Halloween Hoopla

Chase told me that there are really 3 Halloweens- and I think I know where he got that idea...from all the Halloween celebrating going on around here this last week! The boys have had a blast, and honestly their parents have too! We started last Friday by attending the Halloween carnival at Kaysville Elementary. Chase absolutely loved it, he loved all the games and loved being around all the other kids in costumes. Chase thrives on stuff like that and all the energy in the air just winds him up more! He was super excited about cotton candy- a first for him. 

 Chase enjoyed all the games and Hudson was mostly just there for the ride. We played bingo in one room- it is really hard to get bingo if you are 21 months old and keep eating all your markers as soon as your dad sets them down.

 Then on Saturday night we had our ward trunk-or-treat. Chase loved running around with his little friends and Hudson was mostly very focused on getting candy. Waiting for the potluck dinner to be over so the actual trunk-or-treating could begin was kind of torture for our Huds.

 Then on Monday night for FHE we carved our pumpkins- and by "we" I mean Ben, Chase and I carved pumpkins while Hudson sat in his high chair and cried/whined/threw things on the floor. About half way through I just put Hudson to bed so we could finish in peace! Chase was so proud of the final products.

 October has been my month to host our preschool, which has been really fun and kind of exhausting (mostly due to Hudson's attendance). We had a Halloween preschool party that was adorable and just so much fun! We played glow in the dark bowling and pin the nose on the witch and witch-witch-zombie (like duck, duck, goose), they did a few crafts, had a darling dance party to Monster Mash and we read some Halloween books. This is the cutest group of three year olds!

 Another fun Halloween thing this month has been reading our Halloween books! We already had a few, but then Nana totally spoiled the boys with a package of about 15 new Halloween books this year! And then my grandparents got the boys a few as well. Needless to say, every day this month we've read at least half of them, which has really gotten Chase all excited about Halloween. Chase loves being read to more than just about anything else! So by the time actual Halloween rolled around today Chase was totally prepared and excited about it!

Will and Kate came over this evening so we could see Nora in her costume and get some pictures of the three kids all together (because those type of photo shoot have always gone so well in the past...). We loved seeing our favorite little bumblebee (and her parents, the queen bee and bee keeper). Chase and Hudson are both pretty darn smitten by their baby cousin, a picture really can't document how much they love this girl.

 And then we were off to trick-or-treat! Chase was so so excited and was even more thrilled when we met right up with his best buds Will and Matt Newbold. These boys excitedly ran from house to house and were just darling together. I would love to get a cute picture of all 4 boys together, but I was lucky to get them to hold still long enough to just grab this one!

Ben and I weren't really big Halloween fans until we had our boys! These boys make this holiday magical again! Happy Halloween!

More Fall Fun

Here's a little preview of my boys in their Halloween costumes. Chase proudly chose his out last summer when it was on sale at Costco. He's really in to fire trucks, so it was an easy choice for him. Hudson is wearing the monster costume that Chase wore against his will two years ago. Hudson likes the costume, except that he doesn't want to wear the "hat", which is ironic, because he gets a big kick out of telling other people (ie. Papa) to wear hats on a daily basis. I think they both look so adorable!

 With all these leaves on the ground, we decided we needed to introduce our boys into the wonderful world of jumping in a pile of leaves. We did it yesterday and they were in heaven! They spent two whole hours out there raking and jumping over and over again. It's the simple things...

Out of the Mouth of Chase

We took all the duplos out of Chase's room before bed and told him he couldn't have any in there (mostly we were trying to contain the messiness of all the toys). 30 minutes after we put him to bed he came out to where we were watching TV:
Chase: Mom and Dad! I just need to tell you something! Can you go to bed please! Can you go to bed so I can sneak out here and get some duplos to play with after you go to sleep?

(So he's sneaky and honest.)

Ben came downstairs with a tray of Rice Krispie treats and Chase jumped in the air and in the most enthusiastic voice you can imagine said,
"Those are JUST what I NEEDED!"

Nana: It's not quite time for lunch yet, I'll bet you guys aren't that hungry.
Chase: Nana! Don't you know! We are always hungry!

Passing a church down the street
Chase: Look Dad! It's the temple!
Ben: No, Chase. That's a church.
Chase: No, it's a temple.
Ben: Do you mean chapel? It is a chapel.
Chase: No Dad! God said that little boys like me can call it a temple!

While grocery shopping I showed him that I was buying cream of wheat, which I had never bought before, but Chase had tried my mom's a few times and liked it.
Chase: Thanks Mom! Can I snuggle with it?
Me: Sure (and I hand it to him in the cart, thinking he just meant he wanted to hold it)
Later that night when I went to put him to bed I found the box of cream of wheat IN HIS BED! When I asked him why it was in his bed he said, "Mom! You said I could snuggle with it! I need to snuggle with it because I LOVE it!"

Earlier this week I had parked in the circle (I'm supposed to park over to the side of it so people who come by can drive freely through, but oftentimes I park in the circle when I have to unload a bunch of stuff). Ben and Hudson were mowing the lawn and I was inside working on something. Chase came in and loudly yelled out, "Mom! Can you move your car! Dadddy can't turn around with the lawn mower. You need to move it TO WHERE IT BELONGS MOM! It doesn't belong in the circle."
(Ben later clarified that he asked Chase to come politely ask me to move my car, and stressed the politely part a few times before sending him in. Apparently Chase thought that was polite.)

