Halloween Fun

We are officially Halloweened out! We started on Saturday at our ward trunk-or-treat, continued Monday night at California Adventure for Mickey's Halloween Treat, and finished up today with the Halloween Spooktacular at the school where the kids go trick-or-treating to the classrooms. It makes me sick just looking at all the candy! They really did look cute in their costumes and they received many compliments. Annaka made a beautiful Snow White and Kimberlee was a darling little dark-haired Cinderella. However, Adam really stole the show because his costume was so unique.

Several of the Disney workers said they had never seen a Prince Charming before and one of them even gave him an extra handful of candy because his costume was so "cool." He did look very handsome! Enjoy the pictures and Happy Halloween!

Rogain Worked for Me!

We were just messing around with some blonde wigs and decided that if Carl had the right pair of glasses there is an uncanny resemblance to Garth from the movie Wayne's World. Don't you think?

Just a Walkin' Down the Street...

Today we had an interesting experience. As Adam and I left to pick up Annaka from the Pep Clinic she has been attending at the high school, we saw a Tortoise trying to cross the street! We couldn't let him get hurt so we stopped the car and tried knocking on the door of the house he was closest to. Nobody was home. So we moved the tortoise (Adam picked him up and moved him, not me) to the grass in front of a big tree away from the street. Then on our way home as we rounded the corner telling Annaka about the little guy, there he was again! Only this time he was really in the middle of the street. We stopped the car and I told the kids to pick him up and take him down to our yard. They thought it was great! They nicknamed him Speedy because for a tortoise he was pretty fast! We spent about an hour watching him and feeding him some lettuce leaves. When we saw the neighbors come home we asked if they had lost a tortoise and they said no but that their neighbor had a tortoise so they went to check to see if it was missing. Sure enough it was theirs, and turns out it was a girl and her name was DT, short for Desert Tortoise. I was sure glad we found out where it belonged because I wasn't too sure about having a new pet. And it just goes to show you never know what you might find just a walkin' down the street!

Daddy Daughter Campout

This Friday was our annual Daddy Daughter Campout with church. Adam agreed that we could celebrate his birthday on Sunday so that Annaka and I could attend the campout. Friday is also the day we have soccer practice for Adam's team and since I'm the coach, I had to be there. Annaka went up to the campsite with her friend Cloe and I was going to meet up with her after soccer practice. I hurried home from soccer, packed the camp gear, and headed for the hills. I was a little bit of a grouch and wasn't looking forward to setting camp up in the dark after a busy day at work and soccer practice. I tried convincing Annaka that we could have just as much fun if we drove home after everyone went to bed instead of actually sleeping over, but of course that wouldn't really be camping and she didn't think it was as good an idea as I did. By the time I got to the camp, the campfire program had started, so I sat with Annaka for the program and didn't get our tent set up until afterwards. Once everything was actually set up, my attitude improved a lot and we ended up having a lot of fun. The next morning, we had breakfast with our ward and Annaka and her friends went on a little hike while I took camp down. Although it seems like a lot of work for just one night, I'm glad we do this every year and I hope Annaka will have as fond memories of our Daddy Daughter campouts as I do.

Be True to your School

One of the first dates Amy and I went on was to a BYU football game. We were season ticket holders as newlyweds and took our first child to a game before she was a year old. Since moving to Southern California, we always try to support our Alma Mater when they come to play football. This past Saturday, the Cougars came to play the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl and we were there to show support for our school. Although the outcome wasn't what we hoped for, it was a fun day and brought back a lot of memories from attending BYU games in the past. The 3rd quarter got pretty exciting as the BYU offense cut the Bruin lead to 3 points. Unfortunately, the Cougars didn't score again and UCLA scored again with a couple minutes left to win 27-17. The game was much closer than the final score indicates, and BYU played well considering their opponent was ranked 13th in the nation (now 11th). Max Hall, the new Cougar QB was pretty impressive and has me excited for the rest of the season and years to come.

Just Gelin'

Gelin', as in hair gel, which about 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave for kindergarten Adam decides to cover his head with. He was in the bathroom with the door locked and when I insisted he open the door I was greeted with a kid who looked like he had just got out of the shower and still had the shampoo in his hair! I am so mad at myself for not getting the camera because it really was quite humorous (in hindsight). But of course being in the time crunch we were, I lost it and made him cry. Why can't I learn to be more relaxed about things? Anyway, we took care of it with a quick rinse of the head under the shower but I didn't have time to wash it. His hair will probably still be a bit stiff today, he used Carl's hair gel and Dippity Doo which those of us know from our performing days is like glue! Well, hopefully the week will just get better, and I will learn to be more patient.

Soccer Season Begins

Soccer season is upon us and due to high enrollment and a lack of coaches, I ended up as the coach for Adam's team. Luckily one of the boys on the team has an older sister that plays soccer in high school and she is the assistant coach. I'm more of the figurehead and she actually knows about soccer. We had a practice last night where we met the team and decided on our team name, the Ninja Turtles. Then, our first game was this morning. Most of the players on our team have played before and they did really well. At this age they don't even really keep score, but Adam did make the last goal of the game and seems to have improved a lot since last year.

The First Day

Well it's hard to believe this day has finally arrived. Adam's first day of kindergarten and Annaka's first day of 5th grade. How can we be old enough to have a 5th grader?! It went very well for both of them. I was the emotional one. But I don't think I'm the only mother who has cried when sending their little one off to school for the first time. Even though he has gone to preschool for the past two years and last year went 5 days, it's not the same. No more skipping school because we just don't feel like going, and now he'll have homework. This is the real deal! And will be his life for the next 13+ years. Of course education is a gift and I am grateful my children have this wonderful opportunity.

Annaka was an old pro not even really wanting us to walk with her to class. She's growing up so fast. Her teacher is Ms. Neumann and Annaka says she seems very nice. Adam has the same teacher Annaka had for kindergarten, Mrs. Maichrowicz. He is in the same class as Kaylyn and Mark, and a couple other kids he knows so that is good for him. He was a little quiet when we first went into the classroom this morning, but when I picked him up he was all smiles. Tomorrow we start the afternoon schedule.Another school year upon us. Where does the time go? But we had a very fun and relaxing summer so it will be good to get back into a routine.