Happy Halloween

Another Halloween has come and gone. Where does the time go? The kids had a great time. Anticipation is most of the fun. Now they have happy memories and enough candy to last until Christmas (Zac's observation, not mine). This year we had a cowgirl, a pink bunny, a sleepy head and a pirate. The celebrations began a whole week before we actually got out to trick or treat.
The Saturday before Halloween our ward had a carnival. They always make it such a fun night. The kids look forward to that night even more than trick or treating I think. We eat dinner, play games, have a costume parade and then a "trunk or treat" down the hall. I love it because it is all inside where it is warm and the kids have a blast.

Ally has the cutest little friend at church. She adores him and he does whatever she says and so it works out great for both of them. Joseph got them to pose with their prizes from the fish pond, plastic fangs! (Yeah for mom. All of the kids ended up with some. I think they will slowly "disappear.")

Brooklyn was not too sure about the party until she won a pink cupcake at the cake walk. Life was good after that, especially since Dad sat down with her and let her eat it right then.

Sariah loved every minute of running around with her friends. She made the rounds and visited all of her "people."

Later that week was the Halloween parade at school. I love our elementary school and how they make everything so fun for the kids. Zac enjoyed the parade and then was anxious to change out of his costume so that it would not get ruined before Halloween night. The costume made it just fine. On Halloween we enjoyed our visits with all of our grandmas and Emily and Chris. They all spoiled the kids rotten. I love that the kids got caught up in the magic of being a kid. This is my favorite time of year, probably because of the great childhood memories I associate with fall, like school starting, Halloween, the mountains turning red and orange, birthdays, crunchy leaves, Thanksgiving, and that slight chill in the air that means football is coming and so is the chance to wear your new school jeans. To me fall is contentment and the warmth of family. Who could ask for anything more?

Flying Zac

For the past few years we have celebrated fall/Halloween by going to a pumpkin patch with some friends. It has become a tradition that the kids in both families look forward to. Of course, there is much more to the pumpkin patch than just pumpkins. There is a maze, animals, a playground, a light display and the bounce house and slides. This is the kids' favorite part. We were too busy playing to take many pictures, but this one was too fun. You can see someone has written right on the slide telling the kids not to climb up this side. Maybe someone should add, "no flying off the slide." Zac is 100% boy and takes life head on. We love him and wouldn't have him any other way.

GOAL!

Ally played soccer this fall and I am finally ready for the official soccer post. We are not sure what drew her to soccer, but for two years now she has asked to play. In our city rec program you have to be 4 to play. This fall she was old enough at last. She was number 4 on the Boxers. She loved it. For those of you who have watched 4 and 5 year olds play soccer, you know it is more like bunch ball. The kids are really learning to actually kick the ball and not each other and to keep it all moving in the right direction. We had a ball (no pun intended) watching her play and learn. She always volunteered to throw the ball in or to kick it when the ref needed someone. (Note my lack of soccer knowledge. I have to admit I am more of a baseball mom, but I will learn.)



Ally had a great cheering section. Our family attended every game (except a when there were sick kids). Emily and Chris made it to a few games and so did Grandma, Grandpa and Nicole. I caught Grandpa and his Pal walking back to the car after a game. It was too cute.



Ally especially liked her turns as goalie. As you can see, she perfected her goalie stance. She actually did a pretty good job. I think goalie appealed to her because the expectations were a little clearer. She did get a few good kicks in on offense and even scored a goal.



And she was patient with all of her mom's picture taking and cheering on the sidelines. Way to go, Ally. You are my favorite soccer girl!



Here are some videos of Ally the goalie and a halftime interview with mom.

Just Doin' a Little Self Promotion

Wow! This is the first time I've posted on Amy's blog. She's done a great job, hasn't she? I know I'm always impressed by all she does.

For those of you who haven't yet, check out my writing blog at joeaveragewriter.blogspot.com

There's also a link on the sidebar of this page. Comments are welcome, as long as they're honest.

