Springs Preserve Halloween 2010

We enjoyed the Springs Preserve's Halloween festivities again this year. Friday was their opening night so we took advantage of the free evening and made plans to go. What a great night. The weather was wonderful and the crowds (maybe because it was opening night?) were light. As always, they did a great job of decorating and had a lot of fun activities planned for the kids. Might be the last time Kyle will really be interested but the girls still love it. And with Halloween on Sunday this year (always a bummer), any Halloween activities we can cram in prior to the 31st are welcome.

Isabelle's Baptism

Isabelle Thompson was baptised Saturday, October 9th. We were so lucky that the stars aligned, Tripp was back in town, Kyle didn't have a game, Abbie's coach didn't mind her missing a game and we could make the trip to L.A. and be there.

In fact, Kyle had Friday off so after Abbie's field trip, we hit the road. We didn't make it in time to see any family that night but we did get some dinner and a good night sleep in the hotel. The next morning we met bright and early for Izzy's party. The girls had a ball bouncing with their cousins. After the bounce house fun, it was back to Paul & Laura's for play time and lunch. Pat & Jen drove through Yuma and picked up Chili Pepper for everyone (I think MamaThom & PapaThom might have treated us). Isabelle had all the kids upstairs dancing. Not too unusual. But they were dressed up in costumes (again, not so unusual) and the boys were asking the girls to dance. She taught them how to slow dance. It was pretty funny. Tripp still hasn't quite recovered.

That afternoon we met at the church for the baptism and confirmation. It was just her ward so it was only Isabelle. So nice. None of the craziness you get here in Vegas. How lovely it all was. I'm glad Abbie and Daisy got to witness it. After the photos we piled in cars and met for dinner. Doodle decided to have a monster meltdown so she and I spent dinner in the parking lot in our car. Super sad as I missed enjoying Tripp's family and Laura's as well (her parents, Marisa & John and Jeremy & Katie came down that day)which is always fun. Rats.

Daisy fell asleep four minutes before Tripp and Abbie returned to the car. So we headed back to the hotel and put her in bed. She was so rotten that she didn't want anyone near her...just to be in our bed by herself to fall back asleep. I took Abbie to the pool, which she had been begging me to do since our arrival Friday. We fell in bed later that night and got a bit of a late start Sunday. It was absolutely worth it. One full day of cousins made Abbie & Daisy's month. They are still talking about it. Last week Grandma Sandy came for a day and Abbie was trying to get her to dance like Isabelle and Seth.

Thanks for including us Paul & Laura. Hope to see you all again sometime soon!

Anderson Dairy Field Trip

Abbie's preschool took a really fun field trip to Anderson Dairy Friday morning. Little brothers and sisters were invited so Daisy got to come along and since it was a teacher work day, some big brothers and sisters came along as well. We invited our fun next door neighbor Joel and his sister Juliana who are new to the area (just arrived this summer) and home school so probably don't get opportunities like this too often. The girls (especially Daisy) really dig Joel so they were over the moon at his arrival.

Anderson Dairy is really darling. They do a great job at making the dairy a fun place for the little guys to visit. It is a perfect field trip for preschool through maybe second or third grade. Lots to see and wonderful dairy friends to meet. And the ice cream at the end was a huge hit. Several families met at the park afterwards for lunch and some fun. It was nice for Abbie to get a little play time with her school friends. Very few of them are returning from last year so she has a lot of new kids to get to know.

Daddy got to come along and that was probably the best part of the entire experience for Abbie. Daisy was just excited to be able to do a big kid activity. She is struggling with being the little guy in the family and not being able to do much when her big brother and sister are involved in so many things. She really wants to grow up a little!

Daddy Love

Daddy came home from his two week trip to Dubai and the Netherlands Friday and was showered with little girl love. He even got a little big boy love as well (teenagers, it seems, aren't the showering type).

Daisy didn't want to leave his side and Kyle seemed happy to have someone able to stay for the entire game instead of me, who has been juggling the two soccer schedules and only making half of games for the last few weeks and none of the game last week (scheduling two games at the same time at different parks is pure evil).

