Halloween 2023

We just wrapped up our Halloween 2023 this evening.  Luckily, since cross country is now over and soccer and gymnastics were cancelled, everyone was able to come home from school to eat an early dinner and get dressed in their costumes in time for us to head out at 6 p.m.  Ron joined us again for the first time in a few years and accompanied the three younger kids and me around our neighborhood.  Lia waited behind at the house for about 30 minutes for two of her friends from church to join her for trick-or-treating.  Although it was in the low 40s, the rain is not arriving until tomorrow, so we were able to walk our neighborhood in chilly, but dry weather.  The kids had a great time running from door to door collecting their candy before returning back to our house around 7:30.  As tradition, we spent the rest of the evening watching Disney's old-school version of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" while answering the door and gorging out on candy.  Now another successful Halloween is in the books!

Emmett dressed up as Kylo Ren from the newer Star Wars trilogy.

Ella as a beautiful queen.

Logan was a figure in black with a digital, changing face mask.

Lia was a stunning Wednesday Adams who didn't even need a wig to complete her costume!

The Hartland kiddos on our porch steps with our pumpkins.

Mom and the kids ready to head out trick-or-treating.

The kids posing in front of our neighbor's awesome, pumpkin statue that she makes every year.

Our sweet, 92-year old neighbor, Donna, giving the kids candy.

Walking up the hill.

Posing in front of another door in our neighborhood that is always decked out each year.

We luckily ran into Lia with her friends, Alyssa and Suzette, on our way back down the hill.  I was able to snap a picture of them together.

Emmett's Preschool Halloween Party

Although the new regime who runs the preschool we have attended for ten years does not put on parties and events like the group of teachers did before the pandemic, it was still fun to join Emmett for 1.5 hours this morning for his Halloween Party.  Although there was no songs, organized games, bounce house, and delicious treat, Emmett still enjoying doing three crafts in the different classrooms before spending the majority of his time in the sanctuary playing games and then eventually running wild with the rest of the kids.  I just love watching him enjoy each holiday and all of the fun activities that come with it.  Here are some pictures of our morning together...

Emmett playing the ring toss in the sanctuary.

Tossing away.

Playing in one of the many collapsible houses.

Enjoying his snack with Auggie in one of the classrooms.

The boys painting their pumpkins together.

The boys rolling around the sanctuary after we returned back to this room at the end of the party.

Emmett and his new friend, Jordan, playing around on the floor.

Family Pumpkin Carving & Painting

After going to Disney on Ice on Friday evening and the ward Trunk-or-Treat last night, I was grateful that we had one free evening this weekend to sit around the table as a family to paint and carve pumpkins.  Since Ron and I are both a little burned out on carving and scooping out large pumpkins, we declared a new rule that all of our big pumpkins could only be painted.  Luckily, the children complied.  Ella and Lia painted the two large pumpkins we got this season, while Logan and Emmett carved their smaller ones.  Ron assisted Ella in painted an elaborate, Minion face on her pumpkin and I helped Emmett carve his mini pumpkin that we got while at the pumpkin patch last week with his preschool class.  We listened to spooky music and spent a nice and relaxing hour together working on decorating our pumpkins before heading to bed before a busy week ahead.

Ella starting to paint her pumpkin yellow.

Logan working on painting some details on the cursor arrow that he cut out of his pumpkin.

Lia painting her Frankenstein pumpkin green.

Watching Emmett paint his mini pumpkin.

The kids all lined up with their finished products on the counter.

Halloween Trunk-or-Treat

Our family headed out in the freezing, 40 degree weather this evening to participate in our ward's annual, trunk-or-treat.  Knowing that this activity finishes in the blink of an eye, we got there early and actually waited a few minutes until the magical hour of 6:30 arrived.  The kids then had a grand time going from car to car, collecting candy for the first time this holiday season.  We all headed home a little after 7 pm, frozen to the bone.  I'm grateful that we still have the opportunity to enjoy this fun tradition with all four of our kids!

Lia, Logan, Emmett, and Ella all dressed up and ready to go.

Lia posing with her friend, Alyssa, who is totally obsessed with Taylor Swift at the moment.

This is the third time in ten years that Lia and her friend, Suzette, have chosen to dress up as the same character for Halloween without coordinating it in advance!  They both dressed up as Elsa in 1st grade, Hermione Granger in 4th grade, and as Wednesday Adams this year.  Lia wore the traditional Wednesday dress and Suzette wore her formal dance dress from the new, TV series on Netflix.  Regardless, it was so fun to see these girls pose together with their best "Wednesday Adam's look" on their faces for a picture this evening.