--Jose

Pickles, Pigtails and Parades

At the end of August, Mom Anson came over for pickle day. I love her pickle recipe and so does Joseph. It was an all day adventure the was interrupted by taking kids to school, picking them up and a few trips to the grocery store. Brook and Ally had fun "helping." They were actually little angels and did a great job of entertaining themselves while we worked. Mom and I were both exhausted by the end, but there is such a feeling of accomplishment when you hear the seals pop and see your jars cooling on the counter. I felt downright domestic. Thanks, Mom.



During September we had our share of sick days. Now I know why my Aunt, an amazing mother of six, said that the words "stomach flu" strike fear in the hearts of moms with young children. Everyone got a turn this time, at least once. I am really ready to be done. What does this have to do with pigtails? It was one of those sick days for Sariah. Mom needed a change of pace. So, I decided it was a great day for new hairdos. Brook got her first set of pigtails. She looked adorable and she knew it. (Even when she was picking her nose. Sorry, Brook, I couldn't resist.)



It has become a Labor Day tradition to go to the Onion Days Parade. Usually it is a bit of a let down after the big 4th of July parade. This year we were pleasantly surprised. The parade was longer and better than it has been since we started going. The kids collected quite a pile a candy and flyers for everything under the sun. One group even threw out popsicles. We had a great time. We spent the rest of the day canning pears. We took a break for a barbeque at Mom and Dad's. Another long day but we enoyed the "fruits" of our labors -- literally.

Don't Hold Your Breath

Bedtime was a little crazy one night (more so than usual) and in an attempt to quiet them down, Joseph suggested they play the quiet game. Then someone said let's see how long we can hold our breath. I think Ally was the winner. She was so intense, we could not bring ourselves to show her the proper technique.

First Day of School

After much anticipation, the big day finally arrived. Yes, the kids were wired. It probably did not help that I fed them our traditional donuts and chocolate milk breakfast for the first day of school. We might need to choose a healthier tradition. Ally and Brook were almost as excited as the older two.
Sariah is now our big second grader. She loves her teachers and is making new friends in her class. She still makes her "visiting" rounds through the school. Last year she would just slip out of class and go to visit people. Popular stops were her speech therapist and her kindergarten teacher from the previous year. This year she likes to see her friend across the hall, her first grade teacher, her kindergarten teacher and Zac. We have had many talks about staying where she is supposed to be. Her teachers are very patient. Most of the faculty knows Sariah and they get a good laugh from her wanderings. Zac did inform me that one day they had to call over the intercom to ask her to go back to class. We'll keep working on that. She is doing great with her spelling and reading.

Zac looked forward to first grade all summer long. He could hardly wait to go to school all day and eat lunch in the lunchroom. When the moment arrived, he was a little nervous. He did great. He comes home excited every day to tell me what he has learned. He loves being timed for his math facts. Lunch is living up to his expectations as well. His little group of friends has fun "stealing"each other's food -- which they all find hilarious. So we had a little chat about lunchroom etiquete, including the fact that it is probably not a good idea to share bites of the same piece of pizza. No wonder they all get sick during the first month back to school.

Ally's wish to attend "real preschool" finally came true. She started school a few weeks after the big kids. She gets to go to Miss Laura's class just like Zac and Sariah. She loves it. On her first day, she asked me at least twenty times if it was time to get ready. 12:30 did not come fast enough. As I was helping her get her socks on, her nerves kicked in. She sighed and said, "Mom, I don't know if I'm ready for this." It was adorable. She has made fast friends with one of the little boys in her class. They collect wood chips from the playground (Ally's collection is in her backpack). Apparently, wood chips make great light sabers for their Star Wars games. What an imagination.



It has been an adjustment having just the two little girls at home. The first few days were long as we got used to each other and figured out a new routine. I really missed the big kids. I knew I would, but I was surprised at the actual ache I felt in my heart. Ally and Brook are becoming good friends and finding games to play together. Brook is a great pal when Ally goes to preschool. She likes to snuggle on my bed and watch Seasame Street. I love my Brookie time. The video gives a little peek into that first long day.

