Dentist Check-up

It is always a great feeling, after you have your teeth cleaned!

It is even a better feeling when they announce...NO CAVITIES!

The kids have theirs next week,

hopefully their check-ups are just as positive?!?!?!

Out with the OLD, In with the NEW

For some reason, first thing Saturday morning

I had the urge to take down all the Halloween Stuff.

So out it went...

And in came the NEW simple fall decor.

I got this plaque from my friends boutique

a few weeks ago and thought this was a

good time to put it up.

And I really do have so much to

BE grateful for...

look at these glowing angels all ready for church

bright and early!

We normally don't have church until 1:00pm,

but our friends were blessing their baby in Orem

@ 9:00am(a good hour drive from our house).

I got up at 6:00 (or so I thought) to shower,

and when I came out of the room (Quinn had been

up early doing school stuff), he reminded me it

was only 5:30 not 6:30! What could I do at that point,

since I was already showered and WIDE awake?

Just make sure we were ready to go on time,

and now I had PLENTY of time to do it!

Halloween-Round 2

We had planned to take the kids out trick-or-treating around 5:30.

Well Quinn got held up somewhere, and the kids

could not wait ANY LONGER, so I took them out

(QUinn caught up with us shortly after). Because we rushed out

the door so quickly I didn't get nearly the pics

I would have like to. I even forgot my camera at first

and had to race back inside to get it b4 Kaipo was

half way down the street. Darth Vader was ready to sit down

and have a snack of candy after the first house! After about 6-8 houses Ash had had enough,

so QUinn took him home (after picking up some pizza)

and they were the candy passer-outer at our house,

while I took the other 2 around the rest of the neighborhood,

or at least until Kaipo had to go Potty (of course).

Luckily we had been to enough houses by that point, so we (or I)

called it good!! Their treat bags were full enough and now

the kids could pass out the candy.

Is it me, or is Halloween just not as exciting as

when WE were kids???

Maybe its just cuz I am NOT a kid anymore!

But I just try my best to make it FUN

& memorable for my kids.

And oh the excitement that those words bring...

*TRICK OR TREAT*

Hope you had a good one!!

A.M.

I thought it would be nice to have school off today, and not deal with the craziness of everything for Halloween ALL IN ONE DAY, but maybe I was wrong. First of all-since it is a Holiday, the kids expect mucho excitement, but it is hard to find entertainment that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, of which we haven't already done! So we started off our day (after my LATE morning run of course), with a request from Ame. She wanted a Halloween Breakfast! Well since Mom didn't really plan ahead for that one, I had to pull some tricks out of my hat (or the pantry). Luckily things always seem more appealing with food coloring and cookie cutters. So we had pumpin spiced & shaped french toast, cranberry/orange muffins (which I happen to have a mix of in the pantry), and witches brew (green colored apple juice). The kids were pleasantly suprised and happily filled! We have watched movies, played games, had a picnic & LONG playtime in the park and now are just waiting...for the anti-climatic (for me anyway) part of the whole day...Trick-OR-Treating!

But I am sure it will be ultra fun for the kids, and we will have lots of candy, pictures and memories... to remember this Halloween night!!

Halloween-Round 1

In our school district, the teachers get a "prep day" on

Halloween (lucky them), so today was the day of

celebration for all!

Here is Ame as an Indian Princess

(THANK YOU sooo much grandma and grandpa-

you couldn't have picked out a better costume)

Kaipo as Jengo Fett, from Star Wars
Ame got the special priviledge of being the
"teacher helper" today, which meant she got to
lead the class in their parade around the school.
The girl directly in front of Ame is dressed
in the costume most people imagined, when
AMe said she was an Indian Girl
(she finally had to start saying a girl from india,
but even then some still didn't know what she meant )
After their parade, they did all sorts of fun activities;
this one was making spider cookies
(Ame came home sad because she put her cookie in her
cubbie to save and someone ate it-HOW RUDE, huh)
They also did pumpkin bowling, musical chairs-but they
were tomb stones, races and a few different activities.
I stayed with Ame part of the time,
then raced over to Kaipo's pre-school
to help his teacher. When I got there they
were getting ready to
eat donuts on string w/no hands.
Ms. Michelle read fun Halloween stories,
and made witches brew.

Another fun game was pass the pumpkin,

while the music played, and who it stopped on

GOT A PRIZE.

I am so grateful I could be there with both of my kids,

on their day of extra fun!

Quinn didn't tell me he had given his class a take home test,

which meant he got to stay home today. That sure made the

juggle of today AND Ash, much easier!

**Thanks for the surprise honey**

Happy Halloween to All!

pictures and ducks

Tonight Ame's hula group met to take pictures.

Ame has had a stomach ache ALL day,

but she was a trooper and went to put on a smile anyway! They were told to wear their favorite costume, which

looks quite nice with the whole group(shows off all the costumes),

but I don't think looks quite as good in their small groups pics.

While we were waiting, we walked down to the river

and found ALL these ducks!

