October recap: bugs, frogs, and pumpkins

I don't know where this girl gets it from, but Lily has aways had a love of bugs. We have stink bugs in our house and whenever she sees one, she insists on holding it.

We were outside one day in October and Lily spotted this monstrosity:

Of course she insisted on holding it.

The fact that it was huge and spiny didn't seem to phase her at all. I think this bug is called a squash beetle, but I'm still not sure.

I usually spend most of October working on costumes, but since George and I were going to be out of town for Halloween and I was a bit tired from helping plan the Allred family reunion, we decided to purchase costumes for the kids. They all quickly decided on fun, easy costumes, but Lily insisted on being Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb. Okay, so maybe I'll make just one...

The start:

I made it totally out of foam and fabric because I wanted it to be light and comfortable.

It wasn't finished in time to wear at our gym's Trunk or Treat, so she made do with Cole's shark costume from a couple years ago:

Lance recycled his Minecraft Zombie costume, Jude was a ninja and Cole was a Ninja Turtle again (although his costume was a tad too small).

We had a fun time at the Trunk or Treat! We even decorated our trunk pirate-themed. George was working that day and missed it. :(

Cole having a private dance party:

And when did Christmas decorations appear before Halloween? The stores were all littered with various Christmas displays starting at the beginning of the month. While I wasn't a huge fan, Cole and Lily sure enjoyed seeing all the lights. Their favorite thing ever was this little automated snowman that had a diorama inside of it. The icing on the cake? There was a train that was carrying Santa that chugged around the base to Christmas tunes.

Every time we went to Costco, they insisted on watching it for at least 5 minutes before we could continue our shopping.

October was very warm for being fall and we enjoyed a lot of time outside. It was cool enough that the mosquitos weren't quite as annoying as usual which made it even better!

Jude and Sage, our neighbor, have become fast friends. They are in the same class at school and live only a few houses apart. It's pretty cute to see them together.

Lily loving the swings.

Jude giving Mommy a ride in a wagon around the park. Strong boy!

Jude had a Spanish night at school where we got to see him and his class perform dances and singing in Spanish. It was fun to watch the kids get so into it, and to meet the classmates he talks so much about. His favorite people in his class are Sage, Hunter, and Jameson.

Singing!

We topped that night off by eating dinner off the food trucks they had parked outside the school. Nothing like greasy Mexican tacos off the back of a truck!

While playing at a friend's house one day after school, Cole discovered this cute little toad:

We had a good time watching him before we let him go in the woods.

Lily is old enough to understand a lot of what goes on and she was really getting excited about Halloween. Or maybe the candy.

Okay, definitely the candy.

Lance's dad sent me this picture one day when he dropped Lance off for school.

Looking awfully dapper, guy!

Cole has been very interested in Legos recently and build this "pirate ship" all by himself! I was impressed! It has a sail and even a wheel at the helm. I see engineering in this kid's future.

A few days before Halloween, we carved our pumpkins. 

Lily wasn't too sure what to think about it, but insisted on doing a lot of it herself.

Jude hard at work cutting the top off:

I helped Cole with his. He wanted a train pumpkin. Of course.

Lance has been really into a show called "My Little Ponies" recently. I think his cousin Calvin got him hooked, or maybe Aunt Amy who is also a huge fan. Either way, Lance's pumpkin was to have Rainbow Dash's cutie mark on it.

Dad jumped in to help out Lily who wanted a ghost face.

Lily's finished pumpkin:

Cole's pumpkin:

Jude finally gave in and let Daddy help him with his:

Three finished pumpkins:

Lance spent the night at his dad's house that night, but finished his pumpkin after school the next day:

Nice!


Still working on Lily's costume. I covered the foam in fleece which took some patience, but I finally was able to piece it together without too many bumps or gaps.

Bender enjoys keeping me company late at night while I'm working on projects.

Cole modeling the fit:

He has a tail! Almost done!

Finally ready! Lily wore it for the first time at our ward's Trunk or Treat. She was very excited to wear it for about 15 minutes, but then opted for her condensed costume: a teal shirt with a tail sewn on.

Jude and Lance were running around collecting candy the whole time, so I didn't manage to get a picture of them. We ended up getting Cole a costume that fit better and he loved it.

Love it!

Celebrating Lance's Birthday at Busch Gardens

Lance turned 10 on September 14th! We had cake with family a couple days earlier, but we celebrated again that night by taking him to his dinner of choice: Hibachi Grill. Cole and Lily were hanging out with Grandma and GiGi up in Ashburn (my mom offered to watch them for a couple days so I could finish the book I was working on for the Allred family reunion), so it was just the four of us.

Most years, we do a party with lots of friends, but with the reunion coming up and life just being busy, I managed to convince Lance that this year we should go somewhere instead of doing a party at home. We decided to do Hallow-Scream at Busch Gardens with Callie, Bryce, Killian and Kendall.

The original plan was to go with just Lance and his buddies/cousins, but the day we were supposed to go, it was hurricaning, so we postponed and went on October 17th. As it worked out, Callie and Bryce were unable to make it, we couldn't find anyone to watch the younger kids, so it ended up being our whole family with Killian and Kendall. It was a beautiful day and ended up being as fun as we had hoped.

Waiting in line. Cole brought his sword to fight off the zombies that would be popping out later that night.

Loch Ness with the big kids! Lance was thrilled to have his friends there.

While George was taking the big kids on some of the rollercoasters, I took the little ones on some of the kiddie rides.

You can get a feel for the Halloween decorations they had all over the park. It was rather impressive!

Lily riding with her big brother:

Teacups! These were so much fun, although I think my spinning days are quickly coming to an end. Getting old is the worst.

Waiting is hard to do...

Yes! Finally our turn!

Daddy did an amazing job. I don't think I've ever spun so fast.

They started out like this:

...and by the end of the ride, both Cole and Lily looked like this:

Didn't seem to phase Jude much. Love that kid. :) 

Train ride!! Cole's favorite ride by far.

They really were having a good time.

There we go!

In "Italy", they have a few artisan shops and the kids had a great time trying out these masks.

You look fabulous, Jude.

This mask was incredible, but at over $100, it stayed in the shop.

Dragon Land. I would have thought the big kids would think this kiddie area was boring, but they loved it as much as the little ones.

Lily learned a new trick:

It's hard to see, but she's swinging from the bannister. She thought it was so fun and loved the attention.

At dusk, the scary stuff started coming out. They had creatures all over the park and attendants dressed in costume would jump out and try to scare you. It was so much fun! They got me good a few times, which the kids thought was great! All the kids did a great job and weren't too phased. Jude even went into a haunted house with George while I took the rest of the kids on other rides.

Glow sticks for the kids

Getting a last few rides in before leaving the park: hooray for Apollo's Chariot! 

Poor Jude. He pooped out first. 

And what better way to spend our 7 year anniversary than hanging with the kids getting scared by individuals like this one?

Happy, happy Birthday, Lance! I had a wonderful time spending the day with you and riding the rides together. I'm so grateful you are part of our family. I can't imagine our lives without you!