Halloween

Ally chose to be Queen Elsa this year, and Skyler decided to be a policeman. It is the most normal costume he has ever chosen! I was thrilled to be able to just go online and purchase him a costume instead of trying to make something (like a Happy Meal...). Kylee and her group of friends chose to all be Cinderella characters, so Kylee was the Fairy Godmother.

Colby was the hotdog again this year because he doesn't care and it still fit him, so why not? Looking at the photo below you can see the definite different between our Florida Halloweens. Coat. Hats. Gloves. It was FREEZING on Halloween. Luckily most of the winter gear fit underneath the costumes so you could still see what they were. We did eventually make Ally put on her earmuffs and coat also because this little sweater was just not going to cut it!

We tried to go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood, but after two entire streets we only had about 10 candies, so when it was time to drive Kylee over to her friend's neighborhood so the group of friends could go together, we took the little kids over there as well. It was a bigger neighborhood with houses instead of twin homes, so it worked out a lot better. Then Andy and I took the three little kids to Aunt Annette and Uncle Donald's house because grandma T wanted to see them in their costumes. She had made them each a little goodie bag, and they she gave them handfuls of candy from their bowl, too, because they had not gotten ANY trick-or-treaters. We hung out with them until it was time to go pick up Kylee. We did have an incredibly pretty sunset that night!

Colby fell asleep in the car on the way home, and didn't wake up at all, even when Andy carried him inside, changed his diaper, put his jammies on, and tucked him into bed. We was just way too tired!

And here's our little pumpkin this year. We forgot to carve it until Halloween afternoon, and then it was frozen solid from being outside for the prior week, so Andy had me draw a simple face on it and he did his best to carve it out. I guess next year we've learned that we need to keep our pumpkin indoors, and we should set a reminder to carve it a bit earlier!

Random October/November

We went to our ward Fall Festival party and they had this sign to take pictures with.

We got a tiny bit of snow one day, and the kids thought it was the most exciting thing ever.

Colby started attending a preschool Ninja class on Tuesday mornings in addition to the family one we end on Thursday evenings. He LOVES it. He always asks "We go to Winja class today?"

Ally got new boots! This photo looks weird cuz she pulled her pants up, but she got them to wear with dresses to church, and they're cute and warm!

About a week apart from each other Skyler and Ally each caught a barfing stomach bug, and were up ALL NIGHT. Skyler then caught it AGAIN after Ally. I do not love laying awake on the couch all night waiting for them to barf again, so let's hope they are done for a loong while.

Our realtor had a client appreciation night at a local Corn Maze, so we went after our ninja competition at the end of October. It was pretty fun! Note to anyone interested though: Don't go to a corn maze with Andy. I tried to tell him we were supposed to stay on the main WIDE paths, but he found a little tiny path through the corn that he and Kylee were sure was a "feeder path". Yeah. We ended up wandering OUT of the easy kid maze we were supposed to be in and INTO the hard adult maze. Finally we got out (without finding all the animal tracks we were supposed to find) and THEN I realized that the postcard I was holding in my pocket was actually a map of the maze that showed us exactly where to go. Whoops! Next year we'll be ready! They also had slides, a little train, and a zip line, and it was super fun.

After we got back from Disneyland we pretty much immediately got started with finishing our basement. We hired a company to come set the tub and do the bathroom plumbing, and also add AC to our whole house, replace our furnace, and do the HVAC lines for the basement. Then Andy finished up the framing and did all the electrical, and I started getting bids for drywall since Andy doesn't want to do that himself.

Right before Halloween we got more snow. Still not a ton, but the minute the kids got home from school they put on all their winter gear that I've recently obtained and went out to play in it.

One morning I was getting ready for the day and I heard dishes rattling. Came out to the kitchen to find that Colby had unloaded the dishwasher. He put all the silverware in the drawer and stacked everything else on the counter. If I hadn't caught him when I did I'm sure he would've dragged a barstool over and attempted to put all this stuff away, too. He is quite the little helper!

At our ninja competition Kylee and Andy won the duo division; Kylee won the 11-and-under solo division; and Ally and Colby won the preschool division. I'm almost positive we were the ONLY ones in those categories, but hey -- you get what you get! The kids were super excited that they won pumpkin trophies.

One night I went to check on the kids before I went to bed and found Skyler asleep with his winter hat on. That kid is so weird!

For the 50th day of school the Kindergartners dressed up as 50s. Then they ate 1/2 a donut, did 1/2 a worksheet, and read 1/2 a story. Ally thought it was the best thing ever.

Colby gets himself dressed every day first thing. One day he came out wearing Skyler's pants. He said, "My pants too big, mom. I roll them." Umm, yeah, those are NOT your pants! But he did proceed to roll up the bottoms and wear them for most of the morning. When we needed to go somewhere I got him to change them.

