Celebrating Halloween

It seems like October was full of everything Halloween! Here are a few of the things we did throughout the month:

I am the Activity Day leader in our ward for the 10 and 11-year-old girls in our ward, so for one of our activities, we started the Halloween "Phantom." We made sugar cookies and decorated them, then attached a picture of a ghost and a poem with instructions for the them to pass it on to others. The girls LOVED it because we went out later that night to deliver them and then they got to ring the doorbell and run! We got the phantom back here at the house a few days later, so we had to deliver more treats. This time my brothers did the running for me!

Sam did a few really cute art projects at school, and my favorite is this tree he made:

He and Lily also drew and cut out a few things and taped them to our front door:

The Friday before Halloween, Sam had a costume parade at school along with their Halloween party. He told me it was the "funnest" day of class so far because it was just a big party the whole time!

Carving pumpkins was pretty funny. We let the kids draw their own faces on the pumpkins. When we tried to get them to clean out the insides, they kept saying, "EEEWWHH! Gross!" They turned out cute.

This year, Sam wanted to be a Nascar driver, and Lily wanted to be a princess, just like she has been the last few years, but I talked her into being a "beautiful" witch. The weather was nice all day, then turned rainy and cold just in time to trick-or-treat. It seems like that always happens! Still, the kids had a good time, and we ended up with close to 300 trick-or-treaters at our door!

I also celebrated my birthday a few days before Halloween, and Dann and I were able to take an evening and stay overnight in Salt Lake. We ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory (one of my favorites!) saw a movie, and did a little shopping. It was great. We also celebrated my sister Emily's 16th birthday on Halloween, and I got to make her a birthday dinner and dessert. She chose cinnamon rolls for that, and they turned out really yummy!

Lagoon!

I've been looking forward to the time when the kids would be old enough to have fun at Lagoon. I haven't been there myself for close to 10 years, and Dann had been only once when he was really young. My parents and brothers and sister joined us, too, and we had a great time!

When my dad asked Sam if he was having a good time, he said, "It's only the best day of my whole life!" However, that statement was made before he found out he was too short to ride the big bumper cars, which changed his mood for a short time. His favorite rides were the ones involving water, until he got cold later on.

Lily loved everything. She had no fear and was in good spirits all day. Bella only went on the carousel and the train ride, which she liked, until she saw the animals and started crying. I was so surprised! She loves animals, but maybe not ones in cages. Perhaps she isn't quite ready for the zoo...

We left before dark and went to In-N-Out, which was crazy busy. Rather than drive the 3 hours home, we stayed at a hotel in Bountiful, which went better than the last time we tried a hotel overnight.

I would say the trip turned out a success! We may even try Disneyland in December....

And this picture has nothing to do with the trip, but I took it a few days ago of Bella, and it was the first time that when I told her to say cheese, she did!! So cute...

First Day of School

We have been looking forward to this week for a long time at our house! And, now that we are a few days into this school adventure, it's really going well. When I took Sam to meet his teacher last week, she said that of all the kids she had tested, Sam and one other little girl were way beyond all the other children's current abilities, and suggested we put Sam and this girl together so she could work with them and challenge them a little more. The problem was, at the time, Sam was signed up for morning kindergarten, and the little girl was in the afternoon, and she still had to okay it with the principal. That first day Sam went in the morning, and then his teacher called after school and said the principal gave the go-ahead, so since then he has been going in the afternoon. He didn't seem to mind the switch.

I am so happy about the afternoon schedule! I hadn't even thought about it before, but Lily and Bella both take naps in the afternoon, so now I can too! We also are not great at getting to bed on time, and Sam sleeps in (if you can call 8:00 sleeping in), so I think we ended up with the best thing for us for this year.

I take Sam and drop him off just after noon, and the first few days I walked with him to his class. Yesterday I had Dann take him and let him "lead" him to his classroom, and he found it just fine, so today I just dropped him off in front of the school! He is also riding the bus home now, and loves it.

Bella loves to go wait at the bus stop with me and pick him up. "Bus" is her new favorite word!

Lily tells me everyday how excited she is to go to school now....it could be a long year!

Lily's Birthday

Our full-of-life Lily is finally four!

She started off her birthday by going to the dentist for the first time and did great! She was thrilled with her new princess toothbrush, her own toothpaste and floss.

We had a party with some family in the evening. She loved all her presents and the cake and was sad to go to bed because then it wouldn't be her birthday anymore.

