Halloween 2025

After a few sunny, cool days, a storm came in this afternoon.  As a result, it started to rain a few hours before we headed out to go trick-or-treating.  Although Lia was off trick-or-treating with her good friend, Hope, Ron and I headed out with the Logan, Ella, Emmett, and our neighbor, Poppy, at 6 pm in a heavy rainstorm. We proceeded to go door to door in the worst weather that I can ever recall on Halloween since becoming a mom.  Ella and Poppy were pretty unhappy because they could barely see in their inflatable, Minion costumes, making it difficult to walk, and Logan also could not see through his plague doctor mask and took it off within minutes of leaving the house.  Since Logan also did not bring an umbrella with him, his costume got soaked and he was miserable for the first half of the night.  After visiting the houses up and down our road, we stopped by our house for a quick change into some costumes that were dry and easier to walk in and the group perked up quite a bit.  We managed to stay out until 7:30 pm when we returned home so that the kids could go through their candy, answer the door, and watch our beloved Ichabod Crane movie.  We were happy to finish off the night on a warm and toasty note!

Emmett in his darling Bluey costume.

Ella as the Minion, Bob.

Logan as a plague doctor.

The kids all lined up on the porch.

Ella and Poppy as the Minions, Bob and Stewart.

The entire gang ready to go!

Stopping in front of Donna's cornhusk, pumpkin tree that she makes every year.

The group trick-or-treating at a neighbor's door.

Lia and Hope decided to dress up as the Disney fairies, Silver Mist and Tinkerbell.  Here are the girls all ready to go before heading out to Trick-or-Treat in Hope's neighborhood.

The girls ran into two boys from their XC team while trick-or-treating in Hope's neighborhood and ended up spending the evening walking around with them.  Although Lia said that they had a great time, I simply do not know how they survived in the freezing cold and rain in those little costumes!

Elementary School Trunk-or-Treat

Our elementary school held its first ever trunk-or-treat tonight next to the field behind the school. Only the staff was invited to decorate their cars and, boy, did they go all out!  Most teachers and other employees had a theme with coordinating costumes that went with their decorated trunks.  I took Ella and Emmett down at 5:30 and we were blown away by how many families had turned out for this first time event.  The kids had a fun time visiting all the car trunks before running around with their friends on the playground and the field.  We left less than an hour later due to how cold and dark it had already gotten.  It turned out to be a short, yet fun, Halloween Eve activity!

The kids met up with two friends right as we were starting to go down the line of cars.  Here are Javion and Ellie with Emmett and Ella.

Emmett getting some candy.

The kids visiting a Crayola Crayon themed car.

Ellie and Ella.

Carving & Painting Pumpkins

We gathered around the table last night to carve and paint our pumpkins.  This activity has become so much more enjoyable as our children have gotten more independent and Ron and I can just assist when needed.  It's also hard to believe that this is Lia's last year participating in this family activity with us as she will be off to college next fall.  Sniff.  Emmett painted a very detailed Harry Potter, Ella painted a pumpkin at the spa (complete with a face mask and cucumber slices over the eyes), and Lia painted a darling doughnut with sprinkles on top.  Logan carved a drunken pumpkin drinking wine out of a bottle (it was actually a balsamic vinegar bottle) and Ella also carved a little pumpkin with the numbers 6-7 (thanks to that silly meme that went viral months ago).  They all looked so cute lined up in a row afterwards.  We are now ready to celebrate Halloween!

Emmett working hard on carefully painting Harry's red and yellow scarf.

Ella carving her numbers.

Logan finishing up his drunken pumpkin.

Lia drying her painted pumpkin with the blow dryer.

All of my cuties lined up behind their pumpkins!

Annual Trunk-or-Treat

Since we were in the midst of a big storm on Saturday night, our ward's trunk-or-treat got moved inside the church building about an hour before it was supposed to start.  So Ron and I headed out with the kids around 6 p.m. while Lia opted to stay home to work on homework since none of her close friends were going.  We spent a fun hour wandering around our church's gym and hallways visiting people who had set up their decorations and candy throughout the building.  The kids had a great time collecting candy and running around with friends, minus the fact that Logan and Emmett got overheated in their costumes and Ella learned that she can barely see inside an inflatable costume.  I told everyone that their costumes will help them to stay nice and cozy when we go trick-or-treating outside on Halloween night!

All three kids lined up in the foyer for their group photo.  We realized that both Logan and Ella don't even have to smile for pictures while wearing these costumes.

Logan inspecting Jonathan's candy.

Ella opening up her bag for some candy.

Ella and Emmett stopping for a picture.

Logan and his friend, DJ.

Disney On Ice 2025

For what seems like the hundredth year in a row, I drove the kids to Kent this evening to attend Disney on Ice.  I think it is so wonderful that Ella and Logan have not outgrown this tradition and love joining Emmett now that he is old enough to go.  The show this year was titled, "Let's Dance!" and focused on such movies as Wish, Frozen II, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, and Moana.  As always, we had a great time sitting together and watching this amazing show filled with stunning costumes, special effects, and talented skaters.  It's always a fun way to kick off the holiday season!

Logan, Ella, and Emmett in front of one of the concession tables after first arriving.

In our seats and ready to go.

The three kids waiting for the show to begin.

Elsa and Anna.

Simba and Nala on Pride Rock.

Ariel and her sisters spinning in the air.

Moana and her rooster, Hei Hei, sailing on her boat.

