Halloween

We celebrated Halloween by finishing carving the pumpkins, going to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat, and handing out pop, candy, and popcorn at our house.

Our ward's trunk-or-treat was held before dinner. The kids had fun going around the parking lot to each car (more than once) and getting candy. Kaylen was quite independent at times, and walked around all by herself loading up on the candy.

We decided that the kids didn't need more candy from the neighborhood, so we did our traditional fire in the driveway and handed out goodies at the house. The kids did walk across the street to the houses across from us and around the corner. They seemed to enjoy seeing everyone come to our house.

Eric at the trunk-or-treat

Colton the star

Independent Snow White Kaylen

Officer Logan

Spencer as a Star Wars character

"Beezy" Lindsey (and a friend)

Kaylen zonked out at our house, during the festivities

2nd Grade Monsters & Special Ed.

Because Halloween isn't able to be celebrated at school anymore, the teachers have come up with other parties to do at Halloween time. I have been to monster parties, harvest festivals, and spider parties. This year Logan's class had a Monster Bash that I was able to go to and help with. The kids decorated monster bags. The teacher made Monster Mix, complete with rat skulls and beetle bugs. I headed up the monster mouth making center. I cut apples. The kids spread peanut butter on the apples, and then carefully placed marshmallows for teeth on the "gums." It was fun being able to go to the class and help out. It was also quite a interesting having 26 2nd graders working with peanut butter and trying to prevent them from spreading germs from licking the peanut butter off everything. During the party we got to listen to monster songs, including "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. The kids knew the song and some even danced like Michael Jackson.
Kaylen actually did get to have, as close as possible, a Halloween Party. This was ok because it is a special ed class, where they can wear costumes because it helps with their coordination of dressing themselves, and carve pumpkins because they're learning about shapes, etc. Kaylen took her Snow White dress to school and put it on at school (it was too dangerous to wear onto the bus). They carved pumpkins, made a ghost windsock, ate pumpkin seeds (which she didn't like), and pick out things from the treasure box. They sang songs and brought home toilet paper ghost suckers. She had a fun time.

Dalhousie Castle

In honor of Halloween, I'll make my best attempt to re-tell my ghostly experience....

Eric's brother decided for the ultimate fairly tale wedding. They planned for years to get married in Scotland, sending out 'save the date' cards to everyone. We marked it on our calendar, thinking that it would be a long shot to make it all the way to Scotland for their wedding in a castle. As time came nearer, it appeared that we would be able to join them in Scotland for their wedding. We decided that we would take two weeks and make a fabulous vacation out of it. Eric's grandparents and mom joined us. I planned all the details of the trip, from the multiple plane trips, to the hotels, to the private tours. We were all very excited and really looking forward to the experiences we'd have in Ireland and Scotland.

We spent the first week exploring Southern Ireland. It was a beautiful country, probably my favorite country I've been to.

We flew to Scotland and checked in at Dalhousie Castle in Bonnyrigg Scotland, just outside Edinburgh. Dalhousie Castle is a 13th century fortress. I didn't know quite what to expect of a castle, but it was quite awesome. Each of our rooms were different. Our room was a warm orange color. There was a bathroom and a bed area. There was also a sitting area. Some castles have round turrets at the corners. Our room was a corner room, so it had the round area which had been turned into a sitting area. This area used to house a spiral staircase, providing access to all floors of the castle.

The wedding was beautiful, kilts and everything. On the wedding night we went to Edinburgh, skipping out on a ghost tour that the rest of the wedding party was participating in (I'm not a fan of scary things at all). We hoped to do laundry, but didn't find an open laundromat. We went back to the castle, and joined the wedding party (whose ghost tour didn't work out). Ryan, Eric's brother, had talked with Peter, one of the employees. Peter arranged to give us a tour of the castle. The tour started out in the library, where Peter shared some of the castle history. The castle is supposed to be haunted by Lady Catherine who starved herself, among other people and animals.

