Happy Halloween

Emma was so excited to get dressed up for her Halloween party at school!  I back-combed her hair, but it didn't stay very well.  She loved getting makeup on and wearing fangs!

We got to go watch the school parade at 9:45.  Emma was so happy to see us there.

 As soon as Emma got home from school, we raced over to a neighbor that wanted us to come trick-or-treating before 5:00 so that she could see the kids.  Then we hurried home to get Emma changed into her gymnastics stuff and get her down to her lesson.  I got some groceries from the store, got home and prepped dinner and then headed back down to gymnastics to watch Emma for Parent Viewing Week (that I didn't realize it was until today!).  After forcing the kids to eat, Lennard took the kids out to go trick-or-treating!

Spiderman

Dracula's bride

I stayed home for a while to pass out candy, but when I had a half hour break with no kids, I headed out with Lennard and the kids.  Ben raced from house to house!  Emma just wanted to make sure she knew where we were every minute!  I ended up walking with them most of the night.

The kids got so much candy it was ridiculous!  They got to eat a few pieces of candy and then they were off to bed!  It's been a crazy, busy, fun day!

Kindergarten Halloween Party

I walked the kids to school this morning and then ended up sticking around for Ben's Halloween party.  He was pretty excited to have me there, so I was happy to stay.  They had about 8 different stations that the kids got to go to and get prizes at.  Ben loved the bowling station the best.

 He has a cute little class and it was a fun way to spend the morning with him!

Copperstate Fly-In

The Fly-in started today, so the guys had lots to look at!

Lennard was talking with a guy about this airplane (Sling) and pretty soon the guy offered to take him up!  He was pretty excited to check it out and then my Dad got to go up and Lennard tagged along in the backseat.  He's pretty impressed with it and is wondering if it would be a better fit for our family (or at least a less expensive fit).

Pictures from Arizona

Lennard and Dad went to an aviation museum today.

 Just a touch 'hot'!

 There were LOTS of airplanes at the Copperstate Fly-in.

Jack-o-Lanterns

With Lennard away, I decided that we needed to do something fun together. Ben and I went to get some pumpkins this afternoon and then, after dinner, we started carving them.

 Emma got right into it and had pumpkin guts almost to her elbows!  Ben didn't want anything to do with it.  He scooped out a bit with a spoon, but I ended up doing most of his.

 The final product.  Emma wanted a cat and Ben wanted a scary one!

They're Off!

Lennard was pretty excited to be up and going this morning.  It's amazing what kind of incentive a flight makes!  lol.  We were dressed and headed to the airport for 7:00am.  They weighed their bags, got everything packed in the plane and pushed it out of the hangar by 7:30.  I had to leave to get the kids ready for school, so mom took a picture of them when they were ready to take off.

 They flew to Great Falls first to clear customs.  Thankfully it all went well.  This is Lennard's first time flying into the States, so there were a lot of ins and outs to figure out.

After Great Falls, they flew to Vernal, UT - then on to Page, AZ and finally in to Mesa, AZ!  It was about 8 hours of flying!  Such a long day for them!  I was so glad to hear that they'd arrived safely.

Good Bye

This morning was busy getting the kids ready for school and saying goodbyes to Grandpa, Aunt Alicia and Rigel.  As soon as the kids were off to school, we loaded up and headed to Calgary so they could catch their flight.  It's been such a good visit and the kids have loved every minute and all the attention they got!  

Thankfully, the weather was great and we were able to get to the airport without any issues.  Shannon picked up Ben from kindergarten for me and I was home in time for Emma to get home.  Gymnastics was cancelled because of the election.  We had my parents over for dinner so that Lennard and my Dad could plan for their upcoming flight to Arizona and then we ran down to vote while they babysat the kids for us.  It's been a busy day and I'm tired!

Family Time

After we went to Stake Conference this morning, we came home to enjoy some more time with Grandpa, Aunt Alicia and Rigel.  We had a quick lunch and then got down to business playing a serious game of Crib! ha! ha!  It was a fun afternoon together.

We had a delicious dinner of lamb roast.  Emma was in heaven!  lol.  The kids got spoiled by Aunt Alicia reading them Amelia Bedelia for a bedtime story.

Grandpa Came to Visit!

On Wednesday, Lennard drove up to Calgary and picked up his Dad, Alicia and Rigel so they could come for a visit!  It's been so long since he's been able to come that the kids were overjoyed!  I tried to get the kids to go to bed, but the second they heard the door open they were up and out of bed to see Grandpa!  They haven't seen Aunt Alicia or Rigel for years, so it was fun for them to get to know them a little better.

We had a busy day on Thursday with piano lessons, dinner with everyone, Ben to martial arts and then I had Book Club!

Friday morning, Lennard, his Dad, Alicia and Rigel all went in to Lethbridge.  Lennard had a couple appointments and they did a few errands before getting home around lunch time.  Lennard got a new cast put on, although he wishes they'd just take it off!  Then, we turned around and headed back in this afternoon so that we could go to dinner at the Keg!  The kids loved getting to see Grandpa take the lift up at the restaurant. It was a team effort!

 It was pretty awesome to have us all together at our favorite restaurant.  We feel so blessed to have Grandpa here.  He's had some health issues that have slowed him down a bit more and we weren't sure whether he'd ever be able to visit our home again or not (darn stairs!).  The kids have absolutely loved having him here as well as their aunt and cousin!

Happy Birthday

It is my Dad's 65th birthday on the 20th and it's Roger's birthday today, so a bunch of us got together at Boston Pizza to celebrate!  We missed Melissa, Rachel and Dave and their spouses.

 It was a fun night being together and it got a little loud as we all sang Happy Birthday!

Two Front Teeth

Emma lost another tooth this morning... just in time for the classic song... "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth".  She was pretty excited and we think she looks pretty adorable without her missing teeth.  She could hardly wait for the tooth fairy to come and was sure that she would come while she was at school... but the tooth fairy wasn't on the ball and Emma had to wait a bit longer.

Happy Thanksgiving

The kids were so excited for all the snow that they didn't even wait for breakfast before getting dressed up in their new snow gear and heading out to play!  

There was SO much snow that the kids were pulling each other down the middle of the road on the sled.  Oh, the joys of small town living!

 Ben helped Lennard clear the driveway so that we could get out this afternoon.

 We went out to Mountain View to my parents for Thanksgiving Dinner.  The kids loved getting to play with their cousins.  It was a FULL house!  (Missing: Mike & Melissa and their kids)

Levi and Ben

 After a delicious dinner, Rachel brought out a new game called 'Pie Face'.  Everyone had a blast waiting to see who was going to get splat with whipping cream in their face.  The noise level went up to record levels!  It was wild!

Roger

Emma tried it multiple times... I'm sure just to eat more whipped cream... but she had a blast!  By the end of the day she had whipped cream all through her hair... it was great!  lol