Catching up on October

Yes, I know, my blog posts have been extremely lacking. Thank goodness for New Years goals!

So here are our memories from the rest of October (after Dexter's birthday).
Abby loves Peter Pan and decided to be Peter for Halloween. Here she is trying on her costume and watching "Peter Pan."
Another dance picture.....she's just so adorable.
Toy Story 3 on Ice! Yes the show came to town on October 20th and we thought Abby would love it. We were right down in front! But then a family of giants came and sat in front of us. I ended up with Abby in my lap, trying to hold her up so she could see. We had a blast. Every time Woody, Buzz or Jesse were not on the ice Abby said, "Where are they?"
Cute pictures of my girls.....they really are "wicked cute!"
I love working with the Young Women at Church and on October 26th they all came over to our house and baked some cookies to take to other young women in the Ward. They enjoyed baking, talking, playing indoor basketball and fighting Matt with foam swords.
On October 27th Abby got to wear her Peter Pan costume to dance and gymnastics. The funniest thing was that she did better that day than any other day. Aren't costumes supposed to distract kids?
My siblings and I grew up with our cousins Doug and Mandy. They were basically like our brother and sister. It is difficult to stay in such close contact anymore, but Mandy lives in California now! So the girls and I went to see her and my Aunt Christie was there too. Mandy is due to have a baby between Christmas and New Years so we are all really excited--a girl! Plus Christie brought wonderful gifts for Lily and Abby (and myself--man can she sew!).
I made Mandy a blanket for Mandy and she liked it!
Mandy and Russell's Halloween costumes--Mandy made them!
Happy Halloween! Since Abby decided to be Peter Pan we all went with the theme. Matt was Captain Hook, Lily the dog nurse "Nana" and me Tinkerbell. My costume ended up being quite an adventure. They sent the completely wrong size--just before Halloween and much of it was coming apart. It looked like a tacky green sack. So I took it to my friend Peggy and she fixed it. I should have gone to her in the first place and could have had an incredible costume--live and learn! We went to the Bishop's house for Halloween and ate good food, talked with good friends and the kids went trick or treating. I even made ghost strawberries! It was a great night. I only wish more adults would have dressed up!
Happy Halloween!

Dexter's Second Birthday

While down in L.A. we celebrated cousin Dexter's second birthday. We went to a park on the 15th and had a great time watching Abby and Dexter play. We ate yummy sandwiches and the amazing cake Heather spent half the previous night making! It looked and tasted great.

If you look close in the picture, you can see a whole line of cheerleaders waiting to take pictures and then little Dexter standing there watching them!
Cousins!
Abby is the queen of making many funny faces and we think Lily is learning from her big sis!
We gave Dexter a little laptop for his birthday--Abby wanted to keep it.
We love Grandma's and Grandpa.
The whole family together to celebrate!
We love you Dex!

October 14: one more trip to Disneyland

On October 14th we went to Disneyland as a family. Our passes were expiring and since we are really trying to save money, we decided not to renew--sad. We had so much fun!

It was Lily's first visit to Disneyland and she was amazingly good.

When we arrived we bought her a hat to keep her out of the sun. Even the smallest hat was way too big.
Disneyland looks so festive during Halloween time.
Lily's first time on a carousel--she slept.
Had to take a picture of the conductor!
Abby loved watching Mickey at the parade and gave her a Goofy I bought at the Disney Store.
Sisters!
After a fun day at Disneyland we went back to Grandma and Grandpa's recently refurbished pool. It was so warm--like a bath. Lily loved her first time in a big pool.
What a great backyard for us all to play in!