Carving Pumpkins

In past years, our family has skipped the whole carving pumpkins thing.  Neither Justin nor I felt like doing it, and it's not as if the kids could actually do it themselves.  Instead, we've had Mr. Potato Head Man-like face pieces that we have stuck in the pumpkins each October.  This year, Ellie informed me that she had seen in a book that people actually carved pumpkins, and could we please try that out?  So, carving pumpkins it was.  Actually, it turned out okay and we didn't die or anything.  Although Grant was totally grossed out by the guts and Ellie had to help him pull out his.  Spencer got to color a pumpkin and didn't seem to notice that he was left out of the big fun.  Each of the kids drew their own faces, and Ellie and Meg did a little cutting of their own.  

The Circus

Instead of having a birthday party this year, Ellie chose to go to the Circus.  It was quite the experience.  The kids liked the Trapeze Artist the best, and enjoyed their million dollar cotton candy.  

Life Keeps Happening!

Rides with Grandma Paula and Grandpa Mark.  We love our City Park and its reasonable prices for fun carnival rides!

Ellie excavates for amethysts for her birthday present picked by Daddy:

Meg reads while walking to school.  She has not been as obsessed with reading as Ellie so it is fun when she finds a book she doesn't want to put down (usually fairies and princesses).

Grant and Spencer tied a ribbon to a toy dog and "walked" it to school:

Meg cooks with Dad.  These are our two real cooks.  The rest of us could probably do without....

Meg gets to go on a date with Mom:

Haircut time!  Spencer's curls flattened out when summer ended and he just looked like a scraggly orphan child.  

Can I bring something in the car?

Grant picks FHE activity: Wii Mario Kart.

Dad's Birthday:

Hayride with friends while Dad is at a conference in Utah.  (One-handed photos are always great on bumpy hayrides where you're trying to keep your one year old from falling under the wheels.)

Visiting the Temple with friends while Dad is out of town (we must keep busy to avoid pushing each other off cliffs!).

Ellie's Birthday Morning

Ellie had a great birthday year with all her grandparents in town for her baptism.  Her siblings were very excited to give her gifts.  They gave her big hugs and loved her lots.  We love our eight year old!  She is a busy reader, loves to make up stories, draw artwork, and do science experiments.  She is good at saving money, she likes to plan things for our entire family (FHE, activities, meals, anything that could possibly be planned!) and is always ready to share and make her brothers and sister happy.  She has been reading her scriptures, writing in her journal, and doing extra work at school for fun.  She has good friends at school this year that she plays fairies with at recess.  She tells me all about the weather and about how air works when she gets home.  She gets to go to ELP this year which means lots of extra projects that get her thinking about all sorts of things that I can barely keep up with.  She does math problems with Justin in the car, and plans on being an author one day.  She also has had her temper calm down this year, and is much happier to deal patiently with crazy siblings... unless she is reading a book, and then she doesn't hear them at all.  She continues to take piano and is passing me up pretty quickly... I won't be able to help her soon!  She likes rhyming, riddles, and jokes, and has inherited her Grandpa Wood/Grandpa Mark/Daddy's humor for saying strange word plays.  She is a treasure and we love her soooooo much!