Spooky Season

Fall Break has come and gone. Daddy got to adventure with us this year. Read on to hear about our break activities and festive things we've been up to...

Grannie helped kick off our break with a visit to Utah. She spoiled us! She came with matching Halloween outfits for the kids, presents, homemade zucchini bread, and fruity popcorn. She also babysat while Andrew and I went on a date. She did lots of dishes. We got to see lots of family. I hosted 11 Dittos from BYU for dinner on Thursday, October 17. The last of the group didn't leave until after 10pm. I belly-laughed as we played "signs," "charades," and heard about their peaks and pits. We learned that "borrowing" bikes from others is a mode of transportation when you're carless. Someone else got the lowest score in their class on their religion exam and some teasing may have followed... We saw the Dittos again at Alysee and Dallin's baby shower on Saturday. 

Icy-cold temperatures changed our Friday plans. Grannie and I attended the temple while the kids were at school. That night, we drove by some decked out Halloween homes nearby. Several of them were themed-- pirate theme, Stranger things, Nightmare Before Christmas, Inside Out, Barbie and Ken, and Harry Potter. Wow, it's incredible how much money and time people put into their decorations! The Harry Potter house was unbelievable. The 2 decorators were outside handing out prizes when you completed the scavenger hunt! Doughnuts in the car were a festive treat and the hot chocolate afterwards was a must! We froze our buns off.

Monday, October 21

We utilized our Thanksgiving Point passes. We went to the curiosity museum, brought sack lunches, rode the carousel, went to the Dinosaur museum, and enjoyed ice cream cones. We went with the Bai family. James has a friend named Jordan in his class. Jordan's younger brother Alex is in Isabelle's class too. They were both in heaven following school friends around and I adore Andrea (the mom). We left for Thanksgiving Point at 8:50am and returned home at 2:30pm. It was a packed day. I learned that the cones there are dirt cheap-- like $1.40 for 2. Penny stayed home with Andrew to sleep.

Tuesday, October 22

We spent the day with George and Jessica doing a Halloween craft, going to the park, playing at Jessica's house, and eating lunch together. Having Jessica back is the best! In the evening, Andrew took the big kids to see the movie "Transformers One" in theaters. I felt like the worst mom in the universe when I learned how much it terrified Izzy. Oops. It was PG and the trailer didn't look scary.

Wednesday, October 23

We hiked Stairs Gulch which was short and pretty. It's not too far away and really shows off Utah's fall leaves/colors. We even dared to cross the river. The children found "wands" along the trail for all of us and played pretend Harry Potter along the way. Then we drove to Hidden Falls nearby which hardly counts as a hike but is beautiful nonetheless. The kids could have rock climbed all day and enjoyed the enormous boulders in the mountains.  Later, we went to Riverton City Park and I ran into 2 students from the class I've been subbing. They were thrilled to see me! That afternoon, we had a playdate with friends and ended the night eating at Texas Roadhouse to celebrate Andrew's new job.

Penny kept trying to jump out of our arms into the water

Thursday, October 24

We strolled through quaint Gardner village and did the witch scavenger hunt. Jess and George joined. It's a charming place and watching the kids bust out moves to the festive Halloween music was hilarious. We splurged for face painting. That evening, Andrew and the big kids tried out a new pumpkin patch/thriller park called Kuwahara's. It's near our house and has excellent reviews. I was bummed to stay home with sleeping Penny but also glad to save $ and not pay for my admission. It's not cheap. The kids got to have a dance party, jump in endless bounce houses, walk through haunted villages with live actors and see a pirate blow fire. They were fans and James was so exhausted he could barely crawl into bed when they got home.

Gardner Village

Kuwahara

Friday, October 25

We went to the farms at Thanksgiving Point with Grandma Langlois. This was our best experience there to date. It was empty, there wasn't a line for the train rides or pony rides, the sun was shining, the temperature was perfect and daddy got to be there. Seeing Penelope explore new things is my favorite. She was so fascinated by the animals (a true animal lover) and cherished the pony ride. She could hardly sit still or contain her excitement.

Saturday, October 26

Water=life in Penny's opinion. She could live at the Herriman rec-center pool. She was kicking her legs and waving to the lifeguards. She had her fill of fun for about an hour and then started shivering. Andrew and James showed off numerous cool moves on the high dive and regular sized diving-board. Flips included... That evening, James, Isabelle, and Andrew did some backyard camping. The weather took a cold turn and we decided camping in the mountains would be freezing. Izzy came inside at 2:00am because she was too chilly. 

