October

October brought us some fun cousin play dates with Rosie! These two are best friends and it’s the cutest (when they aren’t fighting- they are both very strong willed!)

One night I made Rice Krispie treats and we sculpted with them! The only direction I gave was to make it Halloween themed. Their products made me laugh as they were so fitting to their personalities:

Chase made a pumpkin. (The easiest, fastest thing he could think of so he could eat it). Hudson made a haunted house and continued to tweak and improve and add features long after everyone else was done. (He’s always trying to figure out how to make something cooler and has a great imagination!) Davis made a portal from the avengers. (Which wasn’t really on theme with Halloween, but in true Davis fashion he didn’t really follow the rules but he was thrilled to be there and be part of it and smiled the entire time). I love these guys so much! Lila sculpted…something. I’m not sure what, but she did love eating the finished product as well. 

We met up with Warners up Milcreek Canyon on Saturday night and it was the best! We roasted hot dogs and s’mores. Our kids connected and made fast friends, despite not seeing each other in about 3 years. It was so fun to catch up with Keith and Ann and the fall colors in the canyon were absolute spectacular. I love fall in Utah! 

We got to see the Broadway version of The Lion King in Salt Lake with the Smith Family and it was incredible! I questioned if Davis was too young to appreciate it, but I was so glad I brought him along. He was hilarious and SO into it! He clapped so loudly and talked (kind of loudly) through the whole thing. He was just so excited! 

Hudson ran into Hyrum there! They were sitting a few rows in front of us!

Will and Kate got a puppy. We stopped by to see it. His name is Leo and he’s adorable and now our kids keep asking when we are getting a puppy too. 

Just doing some homework with Harry Potter.

The kids had “Ribbon week” at school, which was also kind of called “safety Olympics”. Well, they got points for dressing up each day and signing pledges to be safe in different ways (internet, drugs, I can’t remember the rest). I was really overwhelmed by life that week and I was doing the bare minimum, but they did dress up and I signed Hudson’s pledge papers because he got them out for me to sign each day. At the end of the week, late on Friday night, I got an email from the school saying Hudson’s class had won the silver medal in the school and gets some type of reward. Hudson’s reaction was just hilarious. It was like 9:30 and he was really tired. He burst into tears “I don’t even understand what was going on? Like how did we win? I didn’t get the point of the whole week!” I explained they won Ribbon week. “It was ribbon week? I thought it was safety Olympics? I learned nothing from this week! It was just so many pointless activities!” Followed by more tears. I was laughing so hard at him, and sweetly sent him to bed because he was too tired. Just showing that sometimes less is more and kids can get overwhelmed with fluff- just like their parents!

After some early trick or treating at Great-Grandma’s nursing home, I frequently found Davis scaling the pantry shelves to get to the candy. He has no shame. 

The kids all dressed up for said trick or treating. I was planning to take them, but got sick with a nasty cold and decided not to spread it to the elderly, so my dad took them. He was thrilled that Lila wanted to hold his hand the whole time. And Davis was very sweet and affectionate to my grandma when they got to her. 

A major highlight of our month was the Harry Potter party! The Hickman’s cousins throw this incredible party up at their home in Mountain Green, and since Lindsay helps with a ton of it, her sister said she could invite us too. Davis was so excited for it and even though he still doesn’t really get what Harry Potter is, he was so excited to be there! They had a Dark Arts shop set up in the basement, complete with Dark Mark tattoos and Blaine made Hudson and Davis make an “unbreakable vow” (pictured with glow bracelets) to promise to not fight with each other every again.

Davis loved running around to all the activities with his buddy Will (Ron). The best part of the night was the face painting. When it was finally Davis’s turn they asked what he wanted. “A blue rectangle. With two long sides and two short sides.” She questioned if that’s really what he wanted, or if he wanted something in it. The other kids were getting lions, spiders, lightning scars, etc. Nope. A blue rectangle. As she was painting it on his forehead she expressed nerves that he might be disappointed. I assured her he’d probably love it. When she finished and showed him his face, his reaction was priceless! He threw his hands in the air and shrieked in pure delight! Both face painting ladies burst out laughing and declared his the best reaction all night. That’s our Davis, just delightfully enthusiastic about the best things! He was so sad when I made him scrub it off for church a few days later.

We carved pumpkins! Four kids and sharp knives sounded really daunting, so we split them up and did two kids at a time, each with a parent. Hudson did all his own carving this year! It went so well and the kids were all delighted with their pumpkins!

Hudson learned the song “Book of Mormon Stories” on the piano. He asked if he could try playing it for the whole primary while they sang along. He got to on Sunday and our sweet neighbor (who is the normal pianist) took this picture for us. I heard he played it perfectly. When he finished, his buddy Will stood up and said “Hudson! That’s my BOY!”