Playing at the WitchFest

I thought I'd take a cute picture of the kids at the
WitchFest. I quickly remembered my kids don't really like to take 'good pictures."

I took the kids to the WitchFest at Gardner Village in late October. I have heard about if for years and decided this was a good year to go check it out. They had a treasure hunt where they gave you a clue and you had to find the witch that matched it. The kids had a lot of fun finding the witches and seeing all the other fun things around. I asked the kids which witch was their favorite and they all said it was the outhouse one. HaHa. I'm sure many kids thought that was the best one. After we found all the witches the kids got to turn their papers in and get a cookie. It was a fun outing and I think, maybe we'll do it again next year.

Sarah desperately wanted a picture in front of the witch outhouse. She's so goofy.

Gracie pretending the witch outhouse was stinky.

Hannah had to pretend the outhouse was stinky too.

We had to have a picture by the giant pumpkin.

Eating the cookies they earned for finding all the witches
on the treasure hunt (and some cotton candy that mom bought.)

Brake Pad Learning

Ben helping to change the brake pads.

The brake pads on our van needed changed and when Kenny had a little bit of time off his busy work schedule he decided to change them. This time he enlisted the help of Ben. I love watching my kids get older and I love that Kenny is such a great dad who will teach our kids and be there for our kids.

Kenny teaching Ben how to change the brake pads.

Bringing the tire around to put it back on.

Ben helping to put the bolts back on the tire.

Gracie's 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday Gracie Grace

Gracie turned 6 on October 19th and what a day it was. Her birthday happened to fall on a Saturday which was great. The kids were off track so it really didn't matter if she was in school or not. The day started out normal, but when naps were over we started the party. She got a few presents and enjoyed opening them up. When present opening was done and she had an opportunity to play with them for a while, we headed up into the mountains to try and take a few pictures of the kids. We got a good picture of Adam and one of all the kids. We then headed over the mountain to Park City were we had a pizza dinner. It was a fun day for a very excited and happy 6 year old. 

I love having Gracie in our family. She is such an energetic, fun and loving child. She can be a handful, but really, I wouldn't trade her for anything. I've loved watching her grow and I'm so excited to see what she becomes the older she gets. 

Opening her new Lego's

She was so happy to get a Monster High doll like her older sisters.

She loved here new Skylanders Giant the most.

Opening her Skylander

Eating pizza in Park City

Gracie really enjoyed going out for pizza for her birthday.

Adam enjoyed his pizza.

Feeding the Birds

We went to the aviary with my friend Cami, her daughter Julia, and her baby Elijah. I haven't seen her in quite some time and though it was a short trip because I had to pick the big kids up from school, it was still so nice to see her. While at the Aviary Julia wanted to feed the birds so I let my kids feed them also. We went into a caged area with little cups of fruit. The birds would fly up to us, land on our hands and eat from the cups. My kids were scared to death at first, but the longer we were in there the braver they got, well all but Daniel. He just wanted out.

Adam petting the bird on my hand.

Cami and Julia feeding the birds.

Dan's "get me out of here" face.

Gracie finally got brave enough to let the birds land on her. She loved it.

Crazy Hair Day

The kids had crazy hair day in October during Red Ribbon Week. Crazy hair day is always fun and always annoying to me. Good thing I'm willing to give in a little and do some crazy hair. This year we just went with messy hair. The kids loved it and had tons of fun.

Ben being crazy with his crazy hair.

Gracie's first time doing crazy hair. She was so excited.

Hannah wanted hair kind of like Sarah's, done differently on both sides.

Sarah wanted her hair crazy on one side and normal on the other.

Reading Time

Hannah has always had a hard time speaking. Her issues with tonsils, ears and who knows what else have made it really difficult for her to form sounds and it's been difficult for her. Her speech has improved so much over the years and she is constantly improving and surprising us. Because he speech has been difficult, her reading has struggled as well. She is getting better every day, but she still has a long way to go. I thought I'd share a little of her reading. One day it'll be nice to look back on.

More Kite Flying

Our two new kites flying side by side.

We love kite flying and so when Kenny got back at the end of September we headed out to fly our kites again. Flying kites is very fun and surprisingly soothing. Sadly on this trip both kite strings broke. Guess Kenny's going to have to fix those.  :)

Ben flying the big kite with Dad's kite nearby.

The Busyness of Sixth Grade

She's so excited to learn to play the violin.

