Happy Halloween

Hailey has ben fascinated by all the Halloween decorations out in people's front yards.

Trick or treating at the Church Party with her Veggie Tales gardening bag to hold her sweet treats.

Evan just got bad news: No candy for him until next year.

She was more interested in checking out the pretty costumes than getting candy.

A surprise visit from Judy and Cammaratta on thier way to a different party.

She was more itnerested in playing with the seeds and guts than in carving.

I had to tell Evan sitting in the bumbo was just as cool as touching pumpkin guts.

Such a good natured baby!

Hailey started to throw pumpkin guts in the air. Evan thought it was funny.

We cut the top off Evan's pumpkin and the entire inside was moldy so it did not get carved.

When Steve got home from his correlation meeting he helped Hailey finish carving her pumpkin.

All done!

Dressed up and anxious to go collect treats (Halloween night).

Evan, in his dracula costume, stayed home with Mama.

Too tired to do any more trick or treating.

Babies, College, and a Mission Call

It is the little, mundane, everday interactions between these two that make me smile. And YES there is an upside down picture in this book.

Now she must explain to Evan why he must brush the teeth he doesn't have. She has checked his mouth on several occasions... I am pretty sure she is confused as to why he doesn't have any teeth.

We are terrible at having family home evening..... like we have had it twice in six months! It's something we are trying to improve. Hailey seems to do really well with object lessons in general. I wanted to use a gift card to buy the Fisher Price Noah's Ark set, but I couldn't find it so instead we got the Nativity.  To tell you the truth I am surpised by how much Hailey has played with this. I love how Mary always rides the camel instead of the donkey. I love how she puts the sheep on top of the manger intead of the angel. I love  how she tells me Mary is the Mom and Joseph is the Dad, and Jesus is always identified as "baby Jesus."

 

In general she is pretty good about sharing with Evan.

Baby Evan gets to have baby Jesus sit on his head!

She may only be two but she loves makeup. She likes to sit on my dresser when I put my makeup on. Today she wanted to wear makeup. I used my blush brush on her cheeks, but she is too smart to be fooled. She realized I didn't open the blush compact and was insistent that the brush got dipped in the compact for some real color.

Quite a few of my sisters have had exciting news this week:

 

Gillian (16... 17 next month) is leaving her senior year of high school early to start college in January at BYU Provo.

 

Kendra just turned 21 last month and is going to open her mission call tonight via Skpe with the family.  (Update: Congratulations Kendra on your call to the Cambodia, Phnom Penh Mission!)

 

And let's not forget Lauren who is in labor at the hospital right now waiting for her first baby, little Madison to come out.

 

So happy and excited for all three of them!

Halloween at Disneyland

Getting all ready to go... he is excited for his 1st trip to Disneyland.

What a darling little vampire!

As usual the park was pretty busy.

The decorations and fireworks show were great.

Poor Hailey... waiting in line just isn't her thing.

Lotte is wearing a costume Stephanie's mom made for her when she was Lotte's age.

Her favorite moment was getting to ride the horses.

Steve said the Pinnocchio and Mr. Toad rides scared Hailey enough to make her cry.  But she enjoyed the other rides like Dumbo.

Waiting for the adults to get off Star Tours.

Around 11:30 p.m. the kids sacked out and we decided to head home. Evan cried utnil he threw up all over the car and started to choke on it. We had to stop to clean Evan up and the whole backseat. Then we had to calm Evan down before we could drive home. Hailey had the exact same problem as a baby, which she eventually outgrew as a toddler. Too much crying just wreaks havoc on their tummies. Usually by the time we hit that point the kids are extremely hard to calm down. The excessive crying and throwing up combination really puts me in a very, very bad mood to say the least. I know the crying-it-out method may work for other people, but it is just not a good fit with babies in our family.

Evan is a pretty good natured baby. He loves to chew on his fingers and is starting to to coo and laugh a lot more. It's funny how even when babies are this small they have their own little personalities. He likes to be held a certain way. He doesn't like being on his back and wants to be in a sitting position most of the time. He likes to be in the swing or bumbo for a little while, but I can tell when he has had enough. Most of all he loves -- more like super loves -- being held. This is when he is the happiest. It is impossible for me to hold him all day, so I usually put him in my moby wrap and wear him around for a large portion of the day. Snug as a bug and so mellow.

Endeavour Shuttle

The shuttle was parked right across the street from my Dad's office. We snuck out the front door behind the police tape to get a better view.

As soon as the sun was up Steve wanted to head down to see the shuttle.

I don't think that at 6:30 in the morning Hailey and Evan wanted to wake up to see it.

Steve, on the other hand, was thrilled.

It really was an impressive sight to see up close.

Look at how big it is!

There was already a huge crowd down there when we showed up.

We spent over an hour walking around the shuttle so Steve could take pictures from every available angle.

I think Hailey thought this puppy was much cooler than the shuttle.

I love how I rolled out of bed, didn't bother to put a normal shirt on, or even brush my hair and we run into tons of people we know, like Judy and Steve.

It's a once in a lifetime opportunity; I'm glad we saw it.

Steve climbed on top of our garage to get a good view while the shuttle passed by the street behind our home.

The sidewalks and streets were all closed off from the public except for the police and FBI which were in abundant supply.  Lucky for us we didn't even have to leave home to see it.

 Now it is on its way to its new home at the California Science Center.

Rain, Rain Come Again

Time to try a different squash.

Scoop seeds out and then roast and puree.

Butternut squash bread..... don't sound skeptical... it was so good!!
Recipe: http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/butternut-squash-bread/

Just tasted sweet, light, and fluffy. We ate this with black bean chilli.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/10/black-bean-and-sweet-potato-turkey-chili/  (it was the pictures and unusual ingredients that convinced me to make chilli).

 

We also put some butternut puree in macaorni and cheese and I thought it really improved the texture.

 While the bread was risisng we went for a walk. The clouds had just started to clear from the rain.

 

Out on a walk looking for treasures (sticks and leaves).

Too tired to help look.

Nobody's front yard is safe from Hailey.

Just making sure it works.
 

Hailey's friend Lotte is coming all the way from Arizona so they can go trick or treating together at Disneyland tomorrow.  It's going to be lots of fun!