Halloween Fun

While we were in California, we went to the Trunk or Treat for my parents Ward. Ashley's costume was not one that would pack well, so we talked her into Alyssa's Racoon costume from last year. We enjoyed the Chili dinner, participated in the costume parade and then the girls braved the spook alley. I think it ended up being scarier than they expected, but I went through with them and we made it out safely. Then we collected candy and went home.

On Halloween night, Alyssa had play practice until 6:30. The other kids started trick or treating at 6, so Alyssa didn't make it into our pictures. Ashley decided that she wanted to be a skeleton dog for Halloween. They do not sell that costume, so I had to get creative. I bought a skeleton costume and then connected a tail and ears to it and made her a snout. I thought it turned out pretty good.

 Earlier in the month, we went to the pumpkin patch across main street from our neighborhood to pick out pumpkins. Alyssa chose a really big one.

 Ashley enjoyed the dogs there.

Camden and Tyler had fun riding in the wagon.

 We also took advantage of the Halloween event at the Family Fun Center.

The kids really had fun in this corn crib. It had slides that you could ride down on top of a sled and land in the corn, plus buckets and shovels to play with. Alyssa buried herself and then filled her shirt up with corn.

 

 We had a lot of fun during the month of October.

California Trip

We pulled our girls out of school and took a trip down to California the last week of October. Danny had a work conference in Pasadena and we thought it would be a good opportunity to visit my parents. We went a couple days before the conference started so that we could also spend some time with Brian and Maryn and their kids.  The kids were excited about the plane ride because it has been a while since we've flown anywhere. Here they are on the shuttle bus from our car to the terminals.

On our first full day in California, we went with Brian's family to Knott's Berry Farm. These cousins get along so well together. We sure wish they lived closer to each other.

  Some of the rides they went on...

 These girls are two peas in a pod. You would never know that they are 3 years apart, in age.

 The day after Knott's, we met Grandma and Grandpa Miner at Disney's California Adventure. My Mom really wanted to take the girls to see the new Frozen play there. We also wanted a chance to ride the new Soarin over the World and to ride the Tower of Terror before it changes. We were worried about how the kids(and adults, if we are being honest) would handle two days in a row at Amusement parks, but they did great. Here we are on the tram ride into the park.

 Waiting for Grandma and Grandpa(which was only a few minutes wait).

The park was not too bad for crowds that day. Our only regret was not getting our Tower of Terror fast pass early in the day. We ended up having to wait in the normal line. Alyssa and Ashley got to ride most of the big rides 2 or more times thanks to the baby swap. They rode California Screaming a lot, just because it was so fun. The kids enjoyed Radiator Springs. We got to see Lightning McQueen.

 The Frozen Play was a lot of fun and it gave Camden and Tyler both a chance to nap.

 

 The kids all enjoyed the Pixar Parade, as well. Tyler loved Woody, from Toy Story, and was so excited to see him in the parade.

Grandma came with me and the kids to the beach on Thursday, while Danny was at his conference. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate with us, but the girls still braved the cold water to try our boogie boarding.

Camden enjoyed the sand and Tyler had fun chasing away the flock of seagulls that kept coming back and settling down near us. The best part about it is how brave he would be while running towards them and then as soon as they would start flying, he would run back saying "They're gonna get me." Then he would do it all over again as soon as they would settle back down.

We had a lot of fun on our trip and more than anything, enjoyed spending time with family. Alyssa did learn during this trip that she doesn't like flying very much. She got sick during both flights.

Alyssa in "School House Rock Jr."

Last week, we got to see Alyssa in "School House Rock Jr." at the Lehi Arts Center. It was a big time commitment for a couple of months of practices, but she sure had fun doing it. The play is based on the TV show from the 70's and 80's. It really didn't have much of a plot besides a teacher getting ready to face his first day of work and the students(in his mind) coming up with ways to teach certain things to the kids. The songs they sang were about nouns, adjectives, math, the solar system, etc. The thing I liked most about the play is that they were able to split the speaking and singing parts up between a lot of different kids rather than just having a couple of stars of the show.

 Here is a picture of the whole group.

And a video clip from one of the songs.