We carved pumpkins on Monday night for Family Home Evening, probably like a lot of other people out there.  I must admit, I couldn’t remember the last time I carved a pumpkin.  Truly maybe 10 years or more.  We had never carved one with Kathryn or Amelia before – mostly because the last two Halloweens we were in Ukraine.  We did get some gourds, and intended to carve faces on them, but ended up drawing Veggietale faces instead.  I don’t recall ever doing it at BYU – I was too busy studying and stressing about school.  A lot of good that does for me now.  Anyway…

Kathryn and Amelia had their pumpkins from the patch, and we went to the grocery store to geta big one for Daddy.  I figured between helping everyone else and keeping Daniel out of the way, I wouldn’t actually have time to carve my own.  I love Daniel’s hands on his ears in this picture.

I was surprised how much I did not mind the slimy pumpkin insides.  After a couple years of wiping poop, snot, and being spit up/thrown up on, pumpkin slime is no biggy.  Amelia and Kathryn knew exactly how they wanted their faces carved.  Amelia wanted triangle eyes, upside down triangle nose, and smiley mouth.  Kathryn wanted triangle eyes, triangle nose, and smiley mouth with one tooth.   I didn’t get a picture of the final product, but I’m sure we’ll take one Halloween night.   Darryl carved a spooky scarecrow and took a spooky picture of it here.

I had a great time and actually wished I had my own to carve later that night.  Maybe next year.  We also toasted the pumpkin seeds for a snack.  Yum!

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 On Thursday we went to “The Farm” for Joy school.  Lucky for me it was my day to teach!  It is just the best place to go for preschoolers.  First there was a little kid hay maze, which I didn’t get any pictures of.  They end up in a hay loft that has a slide out of.  This first picture is to show how beautiful autumn is here.  I love all the fall colors in the trees, but there are always lots of dark green evergreens as well.  I think it is so beautiful together.  this picture doesn’t have any reds, but our neighborhood has a lot of red leaves this year.

Forgive me for the blurry pictures.  I had Darryl’s camera and I don’t really know what to do with it.  He had changed the settings and I didn’t know how to get it back.  There was a small animal area.  Kathryn was a little nervous to pet the kitty, but eventually she did. 

Then we took a hay ride to the pumpkin patch.  Really all they do is bring the pumpkins to this one area.  You can tell they didn’t all grow here, but the kids don’t seem to notice.  We’ll have to go to a real pumpkin patch sometime. 

Then the real fun began.  They have a whole room full of corn kernals for kids to play in .  I got in, and it is pretty deep!  Amelia stayed in for a solid hour.  Groups of kids would come and go, so sometimes it was just us in the whole room.

After that was the hay barn.  Great for running, jumping, etc.  They had a great time playing in here, too.  Daniel eventually fell asleep in his stroller and the girls ended up with quite a bit of hay in their hair.  We left at 9am and didn’t get home until 2:30.  It was a fun way to spend my anniversary.  Too bad Darryl couldn’t take off work to come.

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We took a road trip this past weekend to Spokane (Otis Orchard, just east of Spokane to be exact) to visit some of our good friends Amanda, Chris, Sam, and Charlie.   Sam was turning 3.  And Charlie is 1 year, so between our families the kids were 4,3,2,1, and 0. 

We drove Friday afternoon, about a 5 hour drive.  Left at naptime and all the kids slept for awhile. Then we put some shows on the DVD player in our van.  I would like to personally thank whoever came up with that idea.  Our rule is we only use it on a long trip, and it works like a dream.

Here are Amelia, Sam, and Kathryn after waking up on Saturday morning.  Amelia got to sleep in a crib which she thought was awesome.  So did I, since she couldn’t get out of it herself.

In the front yard.

Walking in the garden.  Yes, the garden!  It was so huge. 

We’re planning to marry off Amelia to Sam. 

And a picture of Charlie.  He is usually off doing his own thing.  In a few more months/years he and Daniel can play a lot.  They are only 5 months apart.

Saturday was the best day ever.  Amanda’s ward had a super Saturday of crafts and Amanda had signed me up for several things.  The dad’s took the kids to a park and the city for lunch.  Amanda and I spent several hours crafting, chatting, and eating her yummy cheesecake.  I had so much fun and I was in such a good mood the rest of the day/evening.  Darryl even commented on it.  So maybe I need to get out more.

This picture is feeding ducks at the park.  I heard they were as big as the kids.

Saturday night was the birthday party.  Some friends and relatives came over for the Bob the Builder Birthday Bash.  There was dinner, presents, cake/cupcakes, and lots of fun and running around for the kids.  Amelia had been waiting all day to eat a cupcake.  When we said it was time she dropped what she was doing and ran full speed to the kitchen, slipping on the way.  Unphased, she got up and I think she was still the first to reach for a cupcake. 

We like this picture of Chris and Daniel.  Staring contest.

We went to church with them Sunday, and ended up driving home Sunday evening.  We’re so glad we made the trip and had a great time!  One of the funniest things was Sam calling each of us “Melanchuk”.  He would say, “Hey, Melanchuk, come look at this!”  It was so cute.

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These books are hilarious.  Darryl and I just love them.  The kids do, too.  We checked one out from the library, then another time we found more.  So we have been getting them whenever we find them.  They are great for keeping Amelia’s attention, only a couple words or one sentence on a page.  They always have a nice ending.  And they are quite funny.  And Darryl and I think the two characters are totally like Kathryn and Amelia.  Kathryn is the elephant, Amelia is the pig.  Particularly in “Today I Will Fly”.  So that makes it even funnier.

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Amelia started calling Daniel Little Buddy, and it is so cute, I like to call him that sometimes, too.  I love it when Kathryn and Amelia are excited to see Daniel when he wakes up, or to play with him.  He loves to play with them, too.  Unfortunately he is so mobile now, that he will get all of their food off their little princess table, mess up puzzles, rip books, etc.

Here are a few pictures of him.  I think he is just so cute, but I’m not sure what to do with his hair.  He has Darryl’s hairline already.  I’ve tried combing it with water and mousse, but it wouldn’t stay. 

Recently cut his 8th tooth, and boy are they sharp!  I’ve been bitten several times on my arms, legs, and even stomach.  He also loves to stand, holding on to things, and cruise along the couch.  But when he wants to get somewhere, he is quite the fast crawler.  Better than either of the girls were, I think.

And of course he loves the computer!

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It rained much of this week.  We really had such a nice September, so I guess I am ready.  I took the kids shopping this morning to Value Village (second hand place).  We had great luck!  We ended up getting umbrellas for each of the girls (they were only 99 cents!), rain coats, and boots.  I was so pleased that we found each item for both girls, and at great prices.  I figured we would step in lots of puddles and such this year.  They were so excited to use their new things.  We didn’t get home until lunch time, then naps/quiet time.  By the afternoon the sun had come out and dried up most of the puddles.  We went on a walk anyway, and the girls found a couple of mud puddles that they splashed in. 

While waiting for the other kids to wake up, Kathryn had fun with the new things.

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