Other happenings...

• I mentioned we've had lots of family time... Blayre, Ryan, Owen, Olivia, David, Addison, and Peyton came to UT for general conference. We met them for dinner after the Saturday afternoon session. Loved seeing them!

Saturday, October 5

My cousin Sara had us over for dinner. The time flew by. They have the best yard and outdoor space. Sara has 3 girls and a boy and they are the perfect ages for playmates for my kids. All of us were bummed when it ended. Penny liked sitting in Uncle Doug's lap and eating to her hearts content.

Sunday, October 13

• Halloween

Let me introduce you to the quickest ninja in town, the most adorable witch you've ever seen, and a dalmatian sure to be recognized. I helped during James' class party, took the kids to "Crave" to get their free cookies, and we trick or treated in our neighborhood which can't be beat. Jess, Chris, George and their friends Sofie and Clarke joined as well as Valerie's fam, her mom, and sister. Andrew and I skipped our scary movie this year which I'm clearly devastated about...

• Isabelle got awarded at school and got a Mustang Movers award for being an "empathetic communicator." Her teacher nailed it! Izzy is 5 going on 20. In her teacher's words: "She listens and waits for others before taking her turn to talk. She is always kind and encouraging others by responding positively to what is being said. She is happy, friendly, helpful, and respectful. She helps make our classroom a fun place to be." So proud of my girl! And grateful I could be there this time (I had to miss James' last month.) Each month, teacher's pick one student from their class to get the mustang mover award. There are different themes. I feel lucky to have such amazing kids and have both of their awards displayed on our refrigerator. Izzy hasn't wanted to take her Mustang Movers t-shirt off.

Friday, November 1

• Some friends gave us some extra tickets they had to Cornbelly's. Many thanks to the Pattersons! We hadn't gone in years and didn't want to pay the steep price for admission. We went for free on Saturday, November 2. Watching pig races, seeing a 750 pound pumpkin dropped and smashed from a crane, rides, playgrounds, slides, ziplines, haunted houses, animals, and more made for a memorable afternoon. It was quite brisk hence Penny's snowsuit...

We're back in our routine now that Andrew's working, the kids are back in school, and I'm done substitute teaching. Fall, please stick around a bit longer...

Happy Fall Ya'll

Summer seems to want to stick around, but we've had some glimpses of fall and it's exquisite. Keep reading to hear about a hodgepodge of our messy, but wonderful life. 

Harry Potter Special Showing

The theater near us showed old Harry Potter movies briefly. We sped through the book "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" so we could see the movie on the big screen. Sirius Black was a bit scary to the kids for a large chunk of book 3. When the children found out he's not the bad guy after all, it was comforting. Oops. Spoiler alert. I took the big kids to the theater. It was a little frightening but we survived. We're pausing the rest of the Harry Potter series for now. Isn't it obvious that Izzy dressed up just like Hermione?

Saturday, September 7

James' Award

I got a happy email and phone call about James. He was awarded in an assembly for being a curious thinker/learner. His teacher's nailed it. I have never met a more curious boy. Just the other day, Andrew mentioned I blew I circuit with my curling iron. James couldn't help but ask all about it. Andrew gets into details with James that I didn't know a 7.5 year old can grasp. I was bummed not to be able to attend the awards assembly (I was subbing), but Andrew got a video and picture of the event which helped. James got a t-shirt (which he shows off regularly), cookie, and certificate. 

Friday, September 20

Hikes

This is the time of year that my body aches to be in the mountains. The fall leaves are stunning. We hiked the Draper Suspension bridge again. We've been on this hike a handful of times. We had a lovely time.

September 21

We also tried a new hike that has been on my list. We went up Big Cottonwood canyon and hiked Dog Lake and Lake Mary. The hike started with a case of the grumps but thankfully those disappeared. Izzy was nicknamed "Skittlebelle" and determined throughout the hike when it was appropriate for a little sugar pick-me-up. Let's just say skittles were deemed necessary more often than ever. This hike was harder than I expected, but our active kids made it look easy. We saw a gorgeous bird along the way. Andrew later looked up the name. A bluejay. It followed us for awhile and was so vibrant and blue. James was in rock-climbing heaven. There were a plethora of ginormous rocks to climb and heights don't stop that boy. Dog Lake was kind of lame, but Lake Mary more than made up for it.