My parents babysat the boys while Ben and I had a night away in Park City. My dad braved going to Sams Club with both kids and upon returning home, parked my car in their front circle so he could more easily unload the heavy water softener salt they had bought. Chase was right on it saying, "Papa! You know you don't like it when we park in the circle!"

During church today he was full of little gems:
During the sacrament prayer he looked up at me and whispered really loud: MOM! I can hear Jesus talking!

Nana: How was nursery today?
Chase: Oh, it was a little wild.
Nana: Oh, why was it so wild?
Chase: Well, it was just me.

As Chase was running around like crazy my mom said she wished she had as much energy as him and he said, "It's just what I do."

Golden

This last week of October has been GOLDEN. I mean, seriously, the mountains are 5 different colors right now and I could just sit on my porch forever, basking in their beauty and my boys play happily with their trucks. It's been warm and absolutely perfect!

October is my month to teach our little co-op preschool and it has been a blast! Last Wednesday we had our October field trip. It was "F" week so we went to a FARM! My dad took the little ones on a tour of his friend's farm- showing them all the cows (including the cute little babies) and the tractors and finished at the pumpkin patch where they each picked their own pumpkin. The kids loved it! They are all pretty high energy kids- so an outdoor field trip where they could run and explore a little is perfect for this group. This is such a fun group of kids, I love having them all at my house a few times a week. When asked about the field trip and if he liked it Chase replied, "Yes! All my little friends were there!"

 After the field trip officially ended, Chase and Hudson got their own little extended experience compliments of their Papa. Chase has had a lifelong dream of riding in a combine- he loves combines. That's what he asked for (and got) for Christmas last year. His little dream came true and I think it was just as magical as Chase expected. Hudson got a turn too and was equally thrilled.

 We picked some apples from a neighbor's trees and the boys had a great time. I had to smile to myself at how idyllic apple picking in October is. Hudson, quickly squashed the idyllic pleasantness by assuming the job of promptly and repeatedly turning over the boxes of picked apples, sending them rolling away. Everything is a little more exciting with Hudson around! Chase was excited about picking apples as well and loved when I'd lift him up to pick a few off the tree, other than that he loved just playing in the dirt. Applesauce here we come!

 I took this picture this morning of Hudson playing peek-a-boo with me from the cozy coupe- or the "poop" as Hudson calls it. I love sitting on the porch swing and watch the boys play!

Dear October,

You're the best!

Love,

The Hugos

Fall Family Fun Week Part II

Part II of our fun week together happened today at Park City! We love Park City- it's where Ben and I spent our honeymoon 6 years ago and where I had many wonderful family getaways to growing up. That whole city is beautiful, picturesque, and so so charming. The mountains were still pretty green, with big splashes of bright yellow- the day was magical. We started off eating brunch at the Eating Establishment, one of our favorite restaurants up there. Although not relaxing to eat out with our kids, no one spilled their drink all over the table so we called it a success! Then we perused Main Street, looked in the little shops, road the Main Street Trolley (which Chase was super excited about for some reason), and finished up at the Mountain resort for Chase and Ben to ride the Alpine Slide! Chase loved it and even asked Ben to make their sled go faster. Technically you must be 2 to ride, and while I am sure Hudson could easily pass for a 2 year old, the thought of struggling with a fussy Hudson while 30 feet in the air on the chair lift was reason enough to follow their rules. Huds and I stayed at the bottom, ate Rice Krispie treats and played with a bug, and he was as happy as can be. It was such a fun day!

Fall Family Fun Week Part I

We had a sudden change of plans in our family last week- Ben got a new job! He had been casually looking for something else and Will hooked him up with an interview at the company where he works, MarketStar. Ben interviewed on a Wednesday and two days later they told him he was offered a job! After looking over the offer we decided to accept it- in a lot of ways it's better than what he currently had at Ken Garff- much better hours and more growth potential. We are excited about it! He gave his boss his two weeks notice, but as he was expecting, they told him to finish out the weekend and then he could go home! 

Since Ken Garff didn't require him to finish out 2 weeks, he's able to start his new job next Monday, October 6th. That gave us one week in between jobs of family time! (And even better- Ben had never used his PTO, so they are cashing it out this week and Ben's essentially being paid to hang out with us!) We looked into going somewhere, but last minute it just didn't work out. We decided that we'd stay home and have a little staycation instead. It has been one wonderful week!  

Monday was our get-things-done-day. Once we got a few of those things out of the way, the rest of the week was pretty clear for family fun! Tuesday morning we took the kids to the Gateway Discovery. Ben hasn't been there with us in months. It was really nice to have a 1:1 parent-child ratio. It used to be much simpler when Hudson wasn't so mobile- I'd carry him from exhibit to exhibit, depending on whatever Chase wanted to do. Now we enter the museum and my boys divide and conquer! They are both so busy and it can be a little stressful for me to keep tabs on both of them. It was so nice to be there as a whole family. 

 Wednesday we went out to the fall festival at Black Island Farms. Our kids are the perfect ages to enjoy this place! We had a really great time, our kids didn't stop smiling the whole time. Their favorite part this year was the slides! They were both fearless and giggled the whole way down. When we'd get to the bottom Hudson would say, "ready...GO!" and stand up and head back over to do it again!

We love fall and doing stuff like this! The icing on the cake was coming home to delicious soup and homemade breadsticks right out of the oven- courtesy of my mom. It was another perfect fall day!