Hallie's Oct school Stuff

They did several fun and festive things at school this month for Halloween. I think Hallie's favorite was the Halloween carnival. They played games and had treats. Quite a few kids in Hallie's class have birthdays in October so they spent pretty much the whole month celebrating.

Fall Days

Occasionally I have a day where I feel well enough to be productive and those days I seem to over do it and pay for it later but such is our lives right now. Last week we had a day where I had volunteered to take dinner to one of my friends in the ward that is pregnant and super sick. I was hoping that since I was trying to serve others that the lord would give me the energy that I needed to take care of my obligation and sure enough it seemed to work. The girls and I made Lion House rolls, chicken and wild rice soup, and sugar cookies. Hallie has really started to take an interest in cooking and I find she eats better when she actually helps make it. She was so excited to roll out the dough for the rolls and here she is spreading the butter around before we cut them and flipped them. I have always loved to cook/bake when something sounds good and it makes it even more fun that now I have a partner.

Im excited fro one day to have a bigger kitchen with a big island for all my cooking/baking. But for now Im grateful for the memories that we are making in this kitchen.

CMT Weber State Game

Sometimes along with Matt's busy schedule come some fun perk. The suite box the department Matt is an adjunct for is one of those perks. At least once a year we are invited to come and bring our family. They have a nice meal before the game and then we settle in to watch the game in a room with endless snacks, drinks, and souvenirs....yes it is that awesome! The kids were in heaven and I was so thrilled to spend a day with Matt with nothing else pressing. The girls wasted no time taking a seat in front using their new pom poms and noise makers while the team warmed up! 

 Gracie was so thrilled that they had root beer and it was the good stuff in the glass bottles. This became her companion for the game

 Candy in one hand and a root beer in the other....one of the true joys of being a kid!

 The girl over the suite gave Hallie a bag with her name on it to put all her "treasures" in....she was very spoiled!

This is the outdoor space of the suite. The view is incredible! It faces the east so along with the game we also got the amazing view of the beautiful fall colors 

 Oh how I love this man of mine! He is my everything! He works so hard for us and yet always makes time for each of us. The girls and I have really missed him since he has been traveling so much. This day was such a great was to spend a "normal" day together as a family.

 Although the weather was warm the wind blew most of the game. In the 4th quarter Hallie got cold and Joe and Karen we so sweet and found Hallie a blankie to sit inside and watch the game with....like I said totally spoiled.

It was such a great day spent with people that have become so much more than co workers. They have become an extension of our family. The girls are already asking when we can go again.

Trick or Treating at Manor Care

Trick or treating at Manor Care is by far my favorite place and way to trick or treat each year. They line the residents up and down the halls and I really think they enjoy seeing the kids just as much as the kids enjoy getting the candy. I also like that my kids aren't afraid of older people. I remembered on Friday morning that I needed to call and see when it was happening only to find out it was that afternoon! Luckily we didn't have plans so after nap we dressed everyone up and headed over. The kids had a ball showing off their costumes and talking to the residents. At the end of all the trick or treating they had cookies and apple cider the girls really enjoyed.  

 Here they are with their full buckets of candy!

 On the way home they each chose a treat to eat before dinner so it was a pretty quiet ride. While I made dinner the girls spread out their candy and sorted it then asked to put it in a bowl. I love these sweet girls and their darling thoughtful personalities. Happy beginning of Halloween!! 

Gardner Village

Gardner Village is another tradition when it comes to Halloween and Fall. This year we made plans so that we could go while my mom was in town. She came this weekend so that she and her siblings could be proxy to have my grandma sealed to her parents. She has waited a long time for this and I can't wait to hear how it went. My mom came up on Thursday so we met her at Gardner Village and it worked out great it wasn't busy which allowed the kids move freedom than if it would have been busy. The shops no longer allow strollers but was surprised no one complained about being tired and both girls did great at listening and staying close. The different witches they have are so creative and fun. Although I think that the witches are all the same each year I think I notice different ones. Matt isn't a fan of Gradner Village so its a great thing for me to do with my mom and sisters. Although with Kimber moving this year we missed her and Luke sharing the day with us.

 The pony rides are the anticipation of the trip. They have several activities for the kids including a new activity area but they each cost about 5 dollars so I told the girls that they could choose one activity and one treat near the end if they were good. I don't even think they hesitated when they choose to ride the horse. The few kids in line in front of them was like torture for them they were all so excited. I was pleasantly surprised when my mom offered to pay for each of the kids to ride a pony...it was very thoughtful and I appreciated it. So while we waited for our turn I took the kids over to pet the horse which helped keep them busy.

 Then they each got to choose which horse they wanted to ride and learned a little about them and their names. 

 And then we were off. They were able to have 2 guides so the kids could go all together

 After the horse ride the kids got to pick out what they wanted for a balloon shape. Hallie and Gracie picked out flowers in their favorite colors and Rigs picked a sword

 One of the witches was a fireman watering into their stream the kids thought that was pretty funny

 And of coarse where there is water these kids want to be in it or at least touch it....we settled with touching it. And Im happy to report no one fell in!!!!