As soon as we got close they were swarming us-

I guess their way of begging for food

(too bad we didn't have any).

Ame got scared and ran away, but Kaipo is a boy of

NO FEAR!

pumpkin decorating

Instead of carving pumpkins this year we decided to paint them.

This may be another NEW tradition, because it is so much more

enjoyable for the kids! THEY can actually decorate the pumpkins.

The kids decided to have a witch and a pirate this year.

Kaipo gave the ideafor his, but mom and dad painted

the majority of the pirate,most of his painting is on the back.

On the other hand, Ame did paint most of hers.

They are saying, HAPPY HALLOWEEN, hence the wierd

expression on AMe's face!

The cute hanging pumpkin spider was made

by Kaipo at preschool.

Ame really wanted a hat for her witch,

so mom ran to the $$ store this morning a luckily found one.

Now they are complete and decorating the front porch,

awaiting all the trick-or-treater in just a few days!

another empty space

This girl is losing teeth all over her mouth, and is breaking the Tooth Fairies Bank! On our way home from Provo last night, Ame was like... this thing sure is wobbly. I think I'm gonna pull it out. I gave her a napkin for better ease to grip the tooth, and sure enough she pulled it right out! That was tooth #5. She still has one more loose tooth in her mouth. Who knows how soon SHE will pull that one out!

Color Me Mine

Ame's cousin Ella had her 7 year birthday party at a place called Color Me Mine, which is a paint-your-own ceramics studio. It was a very cool place, with unique pieces such as vases and cookie jars, platters and bowls, dolphins and fairies, dogs and cats, you name it. For the party, the girls had a choice between a mermaid or a fairy. They got to choose what colors they wanted to use and away they went. Ame chose a fairy. In a few days (after they have been baked) their masterpieces will be ready to be picked up. Quinn's sister, Haruko ,was very kind to let her daughter Ella invite all the girls from her 1st grade class, plus her cousins. This was one loud and crazy group! But what a great idea for a young girls birthday party.
And of course, HSM was the cake choice.

We sure love cousin Ella and think she is such a cutie!

Reflections

Take a few minutes to reflect on our Savior. Go here...
http://mabrystudios.typepad.com/reflections_of_christ/
thanks Katie (and Julie) for sharing this with me.
I have been touched!

HSM3 surprise

So a few days ago, I decided to SURPRISE Ame and Kaipo,

by getting on Fandango and buying tickets for

High School Musical 3.

I told them I had a surpise for them on Friday,

but they would have to wait until then to find out what it was.

Kaipo hated the idea of not knowing,

and Ame just asked a lot of questions

tryingto figure it out!

I think Ame did figure it out, but they

were both super excited anyway!!

We had some time to waste, so we hit the arcade.
This was Kaipo's first time in a Movie Theatre.
We don't have dollar movies close, but
I figured as much as these two are into this show,
I could slurge and take them on a date!
And the show did NOT disappoint.
Kaipo was out of his seat most of the time dancing,
and Ame was trying hard to sing along to all the NEW songs!

It is so fun to make your kids day, especially with

things they don't get to experience very often!

FORE!!

Quinn played in his PGA Professional Ability Test (PAT) yesterday. Below are the 3 others that were in his group. He told me about his day and about the other guys who were pros at golf courses in the state, and then there was him. Each of them had taken golf lessons and had been golfing serious since they were kids...and then, once again, there was Quinn, whose only lessons have been taking video of his swing in our garage.

In order to become a PGA Professional the 1st step is to shoot a score of 75 at a golf course, in order to qualify. I was soo impressed, when he called me afterwards, to hear he was able to shoot a 69 and easily qualify. On top of that, he tied for 3rd place out of 40 in his round, with the winner shooting 66.

As for now, he is not sure if he wants to become a professional. Especially when our Stake President, who is a golf pro and owner of a local golf course, has counseled Quinn that a pro is so busy running the course that he rarely gets time to play, which is what Quinn really likes to do. Besides that, our Stake President says it costs about $10,000 to become fully certified.

Right now, Quinn has gotten so good so fast that he still is thinking about what he could do if he actually focused on golf more than what he is now doing. I don't know what the future holds for Quinn, but to see him succeed to this level, in something HE is so passionate about, makes me so proud of him. If only I had this much passion and drive about something! Way to go honey!!

TP game

I had a few people ask me about the TP/camping game I mentioned playing at our grandma social. You may have heard of it already. It is the one where you pass around a toilet paper roll and tell everyone to pretend we are taking an over-night camping trip and to tear off as much TP as they think they will need. Then they have to count how many squares of TP they have and that is how many 'things' they have to share with the group about themselves. It is quite funny when some keep winding and winding the toilet paper roll, then end up with A LOT to share! It is a real fun game and a great opportunity to learn about the others in your group!!

Some get real personal and others go through simple things like their kids names & other quite easy things to share.

FHE Treat

We have Family Home Evening on Sundays,

because QUinn teaches on Monday nights.