We even got to celebrate his 40th birthday yesterday. With school, dance, a doctor appointment, homework, and two soccer practices it was quite understated but Abbie has been insisting for weeks that we take him to sushi and bowling. We didn't make the bowling, couldn't afford the iPad he wants but we did manage to finally pull Kyle out of his teenage funk for long enough to try some sushi that he ended up loving, enjoy a really quick but nice visit with MamaThom and PapaThom and give Tripp a lot of loves and kisses. It certainly isn't the birthday he deserves but a soccer friend of ours last night said something really prophetic, "We are parents, we knew what we were getting into." Well maybe some people didn't and certainly many people still expect more or complain about the birthday celebration they think they should have but Tripp is the best and appreciated the few small pieces of good we were able to get out of yesterday.

He hit the road (or the sky) this morning for (well, I really don't know where). He was asked to speak at Notre Dame to Professors or students or something but luckily this group must have a short attention span and he is back in a couple of days so we can give him some more "Daddy Love".

Happy Birthday Sister Howey!

Kristen graciously allowed us to celebrate her birthday a week late (we couldn't find a time closer to her birthday that worked with both our schedules) and it couldn't have been better timing.

With Tripp still out of town and Kyle spending a special weekend with MamaThom and PapaThom (didn't go over well with the girls - both having Kyle gone and not being invited), they needed something fun to look forward to. Our million usual Saturday activities weren't cutting the mustard so a walk to the smoothie store and buying Sister Howey a smoothie was just the thing they needed to rally spirits.

There is nothing like a dose of Kristen to make Abs and Daisy smile. We had a lovely walk and tasty smoothies and a lot of fun wishing her a belated "Happy Birthday". Thanks again, Sister Howey, for letting us share in your birthday fun. We love you!

Fall Soccer

Fall soccer actually started in early August. Kyle started practicing three days a week about a month ago. He has a few new players on the team and this year moves up to the final level where they man the entire field and play on a full field (I believe). His week long soccer camp (the most intensive one to date) paid off...blisters and all. The team was impressed with his much improved juggling skills (not always his strong suit). And big news, Abbie is playing soccer now as well. She actually started practicing about the same time as Kyle. Luckily, her coaches are parents of a sister team of Kyles so the practices are at the same place and roughly (give or take an hour) the same time. Yay for me.

Eagles Schedule - Played at Green Valley High School

9/11: Noon

9/18: Noon

9/25: Noon

10/2: 9 a.m.

10/16: Noon

10/25: Noon

10/28: 6:30 - at another field

11/6: Noon

11/13: Noon

The Grasshoppers - Played at Sonota Park

9/11: 2:30 p.m

9/18: 1:30 p.m.

9/25: 12:30 p.m.

10/2: 2:30 p.m.

10/9 : 11:30 a.m. (probably out of town this week)

10/16: 11:30 a.m.

10/23: 1:30 p.m.

11/6: 9:30 a.m.

11/13: Noon

Labor Day Weekend At Duck Creek

We spent Labor Day Weekend at the cabin with Grandma & Papa. We left Friday a little later than planned but early enough to enjoy a quick visit with MamaThom and PapaThom on the way up the road and a little time with Grandma & Papa before bed.



Saturday morning, Grandma & Papa had a wedding to attend so we took the 4-wheelers out for a long ride. We rode around the area (my first time driving), stopped for a hike to a waterfall, then rode into town for lunch. It was a nice morning for all of us...great to breath in the fresh, cool mountain air.

After a late lunch we met Grandma & Papa for what I think was the highlight of the day for the kids, fishing. All the kids caught at least one fish each...Abbie three. Kyle cleaned out the fish for us and made friends with the bird, Jake. Jake would walk over to Kyle and crawl on to his arm and around his back and head. He would then start dancing. It was pretty funny...he really, really loved Kyle. There was also a huge pond for fly fishing and Abbie and Daisy got to feed these enormous trout. Lots of fun for sure. Grandma got to kick back in the shade for a few minutes and read her paper.

Some highlights of the rest of the weekend include:

*Smores by the campfire.

*Staying up late playing Sequence.

*Cabin church (always nice to go and always a good laugh).

*Coloring in Grandma's Ballet West coloring book.

*Feeding and petting the horses.

*Playing with MamaThom and PapaThom Monday afternoon on the way home.

Generally, it was just nice to get away and spend a weekend in the cool weather with Grandma and Papa. Too bad our schedule is full during soccer season and we can't go more often.