October News!

Do you think that once a month is going to cut it?  Hmmm... I'm not sure, but it seems like I just can't get caught up and stay that way!  Life is so busy!  Thank goodness, huh?  Who wants a boring life?  

 {Well... every once in a while I BEG for a boring DAY, but rarely ever get it anyway!  Ha.} 

I finally took my camera with me to the library for Story Time there.  Ella and I go religiously every Wednesday morning and she gets to go in the big balloon room without me for about half an hour and have fun reading stories, singing, etc!  We love it there and she especially likes that she gets to play on the computers there in the children's section for a while!  When they get there, they have a little intro, talk about how old they are, what's expected of them, and then they say:

"Let's go for a ride in the story balloon,

Up through the clouds, we'll soar and zoom!

So crawl through the basket on your hands and knees,

For story time adventures that are sure to please!!"

Then off they go through the special little door!  {We adults come in at the end for their singing or rhyming presentation, but we have to use the big door... boo!  ;o) }

Let your fingers do the talking and tell how old you are!!  {And maybe you could somehow explain WHY you rolled your pants all the way up to your tooshie!}

Miss Ginger putting on her best listening ears.  The ladies in the background are the "specially trained lap sitters" for kids who aren't very happy once inside!  :o)

"Let's go for a ride..."

"...so crawl through the basket..."

Isn't it cool???

Love our library!  So full of fun and energy and... books, of course!!

So... we got BOO-ed!  And you know that you have to Boo two other people when this happens and it goes until Halloween, but you must do it the very day after you get the treat... (and for those that don't know what this is or means... I'll include a little more below!)  Well, our day to Boo came and we were all SUPER EXCITED, especially Ella!  So much so that she was squealing as she was running away from the first house... but not fast enough for Damian, so he picked her up and lugged her home.  She had just eaten dinner.  Know where this is going yet??  And we just stayed here in the culdesac, so it was easy, but after the second house and she ran home on her own, she was standing in the kitchen kind of funny... I thought maybe she just had to go potty, and then Eric called and just as I picked up and said hi, she hurled all over the floor... her entire dinner.  Needless to say, that conversation was VERY SHORT.  I had to call him back later... after I almost lost my dinner cleaning up her's.  ICK!!  She got sooo worked up and excited, and then jostled and had her tummy pushed on as she was being carried upside down that her little body just couldn't take it.  IIIIIICKKKK!!  Really?  Yes.

We ended up having to go Boo-ing 2 more times... because even though you're not supposed to Boo someone who already has the paper on their door or window, we got it twice more!  Funny stuff.  The last time we TOTALLY got caught!  Yeesh!  But it was FUNNY!  We actually had to get in the mommy van and drive around for those 4!

You've Been  BOO-ed
The phantom ghost has come to town To leave some goodies... I see you’ve found. If you wish to make this a happier fall... Continue this greeting, this phantom call.
First, post this Phantom where it can be seen, And leave it there until Halloween. This will scare other Phantoms who may visit. Be sure to participate, you don't want to miss it!
Second, make two treats & two copies from www.BeenBooed.com Deliver them to two neighbors, try to stay calm. Don't let them see you, be sneaky, no doubt ... And make sure they put their Phantom Ghost out!
Next, you have only one day to act, so be quick! Leave it at doors where the Phantom hasn't hit. Deliver at dark when there isn't much light... Ring the doorbell and run, and stay out of sight!
And last, but not least, come join in the season. Don't worry, be happy, you need no good reason. This is all in good fun and we are just trying to say... Happy Halloween & Have a Great Day!

Braeden got his cast OFF on Friday the 7th!  Yay!  He suffered with a "floppy" wrist for a couple of weeks after that, but he was just so excited to get to do his regular stuff again... and be able to write!  Right handed and broke his right thumb... not a good combo!  We actually made it back to school with like 20 mins. to spare before release time, so he went back to his class to show everyone!  He got there just in time to see someone's dog for sharing time!  :o)

No more cast for broken thumb!  {Yes... I know that some of you probably don't even know that he DID have a cast... because I'm behind in posting, but... after almost 3 weeks, it's off!  Not long, I know!  Thank goodness!!}

Everyone in his class was so happy and excited FOR him!

Getting to pet the dog that this little girl brought in for sharing!

Husky "GO-DOWN," as Ella calls it!!  Haha!  It's actually Husky HOEDOWN!!  {Also Friday the 7th...}  The school's annual fall PTA fundraiser festival!  We actually went EARLY this time and were able to enjoy lots of fun stuff!  Lexi wanted to stay FOREVER, so she stayed with Alyssa and came home with them when it was over.  Braeden ended up going with Cody, his friend that lives 2 houses down, to Chuck E. Cheese.  His mom invited him, and they had a great time just the two of them!  We took Ella and she fell asleep on the way home!  Wow... peace and quiet in the house for an hour or so!  A-MAZING!  We ordered some dinner and enjoyed each others company!

Firetruck slide... and a GLIMPSE of the mayhem that happens at the hoedown!  See the rest of my family??

Cute girls!  Anabelle and Lexi!

So much to do... so many people.  {My kids already know this so I can say it on the blog:  I despise the Husky Hoedown... but we go to support the school and to let the kids have fun.}

Lexi and Alyssa!