Friday, October 4

Penny couldn't hang. Being carried for 3.5 miles is draining.

Since soccer officially ended, our schedule has opened up and our Saturdays will be a lot more free. You better believe more hiking plans are up my sleeve.

Soccer

This has been the best season of soccer to date! The season started on Saturday, August 17 and ended on Saturday, October 12. Both kids are improving. The league switched fields and I liked the new park and setup. We also lucked out with awesome coaches. Izzy's was a "football" player/fan from Scotland with the best accent. James' coach was very hands-on and into the game. Other teams had a hard time beating James' team. Both kids scored a goal! James is a defender his coach depends on. It's so great to have him be so into the game that he doesn't want to sit out. Instead of counting down the number of games left, I'm actually kind of bummed to say goodbye to soccer for now. We bought Izzy her very own cleats this season instead of having her wear tennis shoes. Soccer is getting serious! So serious my mom cheering has come out more than ever before. I noticed the day after a game as I was trying to sing that my voice was a bit hoarse. Until spring!

Go Sharks!

Go Gaters!

Father and Kid Campout

Our ward does an annual father and kid campout. Last year, we had a conflict and couldn't attend. James, Izzy, and Andrew set out to Parley's canyon on Friday, September 27. I packed them sack dinners to eat on the way. They had smores and breakfast the next morning. The kids could hardly wait to go on this campout. They stayed up hours past bedtime hearing scary stories from older kids, Izzy made a mermaid with a group of girls, and they came home smelly. It was a success. I went out to Slackwater Pizza with some women in the ward who's families were also camping. I need to plan another time to go eat that stellar pizza. Fall break is coming up and I suggested a family camping trip. What? You read that correctly. It would be nearby, only be 1 night, and include a stunning hike. The kids were disappointed I wasn't invited to the ward campout, but they sure enjoyed their time outdoors.

The Wild Robot

Call me miss spontaneity, but we decided day of to go see this movie as a family. It was a Tuesday, so tickets were cheaper which sparked the idea. I have the 3rd graders I've been subbing to thank for the idea. Many of them went to see the movie over the weekend and enjoyed it. It lived up to the reviews. Now we need to get our hands on a copy of the book to read together. Jessica, Chris, and George joined us at the theater which made it extra fun.

Tuesday, October 8

My One-Year-Old

Penelope is 1. Writing this hurts my heart. How can this be that she's one? Her personality is darling. She is teeny. She just wants to keep up with the big kids and is our earliest walker at 11 months. She is friendly and likes to greet everyone with "hi." (She often waves and says hello to people on TV). Life is so fascinating. Penelope points and says, "what's that?" Knowing how to say Mama and Dada comes in handy too. Her latest thing is saying "woof woof" like a dog. She loves dogs! I breastfed her the longest of any of my kids. The doctor said we could switch her to cow's milk at 11 months and you better believe I stopped the day I could. Penny is an early bird. We celebrated her birthday at the park. She is a huge fan of swings. Anytime I would take her out of the swing, she would point to get back on the swing. She smiles with her whole face! We got Penny her very own remote control to play with. She also got a set of baby car keys, and a book. She is so interested in books and absolutely loves them. She giggles as I'm reading to her. She ate every bite of her cupcake. She LOVES food though you wouldn't guess that. Penelope is LOUD! She screeches/screams and makes happy sounds at volumes that pierce our ears. Having Penelope around has been healing. She makes every day happier.

Andrew took Penny to her 1 year appointment (I was subbing). Here is proof that she is petite (And our smallest child by  5 pounds at this age!). 

Penny's stats:

                    Height: 27 " (4th percentile)

                    Weight: 16 pounds 9 ounces (1st percentile)

                    Head: 18 inches" (70th percentile)

Snuggling the little "sister bear" Izzy got her from the Berenstain Bears.

Fall Pictures

Getting the kids school pictures back is always a highlight. We also took family pictures at Bridal Veil Falls in Provo with Malia on Friday, September 26. I am aching to see those and will post them probably in November if I dare give you a sneak peak of our Christmas card.

Wednesday, September 25

No Fear

James has been so eager to finally get the chance to do the ropes course at Thanksgiving Point. Look how high it is! Andrew and James raced on part of it and Andrew said James legit beat him. During their hour canopy tour, the girls and I explored. Penny had both pointer fingers out constantly. There was so much to see!