Another morning Colby came into my room at like 6:45 and said "Mama, you play UNO, me?" I said, "Oh boy! Did you eat some yogurt for breakfast?" He said, "No. I don't eat yogurt." Ummm, sorry buddy, but the proof is right there on your face! Busted!

After a freakishly cold October (apparently one of the coldest in the history of Idaho), we started out November with a whole week of days in the low-to-mid 50s, and it was amazing! Colby and I played UNO outside one day to bask in the sunshine and warmth.

We've been attending our Ninja class since mid-September, and Kylee and I both have not been able to get up the mini warped wall. It's only 8 feet, but once you grab the top you have to be able to hoist yourself up. FINALLY, the second week of November we both got it. Andy wasn't there because he got caught at work late, so we made sure to document our success for him!

One morning Andy came out to the kitchen to find that Colby was having an ice cream sandwich for breakfast. You might be noticing a theme here. Colby is incredibly independent and is a MENACE to society half the time. He is just so cute and happy though, you can't possibly get mad at him when he does crazy things like this! Instead we hid the ice cream sandwiches.

Disneyland!!

Long before we decided to move to Idaho we planned a trip to Disneyland for the second week of October. Our move worked out perfectly because Andy was scheduled to end work in NM on Sept. 27 but not start in Idaho until Oct. 14, so our trip week was still available. Driving from Idaho to LA is FAR and LONG, but...we made it!

The first day we went to Disneyland Kylee had a really bad stomach ache and ended up puking in a trash can (and then the bathroom) as soon as we entered the park. Right after she puked we found Pluto, so we got a photo. At least she managed to look happy! She felt poorly for the next couple of hours and didn't ride any rides, but then she recovered and was fine for the rest of the week, luckily!

The kids taught Colby the art of putting your hands up on every ride possible, and he had a blast! He was about 1/2 inch too short to try the big rides, but he loved all the rides he COULD do!

Andy doesn't love to get wet, so he skipped the river ride, but the rest of us rode it multiple times. Kylee went single-rider so that I could take the two little kids while Andy stayed off with Colby. We got SOAKED multiple times, and Skyler and Ally regretted it when their feet were wet for the rest of the day and their toes cracked from being so pruny...but that didn't stop them from wanting to go again!

At California Adventure we had never done the adventure trail that is near the river ride, so this time we tried it out. The little kids had a blast! Andy and Kylee were off on the Incredicoaster again (which they rode about 100 times).

One time Skyler and Kylee wanted me to go on Splash Mountain with them and they said we were all going to pretend to sleep. In the end I guess Skyler was just too scared to 'sleep'. Poor guy looks terrified!

Our rule is that the kids have to try each ride once and then if they don't love it they don't have to go again. Kylee went on Guardian's of the Galaxy (formerly Tower of Terror) with Andy, and then Skyler and Ally were supposed to go with me. They HATE this ride at Disney World, but they were willing to give it a shot since they haven't done the Disneyland one before. They actually call it "Tower of Terra"...they think it's MY ride! Anyway, they were both trembling like a leaf before we got on, and Skyler found an exit door he wanted to bolt through, but they hung in there. If you look closely at the photo above you can just barely see the tops of their heads on either side of me. They basically clenched their eyes shut and held onto my arms for dear life while ducking their heads down during the entire ride, but they survived! Woot woot!

On Wednesday and Thursday the Sugiyama family joined us at Disneyland and the kids had a blast going on rides with their cousins. We rode Big Thunder more times than we can even count (thanks to Max Passes and Rider Swaps we never even stood in line!).

Our hotel had two Queen beds and a set of bunk beds so everybody got their own spot to sleep with nobody on the floor. Every night when we got back from the park the kids crashed within minutes. They were so worn out!

On Friday we all went to Huntington Beach since it was close to our hotels. The water was colder than I was imagining it would be (I guess I'm used to the Gulf, and I was thinking the Pacific was supposed to be warmer -- but it was NOT!), but we had fun sitting in the sand. The babies kept chasing waves out and then running back in with the waves chasing them. Connie and I were a bit nervous that a big wave was just going to sweep them away, so we made the dads stand down there and be ready to rescue.

Andy felt that a warm beach was a good place to take a little nap after 4 days at Disneyland.

I tried to make a shark out of sand, but I couldn't get the body shape right, so he just turned into a fat fish.

The photo below of the babies makes me laugh. I'm not sure what they were doing, but it's just funny that they both are showing off their diaper bums!

Some of our kids apparently don't know what the word "smile" means...

All in all, it was a super fun trip and the kids are already asking when we can go again. It snowed in Idaho while we were gone, and the weather was really cold, so I was glad to get a week of warm sunshine again! Someday I just might have to retire to Florida where the weather is warm year-round.