Braeden and Cody, our neighbor friend.

Cody and Braeden playing Kaboom!  It's a 3-way race to see who can blow up and pop the balloon the fastest!

It's very serious!

Cody won this one!  He's in the middle... and it just popped!

Gone fishin'!

This year instead of getting crap at all the stations, it turned into a Chuck E. Cheese kind of thing... get tickets, and turn them in at the end for prizes.  :o)

Damian took Ella on the Cake Walk while I was running around with the other two, and guess what????  First time!!  Yay!  A cake with LOTS of frosting!

It's true.  They even gave out tickets for hoola-hooping!  Lexi and Alyssa

Whoa hair!

How pathetic... Damian is throwing the rings for Ella because she would NOT do it when she got there, but he wasn't about to just leave the line he had waited in for 15 mins.  And he even got a ring around one!  The group of boys hovering around him are all kids from our ward!

 Really?  Do we REALLY need Kona Ice???  And what... WHAT is Braeden doing?  He and Cody get pretty wild together, but they have a great time being rambunctious boys!

And... of course.  If one gets something, another HAS to have it!

I don't think he was able to ring one!  Boo.

On Friday the 14th at Flag Salute, Lexi was presented with her Husky Hero award this year!  Yay!  It's like the "student of the week" award.  Not every teacher chooses one every week, but lots do, so there are quite a few up there getting recognized for their hard work, good behavior, and contributions to their class and school community!  CONGRATULATIONS, Lexi!  Great job!

Ella hanging out on the playground equipment while we wait for the Husky Heroes!

Receiving her sticker and pencil!

There were lots of them this day!  :o)

Look at her face!  She soooo hates attention in settings like this!  Mrs. Strosnider has nothing but WONDERFUL things to say about her!

Congratulations, Lexi!  You deserve it!

I took a snap of this on my way out of the classroom.  They all have one, but I really do love this.  She really is a great example!  I especially like the last one.

We went to the pumpkin patch {Peltzer Farms here in Wine Country} and Damian was even WITH US, and I took my camera... but forgot to put the charged battery in... so I got a big ZERO pictures that day.  We went with Theresa, Alvin, Alyssa, and Tristin.  Boo for no pix!  BOO!!!  But... we ended up going back another day.  Only Damian wasn't with us.  Grrr.  We took and met some friends from school and piano out there!  Fun stuff... Braeden ended up eating some straw.  Yuck!

This is Ella on the OUTSIDE of the petting zoo part of the farm!  Just where she likes it!  She HATES the animals being right next to her... it totally creeps her out and she just canNOT handle it!

Adie, Lexi, Eric, and Max smothering the baby goat, and Braeden is chasing down a duck in the background.

It's so funny to watch him.  He is the only one of them that can get his hands on them and have them be calm about it.  Silly!

Friends and classmates... and all 3 are my piano students!  Robert, Adie, and Lexi!

Max, Braeden, and the baby goat in the feed trough.

Ick... we MUST wash afterward!  MUST!

Measuring "How Tall this FALL!!"

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!

This must be painful for her!  Haha!

Also cheating!

Hmmm...

Almost decent!  Aren't they cute???  I LOVE them!

Ouch!  Doesn't that hurt?  Nope... says she!

Sigh.  This is what happens when you put boys in the straw pit.

This is what you get when you run around with your mouth open while having a straw fight.

EVIL.

She had to run VERY far away from the straw pit to get away from him!

Searching for more ammo.

Eeeek!  Scary driver on tractor!

Hee-hee!

Into the corn maze we go!

Children of the corn!  Haha!  Hopefully they'll never know what that means!

Friday the 21st was Aunt Colleen's birthday, and we tried to surprise her... again!  It's become our yearly tradition, but after 3 years she is FINALLY remembering that we might show up on her doorstep unannounced!  Haha!  But before we headed up there for dinner and dessert, Lexi had her 3rd grade "Interplanetary Jammin'" performance!  So funny... and cute... and I thought about recruiting some of those kids for Primary.  ;o)  Unfortunately we had an 8 am game the next day so we couldn't spend the night at Colleen's... and we had snack, so there was no way, but it was lots of fun!  We ate at the Corner Bakery with EVERYONE... and then the kids played at the house after.  Sam and John invested in a remote control helicopter, and Lexi and Braeden have now added that to their Christmas Wish List!!

Who has the biggest smile?  Ashlyn or Ella?

Everyone in this picture... Lexi and Robert are having a strange interaction.  Joslyn doesn't seem to know what's going on, and Jack is pulling faces because he doesn't even care!  Lovely!

The planets, the planets, we're studying the planets,  Mercury and Jupiter and Mars...  !!

One of our signature HANDmade cards!!

Drop, ring, and RUN!

SURPRISE(ish)!  She knew we were coming this time, but it's still fun to pretend with the kids!

Ella just HAD to paint one of her own to go along with the other one.

So happy just to be here!

Aunt Colleen found some things in the garage for them while Uncle John was cleaning!  It's waiting for them on their beds!

Cabbage Patches, Care Bears...

...and other stuffed animals...

...along with some books that are appropriate for Braeden's reading level!  Yay!!!