Ward Trunk or Treat

We had a split theme this year - half super heroes, half from the Disney movie Brave. Claire was Merida and I was her mother Eleanor. Miles was Superman, Matt was The Flash, and Penelope was Wonder Woman. Matt's costume originally came as a one-piece, but it was a little, ahem, short. So we cut it at the waist and again at the boots and bought some red sweats. In between making Nacho Libre jokes about "borrowing some sweeaats" I told Claire we had to buy some for Dad so he didn't have to wear his full Halloween costume. She said, "Well, that's a relief!" She said it so seriously like - wow, dodged an embarrassing bullet with that one! I couldn't stop laughing!

Our friends the Mezydlos came with us this year - Jen is the assistant coach on Claire's soccer team and she has 3 girls. I didn't get one picture of all the kids together - they were pretty much moving nonstop once the trunk or treat started.

And guess what? I won the Chili Cook Off with my white bean chicken chili. And I was taking the kids to the bathroom when they announced the winner. That is the story of my life. The only prize was honor and glory and I wasn't even around to claim my Crock pot of Victory!

Anyway, here are more photos from the night. We had a great time!

Pumpkin Patch - FINALLY!

The corner pumpkin patch popped up early this year - like maybe September 30th. So the kids have asked to go for the past 29 days. I had them earn stickers by staying in their rooms at night and nap times - and it took a few weeks to fill up the pumpkin chart I made. Miles would get so sad every time we drove by (which was multiple times a day) - "Why do all the other kids get to have fun already?!" I said, "Well, those kids' parents aren't helping them learn to earn the things they really want to do." Oh I am so wise... :)

So at long last, the weather cooperated and the winds were calm and we went to the pumpkin patch! We waited until Matt was home from school so the kids were especially patient today. Hopefully they do appreciate it more after they had to work for it.

Tickets well spent!

She touched every pumpkin in sight

LOVED the animals!

NOT a fan of the petting zoo...

Spooky Dinner at the Hillers

Is She Too Young to Be a Tween?

I just caught Claire in her room mimicking me after I told her to not wear this ridiculously sparkly and fancy outfit to the park. So I will post these pictures she gave me recently to remind me that she is still my sweet little girl, but with a sprinkling of teenager thrown in for good measure (already!).

Soccer Game

MeMa and Papa came to Claire's soccer game today, the last game before their tournament. Penelope wanted to be the coach - she confiscated Matt's megaphone, a pretty effective and annoying dollar store find. I'm not sure why the other coaches haven't copied him yet. :)

Date Night

We have a theme going with our friends: we go to hole in the wall restaurants that have really good food for our double dates. This time we went to The Four Kegs, a place near my office that was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. It is definitely a dive, but has great bar food. Afterwards we went over to the Pinball Hall of Fame near UNLV. Basically it's a large warehouse type building filled with pinball and arcade games - mostly older ones that have been restored but also a few newer ones. I am terrible at pinball and video games - but it was almost like a snapshot of pop culture to walk around and look at all the games and the artwork on each one. And it broke us out of our usual dinner and a movie routine.

What is with the mustache craze right now? I'm not sure, but it was sure fun to wear. We got some from gumball machine at the Hall of Fame. I think Matt put purposely put my mustache on crooked.

We CAN Change!

I needed to hear this today. Feeling down about my bad habits and trying to start over again every day to be better but it is so hard sometimes!

"We can change our behavior. Our very desires can change. How? There is only one way. True change—permanent change—can come only through the healing, cleansing, and enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He loves you—each of you! He allows you to access His power as you keep His commandments, eagerly, earnestly, and exactly. It is that simple and certain. The gospel of Jesus Christis a gospel of change!"

- Elder Russell M. Nelson

Harvest Festival

We went to a harvest festival at my mom's elementary school during our visit. The kids had fun with the carnival games and of course, treats. I love October - so many fun things going on all month long!

Family Time at Johnson Grandparents

After the temple, we met up with the kids and had a dinner at the Johnson Grandparents' house. I love seeing all the cousins together - they play really well together and just run and run all day long. The cousin ages are 7, 6, 6, 4, 4, 3, 17 months and 16 months. Always someone to play with!