Happy Halloween! Highlights from a busy week!

Getting ready to carve the pumpkin. Anna drew several different designs and had us all vote for our favorite one. This is the one that won out (I don't know how fair it was though as Anna told Andrew what one to vote for).

The top is off - time to clean out the pumpkin. Danny, Anna, and Andrew thought it was too gross, so I ended up doing this stage all by myself.

Anna supervising the carving.

The finished product.



Anna and Andrew love their Aunt Amy. She made some yummy halloween sugar cookies to decorate.





Andrew and Anna both had Halloween parades at their schools.









Anna was a rock star and Andrew was a power ranger. The weather was great for trick or treating. They went around our neighbor with their dad and got way too much candy. They get to keep 6 of their favorite candies and then the Halloween fairy comes and takes the rest and leaves a toy. Not a bad trade off.

Fellars Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Fellars Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Pedigree - Geneology

On Saturday I went to a Women's Health Conference that my sister-in-law Amy helped put on. It was a great conference. I really enjoyed a presentation by Dr. Wendy Ulrich on positive psychology. Here is a great website that explains more about it:

http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

Since I was at the conference, Danny took the kids to hike the Y. I have done it couple of times with them, but they have not done it with their dad. They had a great time. The highlight was a huge boulder rolled right down the Y while they were on the Y. Luckily nobody was hurt, but it just added to the excitement of the hike.

Last Saturday we braved the cold Provo weather and went to the BYU Homecoming Parade. This is a great parade. There is so much excitement in the air and the kids love it because everyone throws out so much candy. They also make and serve blue pancakes along the parade route. Here are some pics from the fun day.

Way to go Anna!



Anna was named one of the September students of the month for Provost Elementary for the 1st grade. She was also the September student of the month when she was in kindergarten. We are so glad that Anna is a good student and respects her teachers. Hopefully, some of this obedience will rub off on Andrew.



Speaking of Andrew, it is fun to watch him grow up and develop his own character. It looks like he may be left handed just like Danny and Anna (who knew I would be the minority with my right hand). He has developed an unusual hobby within the last month which is shown through pictures.

1. Print picture from computer



2. Color Picture



3. Cut out picture



4. Glue or tape if needed



5. Fun paper toy's to play with



So, there it is Andrew's last obsession. This is seriously all he does all day and hence what I do too. I try not to think about all the paper and computer ink we go through (on a positive note his coloring has greatly improved). A couple of weeks ago it was just veggie tales and larry boy pictures. Now we have moved on to transformers. He does not just color them either, they have to be the exact color. I am so thankful for wikipedia so I can look up all the different transformers and be informed of their exact image.

In closing, here is a sample shot of 2 days worth of his creations (taken during his veggie tale phase).

I saw this fun quiz on some of my friends blogs and thought it would be fun to try with Anna (6) and Andrew (3):

1. What is something that mom always says to you?
Andrew: I don't know
Anna: Anna
2. What makes mom happy?
Andrew: When I clean up
Anna: When I give you hugs
3. What makes mom sad?
Andrew: When I don't listen
Anna: When I get a red card (the form of discipline in Anna's class at school - I would be shocked if she actually ever did get one as she is such a rule follower)
4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Andrew: When you do funny things
Anna: When you tickle me
5. What was your mom like as a child?
Andrew: She liked toys
Anna: Nice
6. How old is your mom?
Andrew: I don't know
Anna: 29
7. How tall is your mom?
Andrew: He just raised his hand in the air and said taller than my hand
Anna: 10 inches
8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Andrew: Play

Anna: Do stuff with me and Andrew
9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Andrew: Cry
Anna: Takes care of Andrew
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Andrew: Food
Anna: Reading the hugest book in the whole wide world
11. What is your mom really good at?
Andrew: Making dinner
Anna: Reading
12. What is your mom not so good at?
Andrew: I don't know
Anna: Fixing stuff
13. What does your mom do for her job?
Andrew: I don't know
Anna: Taking care of me and Andrew
14. What is your mom's favorite food?
Andrew: Salad and grapes
Anna: Vegetables and fruit
15. What makes your mom proud?
Andrew: When daddy wins his football game (I have no idea where that answer came from as Danny does not play football)
Anna: That I am Anna's mom (Let's just say she has no self-esteem problems)
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Andrew: Dora's mom
Anna: I don't know (she thought this was a weird question)
17. What do you and your mom do together?
Andrew: Dance
Anna: Go to the store
18.How are you and your mom the same?
Andrew: WE ARE NOT THE SAME (He was very adamant that we were not the same)
Anna: Brown eyes and we are girls
19. How are you and your mom different?
Andrew: WE ARE DIFFERENT (He was a little confused I asked this after he just told me we are not the same)
Anna: You are bigger than me and have a different color of hair
20. How do you know your mom loves you?
Andrew: Kisses and hugs
Anna: Because that is what moms do (they love their kids)

Here are some pictures my brother Brandon took at my brother Craig's wedding the end of August.

Anna had a birthday party with some girls from her school and primary class on Friday. We had a lot of fun making crowns, playing games, and of course eating ice cream cake cupcakes.

As I mentioned before, while we were in WY we traveled on a helicopter from Sheridan to Casper. Cary Brus, a Despain family friend, was the one who set the whole thing up and he sent us some pictures he took with his cell phone. It was a fun ride, but next time I think I will see if they can turn off Andrew's sound on his microphone - he was having a little too much fun talking to us all.

First Day of School

Andrew and Anna both started school on Monday, August 18th. Andrew is going to WizKidz preschool (hence the shirt) and Anna started the 1st grade. They both love school and have great teachers.

Anna is also excited to be finally playing soccer with just girls. The last 2 years she had to play on coed teams, but once you are in 1st grade they have a league just for girls.



Anna turned 6 on August 25th! We had a family birthday party for her since everyone was here for my brother Craig's wedding.





Finally, Andrew's latest obsession has been Larry Boy from Veggie Tales. Anna had some friends over and they were playing dress up and Andrew wanted to dress up too. This is the best I could do for a Larry Boy costume on the spur of the moment.

Whenever we are in San Diego, we make sure and go to the dentist - Dr. D.Max (Danny's brother). Anna had a tooth that was not doing good, so it had to be pulled. Anna was so good even though she was scared. She was excited to loose her first tooth and get a visit from the tooth fairy.

Another highlight from the summer is swimming lessons. Anna and Andrew both love the water, so swimming lessons is very fun for them. They both did a great job in their classes.





We also just got back from a fun 2 week trip to Wyoming. We went up to Sheridan to see where my dad has been working the last year. He has a pond full of fishes right out his backyard, so Anna and Andrew loved to go fishing.





The highlight of the trip was being able to fly back to Casper in a helicopter. Of course, we did not have a camera with us, but there were a lot of other people taking pictures, so maybe I can get a hold of them and post them later. It was a blast to ride in the helicopter, I wouldn't mind using that form of transportation more often.