Happy Halloween

We have had a happy Halloween. Last night the kids and I carved pumpkins. Billy and Katie even cleaned out their own pumpkins. I was very impressed. The greatest surprise was Todd showing up last night at 10:30. He was suppose to be here today so I was shocked when I heard the front door opening and Todd walking through the door. But very Happy. He got to go trick or treating with the kids which has been a couple of years.
Today was a busy day. Grandma and I went to Katie's class party in the morning. After the party I took the boys to playgroup for a Halloween party for the kids. They got to dress up and play with friends while us moms got to visit and eat some yummy food. After lunch the whole family headed to Katie's school for an assembly. The kids were recognized for their first quarter work. Katie got the highest award. I was very proud of her. That means she is doing great in her studies and is good at school. It isn't a surprise. I think she takes after me and loves school. Lets just hope it stays that way! We went trick or treating this afternoon. We have a great neighborhood and it was perfect for trick or treating. We also got a good walk in. Grandma stayed at our house and passed out candy. We had more then 70 kids show up. She kept track. So all is good. The kids are asleep and have lots of candy to dream about.

Katie Soccer and the Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday was Katie's last soccer game. She had a really fun season. She even made one goal (which she was so excited about she had to call daddy and tell him). I would have some more pictures but I have misplaced my camera (what a shocker). The pictures are from my Grandma's camera. She finally got to be goalie at the last game which she had been asking to do the whole season. I am 100 % sure that she has inherited Todd's coordination. If anyone knows me they know that I ran cross country because it required no coordination. But Todd was a big soccer player. So if we are lucky then Katie will be a runner and a soccer player. Katie has definitely inherited a liking for running from me. The longest run she has ever done was a two mile. Daddy has been taking her running in the mornings when he goes a couple days a week.
On Thursday Billy went to a pumpkin patch with his preschool class. Grandma, Johnny and I met him there. We got to see chickens, a big pig, dig for worms, and pick a pumpkin. One of the coolest things is that he let Jacob hold his hand. Jacob is another boy in his class. But Billy is really shy and usually won't hold other kids hand. When we started walking Billy told Jacob and me, "I'm not shy anymore". It was so cute!
On Friday we had our ward Halloween party. The kids dressed up and got to go trunk or treating. Katie is a Barbie fairy princess, Billy is superman, and Johnny is an Indian. They are looking forward to trick or treating Friday.
Last night Grandma, Katie, Billy, and I played the game of Life. I was really excited that Billy played the whole game. It was the first time he actually sat through a whole game. Of course their was a car and he loves cars. Today we had playgroup at a near by Park. It was a beautiful day with temps into he 70's. Six of us moms played a little soccer and then we ate lunch while the kids played on the playground. It is a great park. I am amazed at how many nice parks there are around here. This afternoon my cub scouts came over and we started making paper mache masks. My new calling in the ward is being the wolves and bears den leader. I have to admit I was shocked that I was called to it as I never had brothers and my kids are little but I will try to do a good job. I am starting to get to know the boys.

Billy's Black Eye

Katie started soccer this fall. At one of her practices Billy fell on the toys and hit his eye. It swelled up right away. Unfortunately the next day was picture day. I knew we wouldn't keep the pics so didn't even dress him up or do his hair. When it gets long the middle sticks up and we call him rooster. They sent pictures back and if you don't want them you just return them. I took a couple of pics of them as they are so cute/funny. It took a good week for his eye to get better. It turned all shades of colors.
Katie has been enjoying soccer. Todd has been practicing with her. She even scored a goal last game. She was so excited she had to call daddy to tell him. Todd is in Texas for a couple of weeks for work. Before Todd left he started helping Katie practice riding her bike without the training wheels. She did really good.

New House

We finally moved into our very first house (that we own). It is a very nice feeling. Plus I really like it. Jennie, here is one picture. It is the only one I have. I promise to take some more and put them on. It took a week to get our stuff and we were sure glad to have it. We have a three bedroom. Katie gets her own room (although she was a little disappointed to no longer share with Johnny). The boys share the other one. We have an office off of our bedroom. The basement is finished and is the kids play room. Absolutely no toys in the bedrooms. I got tired of tripping over toys trying to get kids into bed. The kitchen is one of my favorite rooms. I love the island. It is one of the easiest rooms to decorate. Todd got his garage. It is all his as he requested. He was kind enough to let me put the camping stuff and the bikes in it. I love our back yard. It is fenced in and the kids love to go out and play (I like it when they go out and play too:) Katie started kindergarten and Billy started preschool. The great thing is that kindergarten is now all day at no cost at Katie's school. So the bus picks her up and drops her off every day. She loves school and has already learned so much. Billy wanted to go to school too so I got him in twice a week. He likes it but still seems shy and doesn't want to go some days. But he has great teachers. Miss Beth also goes to our ward so he loves getting to see here there. Johnny is Johnny. He would be more frustrating then he is if he wasn't so darn cute. He loves to wave to people and say hi and bye bye and is always smiling. He thinks he should get to be like his brother and sister. He refuses to sit in a high chair now and joins us at the big table. He doesn't like sippy cups at dinner either but I am not about to give him real cups yet as he loves to dump them upside down. We have been on many hikes since we move and I love the area. It is beautiful and has lots of outdoor stuff to do. I hope we get to stay here as long as possible.

Todd's Home

Todd finally came home in August:) We picked him up from the airport in Seattle. We were in Washington for Todd's family reunion and we were happy he was able to make half of it. I don't have all the family pics as they are on Todd's laptop but here are a few. The kids were so excited to pick him up. They followed him around for weeks after he got back. We are blessed to be back together as a family again. The reunion was a blast. I love Todd's family. It was the first time all of Todd's Bros and sis were together since our wedding in 2001. We camped along the Pacific Northwest. Unfortunately I missed seeing Forks (but picking up Todd from the airport was more important) but we did get to drive through Port Angeles. If anyone is confused Forks is where The twilight books take place. The fourth one came out in August so finally got to read it. It took a couple of weeks but Todd had just got back so wanted to spend more time with him. He would have complained if I had my nose stuck in a book. Just after the reunion we were able to visit our friends Lesa and Doug. It was great to see them after a few years. After the reunion we drove down to Travis and Jen's house. We stopped at Smith Rock to climb and camp. We stayed a few days in California and then headed back home. We had a fun few weeks with Tabitha, Ty, and Todd's parents. It was sad when the movers came and we moved out. I had a wonderful year living by them and am counting down the days till we get to visit.