Halloween 2014

During the month of October we had one weekend morning with a break in the rain so we took the opportunity to go a local pumpkin patch to get in the holiday spirit.

These were our two attempts at a picture of the family in the farm truck...

apparently it was not meant to be :)

Then it was time to carve our pumpkins...

 Someone wasn't sure at the beginning but then decided she loved it!

 The first couple of handfuls are always a bit icky :)

       

       

The final products

A kitty, police officer and witch

Halloween Day was busy at schools as well.  Abi had a fun Halloween party and Brady's class had a field trip to Jubilee Farms.  As you can see, it was wet, muddy and cold but the kids still had fun picking out pumpkins and learning about the farm.  After a few hours though, everyone was ready to get back on the bus and head back to the warmth.

The world would be a better place if...

The kids have a program at school called ArtSmart which introduces them to art concepts and artists. Last week, Brady's Kindergarten class had their first lesson and it was to create a piece of work to possibly submit to a statewide art competition called Reflections.  This year's theme was "The world would be a better place if..." The kids were given crayons, colored pencils and glitter and set free to fill their canvases.  Unfortunately I did not see any of the works of art but I can only imagine after seeing a list of their ideas/comments.

C: Make jackets for animals and people

A: Throwing garbage in the recycle bin

R: Building a house for anybody

R: (Did not provide a comment to Mrs. S)

G: Because it is sunny and people can play. The rain and the sun make rainbows.

A: Making a machine that connects the Earth to astronauts and the rocket ships, so they can talk to their parents.

S: If there were unicorns and ponies people would be happy because they are so, so, so adorable.

E: Farms have horses and ponies for people to ride.

B: People could climb more mountains and find gems for decorations.

V: Mermaids swim and do beautiful things to make the world a better place.

C: You have to take care of animals.

A: By trading toys instead of buying new ones.

S: Recycle toys and garbage on the floor.

E: People can stay safe in fires if they can fly.

D: (Did not provide a comment to Mrs. S)
N: Beaches are fun to play.

Needless to say, we decided not to submit Brady's work for consideration! :)

Cutie Pie

Disneyland (again)!!!

As most of you know, we are big fans of Disneyland.  It is one of our favorite trips and I'm pretty sure Josh and I enjoy it just as much as (or perhaps even more than) the kids.  This time we decided to surprise Abi and Brady and didn't tell them about the trip until we were about 10 minutes from being picked up for the airport. 

We left Nattie at home with Grandma as the thought of standing in long lines with a sleep-deprived two-year old sounded more like torture than a fun vacation. Plus, I would put money on the fact that she had just about as much fun as we did being spoiled and having Grandma's undivided attention for 4 days! 

To make the trip even a bit more special, Arizona Grandma and Grandpa joined us and surprised the kids when we got to our hotel in California.  

As soon as we checked in, we headed down to the pool.

Next we all took a turn on the waterslide...

        

      

Then it was time to clean up and head to Downtown Disney and dinner at Goofy's Kitchen.

Of course we had to stop at the Lego Store for our boy.  I'm pretty sure he asked for one of each set while we were walking through the store :)

After a day of traveling and playing we are all starving for dinner.  Goofy's Kitchen is a character dining so the kids had fun getting autographs and pictures with some of their favorites!

The day we arrived was Mom's birthday so we had to get a picture of Goofy with the birthday girl. All the characters also sang Happy Birthday to her and brought some yummy dessert!

One of the funniest moment of our trip also came during our dinner.  As we were eating, Pluto came over to our table. As he was saying hi to the kids, Brady looks at him, totally serious and unannounced, and says "You think you're better than me?"  It soon became apparent that he was talking about Pluto's dancing abilities and was challenging him to a dance-off.  He then hopped off his chair and the following ensued...

I am still not exactly sure where that kid comes from...he is such a hoot!

And then it was back to the hotel for some well-deserved rest before a very early morning.

Day 2: Disneyland

One of our favorite rides was the Haunted Mansion.  

It was decorated inside and out as The Nightmare Before Christmas.

After a few more rides, we headed over to the Jedi Training Academy.  Thankfully both kids got picked to participate in the show.  They had fun learning the lightsaber moves and defeating Darth Vader and Darth Maul for the crowd!

Our Jedi(s) in Training

Brady practicing his moves before his battle against Darth Maul.

Abi versus Darth Vader

After lunch we hit up a few more rides, visited with some characters and watched a parade.

I love this picture of Abi and I on Splash Mountain! 

I'm not sure who the two people in front are but it made for a good picture :)

I wish I knew what Brady was saying to Fawn and Tinkerbell :)

To the end the night we had dinner at California Adventure and watched the World of Color show.

On our last day, we got up early once again and headed back to California Adventure.  

Our first stop was Cars Land!

We were all super impressed with not only the rides but the look and feel of Cars Land. 

It was definitely a highlight of our trip.  

Then it was on to more rides, characters and parades!

This was Brady's snack while watching the parade.  This picture does not even do justice to the mess we left behind on the street (not to mention on his hands, clothes, shoes!)

We then headed back for one more trip through Cars Land before our day was over. 

It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back and share it with Nattie!