Halloween 2010

Halloween around here is kind of an extended event. The Saturday before, we have the neighborhood Halloween carnival. It was very nearly rained out this year, but we did get to play games in neighbors' garages, and have yummy chili and doughnuts in another garage. Very fun, if wet.

The great thing about the week-early party is that it forces me to get costumes ready early. Then, when the kids need costumes for the school parties/parade and trick-or-treating, they're all ready. Bonus!

I have no pictures of the carnival, and my school parade pictures, predictably, turned out blurry. I did manage to get pictures of everyone in their costumes, however.

We started the night with a half-hearted attempt at a spooky dinner:

They didn't turn out quite like the recipe showed, but hey- they still got eaten.

And here are the kids' costumes:

Emma as Padme:

Annie the Princess:

Ethan as Legolas without the hair (he wouldn't even consider a wig):

Josh and Price- Secret Service.
You could tell we were in Utah County, since everyone thought they were missionaries.

Trick or treating at Grandma Shipley's apartment. The kids got quite the haul visiting her neighbors!

By the end of the night we were tired, soaked and in sugar-induced comas, but it's over!
Bring on November!

A Taste of Home...

The Manila girls were playing in the state volleyball tournament this last week. We all wanted to go, but there were just too many things going on, so Tim took Rebekah to cheer them on.

They had a really good time- and I got a little homesick just listening to them tell me about it afterward. We are seriously blessed to have lived in such an amazing place!

A Much Needed Fall Break

Fall break came just in time for me this year- I was starting to feel a little out of control of things. But a few days with no homework, music lessons, soccer practices, football games, or marching band competitions made a huge difference in my mental health!

Thursday and Friday, we mostly spent catching up- getting the house clean, haircuts, shopping, and library. We also took a picnic to Anderson Park Friday afternoon- the weather was absolutely perfect, and the kids had a great time putting on impromptu plays for us in the amphitheater. Red Riding Hood was especially memorable, with Josh playing both the wolf and the grandmother.

On Saturday, Tim decided he could use a break from studying, so we drove to Salt Lake and visited the Tracy Aviary.

Feeding the ducks (the pelicans weren't interested).

This hawk (or falcon, or whatever it is) was OUTSIDE this cage- it was a wild bird trying to get at the caged birds. Pretty funny to watch- I'm guessing those birds were glad they were inside!

I don't know if this photo is big enough to see, but the bird in this exhibit was absolutely fascinated with Price. He just sat there staring at him, and then flew down to get a closer look.

Here's a close-up. He was fun to watch.

I don't remember the name of this bird, but isn't he cool looking? This was in the South American exhibit. The kids were all excited to show Tim the Argentine birds- they wanted to know if he recognized any of them. He didn't, but then they started calling to each other- Tim says it sounded just like Argentina! :)

Playing in the sandbox.

At the bird show:

Ethan was waiting for this one- he's been devouring the Guardian of Gahoole series, so he's very much into owls right now.

We even got to see the first-ever showing of this red tailed hawk, who is the new mascot for the U of U.

I love fall break!

Now... how long until Thanksgiving?

Marching Band Competition at BYU

On the Tuesday before Fall Break, Rebekah had a marching band competition at BYU. Since this was promising to be the easiest of the season to attend, I took all the kids, leaving Tim at home to work, and ventured out. It was fun to be in the stadium without 50,000 other people...

and the view was great!

The band (and Rebekah) did great! It was fun to see the show from above- previously, I had only watched it from the high school bleachers. It gave a whole new perspective.

The music this year is all Billy Joel- so at the end of the show they make a giant piano, complete with keyboard!

The show was very fun- the first of many we'll attend over the next years, I'm sure. I'm glad Rebekah has had the chance to participate this year- she has had a great experience!

Fall Color Up the Canyon

Last week, we took advantage of a free Sunday afternoon to drive up American Fork Canyon to see the fall colors. Not all the trees had changed, but the Tibble Fork side was gorgeous!

Look at this- it's a rare sight. Everyone in the car, no one fighting, complaining or kicking the seat in front of them... no one is even talking!

I wasn't prepared for "real" pictures, but we did stop and take a few informal ones:

Emma

Price

Annie

Josh

Ethan
(Nice truck in the background, huh? I guess I should pay better attention.)

Okay, Mom, but JUST ONE MORE!

Us.
I am blessed.

Photo by Price.

Annie's 6th Birthday!

Hard to believe, but Annie is six years old!
Her birthday was on a Monday, but at the last minute we decided to celebrate Sunday night after conference.

Annie was all for this idea- she couldn't have waited another minute to open all those presents!

When I asked Annie what she wanted for a birthday cake that night, she requested a chocolate cake with white frosting and sprinkles, and she wanted to write on it with the frosting pens. Here's the finished product:

The bottom says "Annie". Since Annie knows how to write my name, I got to be on it, too!

The favorite present of the night:

On Monday night, Annie's actual birthday, we went to see "Despicable Me" at the Water Gardens. We had a blast, and the kids ingested many more grams of sugar. Just what we needed.

Finally, Annie had her first friend party! We had to make another cake:

We made puppy ears to wear, learned how to fetch a stick, roll over and sit,

and just generally have lots of fun with good friends.

Those kids put away a whole cake and a half gallon of ice cream. I was impressed!

I am glad the birthday stuff is over, but I'm glad Annie had such a good time, and that she knows we love her!