80's Day

There was yet another fun dress up day at school that Alexis participated in--80's day! We had a good time coming up with her costume. I only had learned about it the day prior so we didn't have a lot of "prep" time, but given our circumstances I think we did pretty good!

Essentially, we just found a few of Alexis's old clothes and used them--things that are a little too short or snug! I didn't have leg warmers on hand, and knowing it was an essential part of the outfit, we found an older pair of striped tights and cut those up to use as makeshift leg warmers. We added poofy bangs and a side pony, but I personally think the winning touch was her earrings. Grandma Jane just happened to be heading to our house that morning, and she just happened to have saved this crazy pair of yellow earrings from the 80's for just such an occasion, so Alexis was wearing some vintage 80's jewelry too!

I think she looked darn cute, and scarily close to what I remember wanting to look like back then!? (Should I really admit that?)

Halloween

The kids were able to dress up for Halloween at school on Friday if they wanted to, except for Alexis. At their school, the 6th graders don't dress up for Halloween, they get to do crazy hair day instead. It is kind of a bummer since everyone else gets to dress up, but we still had fun with her hair.




In the afternoon on Halloween, David's flag football team had a game, which they won! David got to play quarterback a lot of the game, his favorite position, so he had a great time.





By evening time, the kids were quite ready to get out and trick-or-treat! This year, Alexis went as a chef. I made her a really cute apron(so that she can still use it), and she looked great! David was the "no face" type of guy, and Lily was more an extension of herself than an actual costume--she was a pop star. Joe was a Storm Trooper, and of course, Evelyn was Minnie Mouse. The weather was perfect for going out at night, we didn't even need jackets! After getting home, they all had a great time going through their candy and making all their "trades".

Halloweenish Stuff

We had a great time with Halloween this year, perhaps because we actually have all of our kids old enough to be excited about it. The kids had a great time carving pumpkins. Of course there is always the initial gross-out of feeling the insides of the pumpkin, but after that, they all had a great time! Unfortunately, Evelyn was so wiped out that she fell asleep drawing while the kids were busy gutting and designing!

The Saturday prior to Halloween we had our Trunk or Treat party at church. The kids had fun playing games, getting prizes, and running around collecting candy as well! The favorite with Evie and Joe was the cake walk, which they each did a few times.

Monterey!

My birthday falls in the week that the kids have off of school. Ez had to head up to Redding to help teach a class for a couple of days starting on my birthday, but for my gift Ez took us to Monterey for a few days and got us a family pass to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We stayed at a cute, funky little place in Pacific Grove. Part of this inn has an old Victorian home converted into hotel rooms, which was really fun to stay in! I don't think that it would be great to stay in the winter months because the heating system was questionable, but we all had fun crowding in and being together.

The Aquarium was so much fun! We haven't taken the kids there for about 7 years, so it was great to see it all again. We were so busy playing and looking and learning that spending an entire day there felt like nothing! We loved getting into the little water areas where you can pick up the animals and learn about them. The volunteers answered every one of the kids questions, and we learned so much! We went back the next day as well to revisit our favorite parts.

Our favorite dinner out was a trip to Bubba Gump's, which is always really fun and a great treat since there are none near us! We finished the night with ice cream from the Nestle shop! Of course, he trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Dennis the Menace Playground and a visit to the beach!

We had a great trip, mom had a great birthday gift, and we can't wait to get back!

Disneyland!

The kids are off of school the first full week in October. Last year we took that time to drive down and play at Disneyland for the week. Great idea, right? Sure! Only everyone else had the same brilliant idea, including tons of off-track kids from Arizona and Utah. It was packed.

We still wanted to get to Disneyland this year, but didn't want to deal with the business of October break, so we pulled the kids out of school for a week in September and headed down. There were still crowds, but not terrible. The lines were great. The weather was terrific! We had a blast!

Some of the highlights included eating at Goofy's Kitchen, riding all the rides we wanted to, and meeting all the Princesses! David's favorite ride is Tower of Terror, and he and Ez were able to ride it a few times. Lily fell in love with Mullholland Madness, and we rode that a ton! One time they even let us just stay in the same car 5 times in a row because there was no line! The kids enjoyed the parades, particularly the High School Musical 3 one, where they got to join in and dance around! I think the family's very favorite ride was (and is still) Toy Story Mania. We had such fun on that one.

Here's just a few photos from our great trip!

Labor Day Getaway

Keri's Aunt Merrill and her husband Burgess were up in the bay area over Labor Day weekend, visiting some of Burgess's grandkids. Keri and the kids headed out their way for a couple days of fun.

One of the highlights was getting to go kayaking! David had a particularly great time doing it, and got good enough to take others out for a ride in the bay!

David and August

Burgess and Joe (who never braved the kayaks)


David taking Alexis for a ride

Lily, post-kayaking

Evie and August

Evie thought is was great fun to see David and Alexis out there!

A few of the kids even ventured into the bay for a swim. The water in the bay seems to be really salty, so it's a bit of a different kind of experience--you actually float pretty easily in the water! David was first, but didn't enjoy the temperature or the salty taste, so he hopped out. Lily was brave enough to jump right in, but ended up with a bit of the bay in her mouth as well, so she didn't last too long! Alexis took the longest to inch her way in, but had fun floating and chatting with Merrill and Burgess for a bit.

Lily jumping in!

Alexis with Merrill and Burgess