Dressing Up

 October is a much anticipated month in a home with four kids.  Dressing up in various disguises and costumes is a daily event for small kids, but something about showing it off to people other than your immediate family makes it more fun, I suppose!  Katelee started off the month with her dress rehearsals for Peter Pan Junior with our local community theatre.

By the middle of the month, it was show time for this fairy!  She played Lyria and was absolutely glowing! She lit up the stage and was thrilled to have a mic (even though it gave her a terrible rash!) because she had some lines.  

She was in the production with these cute ladies from our neighborhood: Addie, Malia and Ella.  It was so fun to see gals we knew up on stage.  The theatre bug has continued to spread and Brenna is itching for her chance to perform.  

Grant got spiffed up in his official cub scout uniform as he was awarded his Arrow of Light...which is a big deal!  The highest honor of cubs.  

He met all the requirements and earned all the pins/badges/adventures and will be ready for boy scouts in a few months.  

He has had some awesome Webelo leaders, as is obvious from his plaque they ordered!  I'm not going to lie, the Arrow of Light ceremony seems a little strange to me, but Grant loved having his face painted with the tribal lines representing values.  The symbolic bridge he went under didn't do much for me, but the cake did! We are so proud of his hard work! 

Here are Dave and Brenna decked out in their BYU apparel for the game against Wagner!  Wag-NER, as Brenna yells it!  She was so pumped to have a one on one game with Dad, but was not so excited when she discovered Katelee went to the game, even though it was with a friend and she wouldn't see them.  There were tears, but I think it was a success none the less. Here is  Brenna Elsa..we named her Brenna Catherine, but she recently told her friend that her middle name is Elsa.  When the mom of her friend heard this, she said, "Oh really, Brenna?  Your middle name is Elsa?  So, if I asked your mom what your middle name is, that's what she would say?"  Without skipping a beat, this frozen princess claimed, "Sometimes my mom lies."  

We are getting ready to don our coats as snow in the forecast, but we haven't had too many cold days yet.  We went to the pumpkin patch with just light jackets.

We picked out our favorite gourds, ran through the corn maze, climbed on tractors, went on a hay ride and failed at capturing the 

'I love my little punkins' picture that seemed to work out so well for everyone else on social media.  Ah well.  This is our reality!

We had another fair weather day when we went to see the witches at Gardner Village.

Good thing that witch was behind a fence, I didn't want her snatching that little guy.  

The kids had red ribbon week and crazy hair day adds so much to a month of trickery...its tricky getting a comb through Katelee's hair for a few days after that!  It baffles me that Katelee feels that this is a good style for her but when I mention to her that her golden locks are getting more and more wavy, she is devastated.  She has told me on multiple occasions that she does NOT want to get curly hair like me.  With puberty not too far away (when my locks when from wavy to kinky!), I'm afraid she is going to have a hair tragedy hit...beware honey! It will be frightening!

Brenna on the other hand, believes her hair is beautiful.  She told Katelee and me the other day that people tell her all the time how pretty it is.  I replied that what makes her even more beautiful is how she is when she is kind and a good friend and how we are on the inside make her beautiful.  She responded with, "yea...that AND my hair!"

  

We dressed up our dinner with some witch fingers, broom sticks, monster teeth and pumpkin faces all in anticipation for the big spookfest at the end of the week.  

Finally, it was Halloween!  Festivities included parties and a school parade.  This little witch has been so tricky-at dinner, she claimed she needed to use our water closet.  We had her open her mouth to prove there was no food (we've had incidents of spit up veggies in the sink, toilet and garbage).  Mouth clear, she had the go ahead.  It was the next day that I found carrots neatly tucked in the lip of the wipe basket on top of the lieu.  That sneaky gal.  

a Trunk or Treat early in the week and a neighborhood dinner.  (Here is the Revolutionary War band with Matthew as the dreaded Redcoat; Cameron and Grant as the brave Patriots).

Spooky movies were watched and treats consumed (M&M's of course),

games were played and we danced to Thriller, 

 and of course, Trick or Treating!!!  I am a piece of bubble gum, by the way. 

