Fall Leaves

Visiting my Grandma in the Fall is always so much fun....even though some people might think it sounds like work. 

 

My Uncle Dean showed the boys the best way to get the leaves in the bag.

Josh really liked bagging them that way.

Emily stuck with the more traditional way.

Valerie just played.

 

The boys may have spent some time playing too. 

 

Uncle Dean's dog Sam loved playing in the leaves with the kids.  He would get mad and start to bark and growl when they would start to bag them up.  The kids thought he was really funny.

 

 

Somehow I got my kids to pose for pictures, and I think I got some cute ones. 

 

 

 Valerie spent a lot of time in this tree and loved to pose for me.  So I got a lot of her.  These were my three favorite. 

 

I love my Grandma, and I am so grateful she lets me bring my kids out to play and visit. 

 

 

 

Halloween

 It is Halloween once again.  We started off our haunting at Red Butte Garden After Dark with Grandma and Grandpa Bolander and family.

 

This year Grandma got Ryan to participate in the costumes.  When the boys decided to be Minions from Despicable Me there was no question that Ryan would make the perfect Gru, and he did.  Ryan's mom made these cute costumes for the boys and they were a favorite everywhere they went.  During the school parade both of the boys teachers stopped and told me how much they liked the costumes.  I hope they know how lucky they are to have a grandma who will make them costumes like this. 

 

 Valerie wanted to be a green witch this year which made me very happy,  because I tried fro years to get Emily to be a witch and she never would.  Valerie loved being the witch. 

Emily put together her own costume.  She is a Anime teenager.  She explained to me that in every Anime cartoon there is a teenager dressed like this.

 

The Sunday before Halloween Gru's mother showed up at our door.  We were all very excited to see her. 

Especially because she brought the fixing for caramel apples. 

She also came back to Trick or Treat. What would Gru be without his mother?

 

The night before Halloween we carved our pumpkins.  We have kids safe knives so the kids get to carve their own.  It can make for some fun ones. 

 

 It was a great Halloween....

 

 Happy Spooking. 

Preschool Pumpkin Patch

Ashley and Maci Pitcher, Valerie and Hillary Bolander, Sandie and Kaylie Westphal, and Brooke, Kingston and Kavika Saluone

 Today for Preschool we headed to Evans Family Farm in Lehi.  I have driven passed this little farm many times over the past year and a half,  but I didn't realize how much fun it was.

 There was a petting Zoo.  The kids loved this. We bought a little bit of the food.  At first they were not sure, but once they tried it they didn't want to stop feeding the goats. 

 

 Hay Bale Maze 

 

The Corn Box....Valerie loved this. 

 

The Hay Ride.

 

During the ride we stopped at the pumpkin patch and all of the kids got to pick a pumpkin to take home. 

 

 The Hay Bale Playground

 

The Corn Maze 

 The kids were not worried about getting lost,  but I was a little worried about loosing them.  

 

Train Rides

 

I even got a few pumpkin pictures. 

 

This next picture is my favorite one of the day.  I didn't realize what I had captured until I started looking through my pictures later.  It reminds me that I don't always need to have my kids smiling at the camera.  Sometimes I just need to watch and take pictures of them just doing what they do. 

 

 I love doing this Co-op preschool.  I am a having so much fun hanging out with these four cuties.  I hope they are having as much fun as I am. 

Comic Con 2013

When it was announced that Comic Con was coming to Utah there was no question that Emily would want to go.  so as soon as tickets went on sale Ryan and Emily got their 3 day pass.  Joe was also very excited to go.  10 and under are free, so he got to join in the fun too.

 

 

The first day they spent a lot of time going around and checking out the booths. They also went to a couple of panels.  The one they liked the best on this first day was on Character development.  In the panel Joe asked the question "How do you decide what color to draw a character?"  They told him that it depends on where the character lives.  If they are good or evil and what other characteristics they have.  Red is a popular color, because it can be used for both good and evil.  A black and red character is darker, and a red a gold character is more majestic. 

 

 One of the things Joe liked was that there were people dressed up and they would take their picture with him when he asked.  Deadpool is one of Emily and Joe's favorite superheros,  so this picture was a must. 

They thought this Hulk made out of balloons was pretty cool.

 

And these Spider Girls thought Joe was pretty cute.

Day two Josh decided to go check things out.  He liked parts of it,  but in the end he decided one day was enough for him.  He did not like the panels,  and by day two that was what Emily and Joe wanted to do the most. 

Gandolf

Tony Stark and Iron Man together.

