Valentine Dance

The kindergarteners at the school had a Valentine Dance. They were to bring a parent, preferably Mom for the boys and Dad for the girls.

Lucky expected Dad to come with him since I don't go anywhere without Jet and siblings weren't allowed at this dance. He was surprised then when it was almost time to go and he found Mom dressed up and planning to attend this dance. It was only an hour long event and we had a blast.

We got our picture taken,

we had refreshments,

there was a presentation in the middle where the kindergarteners sang a few songs to the parents,

and we danced 

and danced

and danced.

I am so glad it worked out that I was able to go. I really enjoyed that bonding time with Lucky and I want to thank my sweetheart, Jeremy, for making it possible and for taking such good care of our baby while I was away from him.

Halloween Fun

Trunk or Treat and ward party! We even made chili this year to contribute to the chili cookoff (and there was enough left over for dinner another night). I don't have indoor pictures to show from the ward party.

The kids' costumes: Jr. Jr. was a pirate. Lucky was a pumpkin. Jr. was a Ten Man from The Mysterious Benedict Society book series. Nichole was Kate Weatherall from The Mysterious Benedict Society book series.
How do you like my costume?

I fooled several people thinking I had a baby in there. Nope. It was candy to hand out.

Beautiful weather for being outside. Several of us wore short sleeves.
And the next morning? Snow on the ground.

Then it stayed pretty cold through Halloween (depending on the time of day. There was no more snow, though).
Halloween day, I went to watch Jr. Jr. and Lucky walk in the school's Halloween parade. Then I got to watch Lucky's kindergarten presentation, sharing what they've been learning. He was so happy to have me there and to give me a hug afterward. I love supporting my kids like that. And I'm so glad he loves school.

After school, we met up with friends to do trick or treating at the mall.

Then the kids and I went home to have some dinner and did some trick or treating in our neighborhood.

We stopped off at a neighbor's fire to warm up and roast some marshmallows. Then we collected Jeremy who by then was home from work and went to visit and trick or treat at my sister's.

On a side note, after the ward party, Lucky was proud to show me what he did to his face and hands (and armpits) with a stamp. I let him know (nicely) it was not the best choice since we had church the next morning (the Primary program). Thankfully it washed off.

First Weeks of School! First Weeks of School!

Catching up on what we did at the end of August.
I had promised the kids we would play at a certain park so we finally did.

 Jr. started playing an instrument- the cello.

August 22 was Be an Angel Day and my kids were angels. Lucky had his kindergarten assessment to find out which class he should be in. He got a treat and was very happy about that.

That evening we went to the UCB (Utah County Birders) potluck. Nichole made a cheeseball in the shape of an American Dipper. Jeremy made a sign to go with it.

Since we had the potluck that night, we celebrated Be an Angel Day foodwise a few days later. We had alfredo with angel hair pasta again.

I got to go on a UCB field trip up Mirror Lake Scenic Byway. It was a long day but great. Jeremy took care of things with the kids while I was gone. My hero. I got to see some birds I'd never seen in Utah before and some mammals I'd never seen before.

Highlights were Canada jays (formerly known as gray jays), American three-toed woodpecker (lifer), pine marten (allusive weasel-type animal- I didn't get good pictures, others in my group did), and some pikas (cute little rodent-like animals- They are fast).

If you look really closely in that second to last picture, you can see the dark brown pine marten just above the log leaping toward that evergreen on the right side of the picture. Go ahead and click on the picture to make it bigger.

Lucky had his own first day of school. He was so excited for it, he ran to the bus stop and we got there super early and we waited... and waited... and waited. When he got home from school, he asked, "Do I get to go to school again tomorrow?" He was pleased that he did.

This picture Jeremy calls my "I'm not ready" picture. Actually, I was just trying to make sure he didn't get too far ahead where I couldn't see him and so I could take pictures.

I will admit, though, I did cry before the bus was even out of sight. I knew he would be fine, but... you know.

August 28 was National Bow Tie Day. We had bow tie pasta with our meal. Yumm. I asked the kids to set the table. They had an interesting way of doing it.

One Saturday, we took a trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and Antelope Island to see a couple new life birds. At Bear River, we saw a brown pelican. We're used to seeing American white pelicans in Utah, but we don't get brown pelicans around here. That was exciting.

At Antelope Island, we saw a wandering tattler. I didn't even know there was such a thing until that week.

And of course we chose August to go, which is when the biting bugs start to diminish because there are spiders everywhere- Western Spotted Orb Weavers. They are big... and beautiful.
Thank you, Jr., for letting us use your hand for size comparison.

Luckily, we brought along our web detracting sword so we could go along the path full of vegetation and get webs out of the way.

We celebrated Jr.'s birthday in August as well. When I asked what kind of cake he wanted, he said what he really wanted was pie. I asked what kind and he said "apple." Ah, yes. I can make apple pie. So that's what he got for his birthday. Apple pie and ice cream... and a sonic screwdriver. Have I mentioned we're Doctor Who fans?

 

Everybody's been needing haircuts. I took care of three of them in August, one in September, and one in October. I forgot to do before and after pictures on some of them but if you look at my blog, you'll be able to see the difference.

 There may have been more holidays and things in there but if I don't have pictures, I don't remember.