 After the hours of door bell knocking, the treats were dumped out and the sorting began...no chewy caramel stuff for the brace face, no gluten for the celiac queen, etc.  We got way too much, of course!  Grant, while praying later, thoughtfully said, 'we are grateful for this Halloween and pray that we can use our candy in a good way.'  They have been doing this-by sharing it every night with me! (even if they don't know!)

 I love this pensive picture of my Revolutionary War hero and it caused me a brief moment of reflection.  While dressing up and being in disguise is wonderful entertainment and good times for everyone, what sort of facades do I wear?  What duplicity am I exhibiting?  Life has twists and turns and forks that you have to choose with path you are taking...and do it bravely.  It's easy to hide under a mask, to pretend to be someone else.  It takes courage to know who you are and be ready for whatever may cause you to question that.  Take it from Mr. 1776, it can be a war, but it is worth fighting!

School and Schedules

Last post was about our start of school and here we are with nearly 2 months under our belts.  Without a doubt, gone are the lazy days of summer!  Just in the last month, we have run from scouts to soccer to tennis to tumbling to dance to play practice to diving to activity days to piano...and that's just the kids extra curriculars!  Phew!

We got to start out the month with one of our favorite annual traditions-Snowbird!  While we don't own a time share, we love to enjoy the generosity of others!  Ha!  

We swam, played on the playground, slept over, watched movies, walked, ate a lot, played games and hiked.  Dave tagged along on the big boys (nice way of saying 'old guys') hike!  Just kidding, they left Dave eating their dust, I hear.  This is Dave, Jason and my cousins Craig and Mike.  Chris must be the photographer.  He is the yearly hike organizer and each hike is always a doozy.  Chris had Dave believing they were leaving at 5am and you should have heard the grumbling at our house!  Everyone got a good laugh when Dave found out it was actually a 7am departure time.  

Later that week, I went with Paige and my mom to Denver to visit Brad's family and go to Time Out For Women.  We had a short busy visit listening to messages and being uplifted.  I can't get over how Alofa thinks she is a human baby.  She gets carried around on Haley's hip like a toddler... a very heavy, hairy toddler.  

Dave and the kids were delighted with the surprises and treats I brought back.  We found a really fun candy store downtown  (right next to the 8th medicinal marijuana shop on the block!). The store had outrageous novelty sweets and snacks.  There were tons of popcorn flavors-dill pickle, beer, birthday cake to name a few-not mixed together, of course!  I came home with bacon flavored mints and cheddar flavored crickets.  Each of us tried the crickets...I was the only one to gag!

Dave was gone for a lot of the month-traveling to Michigan for a football game, Spokane and DC for work.  He got back just in time to attend a football game with Grant and Brent and Max and Carl who were in town for general conference.  Katelee also got a football game with Dave last week. 

As we all seem to feel, we have been running, running, running.  Dave and I are not great at making time for dates with each other, but we got a babysitter one night and ditched the kids while we went to the state fair.  I felt a little guilty going without them, but we had a great time.  We enjoyed the people watching, the crafty buildings, the cows as big as a house, we could not enter the pig den...we tried but the stench was too much!  Dave is not a big carnival ride kind of guy, but he agreed to go on one.  I picked the tall 'Zipper' that encloses two people in a cage, spins around really high, making the cages rotate upside down quickly.  I was SHOCKED when he said he would do it with me, but totally stoked.  He went to buy tickets, I saved our place in line and met a dad and son waiting behind us.  The dad left for a few minutes and I watched the little boy for him.  As we got closer to the ride, Dave and Nathaniel (my new 6 year old best friend) started talking about the ride.  Then, Nathaniel's dad joined in.  The dad and Dave started to get cold feet.  This ride was no joke, neither did it look too reliable.  Dave, ever the negotiator, started to propose and idea that if he could sell his ticket, perhaps I would enjoy being locked in a cage with this unfamiliar 6 year old. 

 I laughed at his proposal, sure it was a joke, but no.  The dad and Dave agreed that was the best plan.  And that's how my date shuffled me off to a stranger. 