Sixth grade has proven to be totally different than any of the other elementary years. Sarah is in a great class with nice kids in it. This is a change from her class last year and it has been so nice to see the difference it has made in her and her happiness. She had some great friends and that is so important. Not only has her class been better, but sixth graders get opportunities that the younger kids don't get. Student council is one of those opportunities. Sarah wanted to try out for student council and at first I was tempted to tell her no because we don't know how long we will be living here, but she wanted it so bad that I went ahead and let her try. She was so excited when she learned that she had made the student council in her class. It means early morning meeting on Monday, being hall monitor every now and then, selling beef jerky once a month during lunch on Fridays, and  doing morning announcements. Sarah loves it and the lessons in responsibility she's learning has been good for her.

Another exciting thing about sixth grade is the option to be in the orchestra. Sarah wants to do all the opportunities provided her at the school so, of course, she desperately wanted to be in the schools orchestra.While Kenny was in DC I took Sarah to the meeting to learn what orchestra is all about. We ended up going to the local music store and buying her a violin that night. She was so excited and couldn't wait to learn how to play it. I'll have to post videos when she's learned a few songs.

Pretending to play the violin.

Movie Night and our September in a Nutshell

Ready to watch the movie.

The month of September was spent mostly without Daddy. He was working long hours trying to get ready for the first class to be launched at his new job. Once the class was complete, he headed to Texas to teach a live class at the main office. He was able to come home for the weekend but had to head to Washington DC to take a class and get some certifications. We missed him while he was gone, but he did really well on his first class and he enjoyed his time in DC. He got to see our great friends, the Gulick's and he got to go into the city and see some of the places we used to go. I was totally jealous, but so glad he was able to get out of the hotel and see some things.

While Kenny was gone we just hung out at home and lived our normal boring, yet crazy, lives. The kids had been begging me to watch Teen Beach Movie with them so we decided to watch it one Sunday evening when Kenny was gone. It's always such an adventure to watch a movie with the kids, but they love it and that's important.

Watching the movie, waiting for popcorn.

Trying Some Kids Pictures

We took the kids put American Fork Canyon in September to try and get some pictures of them before Kenny had to head to Texas and DC for work. We found a great old amphitheater that we thought would be good for pictures. It was a great idea, but we were a little late when we got there and the sun and light was gone. Kenny took a few practice pictures while the kids played. I'm sure we'll head up there next year.

There were cool step to use as a background. The kids enjoyed playing on them.

Cute Hannah

Sarah helping dad by the stairs.

Hannah on the steps of the amphitheater.

The Kite Festival

We took the kids to the kite festival at Antelope Island on August 31st. It was a little hot, a little dry, but a lot of fun. There was a kite show that was amazing, a BMX show, and we stopped to see some of the animals on the island. I've always liked Antelope Island and it was fun to go back and enjoy a few hours with the family.

                                           

One of three videos of the kite flying. It's the only one that would upload. I'm not sure why. Oh well!

BMX biking tricks.

The kids really enjoyed the BMX show. Especially when the bikers did flips.

An antelope friend on the island.

Lots of antelope friends.

It might not be Yellowstone, but it's still cool to see Bison.

Bison hanging out by the Great Salt Lake.

Hot Tubing Fun

We stayed in Grace another day and went to church with my in laws. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to relax and enjoy some quite time while the kids played. We let the kids take a dip in the hot tub after church while the adults sat outside eating ice cream and enjoying the sunlight. It was a perfect Sunday.

Adam having fun in the hot tub.

Sarah hot tubed for a few minutes and than wanted to hang out with the adults.

Beautiful Hannah in the hot tub.

Fun After Picking

Flying kites in the fields.

After we made it down the mountain with our huckleberries it was time for a hamburger dinner and some fun with cousins. Kenny took the kids to the field above the house to fly kites. The wind was blowing and it was perfect weather for kite flying. The kids had fun taking turns flying and playing around.

Adam followed me out to check on the kite fliers. I told him not to
wander off. He did and came back to me with this face because. . .

He had found some mud. He was so upset and just
wanted to go back to the house.

Missi taking a turn flying the kite.

Of course, after a day on the mountain picking huckleberries the only thing missing is fresh huckleberry ice cream and grandpa came through. Huckleberry ice cream is delicious and when it's fresh, oh man, that's amazing. 

Adam enjoying ice cream

Dan took time out of his ice cream for a smile.

Hannah eating yummy ice cream.

Nikki came to Grace for ice cream and brought her
fiancee Isaac and everyone fought for time with Isaac.