Happy Halloween

Our Halloween festivities started yesterday when we were fortunate enough to attend Uncle Brett's work party. He works for Adobe, and they are known for their amazing Halloween party. We got there when we could after school, but it was a couple hours into the event. We were told we would have to stand in line an HOUR just to get in the door! That's how popular this party is! After about 15-20 minutes of waiting (and some popcorn from the food tent near the line), they took the majority of the line and had us go through the last building. Each Adobe team makes a themed display for the families to walk through, and so it was in multiple buildings! There is a contest among the employees, so they go all-out in their displays. It's too bad we didn't get to see everything, but I was amazed by the detail in what we saw . . . Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, mad scientist laboratories, etc. The kids got some candy for their bags, and we each had a soft-serve ice cream cone before heading home.

on the hay ride from the parking lot to the building

waiting patiently in line

It's almost our turn!

This afternoon the school had a Halloween costume parade. The kids walked past me pretty quickly, but I managed to get a picture of each of them! Elizabeth spent most of her time on the playground instead of watching the parade.

Nathan is Twins baseball player Kirby Puckett

Benjamin is Iron Man

Joshua is Jango Fett from Star Wars (for the 2nd year in a row)

Elizabeth was SO PROUD of herself for climbing all the way to the top of the "spider web". I was just nervous!

It was a great evening tonight for trick-or-treating . . . the weather was beautiful! Nathan got to go with his friends this year, and really loved being able to go with them to an adjoining neighborhood after they were done in ours! Joshua and Benjamin went with our next-door neighbors and their parents. Elizabeth went with Dad and with her best friend Izzy, while I stayed home to pass out the treats.

The kids in character -- that's Benjamin's Iron Man pose (he's not mad I'm taking a picture!)

"When will my trick-or-treating begin?!"  -- our little Rapunzel!

Best friends are both princesses!

"Trick-or-treat!"

Nathan with his friends; yes, that is Ursula in the background -- Izzy's whole family was Little Mermaid characters and they looked amazing!

Corn Maze!

Ryan and I have been trying harder lately to get out of the house and intentionally do fun things as a family. Today we went to McCoard's Corn Maze -- our first time ever going to a corn maze! We had tried to go on Monday for Family Home Evening, but Ryan had to work late and the kids were behind on homework. I'm glad that it didn't work out Monday because today was much warmer!

We started off in the "big kid" corn maze, They had a game to play as you were in the maze, that is similar to Clue. We had to find the different checkpoints on the maze map, but there were also clues at other markers in the maze that were not listed on the map. Nathan was our guide, and he did a great job!

at a checkpoint                                                         having fun!

Elizabeth                                                                      Joshua

This was my view most of the time -- I was happy to let them figure out where we were going!

By the end of the maze, Elizabeth and Joshua were tired.

After we finished in the corn maze, the kids got to each do another activity. Elizabeth and Benjamin did the barrel ride.

Nathan and Joshua each got to shoot the corn cannon. The targets were old beat-up trucks!

I didn't get a picture of Joshua doing it, but he had fun even though he's covering his ears for Nathan's turn!

We finished up with a few free activities.

 Stick 'em up!

Cattle roping

Duck Racing -- the water pumps are a fun way to do this!

Each kid picked out a pumpkin from the patch before it was time to go home. This was a fun way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon -- I'm sure we'll be back next year!

Webelos Award

Tonight both Benjamin and Nathan received awards at the cub scout Pack Meeting. Benjamin received a silver arrow point for his Wolf.

Benjamin leading the "cheer"

Nathan received his Webelos award! His birthday is in a few weeks, and he is so excited to start 11-year-old scouts. (A lot more excited about boy scouts than he was about finishing up his Webelos requirements, but he got it done anyway!) As part of his award, he got to put his hands in paint and leave his hand print on a canvas that the pack displays at the meetings.

Committed Kids

This week both Benjamin and Joshua were recognized at a school Character Counts assembly for being Committed. I'm glad that they both work hard at school, and that their teachers have noticed that they love school and learning!

Fall Break

We have had a great time in Arizona for Fall Break! I already blogged about Wednesday's Muppet party. On Thursday we enjoyed hanging out with the cousins. We started at Amy's house, and Ryan took most of the kids to the nearby park. I love that our kids are getting old enough that when we were at the house, we could just let them play while Ryan and I enjoyed visiting with Amy, Kaley, and Cassi! Later Cassi and I took the younger kids (Joshua and Elizabeth) back to her house. I helped her prepare Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner, and again it was great to be able to visit while the kids had fun together!

On Saturday, the dads took the kids bowling (I went with Cheryl to get a pedicure)! Then we all met at In N Out for lunch. The kids and I relaxed at Grandma and Grandpa's house for quiet time in the afternoon while Ryan and his parents hung some pictures at the dance studio. We ended the evening with dinner and all the family at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Benjamin

 Joshua (with Brock on the side)

Nathan

so cute!

Elizabeth's quiet time started in the car -- it's been a fun week!

Nathan has really enjoyed playing basketball at Grandma's house this trip. I was able to sneak a few pictures un-detected!

 We love our family and are so grateful we could come visit for a few days! It was a fun vacation!

on the way home

Am I a Man or a Muppet?

The kids have a 5-day weekend for Fall Break this year, so we drove down to Mesa to visit Ryan's family. All of the cousins are also on fall break, so it works out perfectly! Today we had a great time at Amy and Kaley's dance studio. They planned a cute Muppet-themed party with decorations, games, pizza, and cookies!

awaiting instructions for the first game

 playing tic-tac-toe -- the grid is on the floor and the kids are the game pieces

the Hokey Pokey

What else should we do in a dance studio? Dance, of course!

Duck, Duck, Goose!

the big cousins playing Duck, Duck, Goose

The kids divided into two groups and took turns recording a music video to the song, "Am I a Man or a Muppet?" Later everyone got together and recorded it one more time. Everyone loved "playing" their instruments, and I'm sure the music video will turn out great!

Benjamin loved it until he had to share the guitar!

Bryson and Nathan on vocals

Joshua playing piano

Adam and Elizabeth

Another game was Musical Chairs

One of the last activities was a dress-up relay game. Each kid had to put on all of the clothing, tag each side of the room, then run over to Cassi and the video camera and tell a joke (like Fozzie Bear) before going back to take everything off and tag the next team member. This one was definitely a fun one to watch!

one last treat to take home

I am always amazed at my sisters-in-law's creativity! Thanks for a great start to our Fall Break!