The Rest of October

October is always a busy, but fun month. Chris, Ashley, Rylee and I all celebrate our birthdays during the month. We also are busy getting ready for Halloween.

Towards the beginning of the month, we attended the Utah Ute vs. ASU football game.
It was in Utah, and when we went to look for tickets they were all sold out.
Chris found a website where individuals who own season tickets who can't make the game,
sell their seats. We found some great seats 9 rows from the field on the 50 yard line.
We were two ASU fans in a sea of red shirts! It was fun to (kindly) heckle the people around us. It was even better that ASU won!

My beautiful Rylee girl turned two! Here she is opening her present from Grandma and Grandpa Brown a few days early since she was heading with them back to California for a week.

The girls all had to help Dad put Rylee's "Harley" together.

Grandma and Grandpa were there to help too!

We had planned as a family to head to California at the end of October for Ashley's school break. Chris had to work in California that week anyway, and I didn't want to sit at home during her Fall Break while he was in California at his parents house. His work said he could spend the money he would have spent on a plane ticket on gas money for our car so we all could go. Grandma and Grandpa had come to visit the week before her school break, so they grabbed Madison and Rylee and drove them back to California with them a week early. That allowed Chris and I time with just Ashley (since she was still in school) and we had a blast doing tons of fun activities.

We first took her to Wheeler Farm, where we had a hayride, ran around a corn maze, and picked out a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch.

That same week I took Ashley to Discovery Gateway. It's much easier to go when I only have a five year old to watch, instead of all three of the girls. We invited my friend Jen, and her daughter Sofia, which is Ashley's close friend.

Decorating witch brooms.

The week my two girls were gone, I celebrated my 31st birthday. I spent the morning getting a pedicure while Ashley was at school (Halloween colors, with a spider and web), and then I picked her up and we met Chris at his work in Park City to go out to lunch. I love a little Mexican food restaurant in Park City, called El Chubasco so that was my request! Afterwards he headed back to work, and we went shopping in Park City with Jen and Sofia.

It was a wonderful day, and at the end, as we got Ashley ready for bed, I realized I didn't have any pictures from my birthday........so we set the timer and this is what we got............

A few days later it was time to head to California to see my two girlies that I missed so much. Grandma and Grandpa already had Ashley's and Madison's birthday presents,
so they let them open them early.

Rylee trying her big sister's scooter.

While poor Chris was busy at work, this is what one of my days with the girls looked like. Nothing like having Grandma and Grandpa live two miles from the beach.

The park is just around the corner from Gma's and Gpa's too.
I think we came here each day even if it was only for a bit.

Grandma had told the girls about a reptile store that had turtles, fish, snakes, etc. The girls loved it, but I am deathly scared of snakes. I had to have Grandma take the girls into that part of the store with snakes because I couldn't even stand to be that close to them.

They loved looking at the huge turtles.

Grandma's showing them how to feed the baby turtles with worms.
It was pretty disgusting to be honest, but the girls wanted to do it.

As we headed out the door, I bought the girls a snake stuffed animal.

On another day, I researched online and found a farm at the Orange County Fairgrounds, where the girls could tour a large barn, see cows being milked, and see a variety of animals.

Here they are at the entrance.

They loved the baby pigs.

If for some reason you read this and are SO worried about whether Chris had a good time even though he was working ;)..........here is your proof that he did.

Lunch at Pink's.

Skateboarding........

Warehouse with a million skate decks.

On our way home we stopped to get gas in a small town (I don't remember which one) and we took the girls on a walk through some farm country to get their wiggles out.

It was a wonderful trip and so glad we got to spend it with family.

One night we walked into Rylee's room to find this......

She had snuck a bag of Doritos into her bed, and was munching
on them like there was no tomorrow.

For card club in October, we made 10 cards to donate to the military. They are used by our military men and women to send home to friends and family. We could choose any type of card to make and I chose Christmas.

I just had to make pumpkin cake pops again this year for Halloween,
so I invited two young women from my ward (who are also my little buddies, and wonderful babysitters to my kiddos) over to make them too. We had a great time.

Ashley celebrated her 5th birthday on October 26th. I've decided to start doing birthday parties with friends on even birthday's, otherwise October will be a crazy busy month. This year we went to McDonald's for lunch, and invited a bunch of her friends and their mom's along. Ashley gave each of her friends a balloon and sucker for coming and spending her birthday lunch with her. That night she opened presents.

She got Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Tinkerbell nightgowns.

An umbrella that she had been wanting for months.

She wanted a princess cake so this is the result.
Didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but I'm no cake decorator.

Finally coming to the end of the month. Ashley's school allowed them to dress up, but she didn't want to wear her butterfly costume, because she said that it was only for Halloween........so we pulled this costume out of the costume box.

Getting ready to head to the Trunk or Treat. Can't remember why Madison was so upset, but she was not in the mood to get her picture taken. Ashley is our purple butterfly, and Madison is supposed to be a devil, but she couldn't find her devil horns, wouldn't wear her gloves or tail so she basically just looked like a red and black ballerina.

And Rylee took cues from Madison and looked like this..........She sure is a cute Gnome even when she is upset.

Chris went as Clark Kent, and so did Seth, a boy from our ward.
He kept telling everyone that night that the Bishop copied his cool outfit. I agree Seth. ;)

Happy Halloween!