We loved it. It was quite the taskthough to get those pumpkins. They had put all the pumpkins at the bottom of this big hill. So I had to carry 3 good size pumpkins up this huge hill, drag Cassidy along and help Lacey up the hill. It was not executed gracefully but it got done.

Overnight with Daddy

Ryan had an overnight in Cincinnati so we went up to spend the night with him. The hotel has a pool and hot tub. So we hurried into our swimsuits as soon as we got there for a night swim. The hot tub felt great! Love hot tubs.

After swimming we ate some popcorn as we watched football and then fell asleep. I didn't bring the pack n' play thinking Cassidy would be fine on the floor. Nope. She was everywhere and no one slept well. Pack n' Play is a must have!

The next morning we swam again and then got Ryan ready for work. After he left for the airport, I took the kids to Lowe's for the Kids' workshop. We built ball toss games. It was really fun.

Doritos

Does eating Doritos do this to you?

Washing your hands.

Since Aidan has started school he has become obsessed with washing his hands. They have taught him at school that anytime you touch your nose or eyes or someone else's you need to wash your hands. So he has been faithful about sticking to this rule. He tells all of us to wash our hands all the time and is constantly questioning us if we washed our hands after we were in the bathroom or after I have changed a diaper. It has become so annoying. But, two weeks ago his school was closed for 2 days because of a large number of kids being out sick. Did we get the sickness? NO! Why? Because we are washing our hands all the time thanks to Aidan's OCD! I really was grateful though.

So really how do you tell a kid to stop washing their hands? It has been so tricky. I really don't want this to become a problem for him like Howard Hughes or something but really washing your hands is a very good thing. One time we were at the bus stop in the morning waiting and he was playing around with a neighbor boy. The kid accidentally touched Aidan's eye. Aidan insisted he needed to run up to the house and wash his hands because the other kid had touched his eye. I had to explain to him that the germs were on the other kid's hands and not on his. It took a few minutes to calm him down and to convince him he didn't need to wash his hands. Hand sanitizer has been added to his backpack for such emergencies. The other story happened today. We were talking about getting baptized and I was explaining to them what would happen. I said that Daddy would hold them as he lowered them under water and while they were plugging their noses. What was the first thing Aidan said in response? "Then I will have to wash my hands." OH, Aidan seriously!

Not quite BYU but still football

During our trip out to Utah we were suppose to go to a BYU football game with Aidan. He was so excited to go to a real stadium. Ryan and I both love football and have enjoyed going to games. It defines fall for us. Since we weren't going to Utah we decided to go to a high school game. We packed up the blankets, popped the popcorn and headed to the game. The kids had a great time. Lacey was mesmerized by the cheerleaders and Cassidy just loved to clap. Aidan loved it all. It was a really fun night but it didn't compare to a BYU game. Someday we will get Aidan to a college game.

A blessing and a curse

We get to fly for free, right. Some of you are very jealous of this and you have every right to be. We are very grateful for this perk from Ryan's job. We have flown millions of times. Seriously so much. However, what you may not realize is the pain, suffering, disappointment, and energy that goes into flying standby.

For example, last week I had planned a trip to Utah to see my parents and my brother and sister. We had talked about it for weeks and my kids were beyond thrilled. I spent a whole day doing laundry, packing the bags, packing up snacks, loading the car and cleaning the house. Then I woke up at 4 a.m. dressed my kids, loaded them in the car and headed off for Cincinnati just to be stopped at 6 a.m. in a traffic jam 3 miles from my house. I moved 6 miles in one hour. Missed the flight and went home. Attempt #2. After a few hours at home, I loaded up the kids AGAIN and headed for Cincinnati one hour away. I parked the car, juggled 2 large duffel bags, a backpack, purse, and stroller onto a van to take me to the terminal. Then I had to juggle the same cargo off the van, and up one story to check in. Once through security, which we have down to a science, we were off to our gate. Quickly to find a full flight of people headed to L.A. that aborted take off that were now trying to get re-routed through SLC on MY flight. We were out of luck. The flights the rest of the day were oversold already plus all the passengers from the L.A. flight were added to them. We were not getting out of there. So, I threw in the towel. In so doing, I was crying as I told my mom we weren't coming, my kids were crying because they couldn't see grandma and Grandma was crying because she wasn't going to be able to see the grand kids. We were a crying mess. After I gained my composure and was assured that going home was the right choice, I then had to go retrieve my 2 large duffel bags, which come to find out had been sent to SLC without me because they were in a hurry to load the plane and just took all bags. But I waited 2 hours to find that out. So after 4 hours at the airport, driving 2 hours and being up since 4 a.m. we weren't going anywhere and my bags wouldn't be back until the next day.

So you see, it is a blessing AND a curse!