This is Halloween

 

We had fun celebrating the week of Halloween.  Halle had a ballroom dance party on Tuesday.  I had all this Hawaiian stuff in my drawer and we were able to throw together a costume for her. 

Parker dressed up as a tourist for his costume.  He had a fanny pack, binoculars, and all the fun details. 

The socks with the flip flops were just killing me.  I laughed every time I saw him! He was invited to a fun party in our neighborhood with some of the teenagers his age. 

We carved pumpkins on Thursday because it was the only day of the week that everyone was home.

It was Kev's Friday off from work and we were both able to go to Addy's school Halloween parade. She was happy when we checked her out of school early.

I took the traditional Halloween picture of the kids.  We were missing Kenna! They don't really celebrate Halloween in England.  She did get to Facetime with us on that Sunday afternoon. 

Halle dressed up in my Senior ball formal.  Her other friends dressed up as her bodyguards.  She had fun trick or treating with them around our old neighborhood. 

Hayden dressed up as Napoleon Dynamite.  He was the third guy in our family to rock this awesome costume. He went trick or treating with his friend Rylan.  They left at around 6 and he didn't get home until 10.

Paige and Addy both were cowgirls.  Addy loved being able to hang out with Paige. Kev took them trick or treating in our old neighborhood. 

Parker's Oogway pumpkin looked creepy all lite up that night. 

I took Addy and Paige trick or treating around our new neighborhood.  They were tired and silly by this point. 

I took this picture of Hayden in his candy pile.  He got around 18 pounds of candy.

It wouldn't be Halloween without the kids sorting all their candy.  It covered most of the great room. I think we all had a sugar hangover the next day!

Addy's birthday

 

I took Addy out to get her birthday waffle on Saturday October 23rd.  We did some of our birthday traditions earlier since her birthday fell on a Sunday. 

She chose out an emoji balloon to go along with the theme of her party. 

She was so excited to go to the puppy store!  She chose to play with this huskie named Piper. 

She took this selfie with my phone.  It was a beautiful huskie.  I had never seen one with light fur before. 

Addy also took this picture and it shows how bright blue Pipers eyes are. 

Addy turned 10 years old on Sunday October 24th! She wanted to help fill the piñata for her party. 

She also got a birthday call from Mckenna! She loves to talk with her big sister and they always take a screenshot every time they talk. 

Kev smoked Addy ribs for her birthday. We also had mashed potatoes. Parker also took her to Taco Bell for lunch the day before. 

We had a family party that night at our house.  She is the first kid to celebrate her birthday in our new home. 

She loved the Narwhal squishamallow that we gave her. It is fun to see her excitement as she opens every present. 

I made her a party emoji cake.  All the kids just wanted to eat the "poop" emoji cupcakes. 

Addy was the first one to hit the piñata since she's the birthday girl. 

Cousin Hailey was the one who busted it open.  Halle and Parker didn't even get a turn this time.  It was a fun couple of days celebrating Addy. I can't believe that my baby is 10 years old! She has always brought happiness to our family. She loves to draw, ride horses, and spend time with her friends. We love our Addy!

Ballroom Dance

 

Halle tried out in the Spring for Dance company.  She was so disappointed when she found out she didn't make the team. A couple weeks later she told me she wanted to try out for the Westlake Ballroom team.  I was so impressed with her when I heard this!  Instead of continuing to feel discouraged she decided to focus on something else. We were all thrilled when we found out she made the freshman team.  Halle had never tried Ballroom Dance before but I'm sure her years of taking other kinds of dance helped.  Her first competition was on Friday October 22nd at P.G. High School.  Kev and I were so excited to see her dance. The first dance the did was a Dinosaur dance.  It was not Halle's favorite dance.  Then we saw Halle come out wearing this beautiful costume. She was all ready for her next dance the Samba. We then got a text from her saying her dance partner had a bloody nose and wasn't able to dance.  They also told her that she wouldn't be able to dance without him.  She was so disappointed again. I met her in the bathroom and tried my best to cheer her up. She did let me take this one picture of her.  Her first time competing did not go as we thought it would. 

She was given permission to leave early since she would no longer be competing.  I think this picture of Kev holding her hand is the sweetest. 

We took her to dinner with us at my favorite restaurant.  She had never been there before.  The giant Pina Colada and food did help cheer her up a little. 

We were all hoping and praying that her next day of competition would go better and it did.  Her partner was feeling better and they were able to compete.  They actually got a call back on the Triple Swing.  She told us they are the first Freshman couple to get a call back like that.  Her dance partner apologized for the day before and gave her these beautiful flowers.  Her first competition was definitely a learning experience.  We can't wait to see her dance at her next competition!

Fall Break

 

The kids had their Fall Break from school October 13-18th.  On the first day of break we drove to The Red Barn.  It is one of our favorite Fall traditions.  It was so cold that day that it felt more like winter. 

We got our traditional treats of apple cider donuts, slushy, and ice cream. I thought it was funny how Kev was pretending to chug the apple cider. 

There weren't any crowds that day which was nice. I think it had to do with the cold weather.

The kids chose out their pumpkins.  Parker decided to do some squats with his. 

I promised them we could stop by the Puppy Store.  They got to play with this cute dog named Marley.  

The next day we went to Frightmares at Lagoon.  It was our second year going and we had the best time. It's the best when we can all ride together.  Parker took this fun family selfie. 

Halle and Parker wore their matching BYU hoodies.  They thought it would be fun to look like twins for the day. 

We ran into our friends the Shumways.  We both used to live in the same neighborhood. It was fun catching up with them. 

I took this picture of Kev and Addy on the Spider ride. 

Parker ran into cousin Kail later that day.  We love it when we get to see friends and family. 

It was freezing that night so Kev went to the car to get all our winter coats and beanies.  We also got some hot chocolate to stay warm. 

We drove up to the cabin on Saturday.  There were still some orange leaves on the trees. 

We invited our friends the Baker Family to come up with us.  Addy and Paige helped Kev bring back the horses. 

Scott and Kristen had fun playing ping pong.  I think Sydney was keeping score for them. 

Addy and Paige went for a horse ride together on Duchess.  She is such a good horse and the only one I like to ride. 

Kristen took some family pictures of us right before the sun went down. 

Jax was Parker's little shadow while we were there.  They were having fun playing on the switch.

The next day we took them to see the animals at the Run Down Ranch.  We enjoyed feeding the Alpacas and interacting with them. 

This pony was named Bolt.  He loved the attention from the kids.  He would yank the cup of food right out of their hands. 

The kids stayed busy building a fort out of wood scraps.

Kev and I went on a ride around the cabins with Kristen and Scott.  Their whole family enjoyed riding the horses.  I will never forget the time Kristen was riding Rosie and she took of galloping across the field.  Scott and I heard her laughing the whole way back.  He told me that was her terrified laugh. She held on and made it back safely to the corral. We had such a great weekend!  Fall Break just flew by because of all the fun we had.