Trunk-or-Treat & Halloween

(Above): I had my kids' pictures taken in a studio for the first time in several years. I loved the backdrop and they were good sports to get dressed up for photos.

 (Below): On Saturday, October 29th, or ward held its annual dinner and Trunk-or-Treat. It's always a nice excuse to dress up in costume and to get to see another side of everyone from church! It was such a cold night, but our kids didn't seem to mind. Ashlyn looks SO tall in this picture and yes, her friends are all her age!

(Below): Claire & her friends looked so cute! I love age 4!

On Halloween, the Moms came early to preschool and we dressed the kids up for pictures! 

On Halloween night, we had dinner with our friends the Hamblins, Ashbys and Gundersons, then we went Trick-or-Treating. I don't think we've ever had so much candy in our house at once! It was crazy! Claire was especially fun that night. She just really got into it this year.

Dan offered to pay the kids $20 for their candy and Corey gladly handed over his stash after eating a few Twix bars. The next morning, he came downstairs in the morning with a sad face and the $20 in his hand. He looked up at me and said, "I think I want my candy back!"

2011 Adult Halloween Party

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Halloween! The funny thing is that as a child, I'm not sure I loved it quite as much as I do now. I always loved dressing up and being someone completely different for the night. I did have a birthday party in 8th grade where I had everyone come dressed up as what they wanted to be when they grew up and I had many How To Host a Murder Parties. 

It also helps that my favorite season is Fall. I love dressing my kids up, decorating the house, the cooler weather, changing leaves and just the feeling of it all. I've wanted to host an Adult Halloween party for years and this year, I finally did it. Who says kids get to have all the fun?

The toughest part was not having enough room for the 120 people I originally had on my guest list! We ended up paring it down to 44, which completely filled up our house and then some! Dan & I moved out all of the furniture in our living room and replaced it with tables and chairs. I had everyone bring either a crockpot of soup or a dessert and I did the rolls and drinks. It was a riot to see everyone's costumes!

 We had dinner, then played "Who Am I," where everyone had to guess the celebrity's name taped on their back by asking yes or no questions. We also played Doughnut-On-a-String and we played a couples game that involved popping a balloon with no hands!

I really enjoyed the party and hope everyone there did as well. At the end of the night, Dan and I talked about what great friends we have here. We feel very blessed:)

Nanny comes to visit!

We were so blessed to have my Mom come stay with us from Oct. 20-24th. I had been feeling particularly homesick and having her visit really recharged me and made me feel connected again. 

Until the weekend, it was business as usual, with kids in school and homework and such. On Saturday, Ashlyn and Corey both had soccer games, in 2 separate cities, and just an hour apart, so my Mom, Claire and I went to Ashlyn's game in Denver and Dan and Corey went to their game in Thornton. Ashlyn's game was at my favorite field in the Cherry Creek neighborhood. She played a team they'd played twice before and had recently beat in the CYS Tournament. Unfortunately, they had their first loss of the season, 0-1. I was still glad my Mom could see Ashlyn play. We drove right to Corey's game and saw the last 5 minutes. 

After soccer we headed to Anderson Farms in Erie. Dan had never been before and the last time the kids and I went was in 2009 with Ken and Sky, before Ken passed away. Anderson Farms is huge and they have an incredible corn maze...

I'm always amazed at how tall the corn stalks are. They make me feel short! We followed the guided tour card for a while with the kids in the corn maze. There are little check-in stations with unique hole punches at each. Ashlyn wanted to complete the whole maze and Corey and Claire were ready to move on, so Dan stayed with Ashlyn.

My Mom and the younger 2 headed to the kids' section. Corey ran across the hay maze for what seemed like all afternoon and he seemed absolutely content. Claire did the toddler maze several times, climbed through the wooden train and all over the huge tires. Ashlyn and Dan joined us when they had finished the corn maze and Ashlyn practiced roping a wooden calf with a rope while Corey and Claire rode horses...

Saturday night we went for pizza and bowling at Fat Cat's. It was obvious we hadn't bowled for a while, because half way through our game, Claire was in the lead! (In our defense, the kids had bumpers!) I just had my cell phone, so these pictures aren't great, but we did have a great time with my Mom...

I was dreading having my Mom leave! I just miss her so much and I'm sad we don't live closer. It was so great to have her here and to get to spend time with her. She always says we shouldn't end one trip without planning our next and I'm glad we get to see her again over the holidays! I seriously have the best Mom on the planet!

Day off in Boulder!