 As we entered our cage, I was just shaking my head and laughing.  We rode up and did fine, but when those little baskets started spinning, we had one unhappy 6 year old.  I was certain I was about to be puked on by someone else's kid as I was locked in a metal cage rocking upside down.  I rubbed this boys back and my thoughts raced between, 'I'm gonna kill Dave.' "This is a wild ride!" to "Poor boy, it will be okay." to "Is it awkward that I am hugging this crying child?" to "Why did his parents do this to me?!"  But, we survived and Nathaniel told me he will NEVER ride that again!

Our own boy has been busy finishing up his soccer season with the Smurfs.  While the name of Smurfs matches the blue uniform, it seemed a little fluffy to me.  However, we are so glad that was the chosen name and not "Devil Kitties" like Grant suggested.  This team is so great!  The coaches, whom we have had before are so positive and encouraging and really push the kids as well.  Our team is a U11 team and their division plays U11 as well as U12 teams, so while it looked like some of the other teams may either eat them or plow them right over, the Smurfs fought hard each game. 

 Grant also earned his WEBELO! He will be getting his Arrow of Light this month.  He has been a super scouter!

Balancing school and family life and homework and activities is hard.  The times we are home and together, I want to be positive and filled with love.  I want my kids to feel confident and supported so when they are out in the world, they never doubt their value.  Brenna's kindergarten schedule has been great but challenging for her.  She asked me one day if I knew what the word 'lonely' meant because sometimes she feels like that at school.  Break my heart into a million pieces. I want the world to be nice to my loves and yet, I know it won't always happen.  I am so grateful we had general conference last week.  I do not doubt the love our Heavenly Father and Savior have for each of us.  Their have answers and guidance ready for us through revelation and prayer, scriptures, apostles and prophets and especially the personal relationship through the Holy Ghost.  I want all  my kids to know that.  Brenna did take notes and while her notes said the following...'dear president Monson you are friends with me'....dear Henry B Eyring you are handsome...'dear Russell M Nelson you are a big fan of me' (I asked her if she meant she is a fan of him, and nope, she meant it that way)...she still felt good listening during conference!  How I love this little family of mine!

#2 for #4 and 3rd Time is a Charm!

 

Harrison is 2!  He didn't realize it was his birthday, of course, the day before or even that morning.  But, waking up to a giant Olaf balloon (whom he affectionately refers to as "Ya-Ya") tips a kid off that it was a special day!  We love this little fella so very much! 

Harrison got some board books from Grandma he loved, new hats from his McArthur grandparents, hot wheels from his siblings and a huge dump truck from his adoring parents.  Big brother Grant had some serious flashbacks to his garbage obsession that overtook his life around 2008-2009.  I think Grant loved playing as much as Harrison! 

The cake was a chocolate construction site, so fitting for a truck loving toddler!

Harrison LOVES listening to the soundtrack of Matilda (the musical) in our car.  He always asks for the 'cake' song.  He even holds up his hands like an opera singer and does all the "AHHHH's"  While he could not finish the entire chocolate cake on his own, like Bruce Bogtrotter was forced to, Harry did enjoy the birthday goodness.  Dave was just worried I was going to let him go at it like I do when the kids have all turned one.  He was so relieved when I told him we wouldn't be doing that ever again, that's a rite of passage reserved only for first birthdays.  The look of relief on Dave's face was priceless. 

 

Harrison sang himself the birthday song and made a valiant effort to blow out the candles.  He is really trying to fill his role as a '2 year old.'  He attempts fits multiple times a day, but usually they are so fake, we can't even keep a straight face.  This boy loves vehicles, especially airplanes and helicopters.  My favorite word he says right now is 'mota-cyca.'  He vrooms his little motorcycle all over the furniture.  It's adorable.  We love hearing him talk, he is really trying.  He has the absolute best belly laugh that is used a lot with his silly sense of humor.  Can't wait to watch him grow this year!

 

The older three have begun their academic careers of the 2015-2016 season.  Grant is in the 5th grade, ruling the school at the Elementary.  He has Miss Kidd and has so far loved it...besides the homework, of course!

 Katelee is in grade three with Miss Weber.  She also just got her ears pierced (or piered, as Brenna says it).  She is literally becoming quite a little lady. 

 Lets see how long this excitement lasts for the school year!

