Happy Halloween

Kids in costume with their pumpkins.

Happy Halloween to one and all! I hope you all had a great holiday and that your kids don't get cavities from all the candy they got. We let Ben and Sarah choose their own costumes. Ben wanted to be Obi-Wan Kenobi (of course he'd choose Star Wars) and Sarah wanted to be a witch like her best friend Carina and her cousin Missi (I was just happy she didn't want to be a princess again for the 6th straight year.) We made Hannah a pioneer after not being able to find a costume we liked (Hannah used Sarah Kate's old outfit from the trek we went on when she was 3). Gracie was a flower just like Hannah was last year. Gracie was supposed to be a butterfly, but when we discovered her butterfly costume was a 0-6 month on a 12-24 month hanger, we had to just go with what we had. I think she was cute even if she wasn't unique.

We had a great day that started with pumpkin carving and ended with trick or treating. We went to our wards trunk or treating at the church at 5:30 and gave out most of our candy. The kids had a blast and got way more candy than they need. After that we came home and trick or treated around the neighborhood. I was amazed at the lack of participation in trick or treating. Most houses in our neighborhood wouldn't open their doors either because they weren't home or because they just didn't open their doors. I really hope trick or treating doesn't become a lost art.

Anyway, my kids enjoyed the few houses that opened their doors and got even more candy. Hannah's at the perfect age where she's so cute and got lots and lots of comments. She was always the last one to leave the door and would leave saying bye over and over again as she waved. Little kids are so cute! We made it home around 8:00 and it was time for bed. The kids were exhausted just like they should be after a great Halloween.

The kids with all their candy.
This candy's either going to last until next year or it's going in the garbage. That's a lot of candy.

Gracie loves eating candy, but she really, really loves sitting in the middle of it and throwing it around.

Carving Pumpkins

The kids in costume on Halloween night with their pumpkins

We got our pumpkin carving done just in time this year, barely. It seemed we never could find time between our outings, my sewing and applesauce making, and Sarah's PTC, but we got them done Halloween morning, just in time. The kids had a lot of fun and they all (except Gracie who's too little) dug out their own pumpkin and drew their own faces. It was great and we had a blast.

Sarah pulling off her top, what a face.

Ben pulling off his top (he had to us some muscle.)

Hannah taking her top off while eating a sucker.

Gracie taking a turn trying to get her top off. Look at how hard she's trying.

Gutting the pumpkins!

Drawing their pumpkin's faces!

Gracie had a lot of fun eating the seeds and watching the kids until she fell out of her highchair. That was kind of a bummer, but she was OK which was good.

The finished product!

Hannah's was carved first,

Then Ben's (his is a pumpkin dressed up as a vampire,)

Then Sarah's!

Pre Halloween Fun

The kids in costume outside Trick or Treat Street
Flower Gracie, Witch Sarah, Pioneer Hannah, and Obi-Wan Kenobi Ben

We've been able to do so many fun Halloween things this year. It's been great and it's made me love Halloween even more. Rather than post on every single thing we've done I've decided to make one post of all the pre Halloween things. After Ben and Sarah decided what they wanted to be for Halloween we went looking for appropriate costumes. There didn't seem to be any that were what we wanted at a decent price so I decided to make them. I spend most of the week before Halloween making costumes. With the help of Kenny, I made Sarah's witch's cape, Hannah's bloomers, and most of Ben's costume. I must admit I was very amazed at how well the costumes turned out and how fun it was to do. I might have to make some costumes next year also.

Ben's costume; I made the robe and the shirt under it. Kenny made the belt and the light saber. Overall I think he makes a great Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Our pre Halloween fun started last weekend when we went to Mendon for Kingston's Fall Festival. Karen (my sister-in-law) was in charge of the activity and did an amazing job. We were joined by Karen's girls, my in-laws, and my other sister-in-law Sarah and her 2 boys. The kids all had a blast and I must admit I had fun too. The highlight was the huge slide that was really hard to climb especially when your dragging kids up it.

Climbing the slide with the kids. Sarah's on top, Hannah's in orange at my feet, Ben's in black at my feet, Gracie's in my arms, and cousin Travis in on my right in orange.

Hannah feeding Gracie a creamie. What a nice big sister!