We all followed each other around the castle, as Peter points out differnet secret passages. We each take a turn going halfway down some secret basement stairs. I've never said that I believe in ghosts. I've also never said that I don't believe in ghosts. I just don't want to mess with that type of stuff because it scares me. So, throughout the tour, I just kind of brush off any hauting stories that Peter shares, thinking it's all made up. The history of the castle is one of war and bloodshed.

As the tour winds down, Eric and I climb the massive crooked stairs to our room. We were tired after a long day, and went to sleep. During the middle of the night, I awoke suddenly. Something didn't feel right in the room. I'm afraid to open my eyes. Over in the corner of the room, near the sitting area, I feel that there is something over there. It was not a pleasant feeling at all. I wake up Eric, panicking. I was terrified. I felt something evil and I was scared. Eric just laughed at me and told me that I was thinking of the tour and that I was imagining things. I opened my eyes, expecting to see two red eyes looking back at me. I didn't see anything through the darkness. I still felt something, something that to this day gives me chills and makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck any time I think of it. Eric puts his arm around me, trying to comfort me. I started crying. I really felt something in that room and was incredibly afraid. Somehow I managed to go back to sleep. In the morning I refused to go to that area of the room. I had left some of my toiletries in that area and did not want to get them. I made Eric get them out of the room so we could pack up and leave the castle, which I was eager to do.

I never saw or heard anything ghost-like at the castle. There were times that I felt like I wasn't alone eventhough there wasn't anyone around (when I was getting a massage at the spa and when I was in the bathroom). When I got home I did some research regarding the castle. There are many haunting accounts. There was one lady who described an experience quite similar to mine. A website wrote of how there are accounts of a ghost who would wander the turrets. I will always believe that I felt one of the ghosts of Dalhousie Castle.

Backyard Fun

With the great weather we're now having, the kids have started spending a lot of time in the backyard. These are some pictures from the play.

One Sunday afternoon while I was feeding Colton, the kids constructed this lovely fort built with milk crates for the Christmas house display and blankets. They took out snacks and activities to do inside the fort. At one point, they even had extension cords strung from the house to their fort so they could plug in fans and a radio. It was great because they played so well and didn't fight!

This is a more deluxe version another day

Fall in Washington

These are a few of the pictures I took of Fall in Washington. Fall is my favorite season because it is so beautiful.

I heart Washington

I was desperately needing a break from the craziness of everyday life, so I convinced Eric that we needed to take a break and go on a little trip. We've never been to Washington, so decided that we'd go to Seattle. We booked our flights (both were free from our frequent flyer miles) and I started researching activities and places to stay. One day Eric went golfing with a friend and mentioned that we were going to Washington. His friend instantly offered their beach house to us. It wasn't in the area I was looking to go, but we decided to use it. I am so glad that we changed our plans and went where we did. We had an awesome time.

We left on Wednesday. Colton was great on the plane, once I took care of his diaper explosion just before take off. We got our rental car and headed for the ferry once we landed. We missed the ferry, so we had to wait 50 minutes for the next ferry. This allowed the sun to set, so as we headed away from the city, we had a spectacular view of the city skyline. We finally got to our friend's house and were amazed. The house looked like a mini mansion. It is our friend's second home. It was decorated awesomely (it felt like I was in a Pottery Barn catalog) and was absolutely perfect. Our friend had acted as concierge and laid out information on all the nearby restaurants and activities.

Eric and Colton, in our friend's backyard

On Thursday morning, we started out with a walk. Eric and I walked from our friend's house to the main road. It was wonderful to get out in the fresh, cool air and take in the beautiful scenery. Along the way, we discovered all types of little creatures, some of which had gotten smashed along the way (lizards and slugs). After our walk, we drove to a nearby town for pizza and walking along main street, visiting the little shops. We drove around the area also. We drove to a couple of old forts, Fort Flagler and Fort Worden. They were old military bases (I guess), so we saw old houses, old canons, and deserted bunkers. We headed back to the house, stopping for some yummy Mexican food on the way.

