Halloween

We had a lot of fun this past Halloween. A trip to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins, school parties, and a fabulous Halloween carnival and trunk-or-treat at the church were all part of the festivities. As you can see below, we had a witch, pirate, hunter, and Minnie Mouse in our family.

Yours truly was a farmer and Chris dressed up as Santa Claus, which really confused some of the little kids.

Catching Up

Here are some pictures from the past couple of months.

We went to Utah for a couple of days in August, and Apple and Blueberry stayed behind with the grandparents for 2 weeks. We met Sam and Cathy in Reno to get the girls, and while we were there, we took advantage of the pool.

First day of school!

Over Labor Day weekend, we went to Monterrey and stayed at Chris' boss' beach house. So fun!

Banana's 1st Birthday

On July 31 our cute little Banana turned 1! We celebrated by going to Tilden Park to ride the steam train and the carousel. As you can see, she wasn't too interested in her cupcake.

Apple Turned 11!

Apple turned 11 last week! She had a fun birthday with our family, and then she had a party with her friends on Saturday. She is a wonderful daughter, fabulous sister, smart student, and a great friend to so many people!

I had to throw in this picture of Banana - you can see her teeth!

New Pictures

Hey everyone! Here are some recent pics of the kids.

The kids helped granddaddy trim trees in the backyard.

The girls entered different pieces in their school's Art Fair.

Grandmommy came for a visit and we were playing outside.

I was trying to get a picture of Banana's two bottom teeth.

Goodbye Subaru

I never thought we'd be so attached to a car! We sold the Subaru on Saturday, and we have been a bit sad. Chris especially is bummed out about selling it. It was a really great car for us even though we had to do a couple of repairs. The Subaru went with him on many camping trips with the Scouts, made several CA to UT trips, and hauled countless things for us.

We sold it for purely economical reasons. It had a small oil leak that had the potential to be quite costly down the road. Recently we bought an old Honda which will give us better gas mileage and cheaper car insurance. I feel like we need to have some type of goodbye ceremony for the Subaru. *sniff, sniff* I never thought we would be so attached to a car, but it is just a car and it's ok. We are saving money, which brings a huge smile to my face!

Alice and Apple

The girls' school just had their annual musical. This year it was Alice in Wonderland, with some twists. Apple was in the play, and had so much fun being a part of it. She started rehearsing the second week of January, and after two months of practice, the show was a smashing success! The plays at the school are open to 4th and 5th graders, and they are top notch. You'd never think a play of this caliber was done at an elementary school. She didn't have any speaking lines (her choice), but was able to sing and dance several times in the show. The cast performed the show six times over three days. As parents of the cast, we had jobs also. Chris helped build the thrust and the set one night, and I was on the dressing room and make-up crew for two performances. We are so proud of our budding thespian. What fun!

Happy 5th Birthday Octimus Prime!

Octimus Prime turned 5! Woohoo! He had a fun little party with his buddies. He got some really nice gifts from family and friends. Sam and Cathy came out to help celebrate. They also brought out the rest of our stuff. The kids LOVE having their bikes, and we LOVE having the folding chairs, my office chair, and the freezer in the garage, among many other things.

OP makes us laugh and he makes us want to pull our hair out sometimes. I took him for his annual check-up, and he is at 99.9% on the charts for height and weight. He weighs more than Blueberry, and he is the biggest kid in Primary and preschool. He eats constantly and never stops playing, running, and jumping. What a great kid!

New Teeth, New Trick

Banana has teeth! Her tiny two bottom teeth made an appearance this past week. Judging by her buckets of drool, we knew they had to be coming soon, and they arrived a few days ago. On top of that, she is now sitting up on her own. It's so much fun to plop her down on a blanket, scatter some toys by her, and watch her play.

I have soooo much to blog, but I'll start with these pics of Banana and the rest of the kids. Cathy was out for a visit and here are some pics of our trip to the zoo and a pic taken on Sunday.