A Happy Halloween

Oh Halloween!  I had big plans for you this year.  But then I got sick and plans changed.  But the kids still had a blast, so that's good.

Keith & boys carving pumpkins on Halloween Eve.  I crept out of my bed to get some pics.

Keith was such a huge help all week long!

I was looking forward to helping at Grant's school on Halloween morning, but sent Keith and his Mom instead.  The school started out the morning with a costume parade.

 Keith helped out in Grant's class.

 And his mom got to go too.  I had planned to read The Runaway Pumpkin (awesome book!) to his class and then take a picture of the kids with a painting of giant pumpkin.  I never got the giant pumpkin made so Keith's mom surprised me by making one herself!  Oh, I'm so glad I was able to hand this off to capable hands!  Thank you!

 The pumpkin line up.

We had a bunch of pumpkins that we'd used at our ward's Fall Festival the week before.  So we gave some away and carved the rest!

 Ready to go Trick-or-Treating.

I love this picture!  Happy Grant.  Excited Camille.  And then poor little Brett.  He was having a hard week and this is just one of the many times where he had a break down.  He doesn't look too sad in this picture, but in some of the others he's just crying his eyes out.  He slept good that night!

 Close-up of that cute bee!

 I love her little hand on that pumpkin!

 After going around the neighborhood for a while, the boys set themselves up on the driveway to eat pizza and hand out candy.  They had so much fun that night!

 Here's the back of the bee from our ward party the weekend before.

 There were fun games.

 I loved watching Grant eat this donut.  It was so funny!

So long Halloween, may we meet on better terms next year!

The rest of our time at the beach

Camille had fun chasing her brothers...

 and they had fun playing with her.

We found these two cute heads on the beach.

 Keith took a turn too.

 The waves were soooo big and close the third day!  Our boogie board broke in half, but it was still great for pulling the kids around on.

 Brett is a pro bird chaser.  He kept chasing these pesky birds and telling them to go away!

 There were lots of sail boats out that day.

 Snack time!

 We took this the morning that we headed back home.  We had lots of fun spending our days at the beach and then hanging out here with Keith's Aunt and Uncle.  So glad they're willing to have us all stay with them!

Grant was terrified of their dog, Shasta, when we first got there.  By the end of our visit, Grant loved her.  It amazes me that he was willing to sit right next to her for this picture!  He tried so hard to be brave with that dog and then he talked about her and drew pictures of her the whole drive home!

Beach Day One

 We arrived in Oceanside in the late afternoon, unpacked and headed straight for the beach.

It didn't take long for Camille to get a mouthful or two of sand.  Yum!

 The boys went to work right away.

 This guy kept trying to grab our dinner.  Sneaky little things they are.

 I love Brett's expression here.  You can tell he's getting cold, but he just kept going.

 Grant was a non-stop boogie board maniac.  He loved it!  He wants to try surfing next time.  We'll see!

 We played until it was dark and then headed back to Keith's uncle's house to shower and get warm in our beds.

Dreaming of October Break

 Last week we were relaxing on the beach in Cali.  This week has been a rush of activity (mostly good things).  I'm looking forward to the fruits of our labors this week and some more normal and relaxing days ahead!  More about our vacation and our crazy busy week later.  Off to get a few more things checked off my list before settling in on the couch for a good night's sleep (Keith is sick!).

Here's some cute Camille thighs to look at!  :)

Happy Weekend!

Brett's Birthday #3

We started out the morning with presents.  He loves his new tepee!  

 Everyone else likes it too!

After a day full of watching General Conference and eating waffles at Keith's parent's house, we had hot dogs for dinner.

 And s'mores for dessert.

 My parents came over that night.

 Keith's parent's came over too and we all played a competitive game of Duck Duck Goose, or as Brett would say, "Duck, duck, DUCK!"

 Grandma Jackson read the boys a bed time story.

 Then on Monday there was even more fun!  Brett had his little cousins and friends over for a water party.

 Matching girls.

 Keith was blowing bubbles and the kids would try to squirt them.

 Sidewalk chalk art.

 After a water balloon fight, it was cake time!

Here's the monkey cake I put together the night before with my lovely assistant (thanks Mom!).  It was super easy and I think it turned out adorable.  Grant has already requested one for his birthday in February.  Done!

Happy Birthday Brett!  It was so fun to celebrate you!