Halloween and Thanksgiving

Time is going by too fast--I'm not ready for the year to be over already.

We had three black cats for Halloween this year. Mike was trying to talk one of them into being a black roadkill cat, but they nobody was convinced. I figure we did pretty well, though, because I was able to reuse one costume, and Quinlan actually wore a costume, which is pretty good for him. He was a soccer player for the last two years, and he only agreed to that because we wouldn't let him go trick-or-treating without a costume. Notice the really huge pumpkin from our garden--we had an even bigger one, but it was too heavy for me to carry, so it's still sitting in the kitchen (not carved--maybe I will cook it instead).

Mike was the Bog Monster at the ward trunk-or-treat.

The Clayton cousins came down to trick-or-treat with our kids, and they all had fun. I think they work off most of the candy they eat by running from house to house through the neighborhood. Owen was pretty beat by the end of the evening.

The kids have been busy with school, and I have been enjoying my afternoons free. It's amazing what you can get done with no kids for two hours every day. My house may actually be organized sometime soon. Well, maybe sometime.

Mike has been swamped with work still. He has been going up to Idaho every week or so for site visits. You can check out the progress on his building here: http://www.byui.edu/Webcameras/auditorium.htm. He says he will wave at the camera Thursday afternoons at his site visit.

We were disappointed not to be able to go to Colorado for Thanksgiving, but it ended up being a relaxing holiday instead. We barbecued hamburgers and chicken for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was very yummy, but we're looking forward to a turkey dinner at Tan and Paul's tomorrow. And Mike put up the Christmas lights today, so we're ready for December.

Friday at Last

They don't lose their attitude as they get older, they just get harder to distract.

Here's where Piper has been sleeping this month, because she says her bed is "not comfortable."

My big triumph this week was convincing her to move her "nest" far enough into her room that we can close the door, so the rest of the family doesn't have to look at it. Honest, there is clear floor in the room just past the edge of the photo, but you couldn't tell it here.

And here's why we haven't seen much of Mike lately. These are the drawings he just completed for the building he's working on. They had to rent a U-Haul to get them to Idaho to the owner--they took up four and a half pallets.

As for me, I am very domestic this month. Mike was reminiscing about home-canned fruit, one thing led to another, and three weeks later I have twelve quarts of peaches and nine quarts of pears. It was really pretty fun--Piper and Owen have been off-track, so they helped me peel peaches and core pears. They had a lot of fun. Honest.

August

It's been life as usual around here. Mike has had a hairy deadline, so he's been working, working, and working. When he's home, he's either coaching Owen's soccer team, or helping the Young Men at church.

In August we took a weekend off and went up to Amber's parents' cabin with Howard's family and Celia and her four-legged children. The kids love it up there (Piper calls it "our cabin"), and we had a very relaxing time. Howard and Mike did some mountain biking, and I worked a little on my goal to sketch every week.

Owen helps me with the garden. We managed to save some peaches from the birds and the wasps. My tomatoes were slow this year, but I finally got some.

Owen insists that I take a picture of every single thing he builds before we can put it away, so my computer is full of pictures of Owen's creations. And interesting leaves, and rocks. And that mini-wheat left in his cereal bowl because it was a funny shape. He is really taking off in kindergarten, which is exciting. He always hated to work on letters and numbers before, so it's amazing to hear him in the back of the car counting to 100.

We got up close and personal with some wildlife at the ward campout on Labor Day weekend. A moose and her baby greeted us right next to the parking lot when we pulled up. Luckily they didn't like the noise a half dozen families with small kids made and didn't stay around to cause trouble. Of course, our kids' favorite part of the campout is playing in the river. You can never pack enough dry clothes.

Summer's Over...Already?

Have I mentioned before that I hate year-round school? Piper and Owen start school on Monday, so we're trying to get in as many swimming, hiking, and zoo trips as we can before then. Thank goodness Owen is only going to be going half-day.

It's been a busy month, and I haven't written anything. We've had visits from cousins:

And visits from more cousins:

Quinlan turned nine, and he had a lot of fun at his party. Yes, those are real sparklers on the front of his tank. We love July birthdays!

