Oh Halloween, How We Love You!

Halloween week was busy. We had to find a costume for Watson. He couldn't decide on who to be this year. It started with Ash Ketchum from Pokeman. Then he wanted to be Harley Quin from Batman (Yes, that's a girl character. But, she wears black and red--that's more important.) Then it was Raphael from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Really, I think he chose the last because the costume was most available. I think he makes a cute ninja turtle! 

Also, our sweet and dear and amazing friend Vickie Anderson passed away. Oh how we love her. And miss her. The timing was fitting although far too soon for anyone who knows her. She was finished with her mission on earth and Heavenly Father called her home. We will always remember her kindness and sincerity and love.

From Halloween 2013, Vickie is in the middle.

Watson had a very, very short parade at school. (I missed it because I was 2 minutes late.) And a little Halloween Party. One of the treats was a wizard's wand. I think that mom was genius. 

After Vickie's viewing Halloween evening, Scott took Watson trick or treating with Stratton and the other Smiths. He got quite the haul. Sidekick Turtle (Sparky) hung out with me to hand out treats. We kept down the fort but ran out of candy.

Watson's favorite candy this year were suckers. He made sure to not keep any candy he didn't like. 

We had a late night feast of mummy pizza and salad. It was a fun night for all!

Vegas Baby!

Just about every year at this time Scott is invited to a work conference in Las Vegas. The timing kind of stinks being around Halloween. But, it provides a small window for me to get away somewhere with him. I flew out for one night for a date night. Scott and I stayed at the MGM Grand Hotel and went to a Cirque de Soleil show, Mystere. It was nice to spend time together. We enjoyed dinner and the show and got some good one on one time during this hectic few months. 

Watson had a great time at home. He stayed over at Stratton's and carved pumpkins with the cousins. He said this time he didn't cry for me at bedtime. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I can't decide...

Fall Fun for Everyone

We enjoyed October the best we could this year. There seemed to be a lot of fun things to do but I had a hard time keeping up. But, I tried.
Challey and Spencer took the older kids to Hawaii so we watched London a little bit while they were gone. She helped Watson find all the witches at Gardner Village and got to play in the corn bin. Our yearly tradition of the Witch Scavenger Hunt was a success--we found them all this time!

Watson and I visited one of our favorite pumpkin patch. We were happy to see Mater and Dusty Crop-hopper there. Watson was hilarious in picking out pumpkins as he ran from row to row with his little wheelbarrow. He wanted to find the "right one." Before leaving he had to try out each of the tractors. There were about a dozen...

We made it to Cornbelly's once. We were really happy to meet our friends, Liz and Thor, to play together. We wound through the short maze, got faces painted, played on the slides and tried to do most everything else. Of course we ate kettle corn and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.

Watson loves the face paint! He thinks it's great to be someone, or something, else for a little while.
Scott and I had a little date night dressed up. Someone in the neighborhood held a Halloween Dance and we decided to go. It was fun to dress up and dance the night away. I had a much better time than any stinky dance I went to in high school, plus I had a hot date!

GOAL!!!

It feels like the dust of moving has settled and we can participate in normal life again. For Watson, this meant community soccer. We signed him up with Marv Jensen Rec Center for the Fall season. He loved it! He was outfitted with a whole uniform and couldn't wait to play. I inadvertently became the team's coach. I will admit it was kind of a stretch for me. I've never played soccer or coached anything. How hard could it be though? It's 10 five year olds running around a field. It was pretty fun actually. The kids were enthusiastic and pretty good listeners. 

Watson played in all but the first game. He scored in the last four games, once being for the opponent. Although we didn't keep score, he always knew how many goals we had. It was a great season. He had fun, I had fun and he continues to develop his athletic skills. I love to watch him play!