Character Parade

The Elementary School does a character parade to celebrate Halloween.  Each teacher picks a book and then the kids all dress like a character from that book.  Brody's class was "Spookley the Square Pumpkin"  It was really cute!  I love the activities that the school has for the kids to be involved with.  On Friday the 28th of October all the classes put on a parade through all the hallways at the school (it was a cold and rainy day) and showed off their costumes.  There were some creative classes!  Some of our favorites were the Smurfs, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Fancy Nancy.

 Brody - our little Spookley

Mrs. Spencers class

State Fair 2011

We made our annual trip to the State Fair on Saturday October 15th.  Mike, Theresa, Kevin and Mallory came with us to see the Texas State fair for the first time.  Of course we hit up all the fried food contest entries, rode some rides, saw some exhibits and enjoyed a fun day.  After it was over we were bummed because I think there was still so much more we weren't able to see.  Oh well, there is always next year, right?

Kevin and Mallory with the "Walking Taco"  It was basically a taco salad made inside the doritos bag.  It was really tasty.

The kids and I trying Fried Bubblegum.  It was just okay...the kids liked it though

 Brody chose this super huge slide to go down.  He went by himself but they made Ella go with someone.  It looks like it shouldn't be a big deal, but I got tired just climbing the stairs.  It went a lot faster than I thought it would and our bums left the slide when we went over the bumps...sort of freaked me out...but I am more and more of a wimp.

 Brody coming down...he looks a little nervous

 Ella coming down...she is thrilled - she is a daredevil.

 We test drove some Chevy cars while we were there and then saw where the kids could drive a car themselves.  They didn't move very well, so I ended up pushing them around the track.  I pushed Ella right over...she may need a few years to understand how to use a steering wheel.

When all was said and done we had a great time, and we were all exhausted! 

Fieldtrip to the Fire Station

This year for preschool we have scheduled fieldtrips for the kids so every six weeks we have a day where we go out and try and experience something new or that has to do with what we've been learning about.  For October we focused on safety.  As our field trip we arranged to visit a local fire house and the firefighters on duty totally exceeded my expectations for what they shared.  They gave a tour of the whole firehouse, including showing them their beds and their kitchen, let them explore the truck and ambulances, let them try on their clothes and climb in the helicopter.  The kids loved it!

Ella with her Isabella and Taelee

 Ella with one of the firemen...we are very grateful for their service!

 Trying on a coat...she makes me think of some weird Dr. Seuss character!

 Our preschool class...Josh, Ella, Isabella, Henry, Josie, Taelee and Jackson

 Ella in the Care Flite helicopter

 After the firestation we went to a local heritage museum for a few minutes and let the kids see what was there.  They all got a kick out of ringing this huge bell.

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa Mann

While we were in Utah we made a quick trip up to Logan to see my Grandma and Grandpa Mann.  We had a nice evening and the kids were able to have fun playing with all the same toys that I did when I was little and would visit my Grandma's house.

BYU!

After the museum we wanted to go to the BYU Bookstore and walk around campus.  It has changed a lot in the almost 10 years since I graduated!  The bookstore was fun.  We were all able to get some new BYU gear...even Paul got himself a hat.  I was also able to get my fix of cinnamon bears (both chocolate covered and regular) and a little bit of fudge.  Then we took the kids to walk around campus.  I love this campus!  I loved attending BYU and I love visiting it still.  I love that my kids thought it was so cool to see where Mom went to school and then to hear them say how they couldn't wait to go to college someday.  To top off the experience there was a small rainstorm - just enough to make it smell like wet asphault (one of my favortie smells).  It was definitely a highlight for me!

 After we walked the campus we had to hit the BYU Creamery for some ice cream.  Crystal and Brian brought Zach and Hayden too and we got to spend some more time with them.  This trip was the first time these cousins got to meet and we wanted to take advantage of all our time with them.

Thanksgiving Point Museum of Ancient Life

After all the excitement of the wedding was done we got to spend time hanging out with family we hardly get to see.  On Saturday we took the kids to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point.  It was a really cool museum.  The kids had lots of hands-on exhibits and things to try.

 Izzy, Ella and Brody

 There was a big water and sand table and the kids got to see how running water causes erosion.  It was so cool that even us adults got sucked into making levies and seeing them fall.  Pretty cool.

 There were some big skeletons!  We learned how many huge dinosaur skeletons have been found in the Utah/Wyoming area.

 Making smoke rings

We have awesome kids.

Kevin and Mallory's Wedding Day

On September 30th Kevin and Mallory were sealed in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  It was a beautiful day!  I love this time of year and was especially excited to be able to be in Utah for a little bit of fall.  We are so excited to add Mallory to our family and we are so happy for the both of them.

ALL the Burton Girls

All the Burton brothers (we get to include Paul because he is a brother to these guys!)

 All the Burton men -- this is a tradition from all our weddings.  Kevin and David have grown a bit since our wedding in 2003

 Our beautiful Ella!

 The three amigos.

 Some more of the Burton ladies...Theresa, me, Grandma Burton, cousin Crystal, Aunt Marilyn, Emma

We tried for a group shot with Paul and all the kids...this was the best we got.

I didn't take pictures at the reception, but it was very nice.  LOTS and LOTS of treats to try and people to talk with.  It was so fun to get to see all our friends and family that have moved to Utah that we haven't seen in forever.