I marched in two parades on the fourth of July, and we had fireworks at home. Grandma and Grandpa Leishman came down for a barbecue, and Tan brought by some really great homemade ice cream.

Then it's Mike's birthday, and we had both families over for a big party. Actually, the party was on Sunday, and Mike and I went out for a date on his real birthday. Mike is taking videos of the important stuff here.

Quinlan got to compete in the Pinewood Derby, and he brought home a third-place trophy. Quinlan says it was just luck, but for some reason Mike thinks it has something to do with how well he and Q built the car. I think it was entirely the graphite I put on the wheels.

I also got to go with Quinlan to Cub Scout day camp, which was fun--but I forgot my camera. They learned how to crack a real whip, and did all the great stuff like shooting bows and arrows and hiking and making crafts.

Going to Disneyland

I've never been one to brag, but passing one of the guys from Mike's old office on our way to California while he was heading to work really made me wish we had a sign in our car window. We planned a trip to Disneyland in less than three days--we decided to go on Friday morning, and we left early Monday. Luckily, Howard and Amber had done most of the actual planning, so we just tagged along.

I think we've already given everyone a review of our trip, so I'm just going to put up a few pictures here. We went on a beautiful hike at Kolob Canyons on our way down.

We saw six lizards and a tadpole. Nobody caught any of them.

Then we did Disneyland on Tuesday and Wednesday. Everyone's favorite ride was actually in the California Adventure; the Grizzly River Run. I didn't take my camera out during the ride, but this is how wet everyone got from it.

Everyone loved the bumper cars.

The teacups were also a hit with the people in the family who don't get motion sick.

The fireworks were a favorite too (even though everyone was too tired to look like it).

And shopping for souvenirs is always fun.

On Thursday, we went to the beach for a little while before we drove home. It's been too long since we've been to an ocean--each kid told me separately that the water tasted funny at this beach. They're used to lake water.

It was a fun trip--I don't know about the kids, but it definitely wore me out.

May is Always Busy

I downloaded pictures from my computer today, so now I can remember what we did this month.

Quinlan and Piper each had their opera performance at school. These were a lot of fun. The operas were written and put together completely by each school class; words, music, scenery, and everything (with a little help from the Utah Opera Outreach program---but not much). The kids have been working on them all year, and I was really impressed.

Quinlan was a Scientist working on a time machine which was hijacked by WalMart clerks and taken back to the time of the Incas.

Piper was a Mouse living in Australia who helped to put out a fire.

Can anyone guess which continent each kid was studying in geography this year?

Owen's preschool class had their spring play, and he got to wear the same lion costume Piper did when she was in preschool. He did a great job remembering his lines ("I'm Leo the Lion, king of the zoo. Don't get too close or I'll ROAR at you!") and did a nice, loud roar too. (Katie is also getting into the perfomance pretty well back there.)

Piper has started up riding lessons again, and is having a great time. Her favorite horse there is for sale, and she really wants to buy her to put in the back yard. Last week she progressed to riding around the pasture instead of in the round pen, so she seems to be remembering what she learned last fall pretty well.

Mike and I are mostly working on the yard. We are in the middle of redoing the back yard to be a little more low-maintenance. (Starting out with a completely empty yard has been an interesting learning experience.) I was excited to get to plant some of our garden this weekend, so if we don't have any more cold nights we may yet have some vegetables this summer. So far, the kids each have a cabbage plant which they have named and built little walls around. (Quinlan got one at school as part of a promotion for a plant nursery--at the end of the summer he can enter a photo of his cabbage for a chance at a $2000 scholarship. And then Owen and Piper each wanted one too.)

Just a quick note

Ok. So I'm jumping on the family blog bandwagon. Here goes.

Only problem is anything to say--it's been a normal week. Three soccer games, two soccer practices, three birthday parties, piano lesson cancelled, riding lesson cancelled. Luckily it's been a rainy month, so we've had quite a few soccer games cancelled too.

Maybe I'll figure out the photos next so there will be something interesting to put on here.