Halloween 2015

Halloween this year was a lot of fun for our family!   In case you can't tell what everyone dressed up as:  Erika- Harry Potter, Kyle- swamp creature, Heidi- Robot, Jared- skeleton, Jordan- dragon (again for the second year in a row), Kaylee-lion.  I was dressed up as a baby.  (This was a last minute "throw-it-together" costume I came up with for the Halloween party.)

The kids loved dressing up for their school Halloween parade and also for the ward Halloween party. We had a great time trick-or-treating around the neighborhood.  Aaron took Kaylee out for a few minutes and then we took turns staying home with her for the rest of it.   I love how silly my kids can be and how much they get into the holidays!

Monster Slime

Easy Slime

1 bottle (4 oz) elmer’s glue

1/2 C water

food coloring of choice

 mix together in bowl

Mix 1/2 tsp borax and 1/2 C warm water

Combine two mixtures and stir quickly.  

Use hands to form slime ball.

Squeeze out any excess liquid and discard.

Store in air-tight container.

Kaylee's birthday

On October 3rd, our little Kaylee turned one year old!  I can't believe it has already been a year- it has gone by so fast!  She has been just a delight to have in our home.   She is a fun, active little girl with so much love.  She gets a lot of attention from her older brothers and sisters.  

Getting her first taste of birthday cake-
not sure what she thinks about it.  

Kaylee's birthday also fell on General Conference this year so we spent it down in Sandy with my family.  I just had to snap a picture of Aaron with Erika and Kyle watching Conference...

Labor Day in Park City

We had a great time with the Parkinson clan over Labor day this year!  We headed up to Park City to have some fun.  We stayed at my grandma Schulz's cabin with everyone except Marisa and her family, who stayed in a timeshare condo in Park City.  The cabin is located about 10 min away from Park City,  so we were able to get together a lot to hang out.  

We went boating at Jordanelle with our boat and another rented boat.  We don't have any pictures of that day, I think because it was really bad weather and kind-of stressful for Aaron and I out on the water.  But, it ended up working out and we had a good time.  

One of our favorite parts was going down the Alpine slide at Park City.  It was a beautiful day and a fun adventure to go down the slides!

The kids also really liked the tram ride up to the top of the mountain.  

Aunt Marisa getting to know her new niece

On our last day, we went up to some hot pools in Midway, UT.  That was a really cool place!  The hot pools were actually underground in a large dome of earth.  It was really warm and fun to swim in.  

Grandma and Grandpa hanging out with Kaylee

It was so great to spend time with everyone and sad to say goodbye until another year!

School begins

On August 31, the kids started their first day of school at Garland Elementary.  Kyle- 4th grade, Heidi 3rd and Jared Kindergarten.  We have loved Garland Elementary school!  

Jared was so excited to start kindergarten!  He was so ready!  

Jordan started "joy school".  We had a group of kids in the ward we did it with.  He loved it!
He was so excited his first day of school, he got a balloon!  

Heidi, our little reader- she would read long after bedtime
if we forgot to check on her and make her turn the lights out!  

Summer Fun

The kids had a lot of fun playing out in our backyard this summer.  They built forts on the grass and played on the swingset.

One night for Family home evening, they set up a "carnival" where we each got tickets to do different activities.   We had jumping on the trampoline, tag, lightsaber duel, and obstacle courses.

We loved seeing how creative the kids can be coming up with all of it on their own.  They even made a fancy ticket dispenser out of a capri sun box and homemade tickets.    Aaron and I laughed our heads off during the carnival, because we ended up doing most everything while the kids watched and payed our own "tickets" to do it!  It was hilarious!  

The kids love to swing on the swingset.  I usually only push them for a few minutes, but one evening I decided to just push them until they decided they wanted to stop.  Some of them went almost 30 min!   It is so fun to watch their excitement and love for life.  

Heidi fell asleep while reading.  She loves reading so much that
she would  read until we come down and turn off the light every night.  

Camping in Mantua

On August 13-15, we went camping at one of our new favorite places- Box Elder Campground near Mantua.  We have recently learned that it is a good idea to get reservations there before going.  Most of the sites are pretty good, but the best ones get taken fast.  Our kids love a couple of them that have a stream running to the side of our camp.  It is a beautiful site and conveniently close to home!  

This is what we consider "easy camping".  We slept in our camp at night and spent some time there during the day, but then also went out and did some fun activities around town, too.

Friday we went on a walk around the lake in Mantua.  It was really hot that morning with not much shade so I would probably do this in the evening the next time.

Later that evening, we headed over to Brigham City (which is only about 5 miles away) and went swimming in the pool and afterwards ate at Pizza hut.  

All 3 of my little ones loved the big water slide so much, I'd bet they each went on it 20 times!  They just kept wanting to go on it over and over again!  And, for the little ones who can't swim yet, that meant mom or dad was going with them.   It is fun to see how brave they have gotten.  Heidi has really caught on with swimming and Jared is trying really hard to learn.    It was a blast!  

Now, this is my kind of camping!  We spent some time at camp, but also had access to swimming, activities, and restaurants :)  

Jared showing off his collection of bugs.