 On Friday, October 14th, my kids didn't have school due to Parent Teacher Conferences, so we headed to Boulder for the day. We shopped for locker decor that Ashlyn's saved for. She said people were stopping by her locker for days after she put it up just to get a peek. She even has a motion-activated chandelier... Crazy!!!                                                        We had a fun lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, then stopped by the University of Colorado campus to take a look around. My grandpa went to college here and I'd heard it was a beautiful campus. I had my camera with me, so we parked and walked around. There are so many beautiful spots to take pictures there! I was so excited to discover so many new possibilites!

Rock Creek Pumpkin Patch

On October 11th, Claire and I met some friends at the Rock Creek Pumpkin Patch. It's a massive farm and the pumpkins look like a never-ending sea of orange when viewed from the freeway above. We had never been before. Claire alternated between angelic and devilish all morning and I'm not quite sure why she was so grumpy. We stayed for 2 hours and didn't even make it over to the pumpkin patch! Claire bounced in the bouncy house, slid down the puffy slide, and pet the farm animals in the little petting zoo. By the time we left it was so windy and cold and Claire fell asleep almost immediately after we got in the car to head to lunch with Dan. She napped 3 times this week, so I'm either wearing her out having too much fun or she's growing and needs more sleep! 

Ashlyn: CYS Tournament

The first weekend in October, Ashlyn's soccer team played in the Colorado Youth Soccer Tournament. Her team went into the tournament undefeated and so excited. Our Team Mom ordered matching red and white checkered socks for the team and coaches and it was absolutely perfect weather. 

I remember going to see my younger sisters in a lot of soccer and volleyball tournaments and there's always some down time in between games. Coach Kerry brought a huge bag of crafts for the girls to do. It was also fun to hang out with the other families.

Ashlyn's team won their first game and tied the second, so we went into Day #2 as the top team. It was really windy and a bit overcast, but Coach Matt thinks they play better in cooler weather. They won game #3 and were all jittery and talkative going into their last game. I had not felt really nervous until that last game and all of the sudden, it got intense. Both teams were evenly matched and they were great competition. At the end of regulation time, the game was tied, 0 to 0 and unfortunately, they had to do a shootout. It's such an unfair way to end a game! Girls on both teams were crying because it was too much pressure. We lost the shootout 3-1 and ended up taking 2nd in State, but it was very bittersweet. 

Many of the girls were crying as they waited to get their medals, but Dan & I were so proud of how Ashlyn played! This team has been such a blessing. Ashlyn's really had the chance to shine and to play with amazing coaches and teammates. 

9/11: 10 years later

It's funny how extreme tragedy or happiness can burn a memory into your mind forever. September 11th, 2001 is such a memory for me, and for most Americans. Dan and I were living in Las Vegas with our one year old, Ashlyn. That morning, my phone rang just after 7 AM. It was my neighbor Annetta and she was crying. She asked, "Have you heard what happened in New York this morning?" We flipped on the TV and sat in bed, watching in horror just as the second plane hit the South Tower. I remember that Ashlyn woke up around this time. Dan and I sat in bed, cuddling Ashlyn and watching the world as we knew it changed forever... 

• Dan called his work and found that no one was going in that day. I think we just watched TV for the next week as the story unfolded. I will always remember people with homemade signs, searching for their missing loved ones, the hysteria surrounding the terrorists, the New Yorkers covered in ash, running for their lives. I also remember stories of people who risked everything to save others, stories of survival and how the whole country was united in collective mourning for those who died that day.
• Of course, so much changed after that. Airport security was tightened and you could no longer take anything sharp (scissors, tweezers, razors) or most liquids on board, the pilots were locked in the cockpit and you could no longer go to the gate to greet an incoming passenger. There were rumors of other possible terrorist targets around the US and talk of military retaliation. I just remember worrying so much for the future of my little baby and the kind of world she was growing up in. 

We attended a short fireside at our church the night of September 11th, 2001. We watched our prophet at the time, Gordon B. Hinckley, on satellite. I don't remember the exact words he used, but I remember that he counseled church members to have hope, love our neighbors, have faith and prepare our families. I looked up his address and found this quote:  “Peace may be denied for a season. … But God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him…" Shortly after in General Conference in October, 2001, he said, “Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us.”  

Last night, I watched the "9/11: Rising Above" Mormon Tabernacle Choir special with Tom Brokaw. Similar to 10 years ago, the feeling was of hope, of gratitude and optimism for the country we live in and for the American people. In a time of such great sorrow and uncertainty, I was astonished at the strength of the American spirit and resiliency of this great nation...

I showed my kids this video that explains what happened so they can understand: http://www.nick.com/videos/clip/nick-news-what-happened-the-true-story-of-september-11th-full-episode.html