Squeezing All the Juice out of October

Well, we have had beautiful weather and it has been a lot of fun enjoying fall. We have given Kate the nick-name "Cuddly" and she really is adorable right now. It is funny to hear even Carson's friend call her "Kate Cuddly". What a little sweet-heart.

Chad ran the St George Marathon this year and he did terrific. The day was actually rainy, but he had a PR (personal record) and was all smiles after the marathon. He even claimed that he wasn't hurting. (Hmmm, that was never the case for me, did he really run it?) We are proud of you, Chad.

After the marathon, we all took a trip to the Dixie Rock. This was our first time climbing on the rocks, even though it has been an family tradition in Chad's family for years. Here I am with the kids at the top of the word "Dixie". We really enjoyed climbing around and exploring the cool wind carved rock formations.

This month was a month of field trips for Carson's preschool class. Here we are at the corn maze we visited. We also went to the fire station (twice since the first time they had to leave for a call) and had the Halloween party. It has been especially fun for me this year because Kate and I have joined his class on all their field trips. I have had a satisfying time being able to go on the field trips with him.

We went to the witch festival during UEA break. We brought along two of Audrey's friends and they loved posing with the cool witches. As much as the kids loved spotting the witches, everyone's FAVORITE part was eating fudge! During UEA break, we also visited Aunt Jen and Julie at an Orem park for a few hours on a beautiful day. On Monday of the break, Audrey insisted that we take her to the Thanksgiving Point Dinosaur Museum, since she had missed out while she was in school in September. Here are all the kids getting a Dino Ride.

Our family took a fall hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon by Alta Ski Resort. It led to Catherine Pass and Lake Catherine in the Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a nice hike, and the beautiful snowy lake was very rewarding to see. We were climbing on South facing slopes, so not much snow for us, but the view looked very wintry.

This was the last month for Fall Soccer, and here is Audrey getting her trophy from her dad, the coach. We are very proud of these girls. They are first graders playing mostly second grade teams, but still they were very competitive. We can't wait until next year!
Let the Halloween festivities begin! Here are all the grand kids at Grandma's pumpkin party! Every one was so cute in costume. We were all so excited to go. The kids look forward to this annual tradition more than any other. Of course, there were fun games, treats and toys. FUN! Here is Kate with two of her cousins who were also princesses. Kate followed her cousin Romy around all night. Every where Romy went, Kate was right with her. I think she thought the princesses should be together. How cute for her to start getting to know her cousin.

The week of Halloween, the kids had other fun things to do. Audrey got to wear her costume to dance, the younger two wore costumes to story time, and both Carson and Audrey had class parties which I was able to help out with. It was fun to see the parades and play games.

Finally, it is Halloween night. Audrey is Gabriella from High School Musical, Carson is Batman, and Kate is Cinderella. We have had a paper chain to help count the days. I was being begged to make it for a week or two and finally 50 days before Halloween, I put one up. One agonizing day after another passed until it was finally Halloween! Halloween night we trick-or-treated in our neighborhood, getting spooked out by several houses' decorations. After getting much too big of a haul, we came home and called it a night. Then, its only 365 days until the next Halloween. (the chain is NOT going up until it gets down to the 50's again!)

What a fun and magical time it is with these special kids and husband. We are so blessed.