October happenings

It's been one busy month - packed with General Conference, Stake Conference, Primary Program prep, the birth of a new nephew/cousin, Spencer's birthday, field trips, parent/teacher conferences, dentist and doctor appointments, and lots fall festivities! I'm always amazed at how much can happen in just one month!

I've got lots of random pics from this month that I don't want to go undocumented, so prepare yourself for a photo overload (and probably what should be 5 different posts)!

Our joy school group has been trying to go on different field trips every Friday. The first Friday of October was my turn to plan and since it was "D" week I scheduled a trip to our Dentist office (the one Spence has been going to since he was a kid). The kids had fun learning proper brushing techniques:

Even younger siblings got a turn!

Then they got a sneak peak into what an exam is like - goodie bags included! Dr Pez did a great job with the kids! They had a lot of fun, and it totally prepared Elle for her dentist appointment the following week (which she was a total champ for).

Crafts for the month have been out of control! I hang some, but then toss the rest (which I always feel super guilty about). Here's a couple Elle's come home with:

Madi celebrated Red Ribbon week at school and had something different to dress-up like everyday. Wish I would have taken pics each day- here's one from 70's (hippie) day:

I got a hair cut on the 16th - chopped off way more than I was originally planning on.

Can't really tell what it looks like from the front, so here's my attempt to get a side view: 

I miss being able to pull it up into a ponytail, but since that's all I'd ever do with it, I'm enjoying the change! This is the night after I cut my hair - Elle's mouth was killing her and I was trying my hardest to get her to eat or drink anything (with no success).  

We had our ward trunk-or-treat on the 18th which was way too early in my opinion! It totally threw me off the rest of the month - felt like Halloween should be over. Also, it was right when Elle had her canker and she wasn't eating or talking that day. I'm super excited for her to have a trick or treating do- over! We were thrilled that Christin, Lainey, and Josh joined us for the night!

Last week Elle had a school field trip to Underwood Farms pumpkin patch. I was a lot of fun, but a lot of work. Elle just wanted to run around with her friend Brooke, and I really just wanted some good photo moments with Elle and Cal. Ya, didn't get any of those. Instead I spent the morning lugging around our three pumpkins and following Elle around, trying to motivate Cal to catch up (he was having a great time relaxing and enjoying the scene)!

I had a great time watching Cal search for the perfect pumpkin . . .

. . . and then had a good laugh while he struggled to take it with him!

I was glad to meet Elle's good little friend - it's always nice to finally put a face to a name.

We had a fun hayride and it was good to get to know some of the other parents.

Then this past weekend, I really wanted to have some family fun! So, Saturday morning we headed to to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Since Boppi's still in San Antonio helping Joc with new baby Collin, we had Grandpa Al join us. Always a treat!

I was loving how the the entire Zoo was decorated for Halloween! Made me feel a little better about not getting many pics from our pumpkin patch field trip. They had a sweet maze set up for the kids. . .

. . . and a scary zoo cemetery! 

And it was nice that all the animals were out. We got a good show!

It was mostly just nice spending time as a family (even if some were opposed to picture taking).

After the zoo we stopped by Padaro Grill for a late lunch/early dinner. Christin, Lainey, and Josh joined us and we ended up staying for a good 2+ hours enjoying the gorgeous views, perfect weather, and a relaxing day!

Phew! All that, and the month isn't even over! More Halloween fun to come!!