Brenna started kindergarten the week after the older two because they have kinder assessments.  She is on a modified schedule for all day Tuesdays/Thursdays and every other Friday.  I have had a sinking feeling about sending this little pip squeak to school.  I kept thinking 3rd time around, I've got this, but then I would look at her little face and my heart would drop.  I had been telling her she was going to stay home with me and she promptly replied that I am not the boss of her and she would be going to kindergarten.  It's times like that, as well as when she told me I am not fun anymore, I went on my trip and I'm just not fun anymore, that I decided kindergarten would be a good thing for her and me!!!

 It still didn't stop me from crying when I dropped her off.  I walked her into her little classroom, and she asked me if I would please leave.  I teared up as I left her, I sobbed when I got home.  I'm a baby, I love those little people so much!  But, I'm sure enjoying my time here-especially Tuesdays and Thursdays!!!  Ha!!

Back Half of Summer and P-club Party Time

 Two of the kids have started school, as of last week, so I need to hustle and finish up our summer report for our family history blog!  A school and birthday report are coming shortly...When we last posted, we had made it through most of July.  Every single day in summer we seemed to be running somewhere.  No wonder it flew by in a jiffy!  We (we, as in Grant, Brenna and I crashed the Taylor family's outing) hiked through Timpanogos Cave.  Katelee had a bday party and Dave opted out.  Harrison was not invited!  It is a pretty cool place!

 The girls and I had an outing to the Little Mermaid.  We had to swim to our seats and we felt right at home under the sea!  While the boys didn't join us, Dave took Grant to his first concert- Imagine Dragons!!  It was a pretty big deal! 

 Grant officially has entered the preteen phase as a brace face...

 

 

Can't wait to see those pearly whites when the work is all done!  Our stake was invited to walk in the state children's parade.  Our ward did a neat little float all about ancestors.  Every child in our church got to write their name on a leaf and hang it on our "family tree."  To help us learn about our ancestors and our individual family trees, the kids picked an ancestor to learn about, attach to a stick and they were ready to tell about their branch of the tree.  

 Here are the kids from our church that marched together.  Luckily the parade route wasn't too long, we had some unhappy campers. 

 Brenna was in heaven, because she could wave to all her adoring fans.  The parade could have been much longer for her! 

 The next weekend, Grant and Katelee ran a 5k.  I can't get the pics to load, but they really did do it!  I don't know what we were thinking.  The kids did great but it was a bit of a precarious situation...it was way too early to wake up the littles, so Dave just dropped them off at the finish line amidst thousands of  strangers and hoped they came across the line to him.  Phew, both kids finished and were accounted for!  Next time a parent will be with them, lesson learned!  I was a bit of a nervous wreck!  The end of July, we met up with Aunt Amy, Uncle Mark and Lauren and Evan for a day of fun at Lagoon!  It was pretty much the best thing that ever happened to Harrison.

 The people standing in line wherever he was most likely did not enjoy their time, but the rides were a hit! 

It had been three years since I was able to go on a Presidents Club trip with Dave.  Last year he didn't qualify and the year before I was about to birth a babe.  So, we were thrilled to get to go to Whistler this year!  We left a few days before President's Club officially started and stayed in Victoria. 

 

First matter of business, high tea at the Empress Hotel.  Yea, we are proper like that...except we had hot chocolate, of course!  We stayed at the Empress which is right in the heart of the action, so we walked over to the British Columbia museum.  I had grand memories of this museum from a childhood trip decades ago, and it did not disappoint.  Well, Dave took a snooze on a bench in a simulated beach room and I roamed around, so we both got what we wanted!

 

 

We hit the jackpot on our whale watching tour-3 humpback whales, around 30 killer whales,  a sea otter, sea lions, seals, breathtaking backdrop. 

 

 I've been ruined and can never go whale watching again!

 

 

There are a few resident pods that live in the waters by Victoria.  All three of the pods somehow had arranged to meet up that day and we got to witness their family reunion!  It was jump on the boat,happy dance, kind of cool!

 

You can't go to Victoria without visiting Buchart Gardens.  Even Dave found himself taking time to smell the roses...eh..hanging flower pots...

 

 

and frolic through the greenery!  (check out those calves!OW OW!)