We were also surprised to find Emmett's good friend, Danny, dressed up in a Star Wars costume with the rest of his family.  Since Emmett is Kylo Ren this year, we had to get a picture with Danny and his brothers.

Kylo Ren and Luke Skywalker fighting it out with their light sabers.

We always get a kick out of seeing how people decorate their car trunks.  Since Ella had just performed in the Matilda musical this past summer, she was super excited to find a woman dressed up as Miss Trunchbull with her car trunk decorated as the chokey.

Ella and Emmett receiving a pack of "Top Ramen" soup from a man relaxing by the fire.

Ella, Logan, and Emmett getting some candy amidst a bunch of ghosts.

Lia's Districts XC Meet

Lia wrapped up her sophomore, XC experience today by running in the Westside Classic District meet at Chamber's Bay in Tacoma.  Lia and her entire Varsity team qualified to run in this meet with the hopes of qualifying for the state meet next Saturday in Eastern Washington.  Although the seven girls tried their hardest to beat out a few key schools, they sadly came in 11th place and did not qualify for state for the first time in six years as only the top seven high schools advance to state.  Since this is one of Lia's least favorite courses with a hill that they have to run up two different times, she did not PR and ran her 5K in 23:19.  However, she was not sad at the end of the race and was able to handle the disappointment of not advancing to state with the rest of her team with a good attitude.  I was grateful to Lia for having a positive attitude and, overall, I was just proud of how hard she worked and how committed she was for this second season of running cross country with her high school.  Here are a few pictures of her race below...

Although it was a sunny morning, the temperatures were in the 40s.  So it was a super cold day to run a race, especially while wearing such little uniforms!  Here are Lia and Peyton running by me at the beginning of the race.

Lia and Peyton.

Lia running by me at a point in the middle of the race.

A close-up of my girl.

Lia heading down the final stretch of the race towards the finish line.

Lia and the beautiful Puget Sound in the background.

Giving it her all.

Lia heading towards the finish line.

The girls giving each other a group hug after everyone was done running.

The seven Varsity runners all in a row.

From left to right:

Julie, Emma, Esley, Lia, Hope, Peyton, and Erika

The Varsity team with their two alternate runners on the far left, and three other teammates who came to cheer on the team on the right.

Disney on Ice 2023: Frozen & Encanto

For the umpteenth time, the kids and I headed out tonight to go see the latest touring show of Disney on Ice, "Frozen & Encanto," in the ShoWare Center in Kent. We enjoyed taking Emmett for the first time and spent a delightful evening together.  It was so fun to watch Emmett's reactions with his jaw dropped over and over again when a new character or elaborate set came out onto the ice rink.  Besides Logan and Emmett getting restless during the intermission, it was a wonderful way to spend the evening with my three younger children.

The kids and me standing in front of some of the mountains of cotton candy for sale at one of the concession stands.

The kids posing in front of one of the many souvenir tables.  Luckily, since the toys on sale rarely change from year to year, the kids actually didn't ask to purchase a single item.  Hooray!

The kids in their seat waiting for the show to begin.

Elsa "letting it go" with snow falling from the ceiling.

The Frozen cast taking their finale bow.

Mirabel's sister, Isabela, flying down from the ceiling with flower petals falling all around her.

Mirabel putting together the pieces of the glowing tablet with the members of her family skating around her.

Preschool Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Emmett and I just spent a sunny, but very cold, morning at the pumpkin patch with his preschool class.  Since his preschool did not do field trips like this last year, it was fun to have an excuse to go on a morning adventure with a bunch of other parents and children his age.  We went back to the amazing Knutson Farms that we discovered a few years ago, but stopped going to after they started charging an entrance fee.  Since we got a group discount, I was happy to return and spend the entire morning enjoying all of the amazing activities that they had to offer with Emmett at my side.  Although we know a few different mom/kid friend combos in his preschool class, Emmett and I enjoyed spending the morning with Auggie, and his mom, whom we met last year through our elementary school and children's theater.  I'm so glad that I was able to spend this morning with Emmett as I know that our months are limited until he starts school full-time next fall.

Emmett posing with his friend, Raylan, who he spent a lot of time with last year since they were in the same class.

Emmett and Auggie doing the duck races.

Going on the awesome tricycle, race track.

The one mother and son photo that I managed to have taken of us this morning.

Emmett leaping across the giant tires.

Emmett and Auggie going on the grain bin ride with the moms.

Emmett, Auggie, and a few other boys trying to throw balls into the holes on the wall.

The boys pausing for a brief moment while running through the entire corn maze.