Happy Halloween!

I love Halloween traditions.  I love the leaves.  I love the pumpkins.  I love the spooky stories.  I love the costumes.  And I love trick-or-treating.  Sometimes I wonder who in the family is looking forward to the night more, me or the girls!  We started getting in the Halloween spirit weeks ago as we decorated the house then started decorating us.  Leesa bought candy-corn tutu outfits for the girls and McKenzie was totally in love with hers.  She has alternated between wearing her "tandy torn" clothes and her pumpkin shirt every days this entire month.  She even tried to get Kelton in on the action.  

After bringing the pumpkins home from the pumpkin patch the girls have been asking daily if it's time to carve them.  They were a little surprised when I finally said yes.  Like previous years they did not want to get their hands dirty.  Pumpkin slime is too slimy for my girls.  But I laid down the law and said that if they didn't get their pumpkin guts out on their own then we wouldn't carve them.  I find it ironic that my girls make mud pies, pick up worms and kill spiders but won't grab pumpkin guts.  After some compromises and a lot of hand washing they finally had their pumpkins clean.  

McKenzie wanted something very spooky and chose Dracula.  

Cambrie chose a ghost and was old enough this year to wield the pumpkin carving knife mostly by herself.  

Kelton got to hand out in his Bumbo chair and was very interested in grabbing whatever was within his reach.  

The girls were really proud of their pumpkins once they were done.  

And Kelton...well, I just couldn't resist.  They're only babies once.  

Cambrie had a class party that her brother, sister, and I got to help with.  They wrapped up each other like mummies, went on a scavenger hunt, ate goodies, and pin-pricked pumpkins.  (I hope that I'm able to get some copies of the pictures some of the other moms took).  We had so much fun playing at Cambrie's school.  McKenzie also had a quick party at preschool.  They are such a good group of kids to teach.  

Not a moment too soon it was time to go trick-or-treating.  Luckily our friends, the Werners, were able to come hang out with us and were able to help us get some family photos.  The theme this year was Wreck-it-Ralph.  

Jeremy was Ralph.  

I was Sgt. Calhoun.  

Cambrie was Venellope von Schweetz.  

McKenzie was Taffyta Muttonfudge.  

And Kelton was Fix-it-Felix.  

We had some great responses to our costumes at the ward Halloween party, and Jeremy and I received the award of the "Most Destructive Couple."  We had more great comments while we were out trick-or-treating too.  The weather was cold so I'm glad that my girls' costumes had coats built into them.  Their legs were a little chilly....but can you believe they are both wearing tights without complaint?!  Big deal folks!  Big deal!  

I went out with the girls while Jeremy stayed home passing out candy to all "the rotten little cavities."  It was an easy year to be the chaperon because both girls were very confident walking up to the doors by themselves.  I got to chat with the hot dog and ketchup bottle that were with me...I mean, Greg and Ashlee...and just enjoy myself.  

Like I said though, it was windy and cold.  Our loop is only about a mile, but by the end we were all super excited for the fireplace and a mug of hot chocolate.  What a fun, fun holiday.

Pumpkin Patch

We finally made it out to the pumpkin patch this year, and judging from the state of the picked-over pumpkins we were one of the last families to choose their pumpkins.  The vines had all withered and most of the pumpkins were squashed or rotting.  Jeremy and I didn't think the girls would be able to find any pumpkin worth picking.  To take the pressure off of finding the perfect pumpkin, we played with the yucky ones instead.  

We threw them.... 

Stood on them.... 

Squished through them...  

And wore them as hats...

Even with all of our teasing, it didn't distract our girls from their goal.  Remarkably each girl was able to find a decent pumpkin to take home.  I admit I was surprised.  

My goal of the evening was to get a happy picture with all three of my kids.  

On our way out of the pumpkin patch we passed a derelict corn field.  The girls pulled some old ears off the stalks and did a good job of hiding behind them too.  

After we finished hunting for our pumpkins we went to the kids' area from some bouncy houses, blow up slides, and other fun photo ops.  

