October

In October we:

*became part of a brand new Stake - we aren't even in the same stake as our old ward anymore. Ch-ch-ch-changes... Stake Conference was wonderful though with Elder Gay and Elder Sexton visiting.

*had a couple days off school. On one of those days we took a little trip with Grandma Law to the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge.

We got there around the same time as a large group of 1st-graders on a field trip. Boo. But we waited patiently and then got to see migration maps, bones, pelts, feathers, nests, and scat (yep). It was interesting. I think the older girls' favorite part was the bird-watching shack, while the 2 younger ones really got into the coloring pages and the stuffed birds that made different bird calls.

*met our new niece/cousin Averie (Brian and Megan's sweet new baby)

*celebrated Halloween! First up was our ward Trunk-or-Treat - Ed was flying and missed it, but it didn't rain! We'll count it as a win.

Next we had a Halloween party with Grandma and Bonka. The kids had to choose their meal from a menu of things like "Ghost Brains" and "Vampire Blood" and "Bonka's Toe Storage". Once they finished eating they headed outside for games (Dress the Mummy, and Donuts on a String, and balance the pumpkin on your head, etc). So fun. We're so lucky to live by family.

Halloween night we ate a quick dinner of make-your-own pizzas (it's tradition), threw on costumes, put a bowl of candy on the porch, and drove to the airport to pick up Ed from his latest trip.

We stopped at Grandma and Bonka's ward trunk-or-treat so Ed could get some dinner, then hit their neighborhood for the trick-or-treating. Some of the people that Ed grew up with at the church thought it was pretty cool that he dressed up in such a realistic-looking pilot costume for Halloween. :)

The girls came home with way too much candy and quickly got to work trading for their favorites.

In October Ed:

*took his big girls on a day-trip to Seattle.

We have some awesome flight perks, Ed figured it was time to start using them. The girls enjoyed first class on the way there.

They ate, they walked, they saw, then they flew home. Hopefully they can do more of it.

*spent lots of time in New York. Ed enjoys art museums - this month he saw these famous paintings in the MoMA:

He also saw the Manhattan temple, Juliard, Carnegie Hall, the NY Public Library, more of Central Park, etc.

In October I:

*started teaching piano lessons to a neighbor boy. I have often been asked to teach, and I'd think about it every time, but the timing just wasn't ever right. I actually felt really guilty, like I was hoarding my talent, especially in Arkansas where piano teachers were few and far between...but I had to do what was best for my family. But now...this neighbor caught me on a good day...and suddenly I'm committed.

*ate lunch with my littles at school for National School Lunch week. Kassie has been begging me to come help in her classroom...I figured I better show up at school at least once this semester.

In October Kimberlee:

*went to Seattle

*painted pumpkins as a fundraiser for Art Club. Did she take a picture for me? Of course not.

*but she did take nice pictures of all her sisters for me - our yearly fall shots. You can see some of her work on the updated pics on the right side of the blog.

*was a shark for Halloween.

She went back and forth on whether she was going to dress up, and we threw together this costume a half-hour before we had to leave for the ward Trunk-or-Treat. And then she went trick-or-treating Halloween night with all her sisters....I'm thinking that was her last time.

In October Keira:

*was required to do 4 hours of community service for her Life Skills class. She loves the Ronald McDonald House and has worked with them in the past, so she asked Grandma Anderson if they could make dinner for them again.

That didn't take the required 4 hours, so she also chose to make a blanket for The Linus Project.

*went to Seattle

*started teaching beginning piano lessons to a little girl. It was her offered "service" from our old ward's service auction to raise money for girls camp. She will only teach 4 lessons, but the sweet little 7-year-old is so excited to learn to play that it makes it really fun. Keira would love to do more of it.

*figured out that she was the only girl who hadn't been a cat for Halloween, so this year it was her turn:

In October Krista:

*turned 10!

My sweet Krista Mae. Her birthday was low-key since we did a "friends party" last year. She was just fine with that. This girl is so easy-going. She asked for quiche for dinner, ice cream sandwiches for dessert, and really wanted a BIG stuffed animal and a fish. Happy to oblige. We adore this middle child of ours.

*went with Grandma and Bonka to Minneapolis for her birthday! Grandma and Bonka get free flight perks with Delta too, so they all hopped on a flight early one Saturday morning, took a shuttle to the Mall of America, went to the Aquarium and spent the day shopping and wandering the mall, then took an evening flight home. These girls are so spoiled! Krista loved it!

*decided to be a runner for Halloween. It wasn't really much of a stretch (since that is what she spends much of her time doing anyway), but I wasn't about to talk her out of the easiest costume ever.

In October Kassie:

*went to eat lunch with Grandpa at work. He invited her and the next morning she got up and started packing her lunch right away.

Afterwards he took her on a tour of the facility (he is a city engineer and his office is at the water treatment plant)...she wasn't terribly interested, but she really loved getting to eat lunch in his office!

*asked to be Mario for Halloween. I wasn't going to spend the money on the "real" costume, so thrown-together homemade it had to be. She promised next year she would be a witch so I don't have to make anything. I was just super thrilled that everyone seemed to know who she was supposed to be.

*was chosen as student of the month - yay Kassie!

I really enjoyed meeting with Kassie's teacher for parent-teacher conferences. She talked to me about how she is keeping Kassie engaged and excited for school - there are a lot of small groups that rotate between all the 1st-grade teachers for reading, spelling and writing (depending on skills mastered), and soon math. Kassie doesn't feel like she's having to wait for all the other kids to catch up - perfect for her. But then she also talked to me about Kassie's connection with some of the kids in the class. 2 boys in particular need extra help (1 is in a wheelchair and non-verbal) and Kassie is always the first to see the needs and go help. Kassie is our spunky, spastic, sassy girl at home (if you haven't noticed), so it's always good for me to hear what a good, helpful, obedient girl she is at school.

In October Karoline:

*was also full of sass and spunk

Enjoy it now kid, it's only adorable because you're 2...

*got lots of play time with her cousins while the adults worked on a Quiet Book project.

*had her choice of costumes for Halloween. I was hoping she'd be Mike Wazowski, but she only wanted to wear the bumble bee costume.

This girl got the hang of trick-or-treating super fast. I kept reminding Kassie to say "thank you," but KK remembered every time. She also had an impressive memory of her candy - I was hoping once it "disappeared" into our treat bowl that she'd forget about it like her sisters used to. Nope.