Eric with one of the displays at a store in Port Townsend


At the beach at Fort Worden State Park



Eric at Fort Flagler

On Friday morning, we started out our big adventure. One of my main goals of the trip was to make it to the coast. On our way to the beach, we drove through Olympic National Park and Forest. This was probably the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen. We drove right along Lake Crescent. The day was overcast with some rain, so there were very low clouds that we drove through and saw from a distance.

Lake Crescent


Lake Crescent

We finally made it to Rialto Beach. I sat and fed Colton in the car while Eric explored the beach. During the 25 minutes I fed Colton, my mind began to get carried away. I had read in a few places how dangerous this beach could be, with high waves making the trees deadly. When I finally got out of the car, Eric was no where to be found. I called his name (knowing that he couldn't hear me), and didn't get a response, so I started to panic even more. I began to wonder what if some wild wave had hurled a tree at Eric, knocking him out, and then dragging him back to sea. I kept on climbing over all the dead trees that were strewn all over the beach until I finally found him. With a tear in my eye, I gave him a big hug, and then yelled at him. He didn't understand why I was so upset because he was just enjoying the scenery.

Eric and unhappy Baby C at Rialto Beach (the winds were very strong)


Rialto Beach

After the beach, we drove to Forks. I know Twilight didn't really happen there, but I had to see the town that Stephenie wrote of. We went to Forks Outfitters (where Bella worked) and bought some shirts and keychains. We also ate lunch in town. Eric was quite good to go along with this all, driving 3 hours just to see a city. Eventhough the city wasn't much (I didn't expect it to be), we were able to enjoy a beautiful drive there and back.

A sign at the Indian Reservation just outside of Forks




Clouds and Trees in Olympic National Park - we drove through this

On the way back to the house, we drove up to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. The roads were awful (I HATE windy, mountainy, cliffy roads). The clouds were low, about half the time we were driving through clouds. The view (once we finally got there) was beautiful. We could see mountain peaks covered with snow in the distance. We were high above the clouds. Eric found a trail map on the wall and is now determined to come back and hike from one end of the park to the other. Wouldn't it be so cool? We finally got back to the house, after stopping for dinner at Applebee's. Colton did great through all that driving. I did have to sit in the backseat at one point, showing him pictures on my phone and playing music for him.

The view from Hurricane Ridge

Saturday morning we woke up and were determined to get a gift for our friends. We decided to go to Lagoon Beach on the way there. Our friend gave us directions and told us to take the boots with us. We took the boots, but I wondered how useful could boots be at a sandy beach? When we got to the beach, I put the boots on and soon found out why the boots were needed as I walked out on the beach. It was low tide, so the water had receded greatly. In its path, we found all kinds of shells. I was impressed that the clam and oyster shells were still together, that I gathered some up for each of the kids. At one point, I stepped onto a pile of seaweed. I sunk a good 6 inches and began to panic when I went to lift my foot up and my boot stayed where it was - stuck in the seaweed. After that, I didn't walk on seaweed anymore.

Lagoon Beach at lowtide

We drove an hour to get to the closest Target to buy the gift. We took it easy and went the scenic route back. It was an enjoyable drive, especially since we had stopped at a little bakery for a treat that I munched on along the way. We also went on a short little hike to a waterfall.

At Ludlow Falls

As Sunday morning came, I really didn't want to pack up and head to the city. I would have been content to stay another week on the island, enjoying the beauty of it all. But, we had to leave. We headed back to the city and rode on another ferry. We visited the Space Needle, with Colton sleeping through it all. We headed to Pike's Market. What an experience that was. It was pretty cool. I loved the produce stands. The fruit all looked delicious and refreshing. The flowers were beautiful; I wish I could have somehow managed to bring some home. We ate lunch at a restaurant at the market. After the market closed, we walked a little more along Pike St., walking past the first Starbucks (oooh, ahhh).

