Universal Studios

Nate told the kids months ago that he would take them to Universal Studios if they read the Harry Potter series. Well, Lia took him up on that challenge and read the whole series in just a couple months. And we decided that her efforts counted for the whole family. I'm glad she did it because we had a great time there! The Harry Potter land was our favorite part. All the rides were pretty cool with the exception of the Mummy ride which made Josh and Megan cry. We told them it wasn't a roller coaster (it was inside a building and we really didn't think it was) and that it wasn't going to be that scary. We were wrong on both things. Josh and Megan don't like roller coasters or scary things. They said through their sobs as we were getting off the ride, "you LIED to us!" I felt really bad because it was, in fact, really scary, but it was also kind of funny and we had to keep ourselves from laughing at their responses. What kind of parents do that?

Fall Break

Over fall break we took another trip down to California. Nate and Josh had tickets the Utah/UCLA game and since it was over fall break, the girls and I decided to join them. Our first stop was the beach in Santa Monica. Watching the kids play in the water together was one of my favorite parts of the trip!

October

In October, we drove down to California for Audrey's baptism. Lia and Laura and Kent played during the baptism. They practiced and practiced and it payed off. And hearing Lia and Laura practice the primary songs together made me so happy! Times like that make every dime we've spent (and will spend) on piano and violin lessons totally worth it! Also at the beginning of the month, Josh got yet another treat from our fabulous neighbors the Ah Mus, Megan thoroughly enjoyed her bubble bath at the end of a hard day, Nate went to Dads and Donuts with Laura, Josh got his Halloween costume in the mail, Laura and Megan and I went to the school carnival where Laura got to participate in the haunted house, Lia hung out with her long time friend Alexa, Nate and Josh got to go the BYU football game with Vince and Austin, and we revived Sunday night dessert nights with the Strouds and the Todds.

End of September/Beginning of October

At the end of September, I got to go with Megan on a field trip, we went to pack meeting, and I did my first bike event with my friends Jen and Jessica. It was the Goldilocks ride and we did 60 miles. It rained a good part of the ride and was a little chilly, but we had a lot of fun! And, we weren't even that tired after the 60 miles. That night the girls and I went to Women's Conference downtown with Janet. Megan was not quite old enough to go, but she really wanted to and we wanted her to come.We had a fun night together! That next weekend was General Conference. The kids dragged the bean bag and futon mattress upstairs and set up camp for the two days of conference. We went up the canyon in between sessions to see the leaves and have a picnic. For priesthood session, the kids and I went to Color Me Mine with Janet and Audrey (who flew in for the weekend). It was so fun watching them pick out and paint their pieces. Sunday night we had dinner with Nate's family to celebrate Nate's grandpa's 100th birthday. The grandsons were all given one of his guns and we shared memories of Grandpa Earl. I loved every part of the weekend!