Ryan liked this spider man at first,  but after he took the picture Spiderman looked at Emily and turned his sign over.  The other side says "Or a phone number." 

 

The kids loved Comic Con, and yes, Ryan was having a great time too. 

Another cool thing was the Lego Displays.  This is of the Wizard of Oz. 

 The Highlight of the event was that Stan Lee (The Man Who made Marvel what it is)  Was Coming to Comic Con.  They announced this the night before it started, and that was all Joe could talk about.  It cost $60 to meet Stan and get his autograph, so that was not an option.  Stan Lee was doing a panel Saturday night so they decided to try to get into that.  They made it in and it was the perfect way to end the event. 

 

The panels work just like any other panel.  Someone asks a question and Stan answers it.

 

Someone asked how he came up with all of the superheros. He said he did it to keep his job. His boss would tell him they needed a new comic and he would try to come up with one so he could get paid.

He was also asked who were his heros when he was a kid. What inspired him. He said he loved Robin Hood when he was young.

 

I think my kids very favorite question was when a guy asked Stan who would win in a fight between The Hulk or Thor. Stan told him that it depended on who was writing the script. Then he said that he was going to let everyone in on a big secret, but it could not leave this room. These are fictional characters. They are not real!! Emily and Joe loved that. 

 

Now that Comic Con is over the kids (and Ryan)  are already planning for next year.  Next time they are going in costume!

 

Church Dances

     Now that Emily is 14 that means she gets to go to the church dances.  I really didn't think she even knew about them, and I really didn't think she would be interested.  But,to my surprise as her fourteenth birthday approached, she and her friend Kelsie began talking about finally being able to  go to the dance.  Tonight I just dropped them off at their very first one. 

     It brought back a lot of memories for me and again made me feel a little old.  How did I get a teenager old enough to go to these?

    When I was fourteen/fifteen, my friend Becky and I often went to the church dances.  Nothing really profound happened at the dances, but we must of had fun, because we kept going back.   I don't think I will ever forget the first time we went though.  It was the first time that both of us had ever been to a dance.  We were nervous and a little silly.  When we got to the dance we migrated to the side of the room and watched.  We danced to the faster songs and the slow songs we just stood (a little awkwardly)  and talked.     We watched the other boys who were standing on the side.  Too chicken to ask girls to dance and we set our sites on Mr. Tie and Mr. Sweater.  We called them this, because we had no idea who they were, and that was what they were wearing.  They were acting a little silly.  If I remember right  they were measuring distances in the room.  I can't remember why.  Maybe just to avoid the subject of dancing with a girl.  They looked non threatening so Becky and I decided that we would ask them to dance on the next slow song, and we did.  After dancing with them we found out that they were both named Mark.  They were nice.  It was their first time at the dance too.  We danced with them.  I think we even switched on the next slow dance and danced with the other one.   and then went back to our separate places in the room.
 
     The next month we returned to the dance, and there was Mr. Tie and Mr Sweater again (Because they both had the same first name  we kept their Nick Names ).  Every month when we would go they would be there.  We usually would dance one dance with each of them (sometimes they would ask us and other times we them.)  and sometimes we even hung out a little.   We even told them their nicknames eventually.  I never dated either one of them, but I considered them my friends. I know there were other boys I danced with, but It was nice to have safe dance buddies. 

     I hope that tonight Emily and Kelsie have lots of fun, and come home with their own story to tell.  Even if it is just about how goofy fourteen year old boys are. 

School Begins

It is August 20th and School has already begun.

 

Emily is in 9th grade this year! 

She is going to be going to a different school again this year.  I feel a little bad that all through Jr High she has had to change schools every year,  but I think this new school will be a good one. 

Emily is very excited to be in Seminary this year.  I hope she likes it.   It was usually one of my favorite classes.

 

 

Joe is in Fourth Grade and is very excited because fourth graders can run for the school president.  He is already campaigning. 

He did not get the teacher he was hoping for,  but I really like the teacher he did get, and I think he will too.  She was over the student council last year and can probably give him a few pointers.

 

 

Joe was a little unhappy to find out that Makayla was in his class again,  but I think they will have fun this year. 

 

 Josh is starting 2nd Grade. 

 He was really nervous when we got to school,  but he was happy to be there.  His class is out in the portables this year.  Josh liked that.

 Valerie is in preschool this year.  She thinks she is all grown up. 

 We are doing a little co-op preschool this year with a few of her friends.  I am really looking forward to this.  Because she is my last I am glad I get to be such a big part of her last year home.