The "hay maze" was a perfect place to play tag.  We all got pretty good at jumpy over hay bales and running around like crazy!  Now we just need to carve our pumpkins!

Busy Growing

So our little man just keeps growing!  It's fabulous, it really is, but I just can't believe how fast it's going.  Since he is growing so big and strong we've been trying a few tricks with him.  Jeremy heard from a friend that you can balance your babies on your hand...so he did.  

We pulled out the Bumbo for Kelton to sit in during FHE and help with the lesson.  

I love this picture of he and Jeremy playing before bed.  Check out his little tongue!  It sticks out all the time and is one of his favorite toys.  

The biggest achievement this week is that he has learned to roll over!  Seriously?!  Where did that come from?  I had set him down on his stomach while I finished prepping stuff for preschool and I turned around to find him on his back.  McKenzie claimed she didn't roll him over so we tried again.  I put him on his stomach and sure enough, he arched just enough to roll over.  By the time I got out the camera to record this milestone he was too tired to roll over again so Kenzie gave him an extra little push.  I don't think I'm quite ready for him to become mobile yet, but it sure is cute.

  

Ice Blocking

Yea for family traditions.  Jeremy's family heads up Parley's Canyon during October Conference weekend for some good ol' ice blocking fun.  His family has perfected the ice block so that it is more than the simple cube bought from the store, it is now a colorful, easily carried sled of fun.  Our girls have never been ice blocking before and though they started out hesitantly they quickly came to realize how much fun it was to slide down that hill.  

McKenzie and Jeremy crashed on one of their first runs down and after that she hung out on a  smaller hill for awhile.  

But crashing while holding a toddler is not easy so we didn't mind the bunny hill where crashing was nearly impossible.  

Cambrie had to get over her fear of sliding down the hill backwards.  But after that we couldn't get her to stop.

Penguin style

Of course once you slide down the hill you have to carry your ice block back up.  The girls could drag/pull their blocks up the bunny hill mostly on their own.  

Bruce cruising and...

Jeremy sliding.  There is always a competition to see who can sled the furthest.  Daniel, Christian, and Jan were the top competitors.  Unfortunately our boys don't have enough weight behind them to be too competitive.

 Kelton is still too young to slide down on one of these speed machines, but we needed proof he was there for the fun too.  

Capturing this silly face sliding photo was remarkably more difficult than it looks, but we got it!

Go Aggies!

Even though we lives hundreds of miles away, Jeremy and I are still staunch Aggie fans.  We have tried to help our dear children appreciate our love of Utah State....they'd better love it!  USU was playing BYU while we were in Logan, and while we didn't have tickets to the game, that didn't stop us from enjoying the action.  

Grandpa bought us face tattoos, which totally excited the girls...

...and Kelton received his first Aggie game day shirt.  

We cheered and screamed during the first quarter, then grimaced and cried when our star quarterback, Chuckie Keeton, left the game with a potential season-ending injury.  We lost the game, but that doesn't mean we love our Aggies any less.  "Show me the true-blooded Aggie from Utah, who doesn't love the spot where the sagebrush grows!"

Lava Lamp

Cambrie learned how awesome it was to earn and save money this summer.  She saved all of her earnings from her lemonade stand and had $27 left for spending after tithing and savings.  We were both impressed by how much she had saved!  She loves a toy store in Boulder called Into the Wind.  It is one of those eccentric stores that has a little bit of everything from wind chimes to bacon band aids to mind puzzles.  I love it too because it makes me feel like having fun.  I told Cambrie that she could spend her money on whatever she wanted since it was legitimately hers.  After agonizing over the decision for 45 minutes she had it narrowed down to a stuffed snake and a lava lamp.  She ultimately chose the lava lamp.  She is in love with that lava lamp.  The first night we had it home she watched it melt and move for nearly two hours before finally falling asleep.  Since then she has turned it on every night to watch it.  Her favorite part is "how some bubbles move like jellyfish.  And sometimes when it comes up it starts really cool."  I totally agree.

Bubble Bath

This girl loves her bubble bath.  This morning while she was bathing I thought she just looked so stinkin' cute that I had to snap a photo.