Fun Filled Fall Festivities

It’s always a happy time for me when the kids head back to school and stop yelling at each other all day long. Some might wonder if I would rather just keep the kids home in order to avoid the stressful mornings spent waiting in line at the school drop off area. Still it’s nice to have my days free of bickering, so I must endure through the agony of dealing with inconsiderate people who don’t know how to pull all the way forward. That’s all I have to say about that.

In October, Steve and Hannah went on a Daddy Daughter Activity for Achievement Days. Hannah was very excited about the whole thing. The girls got to make up special invitations for all of the dad’s, and they had to dress up for the special Masquerade Ball. They even learned how to do some ball room dancing.

For Fall Break we headed down to Phoenix to see Steve’s sister and her family.
It was actually an enjoyable mini vacation, and we are hoping that we will make
the effort to visit there more often. The only pictures we took during the whole
trip were of the kids half asleep in the hotel room.

 

 
For Steve’s birthday this year, I have no clear memory of what we did. I am pretty sure that we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. I don’t know what he got for his birthday, but whenever I ask him about it, all I hear is that we sure didn’t go anywhere fun like Disneyland. For the record, Steve likes to buy himself presents when it’s not his birthday, so sometimes his birthdays are a little bit of a let down.

Documenting the first snow of the year - October 26th.
It was such a beautiful night, but this picture isn’t even close to capturing it.

For Halloween, the kids pretty much wore that same costumes as last year, so I didn’t take pictures of the kids, but we do have pics of the pumpkins. Halloween was a very stormy night, and we didn’t get much trick or treating in because of the downpour.

Henry’s,  Jonathon’s,  Thomas’,  Hanna’s
Steve’s,  Neisha’s,  Libby’s  and  Jack’s

For Thanksgiving we made many plans, but none of them panned out.
So it was just us at home feasting on turkey.
Of course it was the best turkey ever, but I think we say that every year.

Our most time honored Thanksgiving tradition is making homemade
place cards. Hannah took on the job all by herself this year, and this is
what she came up with. I don’t think the picture can portray how cute they
looked with their little tiny feathers in the back.

And finally, homemade apple pie. It looks kind of gooey around the edges, 
however, that’s caramel so it’s a good kind of gooey.

Hannah’s 9th Birthday – Sept 2, 2010

 
Hannah usually has a great Magical Birthday Weekend because it almost always falls on Labor Day Weekend. It’s a good thing too, because Hannah always has high expectations. She has such a hard time coping when all the fun comes to an end.

Once again, she decided on a trip to the Kamas Pool – we checked first to make sure that they were for sure open, so as to avoid last years mishap of driving the whole way there to find pool closed. After swimming, we headed to the pizza/ice cream store. If this sounds familiar, it’s because this is the activity chosen most often by my kids for their birthday. The pizza is quite tasty and the kids love to stare at the bins full of ice cream and take forever to pick out their flavor.

 

Grammy also came for a visit sometime during the weekend and we had a little party. I went to great lengths to give Hannah a customized Taylor Swift cake. It was a lot of work, so no laughing. I created the picture on the computer by using one of Hannah’s favorite clip art girls. Then, I tried to recreate it in frosting – not so easy! She was happy with it though, and really that’s all that matters.

 
Right now, Hannah is learning and growing and testing boundaries. One minute, she can be the sweetest little girl who has smart and interesting things to say. The next minute, when she gets upset, the whole world turns upside down for us all. I have learned that she is happiest when she has a project or if she has some sort of responsibility. Boredom is Hannah’s downfall – she gets into so much trouble when she has nothing to do. She is a great helper with Jack and is always the first to volunteer to get him dressed, or put him to bed, or even to change his non stinky diapers. She is very creative and loves to draw and color and listen to music. There is never a dull moment with Hannah around.

August 17th 2010 – Neisha’s Birthday

 

My new resolution is to post something at least once a week. I think Sunday is a good day to dedicate to documenting family history, So it’s time to get caught up.

For my birthday this year we decided to take a trip to Disneyland. Just me and Steve. The kids were disappointed, but they got over it quickly because they got to spend time with Grammy.

The night before we left, Steve surprised me with cakes from a real bakery – something that I have been hinting about for years. They were so tasty! It’s a good thing that they were small cakes so that I didn’t have to feel guilty for eating all of the leftovers.

The next morning, we hopped on an early flight down to California, took a cab to the Hotel and then headed out to Disney. We thoroughly enjoyed wandering through the park without having to listen to kids whine about everything.

* * * Flash Back * * *

When I was a senior, Steve took me to my Prom. The Prom itself was uneventful, but the day after, he took me to Disneyland. The day was filled with adventure as we explored the park and talked about our favorite rides, and got to know each other better. We had such a good time, that we missed our flight and had to take a later one that routed us from Orange County to Las Vegas to Phoenix.

(Insert lost pictures here when you figure out where you put the box of old photos)

Since my entire existence is based on the consumption of deliciously tasty food, the day was made extra special with a lunch at the Blue Bayou. This is the restaurant that you can see as you are floating by on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Neither of us knew what to expect as we ordered - Steve chose some type of steak, and I opted for something called a Monte Cristo sandwich. I had never heard of such a thing before – a ham and turkey sandwich dipped in batter and deep fried, served with grape jelly. I had my doubts, but the menu was New Orleans Style food, and this was really the only thing that sounded edible. I am happy to tell you that I chose wisely that day.

* * * End Flash Back * * *

What a delectable combination of taste and texture. I immediately fell in love with that sandwich. For eighteen years, I have searched unsuccessfully for a sandwich as good as that one. Other sandwiches claiming to be a Monte Cristo did not even come close to the awesomeness of the Blue Bayou version. We have been back to Disneyland several times, but have never been able to get a table at that restaurant.

So, for my Birthday, we made reservations. I was worried that maybe I had only imagined the greatness of my lunch that day and that it would be a bitter disappointment when I was finally able to bite into my sandwich.

It seemed to take forever, as we ate our way through the first course of soup and salad. Steve, who rarely tries anything new, opted for a chicken gumbo soup. I sat and watched with amazement as he ate the entire cup full of soup. His palette has grown so much since we first met.

When at last my lunch finally arrived, my fears of being disappointed by the built up sandwich were laid to rest as I took my first bite. It was just as good as I remembered it to be. The only problem that I faced was when I realized in my older age how utterly fattening a deep fried sandwich must be. But hey, it was my birthday, so I tried no to think about it.

It was hard for us to get going after lunch. Too bad there is not a sleepy time land to take a nap for a while. The problem that we usually run into, is that Steve is ready to leave when we have gone through the park and hit all of the rides. I, however, feel like we must get our money’s worth and stay until the kick us out. Again, since it was my magical birthday trip, we got to stay for the fireworks.

I love Disney firework shows. They are absolutely the best. It was crazy how many people were packed in front of the castle to see the show. It was like sardines. We ended up having to sit on the road, but It was still  enjoyable. I really didn’t want to leave, but I don’t think they let you sleep over.

It was such a great Birthday. Thanks Steve for spoiling me rotten.