We spent the night at Kingston's in Mendon and then the next morning Sarah (my sis-in-law) and I went to the school to help Karen clean up and inventory. It's amazing all the work she put into it. It took us longer than expected, but I was grateful to be there to help or it would have taken her forever. After helping at the school we all headed down to Salt Lake to go to Trick or Treat Street. We even talked Sarah into bringing her boys which took a lot of coaxing, but we were so grateful she was there. We met Kenny's parents and his sister April. We were only minus Mindy and missed her family and Savannah. While there we were able to meet the newest member of the Newbry extended family. April brought her new baby Carlie who is so cute and sweet and she made the cutest little fairy I've ever seen.

The Newbry cousins in costume (minus Savannah)

Hannah kissing baby Carlie

Trick or Treat Street is something they do at the expo center in Salt Lake. They decorate the inside with fake houses and the kids walk around knocking on doors and trick or treating. It's a great idea and a fun way for the kids to go trick or treating together. After loading up on candy we went to Chuck-a-Rama for dinner and then headed home. It was a long weekend that went really fast and we were all very tired when we got home. No rest though, we had the primary program in church the next morning starting at 9:00.

The Newbry Family at Trick or Treat Street.
It's dark in the expo center, but this picture gives you the idea of what it was like.


The two witches, Sarah and her cousin Missi.

Ben as Obi-Wan Kenobi

Flower Gracie with Ben's light saber.

Tired kids on our way home from Salt Lake

Our fun started up again on Wednesday when Sarah Kate had her Spooktacular at school (sorry, no pictures of this, oops.) I spent the morning at the school making cotton candy for her teacher and then came home at 11:30 to help get the little kids ready. We went to the party at the school (it was good, but I have to admit Karen's was tons better) and then around 2:00 we took 3 exhausted kids home for naps. Sarah was allowed to leave with us, but being Sarah, she wanted to stay and watch the movie until school was out so she could ride the bus home.

After Spooktacular the kids spent a few hours playing with friends and then we went to Boo at the Zoo. The kids loved trick or treating at the zoo and seeing all the animals. They had a costume contest and none of our kids won. What a disappointment! Oh well, the kids had a blast and again, we came home with more candy.

Digging for toys in the leaves at the zoo.

Gracie watching the chickens through the fence.

To finish off our Halloween fun we bought a blowup Halloween decoration for our front yard. Kenny found it at Sam's Club originally $180, sale price $30. We didn't know if the kids would like it given the dead people playing the piano and dancing, but it turns out they think it's really cool. They even chose which dead person each of them were. Aah! To be a kid again.

The kids with their friends Carina and Cy outside with our new decoration.

Hannah's Speech

I took Hannah to USU last week to get her speech evaluated. My mom works in the Education Department of the University and knows some of the people over in the Communication Department so she helped set up the evaluation. Hannah's speech has improved a lot since we left Virginia, but she's still so far behind and we've been wondering if it's affecting her learning. They did some of the same tests that were done in Virginia and some other tests and stuff. Overall it was very interesting and though I didn't learn much that I didn't already know, I'm glad she went and hopefully it will help us get her some good speech therapy in Idaho.

They started out with a hearing test which she flunked with flying colors. They don't think it was her hearing (or lack thereof) just the fact that they couldn't get the things in her ear properly due to her little ears and her unwillingness to cooperate (she really doesn't like people playing with her ears especially with 10 unknown adults staring at her.) They did recommend getting her ears tested just in case she needs tubes. After many hearing test they took us to a little room where they watched her talk while playing and asked her questions to see how she'd respond. The entire process took nearly 2 and a half hours and Hannah did wonderfully. That's a long time for a 2 year old to sit, but she did her best and only became unwilling to participate at the very end.

I was told that Hannah is very bright (we already knew this) but she definitely has speech problems (du!) and they are affecting her learning ability slightly (meaning she's not learning some of the typical things a 2 year old should learn like colors, shapes, and so on.) She qualifies for a special needs preschool at this time, but can't go until next year when she's 3. They also tried to determine what is wrong with her. The best way to describe what they think is wrong is by saying she acts like she has a cleft pallet, but she doesn't. She talks a lot through her nose, but not all the time and in order to do this she must close off her throat with her tongue. They've mostly ruled out any physical problems in her mouth because she can turn off her nasal talk sometimes and kids with physical problems can't do that. They believe it's just the way she taught herself to talk and she needs retaught.