 Then it was time for treats!!! The candy store there is awesome they have hand made fudge, carmel apples, and chocolate dipped cheesecake...seriously awesome. Although there were a lot of choices the girls ended up with some great pics. Gracie a pineapple and strawberry popsicle. And although this picture doesn't show it she really enjoyed it

 Hallie picked one of my favorites an apple pie caramel apple...it definitely din't disappoint

 Hallie was to busy playing to have a picture with us but we enjoyed some cuddle time and she even shared her popsicle. 

 On our way back to the car both girls were very interested in the water wheel so we took a minute to check it out more closely

 Once we got back to the car grandma had another surprise for the girls. While we were in Vegas mom and I shopped for yarn to make these hats and they didn't disappoint with the end results. They turned out so cute!

After the squeals and hugs of excitement we loaded up and headed for Nic's house to have dinner. It was awesome and tasted so good after our day out and about. We had tai peanut pork and asparagus. After some more chatting, playing, and cleaning up dinner the girls and I headed for home to go to bed for the night. It was a great day spent with the ones I love the most. Yet another day that helped the time pass as Matt was once again out of town, Im so thankful for my thoughtful sister that made sure she planned so we could all have dinner together to end a great day spent with one another.

Black Island Farm 2014

One of my favorite traditions in the fall is taking the girls to Black Island Farms and this year was no different. They were so excited after looking at pictures from last year and talked about it for the entire week before we went and it didn't disappoint. Im so glad that one of the girls I work with continues to put things like this together. There ended up being about 100 of us with moms and kids! This year our friends Steph and Alice joined us for a great time. While we waited for our turn for the pumpkin picking ride we killed some time by taking pictures.

Then it was our turn for our trailer ride. The kids were so excited but unfortunately once we got on they took another 10 minutes getting us moving but with some fruit snacks and some jumping we all made it through. There were cheers from both moms and kids when we started to move!

On our way to the patch the farmer stopped to show the kids the carrot and cabbage patch and talked about how you make then grow best and different fun facts. When we got to the patch each of us were supposed to pick a pumpkin and then raise our hand so the farmer could come cut it off the stem. Gracie was pretty quick to find hers and then proceeded to change her mind 5 different times but this is the one she finally settled on but later decided she liked mine better which I had chosen thinking she might change her mind so we traded.

Hallie on the other hand took her time finding just the one she thought would be perfect and once she decided there was no going back

Once everyone had found a pumpkin we loaded back up. The weather was quite nice but the wind was blowing constantly it made it really difficult to get a good picture

Here is Gracie's pumpkin she decided on and I was happy for that since I ended up at one point carrying all of them but luckily both girls had picked good pumpkins that they could both carry pretty easily.

Once we got back we took the pumpkins to the car and then headed out for the rest of the activities. 

I was overall pretty disappointed with the animal part this year this goat was pretty much what we saw for animals minus the donkeys that we got to later but the girls all had a great time holding tight to their corn stock so he couldn't get it in one bite! It looked a lot like tug o war and at times the girls were laughing so hard I don't think they were really hanging on.

We did swings and slides nect but I must have been having so much fun I forgot to take a picture. Hallie loved the bigger slides as did Gracie once she watched Hallie go down a few times. They are getting so big! No one needed help climbing the cargo net this year it has been a long time since that happened it made me kinda sad! The we stopped by to ride the cow train. We got there at a perfect time there was no line so the kids got to go a couple times in a row and the driver even took them on a longer ride since there was no line....they thought that was great.

We also did the bounce house briefly and played in the corn pit for some time before we took a potty break and found these sweet friends. I was a little nervous since there were signs everywhere that said to be careful they would bite you but they were great with the kids. They fed them carrots and got to pet them.

By this time they were starting to open up the night time events and open a big steep slide. The kids wanted to go on it so badly so I stayed with our friends baby while she took them and then we traded. Here is Hallie....they loved it so much by the time we got to the bottom they were back to the top again. We continued this cycle for about 20 minutes before the line started to really get long and we called it a night

Here is Steph with her little girl and Gracie their 1st time down

Here is our group shot...not the greatest but we were all tired and I was just glad no one objected to having another picture after 4 hours of playing in the sun and dirt

On the way home we stopped by Papa Murphys to grab pizza for dinner since they have a new gluten free pizza crust. By the time we waited and for what we paid we might as well have had Pizza Hut but that is a note to remember for next time. When we got home we all got in the tub while our pizza cooked and then we ate pizza, watch a show, and then headed for bed. It was a great but exhausting day. Matt is once again out of town so Im grateful for days like today when I can get out and visit with other adults and have a great time. Makes the time he is gone go so much faster. I really love Black Island Farms and can't wait to take them again next year. I love my girls and the time we get to spend together making memories and building our relationship.