November!

We started our November with a lazy morning. The girls looked so cute all snuggled up. November started with our first really cool day, and a downpour, which we all loved. Ada said, "This is the best day ever!"

 

 Rain!! I don't think it has rained in Penny's lifetime. And she was asleep for it. 

Practicing walking. She has taken a few steps on her own. Any day now she will be off and running. 

 

We went on a little walk on the Crafton Hills trail just a few miles from our house. It felt so nice to have clouds and cool air from the rain storm. 

 

Flowers

 

Hiking down. 

 

 Yesterday Ada and I made playdough while Aubrey was at school. I wanted something to keep her busy while I jogged on the treadmill. She loved it. And the girls played birthday party today. 

And we got a dog!! Not really. But we found out how to have a dog without any of the responsibility. There is a hole in our fence that has been covered, and somehow the cover got moved. And we found Tiny Tim (he has a hurt back leg) in our yard! The girls love him, and he has made daily visits to our backyard. Penny laughs at him. Aubrey said, "We are like Tiny Tim's grandma!"- implying that Tiny Tim comes over to visit and play, but he doesn't live here and we don't really have to take care of him always. We just have fun with him. Just like when we visit Grandma.

And this afternoon Ada declared that Cheetos are her favorite fruit.

Halloween

 I am not sure when Halloween became a weeklong event, but it sure felt never ending this year. We had fun and the girls both claim it is their favorite holiday. We started the festivities at Aubrey's school carnival. Elsa and Tinkerbell.

 We played carnival games, did a cake walk, and ate some snacks. Followed by a dance in the cafeteria. 

Pumpkin carving. Not really a kid friendly activity. Sharp knives and dreams of what their pumpkin will look like. But we actually had fun with it, and the girls get so excited. 

 

We gutted the pumpkins the day before so the actual carving wouldn't be a big deal. 

 Wednesday evening was the ward chili dinner and Trunk-or-Treat. Our friends Emjae, Teck, and Caitlyn joined us and the girls loved every minute. 

Candy stash

Halloween was plenty busy as well. We walked downtown to get the girls out of the house so we all wouldn't go crazy. Redlands does  a safe trick or treat where the businesses hand out candy. 

 

And in the evening we went to a friend's house for dinner and playing. 

 

Elsa and friend Holland as Anna

 

And Penny wore pajamas. Didn't feel like coming up with a creative costume for her, especially since she didn't care. Can't get away with that for too much longer. 

 

Ears Pierced

We have debated letting Aubrey get her ears pierced for a few months now. We finally decided that she could do it for her birthday. She loved looking at my earrings, and wearing hair bows on her ears around the house. She always wanted clip ons, and has eyed a pair of my flower earrings for months. Well, her birthday came and she was too nervous about the needles and hurting. We didn't push it at all, and to be honest I was fine with her waiting. 

On Monday she came home determined that she was going to do it. We ended up waiting until Tuesday so Cameron could come, and it was so hard for her to wait. But right after school we headed and did it. That's when my nervousness kicked in, but I knew I couldn't change my mind at this point. She was so brave all the way up until the first poke.

 

But she still wanted them to do the other ear. 

 

And they do look cute. My initial reaction was, "Why do people make such a big deal out of such a little thing?" It was so simple and quick, and really she doesn't look any different. I think the biggest challenge will be not losing earrings and teaching her to be responsible. So, did we do it too early? Should I have made her wait until 8...10..12? Made it a bigger occasion? I don't think so. She loves them, and so far they haven't been a big deal.

Corona Del Mar

Last Saturday we decided to take a trip to the beach. We tried out Corona Del Mar, and we had a perfect day. Aubrey and Ada played in the sand for about 4.5 hours straight. Penny was our difficult child, eating sand, then getting mad. We made her take a nap for a bit just so we could all have a break. 

 

There is something about waves and sand that can entertain kids for hours. We had a great day!

 

A shop near our house let kids come and paint a picture for the art show on Sunday. My girls loved painting, and I loved not cleaning up afterwards!

 

And swinging at the park. The days are cooling down and we are loving it. I know it is the opposite where most of our family lives, but we are enjoying going to the park more and evening walks.

Our Life These Days

The first weekend in October Cameron headed to Palm Springs with his class for the weekend for a CANA conference Friday-Sunday. I think he had a good time. Lots of classes. The bottom picture they got to meet a 'famous' professor that taught them a class remotely. The top picture is a mix of Cameron's class and the new class. We are almost to the half way point in his program! He is starting clinic 3 days a week, and will finish his final 2 classroom classes in December. Then clinic will be 4-5 days a week. In March the class above him will graduate and he will officially be a senior. Then the countdown will begin to the following March. Life isn't going to slow down! But we are surviving this program!

The days are cooling down here and it is so nice to be able to go out with the girls on walks in the evenings. We were wasting time at the temple waiting for bedtime or Daddy-whichever came first. We were lucky this day and Daddy came home! The girls love the temple and we love having it in our backyard. 

 

While Cam was at his conference the girls and I went our shopping and we found these balloons at the dollar store. So exciting and I was nice and let them get one. I even sent a picture to some friends bragging about our find. Well, we got stuck in traffic on the way home and Aubrey asked if she could open her window. I said sure. Seconds later Ada is screaming. Aubrey is so confused and keeps asking Ada what is wrong-until she realizes her balloon is no longer in her hand. I was a super nice mom and we turned around and went and got new ones-mainly because I felt so stupid for letting them open their windows. Lesson learned. 

Just a cute picture of a picture of Ada

 

More puzzles

 

Aubrey got a Bandaloom for her birthday and this is her first bracelet. She even made one basically on her own the other day. 

 

Sending pictures to Aunt Lauren, Brynlee & Emily

 

 Homework

 

And friends. Emjae, Ada, Holland and Aubrey.

 

Beau, Penny and Teck. We spend a lot of time with the kids in the two pictures above (plus Rylan).

Girls Table!