Ahhh! Don't eat me!

This is what we told the kids to say as they posed in front of the shark at the museum. Sariah won the prize. While David and Amy were here, we got to spend a fun day at the dinosaur museum with them. Mom, Nicole and her friend, Jordan, joined us. Jordan works there and hooked us up with a discount. Thanks, Jordan.



The other kids were not so cooperative, but Caleb and Zac did find their inner dinosaurs.




The kids had a blast just running around and being together. We are not sure who had more fun in the sand, the kids or Amy. She is a master volcano sculptor.




By the time we were done playing, we were definitely ready for lunch. I think the kids had almost as much fun at Wendy's as they did with the dinosaurs. Thanks for the fun day. Hopefully if we ever make it to St. Louis, we'll get to play in the museums out there.

Walker Family Reunion

The weekend before the Anson reunion, we had a Walker family reunion. Mom, Dad and Brian actually came a few weeks before and we had a great time with them and Emily and Chris at the pool, rodeo, parade and Owlz game, just to name a few of the activities that kept us busy. (Of course, I forgot my camera most of the time. We were too busy having fun.) Laura, Donny, Katy, Kevin, Toni and Caroline all got here the day before the reunion. We started on Thursday morning with family pictures. It was a bit of an ordeal at the studio, but overall the pictures turned out well. After we grabbed lunch we headed to the cabin. Our friend's very generous parents let us "borrow" their cabin for the weekend. We will be forever grateful.



It was a major odreal just to get all the cars unloaded. There were five cars in all. We eventually got everything where it needed to be and we all claimed our sleeping spots. It was wonderful to be all together under the same roof. The kids love the four square court. Caroline kept us all entertained with her "performances."



Joseph and Kevin put together a new grill so we could fix dinner. It is a good thing there is no audio with this or you might hear some "grill words." Emily and Laura were taking requests at the piano and Sariah was in heaven. Katy and Brian taking a chance to chill.


On Friday morning we had a great breakfast thanks to Kevin and Toni. I still crave those biscuits. After we cleaned up we headed for the zoo. A highlight was a stop at the carousel. For several weeks before we went, the kids talked at length about which animal they would ride on. I guess half the fun is in the anticipation. Poor Sariah was so patient all day waiting to see the camels. When we finally got there, we could not get to the exhibit because of some construction. She was truly heartbroken.




Brook became quite attached to Donny. He was super cute with her. That's right, Donny, I said you were cute. The girls took "turns" in the stroller. It was nice and hot so it was worth lugging around the water bottles. Caroline and Brook were too cute. (There's that word again.)
Friday night we had another yummy dinner and stayed up too late laughing, eating treats and playing games.



Saturday we ate again (boy, we had a TON of food) and headed to the reservoir. Dad rented a boat and a wave runner. It was a blast. I forgot my camera when it was our turn in the boat. The kids loved it. Brook did not really move so we were shoked when she volunteered to ride on the tube with her dad. We pulled a huge innertube behind the boat. Saraih and Caroline did not want to ride but the rest of us did. Brook was hilarious. Halfway through her ride, she waved at all of us in the boat. Zac had no fear. He loved any chance to ride and everytime we stopped to change riders, he was over the side of the boat for a swim. He even got a ride on the wave runner with Kevin. Ally had enough of the tube when we got swamped. She was petrified even though she had a life jacket on. I was laughing and she clung to my neck so I could not swim her back to the boat. Thanks Kevin, for helping. Despite a wardrobe malfunction, I enjoyed my rides, too.

We got back to the cabin and reluctantly packed up. We got down out of the canyon in time for an exteded Walker family party. On Sunday we got to go to church together and then went to an extended Puckett family party. It was a whirlwind of family. We were exhausted, but so grateful for all the memories we made. Here's to 2011 and the great time we'll have when we do it all over again.