My "go-to" photographer, Lindsay, moved to AUSTRALIA this past year. Seriously, Australia?? I found a friend here in our ward who takes photos as a hobby so I asked her to shoot some of my kids for our annual Christmas photos. She did a great job and got some cute shots and was WAY more patient than I would have been.
We took the kids to Vasquez Rocks, a county park about 20 miles from our house. We took a picnic lunch and did a little light hiking after that. The kids LOVED IT. Jackson was so cute. He kept saying "I like this place Mommy!" over and over. We tried hiking to the top but I got too scared with the kids so we got to the top, almost. The climb down was a bit trickier than the way up. I guess we have deprived our kids of having an outdoorsy lifestyle with my strict "NO CAMPING" policy. Maybe we should make a few exceptions??? We'll have to see if I can find any campgrounds with showers, flush toilets and beds.
About a month after school started, the kids came home and told me that they had eye exams at school. I didn't really think anything of it until I got a letter in the mail a few weeks later that said Allison didn't pass her exam and that she needed to be taken for a comprehensive eye exam. We did that last week and sure enough, Allie is far-sighted. On Saturday she and I went to pick out glasses. These are the ones she liked the best. Doesn't she look cuter, smarter and older?
We have had a Halloween extravaganza at our house this weekend. On Friday, we had the school Boo Fest, the big carnival the school puts on every Halloween. I got the kids dressed and took them outside our front door to take some pictures. As I turned on my camera, I heard a woman's voice coming from the inside of our neighbor's house. We couldn't actually see her voice; just hear her directing our every move. "Stand up kids. Sit down kids. Take one of each of them by themselves. Have the little boy stand on the step. Make sure they are all smiling, etc. etc. " This is why Jackson is looking off in another direction with a puzzled expression in some of the shots. The kooky lady was talking to us the entire time, and we couldn't actually see her. We escaped and went to the carnival where the kids (not the mom) had a blast.
Today, Rachel had a costume party at one of her friend's house. IN PALMDALE. Lance took Rachel and Jackson. From what Lance said, they didn't have that great of a turnout for the party. Perhaps because Palmdale is 35 miles away from where all the kids you invited actually live??
Allie's entire class went to a musical version of Click, Clack, Moo. It was really cute. It was only an hour so the kids paid attention and laughed the whole time. Note to self: take the kids to more plays. It is fun.
Tonight was our ward's Trunk or Treat. WOW! People told me that our ward takes the fall/winter holidays very seriously. They weren't kidding. It was a Trunk or Treat to beat all Trunk or Treats. The activities committee must have been planning it since the day after Halloween last year.
I think that's it. Whew! I'm tired! And it isn't even Halloween yet.
I can't believe that my little Rachel turned 10 today. It doesn't seem like it has been 10 years since we brought her home from the hospital to our little apartment in West LA. It seems like yesterday that Lance would take her for drives to the airport to try and get her to go to sleep.
We are so happy to have Rachel be a part of our family. Here are a few of the things that we love about Rachel:
• She does everything with enthusiasm: School, Piano, Singing to the radio at the top of her lungs, and even fighting with her sister.
• She is almost always happy. Take it from someone who has a "glass half empty" outlook on life, it is refreshing to have someone around who looks on the bright side of things.
• She is very friendly and helpful.
• She loves little kids.
• She is a great big sister.
• She loves everything about the gospel.
• She is a nice person. In a world of not so nice people, she stands out.
I feel very grateful to be Rachel's mom. I have seen her grow from the fattest, cutest baby into the beautiful girl she is today. Happy Birthday Rachie-Roo!
For years now, Lance and I have taken our kids up to the mountains to go to a Halloween Festival. We get up early on a Saturday, jump on the 10 Freeway and drive over an hour to get there. Since we moved, we found out that we have Lombardi Ranch about two miles up the road from us. They have a great Halloween Festival every year complete with petting zoo, train, hay AND pony rides (which, sadly, Rachel has grown too big for,) corn maze, live country music bands, crafts, and of course millions of pumpkins (well, perhaps not MILLIONS, but a real lot.) The kids had a great time. Who knew that we live just two short miles away from farm country? Our LA friends tease us that we do, but we didn't think it was actually true until yesterday.
The kids and another distant "cousin."
Rachel sporting her new haircut, Jackson sporting his adorable dimple, and Allison, her cute smile.
The kids had the entire week off of school for what is called "Fall Break" in these parts. We never had a "Fall Break" in the LA Unified, so this was new for us. I didn't really want to spend all week home alone with the kids so we called Aunt Jill, packed up and went to San Diego. Our Arizona cousins were there being watched while their parents were on a cruise so, bonus, we got so see them as well. We went to the San Diego Zoo on Friday. Here are the pictures. Can you tell which ones are the monkeys and which ones are the kids? We'll let you decide.