 

 

We flew over to Vancouver, were taken to the resort town of Whistler via the spectacular Sea to Sky highway to meet up with ADP and the other peeps from Dave's office.  The first night, we rode a gondola to the top of a peak that had magnificent views of mountain range after mountain range, glaciers and rain forests.  Amazing!  There was a delicious work dinner and a band and dj to help set the mood! Here is the whole SL crew:

 

 

We stayed in Whistler during the Redbull Crankworkx competition.  So, as every time we were walking around we got to watch professional mountain bikers on this crazy course doing flips and jumps-it was legit!  We got to choose a couple of activities through ADP and we opted for ATV riding and a zip line.  The ATV

 

 

course was through ponds and a cool trail through the rain forest.  We LOVED it.  Luckily, we were right behind our guide.  We had to stop a wait for the rest of our group a few times and there were some slow pokes- we would have hated being stuck behind them! 

 

The zip line was THE BEST!

 

 

I had never been on one before and I don't think it could ever get old!  On our second line, I got to go first.  I leaned back, flipped over and hung upside down.  Everyone was so shocked, but they couldn't be shown up!  So, most of the people came in to the next plank hanging  by their feet.  I did not think there was anyway Dave would be that adventurous!  Ha!  But, to my surprise, he came in upside down!  He couldn't let his wife look cooler than him!

 Part of the trip always includes an awards ceremony.  It's a big accomplishment, so it's cool to see the employees (and spouses!) recognized for their hard work. 

 These are all the qualifiers from the Salt Lake City office.  It was a big group this year, so it was a lot of fun. 

 While the presentation can be a bit too lengthy by the likes of me, we stayed entertained with some selfies and an amazing performance by a Canadian singing group that performed at the Olympics...

Our last day in Canada, we drove over to a tiny little church branch in Brackendale for church service. 

 

 I am always strengthened when I see the sacrifice and hear the testimonies of saints in different areas of the world.  I love to feel unified in our beliefs and love of the Savior.  It is a highlight of traveling for me. 

We thought a good way to observe the Sabbath would be to explore the gorgeous nature around us, so we went on a hike.  It had a river with glacier mineral colored water,

 

 

a suspension bridge...(which Dave had to shake and jump on for people who were afraid of heights! ha!ha!),

 

 

and just amazing scenery, which proved to be a bit too rigorous for one hiker in our group!  ha! He needed a ride at the end, it just made Dave feel at home. He always ends up carrying one of our crew.

 

The last night event was a Katy Perry concert!  So, yes, we did church in the morning, Katy Perry at night...ha ha! 

 

 

It was a private concert just for ADP, so it was really cool being that close.  She is quite the entertainer.  It's well recognized that Dave has some serious dance moves, so we rocked that party!  GOOD TIMES! 

 

 

ADP trips are seriously pamper-fests.  I hardly believe it's real when I am there, but I will take it! 

 

We had such a good time and now we are back to reality.  We left a few things in Canada-Dave's suit bag...wah!  We left it on an airplane and have yet to track it down.  And, apparently my sense of humor is somewhere up north.  The day after we came home, I told Brenna not to do something and she huffed, through her hands up and said, "You aren't fun anymore!  You went on your trip and not you just aren't fun anymore!"  That's quite offensive to me, I feel fun still!

She is quite the lady.  My mom and Dave's parents were so kind to help out and watch our littles and Brenna, on her own can be a handful.  I was face timing her to check in one day.  I asked her if she was being nice and she slyly responded with, "I can't be nice ALL the time."  It was that calculated sneaky grin that really got me!  She tried to rule the roost, but my sister calmly told her she would not be under her regime!  Everyone survived and had a great time doing fun activities with grandparents and aunts.  Grant had one upsetting day when the wifi wouldn't work for the ipad.  While it upset him, it resulted in one of my favorite texts of all time.  Here it is verbatim...

 

'mom the wifi is not working today for some reason and this is grant also.  I turned the wifi off at the bottom of the computer and its still not working (insert 3 mad emojis) can you get back to me in the next hr???  This is super stressing for me!!!!!!'

 

Can you get back to me in the next hour!?  Ha!  Such his dad's kid!  So, Canada is officially in the memory books!  Now, on to real life!