A Quick Trip to Tour BYU

I decided a few months ago that it would be fun to make a weekend trip to Utah to show Lia around BYU since we are all hoping that she will be a freshman there next school year.  So after discussing dates with my dear friend, Sarah, who would be hosting us, I bought our plane tickets when they were on sale for a great price.  We flew out Thursday evening and returned home late last night.  We were blessed with beautiful, fall weather and had a great time and saw and did a lot during out time there.  Lia fell even more in love with BYU and is so excited at the thought of being a student there next year!

Friday, October 17th:

After arriving late at Sarah's house the night before, Lia and I headed out this morning for our marathon day in Provo.  We first drove to the West Campus where we had an 11 a.m. tour set up with the Theater and Media Arts Department.  This was one of the highlights of the day!  It was so fascinating to learn about the five majors in this department and to be able to visit their three theaters and the costume, props, and hair and makeup rooms.  Lia is super hopeful that she will have the chance to participate in their theater program if she is accepted.  Fingers crossed!

We then met the three cousins who are currently students at the Y for lunch at the Cougar Eat.  Since Susie just happened to be in town visiting Spencer and Sarah, she and Hannah and Emileigh joined us for lunch, too.  We had a fun time catching up with Riley, Callie, and Sarah.

After lunch, we met up with Lacey, the daughter of my good friend, Kerry, who Lia has been good friends with for years.  It was so fun to visit with her and to see where she lives in Heritage Halls.

After our quick visit with Lacey, we walked over to the new visitor center to meet up with our 3 p.m. tour group.  Our tour guide then drove us around campus in a golf cart while sharing information on many different aspects of campus, from the various buildings to programs to fun facts.

After our campus tour was over, we walked down to Helaman Halls which was the dorms that I lived in when I was a freshman 31 years ago.  We met up with Gabby, one of Lia's good friends from HXP, who she hadn't seen since Africa.  We had a quick visit with her and got to see her dorm room and drink some of the infamous, chocolate milk from the BYU Creamery.

Once we were done with our visit with Gabby, we hopped in the car and drove to a park west of campus to watch part of Callie's ultimate frisbee game.  Since she currently plays on BYU's extramural team, we were able to watch her play against the University of Utah which was a cool experience.  We stayed until 6:30 before leaving to drive back to Sundance to join Sarah's family for dinner and an evening of chatting.  It was the perfect way to wrap up this busy day!

Saturday, October 18th:

Lia and I woke up and headed out for another day in Utah.  We drove back to campus to pick up Lacey before heading to Cafe Rio for lunch.  I dropped the girls off at the restaurant so that they could have some quality time catching up while I drove to Salt Lake City for a few hours.  Sarah kindly offered to pick up Lia from the restaurant at 2 o'clock and take her shopping at her favorite boutique in the Riverwoods mall while I was driving back from visiting my friend.

I headed up to Salt Lake City to spend a few hours with my dearest friend (and fellow pyramid-climbing buddy), Melissa, from my Jerusalem study abroad program almost 30 years ago.  She took me to an Oktoberfest picnic that some German friends of hers were hosting in a nearby park.  We had a great time eating some delicious food while chatting in the shade for a few hours.  It was so nice to get caught up with her.

After we all met back up at Sarah's house, we headed out to the Sundance Ski Resort for the evening.  We first ate dinner at their little deli restaurant.

David and Joshua joined us for the evening.  Here we all are eating our dinner together at the deli restaurant.

After dinner, we headed back outside to participate in a really unique, Halloween experience that Lia and I have never done before, the Haunted Lift Ride.  Here are Sarah, Lia, and me standing in front of one of the beautiful, lit trees before getting in line.

We were able to take the main lift up to the top of the first mountain while looking at spooking decorations and people dressed in scary costumes below us.  It was really cool to be on a chair lift late at night, especially while coming back down the mountain!

Sunday, October 19th:

We finished off our last day in Utah by first going to church with Sarah, David, and Josh.  We then drove straight to Payson to have lunch with Sarah's mom who I haven't seen in decades.  It was so fun to visit with Tricia and get caught up.

We then drove the hour back to Sundance where Lia and I had about an hour to pack before leaving for the airport.  David offered to drive us and took us on a scenic route through the Alpine Loop on our way to the airport.  We were able to see the beautiful fall colors all around us as we drove through the mountains and came out through American Fork Canyon.  We stopped once to take a few quick pictures of us with the fall colors and the mountains in the background.

Lia and the Alpine Loop.

After getting to the airport, we bought some dinner and boarded our plane and made it back to Seattle around 10 pm.  We were both so grateful to walk in our door a little before 11:30 p.m.  It was a quick weekend, but I am so grateful for Sarah's hospitality and for our chance to visit BYU before Lia's application goes in next week!

Lia's Fall Choir Concert

Ron joined me for the first time tonight to attend Lia's Fall Choir Concert.  It's hard to believe that this is her last, first choir concerts of the school year.  Since Lia made it into the elite choir group this year, called Vocal Ensemble, we had to buy her a black dress for all of her concerts.  In addition, it is a requirement that all Vocal Ensemble students make room in their schedule to be in Concert Choir.  So, Lia attends two choir classes a day at school this year.  She sang tonight in both choir groups and did a lovely job.  Her Vocal Ensemble group sang "Nobody Love," "Fix You," (by my beloved ColdPlay!), and "Time." Her Concert Choir sang "Ah, Poor Bird," "Music of Life," and "Be the Light."  As always, it was a lovely evening sitting in the PAC with Ron listening to our daughter sing.  I'm grateful that we have a few more of these before it is all over this June.  

Lia before the concert with her friends Emma, Corinne, and Hillary.

Lia singing in Vocal Ensemble.

And in Concert Choir.

Lia posing before the concert with her infamous choir teacher, Mr. Wisness, who everyone just calls "Wiz."