Halloween Party

 

We had a Halloween party at church last week. The kids loved it. It's always so much fun to see them all in their costumes. We are missing our big costume bucket so we had to get a few new things but they didn't mind. They will choose a different costume for each party - whatever they feel like wearing that day. There is a party at their school this week so will see what they end up wearing that day :) I was kind of amazed that Hailey kept her costume on. She loved seeing all the other kids dressed up too. Caleb's little skeleton sweat suit glows in the dark. The others thought that was a great plus.
They had some really cute games and activities at the party. Halloween bingo, pin the fangs on the vampire, trunk 'n treat..... chili cook off. It's was lots of fun but there really weren't very many people there. Small ward.

Grandma and Grandpa

 

I do a terrible job taking pictures when people visit. I really need to change that.

My parents came out for just over a week. The plan was for them to help us paint and move into our new house. However, we still haven't closed!! Issues have just kept coming up and we have been waiting and waiting. We went under contract 8 weeks ago!! Grr. We hope to close next week but are both so frustrated with the whole thing that who knows what might happen.

Anyway, it was really nice to have my parents out for a visit. We don't see them very often so it was actually nice that it turned out to be just a visit instead of a working vacation :) They got to do some touristy things and the kids got to play with them alot. Both things that would have been harder to do if we were busy with a house. But that means we might be trying to do everything with the house on our own. That is much, much harder.

All of this makes me want to live close to extended family. The way things used to be. Our culture is so much different now but I wish it wasn't. I wish the kids could grow up playing with their cousins and learning new things from their grandparents, aunts and uncles. Instead we are all spread from coast to coast.

Hairstylists

 

This picture makes me laugh. One night we were making guns out of toilet paper rolls and we made one, plus a gun belt, for each of the kiddos. Jackson's was - of course - used as a gun. Maggie and Hailey started to pretend that theirs' were blow dryers! It was really funny. They would pull them out and pretend to dry Matt's hair and then holster them again. Maggie even had a pick in one hand to do his hair. Hailey loves to mimic her sister so she was doing all the same things.
My parents were here visiting recently and Maggie told my mom that she wanted to be a hairstylist when she grows up but she also wants to be a ballerina so she decided that she would do hair while doing ballerina moves! That I would love to see! :)

My hair

 

My hair is getting long also. I have to leave it down to dry here. I think I talked about that a little bit before. I could blow dry it but that takes FOREVER! but I might start doing that anyway. I realized that it smelled like mildew a little while ago. Apparently it never dries all the way if I keep it up out here. YUCK. I wish I had any idea what I would like to do with it. I've worn it up in a bun for about 5 years. That seems crazy.

Hailey Hailey

 

 

Hailey's hair is getting pretty long but since it's so curly I don't know what to do with it. It's getting crazy so I will have to try to trim it soon. It's long enough for little pony tails but she doesn't let me put them in very often and pulls them out after only a little while when I do get them in. Silly girl. She loves to look through the hair clips and have me squirt and brush her hair but that's it.

Caleb is 4 months!

 

This could possible be a little late in posting...... :) he will be 5 months on the 7th of Nov. Oh well. At least it's here now. He only lasts for short times on his tummy and shows no interest in rolling over. He loves to just hang out on his back and play with his feet. He also loves to sit up - with help - and watch all the action around him. He also has the extremely bad habit - again - of being awake from 9:30-11:30 pm or so. Grr. I am not a patient person with lack of sleep. He also loves to play in his exersaucer. He's very good with his hands and reaches and grabs everything.

Miss Maggie

 

This is what Maggie wore to school one day - she said "Look, Mom, now I am a real fashion girl!" Such a funny girl. She loves to dress up and is constantly asking me if she can wear her costumes and anything fancy to school. She also keeps wanting me to buy another wedding dress and invite her this time because she missed my last wedding :)

Maggie starts PreK!!