We sure love having Lily in our home! She is so funny and creative and loving. We love the songs she makes up and the pictures she draws for us. What a joy she has been for the last 4 years!!

Lily wanted a butterfly cake this year

Her present from Dad and Mom. Don't worry...she does have a helmet!

Thanks Nana and Papa for this one! She loves it!!

Summer, We Will Miss You!

I'll be the first to tell you that winters in Roosevelt are not enjoyable, but it makes all of us who live here so much more grateful when we do have sunshine and warm weather!

A few things we checked off our summer to-do-list: put in a backyard, go to the lake, visit family and friends, swimming lessons, play at the park, eat lots of popsicles and ice cream, ride bikes, get dirty, put on a tennis tournament, barbecues, UBIC, SLC Days of '47 Parade, go camping, grow a vegetable garden, and HAVE FUN!

I just downloaded pictures of some of the above-mentioned activities, but rather than go back and write a separate post for each one, I'll just post the pictures and write a few lines.

Bella and Lily enjoying some strawberry ice cream cones!

Dann took Sam and Lily to meet Jeremy Evans (a new Jazz player) when he came to the local junior high. They thought that was pretty cool!

Sam and some friends at swimming lessons

Bella at the park. She loves walking these days!!

Lily, obviously not happy that she and the bear both got wet at the bottom of the slide!

Pres. and Sis. Uchtdorf at the Days of '47 Parade

Lily and Sam took part in a Children's Theater that my Aunt put on with several of the kids in the neighborhood. They performed "Three Wacky Tales." It was darling!

This is at Flaming Gorge, where we go almost every year for a family reunion.

Sam and Dann, looking for lizards and climbing rocks!

Gotta Love Family Photos

I don't like taking family photos much. I always seem to be in a bad mood, which usually results from trying to get everyone in the family looking good and not getting dirty, smiling and looking happy all at the same time, which any mother knows is near impossible.

Still, Rachel was kind enough to try to get some good shots, and I think she did a great job.

Here are a few of the best.

Thanks, Rachel!

Ward Trek

Lovely picture, I know...make-up wasn't allowed!

A new post is long overdue, and my excuse is that I've been busy preparing for our ward trek to Martin's Cove.

We have been to Martin's Cove before for a family reunion two years ago, and let's just say it wasn't my favorite vacation. But this time was different....we all loved it! It was a lot of hard work, but a great experience. We really enjoyed spending time with other members of the ward. Another thing allowing it to be so fun was the weather. It couldn't have been better, which for Wyoming, is amazing!!

We left Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. on school buses (next time I think I'll drive!) and got to Martin's Cove about 6 1/2 hours later. After orientation, we trekked a few miles to our campground. The next day we went up into the Cove and crossed the Sweetwater River, which was awesome, except that I lost my shoe. I learned that it is pretty difficult to cross a river that is chest-deep carrying a 3-year-old. I don't know how those pioneers did it. We ended up walking about 7 miles this day, and then took the buses to the Willie site.

Just enough room in the handcart for one cute, little pioneer!

The next day was the most tiring. We walked over 11 miles, including the Women's Pull (all the men leave while the women and girls pull the handcarts for 3/4 mile up a steep, sandy hill...at this point I thought I might die, or at least pass out) and crossed another river. When we got back into camp, we loaded all our stuff and headed on the bus to yet another site, a few hours away. The buses got lost and we didn't get there until after dark, resulting in dinner at 11 p.m.

Dann carrying Lily and helping a neighbor across the river

The kids loved everything about the whole trip. The buses, riding in handcarts, being outside, sleeping in a tent, and spending all day every day with friends. I hardly saw Lily at all...she was with a few little girls in the ward as much as she could get away with. Bella was in a hiking backpack as much as she would stay in it; the rest of the time I had to carry her. She wouldn't let anyone but Dann or me hold her. Sam spent his time collecting rocks and bugs and just being a boy.

Sam's rocks

All three kids slept all through each night, which was a blessing. In my opinion, there's nothing worse than crying kids in a tent at night with 25 other families nearby!

No cell phones or any electronic devices of any kind were allowed, which was fantastic. Another member of our ward described it as "being on the Lord's time," which I agree with. It was a great, spiritual, eye-opening experience that will always be a fond memory.

But, I am glad it is over with! By the end, we had walked over 20 miles. The bus ride home took nearly 9 hours, which was literally painful. Upon return, I really enjoyed a warm shower shower and my own bed!

Dann and Mark