Halloween

We carved pumpkins for FHE a few days before Halloween. The kids were able to do a lot of it themselves this year which is great since carving pumpkins isn't my favorite activity.

Halloween was a busy day- costume parade and parties at school, and then straight to piano after school. When the girls got home we had our usual pizza dinner and then got ready to trick or treat.

Brooke was a Hogwarts student, Kaylee a cat, Emma a vampire, and Austin a ninja (Kai from ninjago).

Kaylee and Brooke went trick or treating with friends so Austin and Emma went out with Jake and I. After one street Austin said "this is boring, all you do is walk around and get candy." Emma and I forced him to keep going until we were all too cold.

Kaylee had her friends come back to our house after they were done trick or treating and watch a movie- The Watchers in the Woods. It wasn't a scary movie but was suspenseful enough they were all freaked out. It was a good night. 

More of McCall

Friday morning we went to some stores while we waited for the weather to warm up. The kids enjoyed all the shops and wanted to buys something at every store we went in. The most impressive was the Christmas Store.

Per Jake's request we checked out the fish hatchery. It was not too thrilling this time of year.

After the hatchery we tried to go on a hike. We had trouble finding it and then when we did we found signs warning of bears in the area and a closed gate. We decided to skip goose creek falls and tried for a different hike only to find the road covered in snow and slippery.

We stopped at the ski resort instead to play in the snow. We didn't have snow boots since we thought all the snow had melted (it had melted in McCall). Brooke got really angry about her feet getting wet. She was also mad about the snowball fight we all had and got into one of her grumpy moods which is hard on all of us. She yelled and complained and whined for quite a while- Emma usually follows her lead and our nice vacation seemed doomed for a while.

Eventually they both got it out of their systems. Jake and I are still trying to figure out how to deal with them when they get in those moods. It's no fun for anyone.

Back in McCall after our failed hikes we stopped at a grocery store (and bought donuts) then went to the state park and threw rocks in Payette Lake. It was really warm there on the beach and the kids were wading and skipping rocks (Austin is really good at it). We also built ladybug houses and roads for a few lady bugs we found. It was nice to have everyone in a good mood again.

After dinner we found another beach to watch the sunset and enjoy being outside before the cold front came in.

Saturday morning we hung out at the condo in the morning (lots more "tv" shows were done in the wall cut out) and packed up and cleaned. After that we went to all the stores again where all the kids picked out a souvenir with their allowance money. Austin picked a sling shot, Kaylee and Brooke got t-shirts, and Emma picked a unicorn with rainbow hair.

The kids were fantastic on the drive home so all in all it was a good family trip.

McCall Trip

The kids didn't have school Oct. 24 or 25 so we took a family trip up to McCall.  On our way up through the winding canyon roads Austin got car sick (which has never happened before) and puked all over himself, his seat and a few other things near him. We pulled over and cleaned him up as best we could until we got to town to buy a few more supplies to clean him up.

Once everything was taken care of we went to Gold Fork Hot Spring. Luckily we got there early enough that we almost has the place to ourselves for a while.

It was so nice to sit in the warm water and enjoy nature.

After swimming we went the rest of the way to McCall and checked in to our condo. I made dinner while the kids explored and unpacked.

The favorite parts of the condo were this cupboard in the master bedroom that the kids kept hiding in and the cut out in the wall that looked out into the living room. It became the TV and they did news casts and dance and singing shows.

There was also a beautiful view right outside the back door. The kids enjoyed playing by the river and we were sad that we forgot fishing supplies.

After dinner we all (except Austin) went out to explore before it got dark.

Fall Fun

Our ward had trunk or treat a few weeks before Halloween and the Beehive class (I'm the Beehive adviser) made decorations and props for my trunk. It was fun having a "Beehive car" where they all hung out. 

Another Sunday field trip to Table Rock...

It was pretty chilly up at the top.

We were hoping to see a lot of colorful leaves from the top but there was still a lot of green.

A few days later our neighborhood was in full color! I love the fall leaves!!

Our Young Women in Excellence this year was a Father/Daughter activity. The girls and dads played a lot of fun games together and talked about setting goals and celebrating what they have accomplished in personal progress and their lives. 

October

The biggest change for us in October was me working! I started a nursing refresher course in November last year and finished it up and took the test back in June. It has taken a while to get a clinical set up but I finally started October 7 at St. Alphonsus Cancer Care Clinic.

I think I made a pretty good first impression when I passed out the first day during a bone marrow biopsy.... I started feeling really off, and having tunnel vision, lightheaded, and tingling so went to leave the room and opening the door is the last thing I remembered. Apparently I passed out right outside the room... next thing I knew people were asking me if I was ok and I was really confused. Someone went to get me ice and while they were gone I puked in a garbage can. All in all it was not my best moment. I'd never passed out before!

Things got better after that... I was able to start IV's (13 years after I'd last done it), draw blood through cancer ports, take patients to their rooms. It was good experience with some great nurses. I was really nervous being there and doing things I hadn't done in years. 

It's been an adjustment for the kids- I've been gone before they have left for school. They've had to get ready by themselves and Emma has been to lots of friends houses after school (half day kindergarten has been a challenge.) They've done really well with it all.

Once beautiful Sunday afternoon we went to Albertson Park to enjoy the leaves...

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit Oct. 13-15. I had clinical hours to get in so I wasn't around much. They got the kids to school, cleaned my house and did some other errands for me. The only fun thing we did with them was go for a walk on the greenbelt.