Halloween

We had such beautiful weather for Halloween!  We had an escaped convict, lacrosse player, ninja, knight, Elsa, and BYU cheerleader this year.

Ashlyn, Lauren and Austin went trick or treating together.  They were so much fun to take.  I brought a stroller to push Ashlyn in, but after a few houses she started to jump out prematurely and then after doing that twice, she insisted on not riding in the stroller at all.  She would just say "walk, walk" and walk she did.  Around two whole blocks.  By the end she did let me hold her when there was a long stretch to the next house.  She also would tell me her pumpkin was heavy.   She was so cute! Lauren was really good at saying "Happy Halloween" and "thank you" to the neighbors after they gave her candy.  By the end, Ashlyn was good at saying it too.

This cute neighbor of mine (Gerry Pinckney) has her birthday on Halloween. She has been dressing up as a witch for who knows how many years as she passes out the candy.  They have only lived in our ward for a few years, but she always asks the kids to come visit her on her birthday.  This year she turned 80 and she insists she is done dressing up. I had to snap a picture just in case she really is done.  Lauren was a little too nervous to be in the picture, and Ashlyn wouldn't stand still long enough.

Pumpkin Carving

Its kind of crazy to me that we now carve 6 pumpkins each year.  It feels a little overwhelming, but the older kids are getting more independent and doing all or almost all the work themselves.  Ashlyn was funny because she liked the idea of it, but she really didn't like the mess.

The elementary school does has Pumpkins on Parade.  The kids always have fun bringing their pumpkins for the school to see, and then in the evening families can come see.  Ashlyn was so excited to see the pumpkins and was fun to watch her reactions to each one.  I haven't had one act like that at her age.  It was pretty funny.

Fall Break

We took things pretty easy around here for Fall Break.  By the end of it, I could tell they had watched and played way too many video games and TV shows.  I kind of regretted it, but I don't think they did.  I did get them to go up into the canyon one of the days.  It was a little tricky because there was a bit of grumpiness, but I think all in all we had a lot of fun.  We were hoping for some beautiful leaves, but I think we were a week or two late.  We did find some beautiful Aspens on the back side of Timpanogos as we finished driving the rest of the way through the canyon on our ride home.  Unfortunately at that point we had some car sickness going on.  About half way through the canyon we stopped for a picnic.  I got the kids to play around.  They had some fun walking on the logs that were around us.  We also went for a very short hike.  I think we maybe went half a mile round trip.  I would have loved to go farther, but some sibling "love" as well as some grumpiness made us turn around.  Dylan and I decided maybe the two of us should go on some hikes alone, because we both love it so much.  Ashlyn had a lot of fun, but at the point we decided to turn around, she really wanted to get down from the hiking backpack and walk.  I knew that wouldn't work so great, so I made her stay in.  She decided to be silly and jump and bounce around in the backpack as we walked down. It made it tricky for me because it made me feel off balance.