The Space Needle

Eric with a street performer near the market

I had read of a beach close to Seattle, so we headed there (Alki Beach). Eric and I sat on the beach, watching the waves and the ferries go by. The view of the city was cool, too. On all great vacations, I have a sad feeling when I know that the trip is almost over, I had that same feeling as I sat there on the beach, just enjoying the calmness of it all with my sweeties. We drove to our airport hotel, where we ordered room service and watched a silly-lame movie.

Colton at Alki Beach

Monday morning, we headed home, via SeaTac International Airport. Writing this all up, makes me want to go back. I miss the calmness of having nothing to do. I miss the greenery. I miss the rain. I miss the Pottery Barn house. I miss the changing fall leaves. I miss having Eric to myself. I miss being able to focus on baby C. I miss Washington.

I heart Washington.

Spooktacular Golf

For a fun family activity, we went to a mini golf place near our house where one course had been turned into "Spooktacular Golf" with all kinds of Halloween decorations. Each hole was decorated differently with props, lights, inflatables, webs, etc. The kids enjoyed golfing. They did manage to lose 4 of the 7 balls we were given. Eric and I both started out golfing, but halfway through I skipped my turns to deal with Colton. Eric skipped his turns to mentor Kaylen. Kaylen turned out to be the best golfer. We wrapped up evening with a Blizzard from DQ.

Spencer's Indian Dwelling

Spencer studied Indians in school. As a final project to wrap up the unit, his assignment was to make a Native American dwelling. Spencer chose the Pueblo-style buildings. At first, he thought he could make boxes and stack them on top of each other. He realized that would be too hard, so on Conference Sunday, he searched the house, snatching all of our small boxes. He stacked, glued, and piled these boxes on top of each other. Just when I thought he was done, he'd find more boxes and the dwelling would grow larger. He spray painted the boxes with suede spray paint, getting a slightly dirty look to the boxes. He cut holes for the windows and painted on doors. He made ladders from pencils and toothpicks. He worked all day Sunday to complete the project. He was so excited to take it in to school. We convinced him that he could add the "logs" to the top of the buildings, so he did that on Monday. He turned his project in, 4 days early with a huge smile on his face. He loved the project and expressed many times how fun it was to make it.

Colton: The Youngest Sports Fan

For the last month, we have noticed how much Colton likes sports on tv. Colton will just lay or sit and watch sports. Eric records games and watches them with Colton. If a commercial starts, Colton gets really restless and unhappy. If I need a break from Colton when he is fussy, Eric will take him and go to the closest tv, turn it on to a sporting game. Colton quickly quiets down and becomes pacified with the game. However, I haven't been desparate enough to resort to a sporting game to soothe Colton when I'm on my own with him.

Fun with the Cousins

During the Priesthood Session of General Conference, I did my usual cinnamon roll making. It had been a while since I'd gotten together with my sisters and sister-in-law, so I invited them to come over. Making cinnamon rolls with 10 kids underfoot didn't sound challenging enough, so we also decided to make homemade pizza. Shelly found a cute craft, so we also decided to make that too. It was slightly crazy with all the activities, but I was amazed at how everything worked out. We made some Halloween jars by decoupaging tissue paper on jars. I headed up the pizza making. The kids got to put their own toppings on their pizzas and enjoyed being in charge of their own pizza. I had to feed Colton when we got around to the cinnamon rolls, so Shelly and Kelly took that job over.

Overall, we had a great time. The pizzas turned out yummy. One of the kids was even surprised that homemade pizza tasted so good. The jars turned out cute. Kaylen and Logan have asked me to make more jars with them. The cinnamon rolls turned out delicious and didn't last more than a couple of days.

Now if I could only come up with a Thanksgiving craft we could have more fun in November.

Cloud Watching

With the cooler weather, we were playing outside and noticed the cool clouds. All of the kids layed down on the grass and watched the clouds. It was cute to hear what they imagined the clouds looked like. It was nice to just take a break from the craziness and watch clouds.