 

I can't believe it took me so long to get this one on here. Maggie started PreK on Sept 7th. She was on the waiting list for a long time because PreK is offered in the public schools here on a needs based scale. So she didn't make it in on the first round but they had so many extra kids register this year that they eventually opened up another class. She was very excited. She goes part day, everyday. So far she has really enjoyed it. They just finished going through some of the colors. The teacher asked them to dress in the right color for each day. Maggie loved that. I should have taken pictures of some of her outfits. :) I guess the teacher was going to take pictures for a color book so maybe I will get some that way. She takes a lunch with her to school and eats as soon as she gets there. She can be a bit of a picky eater so sometimes it's a trial to pack things she will eat. I have to take her in to school but she comes home on the bus with Jackson. That sounds nicer than it is..... I still have to walk down to the bus stop to meet them which mean waking Hailey and Caleb up from naps and getting out the door in time.
I'm glad that she is going. She loves the learning and the other kids. Her classroom also has a number of activities for them to do during playtime.... like housekeeping, tools, blocks....... So far we are pretty happy with the school here.

Amusement Park

 

 

 

 

We went to an amusement park on Labor Day. It was pretty fun. It had a lot of rides geared towards the younger kids so Maggie and Jackson could go on the majority of the rides. Hailey was pretty mad whenever she couldn't go. Even though we had a lot of fun I'm not sure it was worth the price. They seemed to have just as much fun in our yard in Brigham City when we had the swingset, trampoline and sandbox.

Suckers

 

These are from last month.....

I thought these suckers were so funny. The suckers are just attached on the back of these plastic lips. The kids thought they were pretty funny too.

Suggestions?

I need help finishing my piecemeal quote in the header. Any ideas? By the way, it's extremely hard to figure out where quotes originated in order to give attribution..... any suggestions on that too? :)

Splash in the puddles
Dance in the rain
Find Joy in Each moment......

never letting in wane.

Repeat.

Princesses and Soccer

 

Tonight was a busy night..... Chik Fil A had a princess night and we definitely couldn't miss that!! So we went there to meet some princesses and have dinner. Maggie was pretty amazed that 'real' princesses were there while Jackson was logically telling us that those were people in costumes. They also had some girl video games to play and one of them was Wii dance game. Maggie and Hailey loved that - it was so funny to watch. There was also a carriage ride. We waited in a cold line to ride in the carriage. Once of the chik fil a workers brought out hot cocoa. The kids loved the very short ride. Then we went in and had ice cream :) At chik fil a you can trade the toy from the kids meal for ice cream - usually it's a book. Tonight we got books that we already have copies of so we traded them in. It was a very fun and very cheap night.

In between all of this we had to fit in a soccer game. It all went smoothly. Jackson was more into the game than he has been so far. He worked really hard at getting the ball and helping out his team. Maggie was singing and dancing on the sidelines. Hailey was log rolling all around us. We went and played on the toys for a little while too.

Then it was back to chik fil a to finish up any activities that we missed.

Whew.

Playgroup

 

Every week a group of moms get together for a playdate. This last week we decorated halloween cookies. The kids loved it! Decorating and candy - two of their very favorite things together. Caled is getting so big! He will be 4 months in just a couple of days.

Caleb and the rain

 

This is how Caleb spent the puddle jumping time...... in his car seat, chewing on his fingers. He will join the chaos soon enough. I need to enjoy him stationary for as long as I can :) It has stopped raining so he could just hang out. He loves to be outside too.

Bring the rain

 

 

 

It has rained A LOT here. Thunderstorms are often and it downpours! Storms in the west are just not like that very often and if they are they are pretty short lived but here? a heavy, heavy downpour can last HOURS. In the spring I bought rain gear for all of the kids because you would get soaked just going out for a few minutes. They have loved it. Hailey isn't wearing her jacket - it's orange. I wanted a little more neutral color so Caleb can wear it next.
When we came in one of our surrogate grandparents - they have a couple in this complex - asked if she could take a picture because she thought they were all so cute in their rain stuff. The very next day she brought me framed copies of the pictures!! She also brings her cat out for them to pet every once in awhile.
The kids love splashing around - like most kids do! Nothing like being allowed to do it! Hailey and Jackson still got water in their boots but Maggie didn't. Keeping their pants and socks dry was the main motivation behind the rain pants. I think they may be a little big and that doesn't help matters.
Maggie was so funny. She started dancing and spinning around in the puddles - as you can see in one of her pictures. That girl will sing and dance anywhere and everywhere.
Anyway since we are prepared now - I don't mind the rain - as much :) Now I need a jacket and pants for me.........