They recommended intense (meaning 2 to 3 days a week) speech therapy for 3 months and then another evaluation. After seeing what progress she made in Virginia with twice a month therapy, I'm very intrigued to see what intense therapy will do for her. I really hope it works like they think it will and that she'll be talking well by the beginning of next year. We're still waiting to hear back from them on a good therapist here in Idaho Falls, but when she gets in therapy I'll keep you posted on her progress.

Lava Hot Springs

The weather here has been indecisive (warm, cold, warm, cold, I guess that's fall for ya) and back when it was a little colder we decided a nice trip to Lava Hot Springs would be fun. We invited Kenny's brother Michael and his family and Kenny's parents. We originally wanted to go for family home evening, but with so many different schedules it worked out that Thursday the 16th (I know this post is way late) would be better. We had a great time. I don't believe I've ever been to the hot pots at Lava so it was a new experience for me. It took the kids (and I for that matter) awhile to get used to the hot water, but they loved the fact that it was like a bunch of big hot tubes. We had a lot of fun and we've decided we have to go back when the weather really does get cold.

What a pretty girl! She's she needed some cooling off time as you can see by her red skin.

Michael and Sarah bought creamies for everyone which was great in the hot water. Little Trent (he's 2) loved sitting on Grandma's legs, barely in the water, eating his creamy. How relaxing!

Aunt Sarah and her boys.

They have a waterproof digital camera that was perfect for the trip. Thanks for the pictures Sarah.

Hannah playing around with Grandpa.

Ben goofing around in Gracie's floaty.

Grandma and Grandpa Newbry. We were so happy they were able to come join us.

You can see the steam coming off of the water. It's a great place to go warm up.

Gracie loved the water, but I think she loved the Popsicle sticks better. She carried one in each hand the entire night.

Uncle Michael's camera was waterproof which means it takes pictures under water. This is Sarah Kate under the water (obviously.)

The picture Sarah Kate took of Daddy underwater. Great face hu!!

Sarah, Hannah, and more steam.

Gracie's Birthday

I'm really late getting this posted, but I wanted to show some pictures from Gracie's birthday. Gracie turned 1 on Sunday, October 19th. It was originally just going to be our family with Grandma and Grandpa Newbry, my parents had come Friday and Saturday but couldn't stay on Sunday. As it generally goes in my family, things didn't work out quite as planned. My mother-in-law woke up early Sunday morning with a migraine and so they were not able to make it that day. Lucky for us, Kenny's sister Karen called to tell us she had won our corn game (we had a game going to see who would be the last one to find a corn kernel from our trip to Cornbelly's two weeks before) and Kenny joked with her about how he thought she had called to say she was on her way to Gracie's party. Long story short, they decided to come. We were so happy to have Karen and Cory and their three youngest girls here and were amazed that they would drive so far for a one year olds birthday. It's been nice having family around and being able to share so many things with them.

Gracie before her party with one of her many 'necklaces'.

Gracie had a wonderful birthday. She didn't really understand the whole open the present thing, she is only 1, but her siblings helped her with it. She got some wonderful gifts including a giraffe trike and a tiger xylophone (we learned that opening the xylophone last would have been a smart choice as that's all she wanted to do). She also got a lovely monkey from Kingstons which they picked up at the gas station on their way here. It makes a scary noise that she's not really fond of, but Hannah loves it and can imitate it quite well.

Playing the xylophone!

I wish I had this shot from the other angle, her smile is to die for.

Riding her giraffe tricycle.
Not too sure about this odd monkey, but thanks for thinking of me.
Who needs presents when you've got a remote control?

After the present opening we sent the kids downstairs to play while the adults played Settlers and cooked dinner. Luckily the weather was beautiful and they all got to spend some time outside chasing the neighbor's dog. We had a spaghetti dinner and then everyone got some cake. I made Gracie the traditional 1st birthday cake, a bear. I think it turned out good and the kids liked eating it so that's all that really matters. Gracie got the head (another tradition of ours, is that morbid?) and at first she didn't really know what to do with it. It took some help from Mommy, but she figured it out and made a mess of the head, her highchair, and herself. Overall I think she had a great birthday.

Gracie's bear cake.

Getting ready to blow out the candles.

We had to be quick cause she really wanted to grab the candle.

Tasting the cake on her own.

All of my one year olds have seemed a little hesitant about digging into their cakes.

After a little help from Mommy.

Hannah had no problem digging into the cake and eating her part without hands.