After a great lesson on

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy,

from the kids, we enjoyed THIS treat!

The kids inhaled their candied-caramel apples,

b4 mom thought of taking a picture.

We found Milky Way, Twix and M&M's

to make a great candy coating for the apples!

It seems as though we are adding NEW traditions,

along the journey of our lives.

2 definite keepers from this Halloween Season

(so far) are:

The Pumpkin Patch

and

Homemade Candy Apples

LOVED it!

Quinn and I aren't real consistant with date night,

with each other. We are more regular with our kids,

maybe cuz it is easier for one of us to go on a little

outting with one of the kids, then to get a babysitter

and MAKE ALONE TIME (Sad, I know).

But we did it tonight,

and everything about it was superb!

We try to use our happenings book,

as much as possible,

So we tried a new place and we LOVED it!!

For anyone living locally it was:

Rickenbacker's Bistro (4282 South 1650 west)

It is a bit pricey, but soo worth it, especially with the

discount from happenings-buy one get one free.

We got awesome appetizers and even better entree's.

NO pictures to show for our great evening,

but what more does a girl need than...

a date with HER MAN

and an oh so satified belly!!

I came home with a BIG smile on my face

and a much happier mommy!

thanks again gma and gpa Asplund

I FINALLY spent some of my birthday $$,

and wanted to show what YOU bought me.Hungry Hipp0 Game

High School Musical Puzzle

mini Operation Game

Hannah Montana Singing Microphone

I saved a little $$ to buy some clothes too.

Thanks again and I LOVE YOU!!!

What is YOUR take??

So I was having a conversation with a close friend of mine about the topic of "sleep-overs". It came up because Ame had one last night at our GOOD friends house, the Robinson's. The friend I was discussing this with said her husband is Sooo against it, even with cousins! I said that Ame has only slept over with grandparents, cousins and her friend Savannah (or them at our house). Now I wouldn't just let my kids go to ANY friends house, especially one that I didn't know REALLY well, but to say NO to the whole idea?! My sisters stake actually brought this up in their stake conference and said NO SLEEPOVERS! I do understand the reasoning behind it, sometimes, but I think it should be left up to the parents discretion. Sleepovers bring back so many fond memories of MY childhood, both as I was younger and even as I grew older. I know that times are very different now days, than they were 20+ years ago (man that makes me feel old), but I think saying NO *period* may be just a little too extreme!!

What are YOUR thoughts???????

Adopted Grandma Social

Our Young Women adopted grandma's in our ward,

and, as the Personal Progress Advisor, I was given the

opportunity to plan a get-to-know-you social.

I was sad I didn't get any pictures from the actual

event, but we had a great time.

Had simple, but fun fall decorations

Played: 2 truths & 1 lie and

T.P./camping/tell about yourself-game

Frosted halloween cookies

Ate LOTS of treats

Drank hot cocoa & wassail

The grandmas, YW and leaders had fun getting

to know each other, socializing and becoming even sweeter!

computer time

We found some old CD's of toddler games that Ame

used when she was younger, and this reader rabbit

one has become Kaipo's favorite!

He is always asking to play it now.

That means we have one more person

fighting for time on the computer!

But I am excited for his new found interest,

of which he feels VERY proud.

I AM GETTING BIGGER, he says :)

Family Night

My sister and I decided it would be fun to ALL

go visit a Pumpkin Patch for Family Night.

The first place Karli got an address was JUST

an open field of pumpkins. We were looking for

a little more than that, and at this place we

found a great time!!

It was SUPER cold though. I had brought beenies and gloves

for the kids, but was grateful that QUinn decided to

stop at Walmart on our way (even though I didn't want to)

and pick up a few extras.

We got to take a hayride out to another pumkin patch.

Which was quite the adventure, having just had a storm.

The tractor driver kept teasing that he was stuck in the

mud. I am very glad he was just joking!

**********************

Here's LeAnne with her cute family (minus Jason).

She was brave to come along with all 4 of her kids, without

Jason. I was very impressed at how well behaved her

children were. They're such good examples!

We missed you, Jason!

Kaipo talked this kids ear off the whole time!

His family owns the place, and Kaipo had soo

many questions for him.
This boy was very cute with Kaipo.

I told Kaipo he was the expert, so he still think

that is his name.

Here's Kaipo and Ryan having fun in the mud!
We are all in search for the perfect pumpkin!
Kaipo is sitting on the pumpkin he has claimed.

Ash was soo cold, but still had fun (I think).

He wanted to get down and run, but his boots were

just a little too big and kept coming off.

Our tour guide let everyone take a guess at the

weight of the largest pumpkin ever(between 500-2000lbs)

It was somewhere around 1600 and LeAnne guessed

1500, so she won and got to take an extra special pumpkin

home as a prize (Jake is keeping special watch over it).

SO now we have a large collection of pumpkins

decorating our home (some from the 1st

pumpkin patch visit and the rest from last night).