Happy Halloween!!

We've had several Halloween activities this year.

Starting way back on the 17th, Abigail's school had a carnival to raise money for the 6th grade play. They sold tickets and had all sorts of games and fun. Owen was a dog that night.

Next we had Alec's work Halloween party. This is the big event of the year for the company, so they go all out. You can't see in this picture but they had lots of inflatables for the kids, face painting, etc. Owen was a tiger this night.

A Halloween/Birthday party at my parent's home...

I had to throw this one in of Mary's oldest daughter, Cecilia. Mary still practices her sewing skills gained in our youth. She made this--how cute! I'm inspired to make mine next year. But we'll see how that goes.

Our first elementary school parade....

And finally, trunk-or-treating last night and trick-or-treating tonight!

(I know this looks like the same picture over and over again, but it's hard to pick just one. I also realize now that we don't have a picture of the baby! Poor little pumpkin. I'll have to see if I can remedy that.)

Coveted Toy

This box is the new coveted toy of the neighborhood. Every kid that comes over wants to play with it! It's no big surprise though, because it has many uses.

You can surprise people with it.

(yes, Abigail is wearing her undershirt over her shirt. she likes to experiment with fashion.)

Or you can curl up and relax in it.

The box came with this new eBay purchase. I couldn't be more happy to have a double stroller. Owen used to cry every time I put the baby in the single stroller and he didn't get to ride. And I got really tired of uttering the phrase, "Hurry up, Owen!" So we're all much happier now.

p.s. I threw the box away last trash day. I felt I had to sneak it out in the dark, quiet of the night. But so far, no one has mentioned it! Either they didn't love it as much as I thought, or they are sorely lacking in memory skills.

Aerospace Museum

Last week my sister, Margaret, her husband, and their 3 kids came up to our neck of the woods to visit the Aerospace Museum. It was great fun to hang out with them for the afternoon, and the museum is totally cool! And totally FREE!! Good thing, too, because now we can go back for Alec who missed out this time. And Abigail is already planning on taking Pops (Alec's dad) back to see which ones he flew, and to have a (random) picnic with him.

Matthew, Abigail, Owen and Maren in front of some type of aircraft.

Owen was totally into the helicopters. Any aircraft with a propeller he was pretty sure was a helicopter.

Abigail wanted her picture taken in front of this one because she thought it looked like it had a mouth. Never mind that there were others actually painted to look like mouths--she must have missed those with the big white teeth and all.

Pretty cool to see how small the kids are and how big the planes are.

Margaret's husband, Dave, was so cute to corral the kids around for us while Margaret and I pushed the babies in strollers and chatted it up.

Carve a Pumpkin (minus the mess)

For a couple of years now, I've come across this site at Halloween time after receiving a link via email from various friends. It's quite addicting for kids and grown-ups alike. Enjoy!

Venture into Solids

I gave Nate rice cereal for the first time a few days ago. Here are the various reactions to this new experience.....






In the end he loved it and gobbled it all up!

Happy Anniversary

To Mary (my sister and sister-in-law) and Peter (my double brother-in-law)!

Five years right?

Blue Day

In Kindergarten some of the days are color days. On those days you are supposed to wear the appropriate color if possible, they have a color themed snack, etc. Well Abigail's enthusiasm for this color fun has spread to the whole family. We all wear the color of the day (it makes it much easier to pick something out to wear with a specified color criteria), and I have tried to make dinner color-themed as well. This is what I made on blue day....German Oven Pancakes with blue sour cream, blueberries, sausage (didn't mess with the color there, that would be scary) and blue milk.

The weird thing is, it's not all that appetizing--the whole blue food thing. But to the kids it was WAY more appetizing than usual. I think between Abigail and Owen they came pretty darn close to polishing off an entire pie plate of German Oven Pancake, and they both drank more milk than usual.

I guess the lesson is, I should use food coloring more often.

Tomorrow is white day--sounds pretty bland. But rainbow day is Friday!

"Mominy"

Apparently this is my new nickname--"Mominy." Owen has been calling me this for a couple of days now. He has completely switched from "Mommy" to "Mominy." He's very consistent with it, too. He even keeps it up when he is in the throws of a meltdown. I'm not quite sure if after 2 1/2 years of life he's decided that's what everyone has in fact really been saying when they say "Mommy." Or if perhaps he is just trying to mix things up a bit. Either way, I think it is funny and I like it.

This is just one of a few nicknames that Owen uses. There's "Daven" (Dave--as in "Dave 'n Margaret"), "Nafan" (Nathan), "M'n'M" (Emilyn), "Cafroom" (Catherine--sort of like bathroom), and "Teebs" (Steve) which unfortunately he doesn't say anymore--but the rest of us do.

Gotta love Owen! (btw, Please notice his t-shirt says: "I DO ALL MY OWN STUNTS". I think it's hilarious, and so perfect for Owen)

Pachelbel Bedtime

Saw this on YouTube, and found it to be very funny, truthful, and clever.

Ballerina Fairies

Here is just a random picture I came across of Abigail and her cute cousin Liza who came to visit from the Denver area a few weeks ago. (She is Alec's sister's daughter.) This was when they were being ballerina fairies, and had to pose very dramatically. It's too bad we didn't get more photos while they were here. The kids all seemed to have a lot of fun together, and we wish we all could hang out more often.

Marianne and Adam's Wedding

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Last week was Adam (my younger brother) and Marianne's wedding. It was a very special ceremony in the Salt Lake LDS Temple, where a strong Spirit was felt. Here we are on the steps of the temple with my dad, all six of my siblings and their spouses. I know my mom was proud we were all in the temple together that day.

Later that night, they had a lovely wedding celebration at La Caille. The weather was PERFECT and the grounds were very beautiful. There was a tasty dinner and fun dancing. Everyone got into the groove--even Dad!

We enjoyed a fun evening out without the kids. We even got to dress up! I don't think I have seen Alec in a tux since our wedding day 8 years ago. Doesn't he look handsome?