Saturday, October 12

Homeownership

Our water heater went out. My scorching hot showers have been put on hold. Thank heavens we have my parent's house nearby. We got ready for church there yesterday. We are getting a new hot water heater today.

Stay tuned for some spooky costumes and activities.

BIG BambooHR!

Andrew signed a job offer! Booyah! BambooHR is NOT a startup. Startups are risky and I've been ready to divorce them for awhile. Here's to stability and finally having a 401k option/matching.

BambooHR has been around for 15 years! They have never done layoffs in that time! The company is large! There are 40 engineering teams. BambooHR is located in Draper! Employees work both at home and in the office. From what we've heard, BambooHR is close to IPO ing which means they'll be a publicly traded company. This shows they're doing well.

BambooHR is a company that makes software for managing HR and payroll. Andrew will still be doing Quality Assurance.  Yippee! For awhile, we wondered if it was time to change fields. The tech industry has been brutal to us. Andrew's official job title is "SDET" which stands for software engineer in test. BambooHR wants Andrew to write the framework for their automated testing efforts. 

His start date is October 21 or 28 pending his background check. I have been long-term substitute teaching a 3rd grade class for a few weeks. First, the teacher's mom died. The day before the teacher was supposed to return, her dad passed away too. This poor teacher. I have been a busy woman working full-time as a school teacher and teaching piano before and after school 2 days a week. I didn't intend to sub so much. The teacher will be out next week too, so I will continue helping them out to provide some stability for the students. Penelope is lucky to have had so much one-on-one time with her playful daddy.

A neighbor sent me this and said she thought it was the cutest to see them all waiting on the steps for carpool in the morning after waving goodbye to me.

Andrew had his first call with the BambooHR recruiter on Thursday, September 12. He had an interview with them on Monday, September 16. After that, the next person that needed to interview Andrew went to Japan for 2 weeks and we had to *patiently wait for his return... Andrew had another interview with BambooHr on October 2. This was a technical interview where they checked Andrew's skills. Let's just say he passed with flying colors. Andrew was told he can write code faster than the interviewers and they kept telling him to stop and they'd seen enough. They were also impressed he was conversing with them while coding and said they could stop talking if that would be best. 

Andrew had a final interview with BambooHR on Tuesday, October 8 and it went swimmingly. The head of QA kept trying to beat around the bush but finally just said, "you'll be getting an offer later this week." Andrew got a verbal offer October 9 and the written offer today, October 11. They did a thorough check-in with 4 references and told Andrew all gave him "glowing" reviews.

We know someone that works at BambooHR and they have wonderful things to say. It's a substantial company.

Andrew also interviewed to be an SDET at the church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints. He had a second interview with them on Friday, September 27 and didn't hear anything back, even after sending a follow-up email and thank you. When Andrew got the offer from BambooHR, he texted a family friend of ours that works for the church and was told the church hired an internal candidate and that HR was supposed to have emailed. I think BambooHR was meant to be. I was able to get to the point of praying that "I would see the Lord's hand throughout this process" instead of "bless that Andrew will get the job from the church or Lendio."

The story behind Andrew being let go is bizarre and I won't get into it on a public platform. Let me just say it was the worst job Andrew has had by a landslide. The company had mandatory meetings and the topics were political. Employees were told they had to memorize the Bill of Rights or they would be fired. Some other meeting topics included gun control, presidential candidates, VP debates, etc. Company time was also used to watch documentaries unrelated to their investment app. None of this was appropriate for the workplace. 

Someone high up in leadership position had a drug addiction and still had decision-making power. This led to many things happening that didn't make sense like an entire department being let go on a whim, and someone Andrew hired being fired without cause. Andrew lost his job on  Wednesday, September 4. Andrew's old boss texted him after the fact saying she would highly recommend him for a job. Andrew has had experience working for many companies and has seen a variety of QA methods. He knows what he's doing. BambooHR is lucky to have Andrew or "Ditto" which I'm sure is what he'll go by.

We have a babysitter booked for tonight and have been dreaming about and planning our celebratory date for weeks. I'll give you a hint. Trader Joe's is involved...

Adios August

In a nutshell, August can be summed up in 2 words: travel and school.

