Pumpkin Mania

We carved pumpkins for FHE tonight. Chris loves to get a handful of pumpkin guts and pretends to sneeze. The kids love it as does Chris. They all got to design their own faces and then Chris and I were the carvers. I love the fall and Halloween. It is just great fun.

Saturday, we went to Chris's work Halloween festivities and we all dressed up. Maggie was a Victorian Lady, Cooper was Zorro, and Allie was Minnie Mouse. I was Malificent from Sleeping Beauty. Chris was dressed as Chris--very original. We had fun and Cooper even won in his age group.

WE'RE HOME!!

Our week in Southern California was a blast! We had so much fun that I will try to give you a "nutshell" report. Here are some of my favorites and ones that left impressions:

• Leaving on Saturday, Oct. 11th and staying in Henderson, NV with our friends, the Neilsons.
  
• Driving on Sunday, watching Jesus DVDs and feeling the spirit in the van.
  
• Going to Cheesecake Factory--yummy key lime cheesecake.
  
• Almost running to Disneyland on Monday morning; dragging our bodies home Monday night.


• Seeing the kids' faces light up upon entering the Magic Kingdom.


• Fighting the Santa Ana winds on Monday Morning.


• Describing to Allie and Cooper that Pirates of the Caribbean are all puppets and not real.


• Waiting in line for an hour to see the princesses, but watching both Allie and Maggie give them each a hug and chatting with them. Cooper had nothing to do with them!


• Three days at Disneyland is a trying experience for Chris!


• Watching Allie run up to every animated character and giving them a big hug.


• Cooper got to watch Jedi training and meet Darth Mol and said, "He is creepy!" (He didn't give him a hug.)


• Maggie's face with a big grin after Indiana Jones ride and Splash Mountain.


• Watching Cooper run through Disneyland and not paying attention. He ran into many people.
  
• Having people give you parenting lessons after standing in line for 1/2 hour--saying we lost Cooper and were not watching him--when he was only 6 feet away from us.


• Watching Allie skip through Wonderland with Alice and the Mad Hatter pushing our Pram.


• Cooper got kicked off of Splash Mountain at the last minute because he wasn't tall enough.


• Many bathroom breaks especially in the middle of the desert!


• Wearing a 3 foot rubber snake around your neck gets about 40 comments a day. Cooper thought it was cool.


• Allie wearing her Princess Aurora dress while talking to Princess Aurora and commenting, "We match."
  
• Watching parades in Disneyland and California Adventure.


• Favorite characters: Maggie loved her conversation with Donkey at Universal Studios, Cooper loved Woody, and Allie loved all of the princesses and Alice.


• Sea World shows keep you on schedule--but we made them all.


• Polar bears licking yogurt off the window right by Cooper and Allie's faces.


• Walruses are huge as are manatees.


• Up close and personal with sharks, dolphins, and penguins.


• Having sandy children, sandy van, and sandy hotel room after an afternoon at the beach. The kids loved the beach!!


• Maggie taking a beautiful picture of the sun setting over the ocean.


• Having Bella, the GPS, as our tour guide. She was very helpful and friendly...sometimes a little pushy.


• Pandas are only at 4 zoos in the U.S. and we got to see them at the San Diego Zoo.


• Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my! The kids loved every minute, but bathrooms are difficult to find at the zoo.


• Driving home after the zoo. We decided just to go all the way home. We got home at 3:00 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 19th and were exhausted, but happy to be home!

It's My Sweetheart's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Chrissy!!! We had a morning birthday party with lots of presents and mini chocolate donuts shaped in a 37 for his cake. The first thing Maggie, Allie, and Cooper said as they woke up was "Happy Birthday Daddy!" (He made quite the haul: basketball from Allie, Rudy and Footloose from Maggie, fishing pole and tackle from Cooper, camo shorts, Tiger book, 3 shirts, Scene It Sports game--thanks Jill, and candy. Chris is such a good dad and husband; we like to spoil him. I think we'll keep him a while longer.

Brain Cramps and more

Have you ever had a brain cramp and totally forgot something that you had been planning on? I did today. I thought, "Oh, we're just going to take it easy and do some fun things today." Well, we delivered the peaches that I bottled to Uncle Kurt and Aunt Jill. We went and hung out with Grandma and Grandpa Hislop for a couple hours and then we went to Grandma and Grandpa Davidson's new house and christened it with lots of running around and yelling before the furniture gets moved in tonight and tomorrow. We made it home just in time for Maggie to get home from school. Well, my brain cramp involved forgetting my book club that I was looking forward to. WHOOPS! I even reminded a few people to come and then I didn't show up. Well, I guess that happens as we get older right?!

Cooper, Miles, and Allie were playing in costumes today and then took a rest on my bed. It was cute; all three in costume taking a rest. (Cooper was a dragon, Miles was Spiderman with big muscles, and Allie was Sleeping Beauty.)

Maggie is learning to crochet. She learned the beginning chain stitch on Wednesday at Achievement Days and has been working on it since. She has big plans for her new skill.

Magic Mush

The Magic Mush worked!! No problems in going to bed last night. This morning Allie even said, "I didn't get up last night, so I don't get mush. Right?!"

Mish, Mash, Mush

Well, here are a few things that have been happening:

• Friday we went to Kung Fu Panda with our kids minus Maggie and our neighbors. Maggie was spending the night with Makayla, Alicia, and Aunt Stacy. As we were entering the theater (a discount one in Kaysville), Stephanie, our neighbor, said "Hi Maggie!" Thinking she had mistaken Maggie's name for Allie, both Chris and I turned around and lo and behold there was Maggie. Aunt Stacy had the same idea and we were all at the same movie together. It is a fun movie.
• Saturday was the day for soccer again. Maggie had been tripped and fell hard. She bounced right up, but we could tell she was hurting. She then burst into tears and came running back. Apparently, when she fell, her foot ended up where her private parts are. As she was feeling better, she said, " I didn't know that cleats were so dangerous!"
• Sunday was our primary program. Whew!!! It is all over!!!! I didn't know writing the whole program and figuring out the seating chart for 40 kids could be so nerve-racking. Cooper froze up and wouldn't sing "I am a child of God" with his class and he wouldn't say his part. I inquired later and he said, "I was stage-frightened! There were too many people out there." Maggie did great with her little song and her part, but she has a few years of practice on Coop. It turned out well and even ended on time!!
• Our stake was also divided on Sunday. Our ward was not affected too much; we only gained and did not lose.
• Monday and Tuesday, I taught preschool at our house. Allie is so into color day that she even had Chris wear pink on "pink" day.
• Monday, Chris almost won their softball game; they lost by one.
• Tuesday, Allie and I went to lunch with Nikkie and Melinda and a few of their kids to P.F. Changs in Salt Lake. That was an adventure; taking 4 rambunctious kids and three moms that want to talk to a nicer restaurant. It was fun and Allie wants to play with her friends some more.
• Allie and Cooper had to have the dreaded MUSH for breakfast this morning. They have once again vowed that they will go to bed good tonight. Let's see if the magic mush works again.
• Today was book club at Teresa's house. It was my book pick, therefore, I had to make lunch. I made chicken pot pie soup, drop biscuits, and peach crisp. I did not have vanilla ice cream, so I made do with neopolitan. I chose "The Hero and the Crown" , a recommended book by Lucy. My kitchen is still a mess, my floors need mopping and vacuuming, everything needs a good dusting, but right now, Maggie is reading to Cooper, Allie is taking a nap, and I am reminiscing the week. I am very content and happy.