Trip numero uno:

After lots of deliberation, Andrew and I decided it would be best if I stayed home with Penelope instead of attending the Ditto reunion. Andrew took James and Isabelle camping with his family at Lake Roosevelt. This lake is about 2 hours from Spokane which makes for a great deal of driving for us. Andrew and the kids left on Saturday, August 10 and drove the 11 hours to Brent and Deena's house. After church on Sunday, they drove another 2 hours to the campsite. That much driving with sweet petite (Penny's affectionate nickname thanks to Andrew), would have been torturous. Andrew and the older kids drove back to Utah on Thursday, August 15  and got home late. Andrew deserves a round of applause for navigating driving and dealing with the hooligans. He's my favorite.

It was a small group this year! So many Dittos couldn't come.

The kids had oodles of fun. They couldn't tell me fast enough about everything they got to do! "Mom, we stayed up late every night!" "Mom, Lincoln and Emmett's families had electric fly swatters to kill the bees!" "Mom, can we sleep in our sleeping bags tonight? We like those better than our beds." I heard about glow in the dark balls and the kids keep singing a song they learned there. James tried the zipline! He also went cliff jumping. That boy has no fear. They went tubing, Andrew got to waterski, and James attempted wakeboarding. Izzy excitedly asked me, "mom, have you tried trail mix? It's so good! Aunt Julia gave me some at the lake." I missed out!

While at home, I stayed busy. I read/listened to 4 books, did some decluttering/organizing, painted our kitchen island, went on lengthy early morning walks, and ate superb food.

School

School began on Wednesday, August 21. James started 2nd grade and is continuing the Chinese immersion program. Isabelle started all day kindergarten! Eek. The house is extra quiet. So far, both kids are loving school. In fact, they were disappointed to hear that they didn't have school on Labor Day. Izzy was giddy to finally get homework! I haven't seen her smile as big as she did when she come home with her "Lexia" login. Lexia is an educational computer program. Getting to experience PE for the first time was the best day ever. 

The youngsters both prefer to buy lunch at the school. Isabelle can't stop talking about the scrumptious chicken wings. James is in the same class as one of our good friends in the ward, Emmie. Isabelle also has a friend in her class too, Ari. Isabelle didn't get the teacher I hoped for, but it seems to be going fine. She is learning that you can't talk in class and her card on the behavior chart has been pulled a few times...

We did our annual dessert and father's blessings night. This year, we changed it up and went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream since we had buy 1 get one free coupons. We rode our bikes there! Penny did great in the bike trailer. Izzy rode the whole way on her new big bike without any problems. You go girl! We had to go on some major roads to get there. The journey was 1.5 miles each way. Izzy had bubblegum ice cream and James changed it up and had mint chocolate chip. 

Penny was a fan

Trip numero dos

ABH (The All Brothers Hike) happened in August this year which is rare! It's usually in September. In fact, the last 2 years, it has been over stake conference weekend for us. It will be nice to have Andrew as my date this year. Andrew flew to Seattle the evening of Wednesday, August 28 and returned home the morning of Sunday, September 1. This year, the brothers hiked 20 miles on the WA coast from Rialto beach to Ozette lake. I guess it got pretty rocky at times. They drove through Forks, WA and didn't even stop! Twilight fans, be outraged. Vaughn didn't come, so there were 6 of them. 

While Andrew was away, we went on a hike of our own. Lower Bells Canyon Reservoir is a hike we've come back to again and again. It's not too far away and gorgeous. We learned from our friends that this hike has 2 entrances and we did the steep/stair one like usual. Next time I want to try the other entrance. (There wasn't any parking left.) Despite a few injuries, I'm glad we did it.

Bye Bye August. Welcome September! I've anxiously awaited your arrival. Our air conditioning bill was insane and I'm welcoming these cooler temperatures with open arms. We're entering a season where we can crack the windows! I contemplated restarting my gym membership but it's too glorious to be indoors. Since the weather relaxed a bit, we finally got our long-awaited privacy trees! We got 5 arborvitae trees and decided to pay extra for professionals to install them. (And get a warranty.) I've wanted these babies since the instant we moved in which was over 3 years ago. Now hopefully the sun won't burn them to the ground. Though the employee I talked to about the trees in July told me that "I seemed very responsible" after our 10 minute conversation and that I could keep them alive in the heat. We waited. Looking forward to the day when I can't see into our neighbors home. We're one step closer.