Autumn Days

Yikes! It's almost Thanksgiving! Am I officially the last Mom out there to be posting Halloween photos?
On the Monday before Halloween, we went to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. Every year in the past we have gone to the Barnyard Boo at T. Point so this was our first time at this venue. There is more for the older kids to do at the Scarecrow Festival and still plenty of activities for the younger kids. Here are some cute photo spots that we stopped at for pictures:

Logan doing a ring toss....they had so many games for the little ones.

Mommy and Morgan spent a lot of time in "Toddler Town" while Dad, Dagan and Logan went on the many inflatables (slides, obstacle courses, jump houses, etc.) they had. Morgan on a plane at Toddler Town:

Dagan was happy to find a rock wall there to climb:

We all went on a train ride together and through an inflatable haunted house that was just scary enough for our boys. Here are Dagan and Logan as we were leaving:

Backing up, on Ocotber 9th, Logan's preschool went on a Field Trip to Pumpkinland in Orem. It was especially nice because going to Pumpkinland is also one of our family traditions...every October since we've had kids actually. Alan had the day off so it was he and I, Logan and Morgan. (Dagan was at school. We really missed him being with us.) Below is Logan and Morgan at the start of the field trip:

Here they are picking their own pumpkins out at the end:

And with Mom:

Alan also had Halloween off this year! We had so much fun! Tara is the room mom for Dagan's class so our whole family went to the classroom to help with their Halloween party. Alan and Tara served homemade root beer with dry ice for the kids. Here is Dagan hard at work on his craft...a hanging spider!

After school, we went trick-or-treating at Grammy's (Tara's mom's) first. There were lots of leaves in her area (a rarity in our young subdivision) which made for some really fun pictures:

The boys are ready to see what Grammy is going to spoil them with. She had her doorstep all festive:

Below are some individual pics of the kids. We got so many compliments on Morgan's lobster costume. I had to get a picture of him from the back since it was the cutest part. To truly appreciate his entire costume though, you would have to see him waddle in it. (My next aspiration is learning how to add a video to my blog.)

Dagan was a shark:

And Logan was a crab:

We have always done a "themed" Halloween ensemble for the kids. I am so grateful for each year they let me coordinate their costumes and know it may be my last before they're wanting to do their own thing. This year's theme obviously was "Under the Sea." After we trick-or-treated at a few places at my Mom's, we went to Papa's (Alan's dad's) house for some yummy homemade stew and more trick-or-treating. We met up with the cousins at Papa's for some fun afterwards. Then we had another intense night of playing cards (I think we left by 2 a.m.) at Alan's sister's house while our kids probably ate themselves into a sugar-induced coma and watched movies. Good times. Here are the cousins at Papa's:

Lastly, here are our pumpkins that we carved as a family this year. Since we don't stay home for Halloween, we light them up after to enjoy. Dagan and Logan were very proud of their finished products. All three of our boys make our holidays so exciting!

Logan's 5th Birthday!

Logan's fifth birthday was Friday, September 19th--six days after Dagan and I returned from NY. His party came together though and I think it was a really special day for him. The theme he chose was Star Wars so we decorated accordingly. I loved his cake that we ordered:

Logan and I went alone to the party store together earlier that week to pick out the party decorations, games and favors.
Logan had seven friends from preschool and the neighborhood attend. They were such a fun combination. Here they are painting Star Wars pictures:
Logan picked out a "pin the electronic buttons on Darth Vader" game. We blindfolded the children and they all took a turn.
They were all excited for Star Wars cake, ice cream and kool-aid:
Then we played party BINGO:
and took turns hitting the Darth Vader pinata. They scurried around so quickly to get the candy. It was fun to watch.
We put up our inflatables in the backyard for Logan's party as well. The one in the picture below on the right we got for the kids for Christmas a couple of years ago and use it a lot inside during the winter to fight off cabin fever. The one on the left is actually a water park that we bought for the kids in June and was a hit all summer long for the kids and their friends. Of course, in September we didn't have the water running through it but they seemed to enjoy it anyways.

So at this age there are noticeable differences in play between the boys:

and the girls:
Logan received some really fun presents. His friends know him well. He got a lot of bug collecting paraphernalia. His favorite gift was a Darth Vader transformer from Mom and Dad.
Logan's stash:
Thankfully, though a normal mom would probably say "sadly", Morgan slept through the entire party. He has no idea what he even missed. Here is a photo we took after he woke up.
I had to include this picture. My Mom got Logan a Transformer umbrella, as while Dagan and I were in NY she used hers and Logan said he wanted one. He didn't forget about it either. Just one of those "Logan things" that he deems useful and just can't live without. He was so excited when it finally rained at one of his soccer games a couple weeks later and he got to use it. He has more fun taking it out of the case, opening and closing it than anything. He makes me laugh so much.

In celebration of Logan turning five, here are five special things we love about Logan:

1. Mom: I love it when Logan snuggles with me and watches a movie.

2. Dad: I love playing Transformers with.

3. Dagan: I love his toys.

4. Mom: I love Logan's vocabulary and some of the words that this five year old uses properly blow me away.
5. Dad: I think Logan is a great soccer player.

We are so glad Logan is part of our family. He adds so much color to everything we do as a family. He's a very lovable boy and I hope he always stays that way.

My Grandma Miner's Funeral

Yikes! Now I'm officially a month behind on my posts...and the holidays and all of their craziness are approaching quickly. Anyways, I ended up back in New York again two months after we had been as a family. My Grandmother Miner (my Dad's mom) passed away on September 5th. We had spent a lot on our July trip so only Dagan and I went back for the funeral. Can I say I'm a little envious of moms of only one child now? (Kind of kidding. I adore my other two immensely but let's just say traveling with just Dagan was a blast in comparison to the nightmare five-hour plane ride in July with all three monkeys. (O'hare still isn't fun though, even with only one.)) Dagan and I went for a full week which meant he missed the fourth week of school, though he didn't complain about it.

I ended up singing at the cathedral during Communion at my Grandma's funeral mass. It was a solo arrangement of "Nearer My God To Thee" by Michael Hicks. I was fortunate enough to be able to have a piano accompanist last minute from the LDS ward in Glens Falls. I had kept my vocal talent hidden from my family for quite some time but I really felt impressed to sing this particular piece. Those in attendance expressed their appreciation for my musical number and I really felt that it was the perfect last tribute from me to my Grandma. The picture above is Dagan and I with my brother Andrew, his wife Betty-Jean, and my Grandpa Miner. Below is Dagan, me, Betty-Jean, Andrew, my Dad, and Gretchen (my stepmom).

Here is me with all of my cousins on my Dad's side of the family:

Not a very happy occasion but it was nice to get us together again for the first time in over a decade. On the left is my cousin TJ's wife Marci and on the right is Betty-Jean:
Dagan attended four hours of the viewing, the funeral and the graveside service and was as angel there. There are not too many times I use angelic as an adjective with my children but he was perfect when it counted the most. He got to say good-bye to Grandma and had such a peaceful understanding of where she is now. He told me he wasn't crying because he knew Grandma was happy where she is but that he knew I was crying because it would be hard for me not to see her for a very long time.

There are a few things that I wanted to document that I will remember my Grandma Miner for. Birthdays and holidays always brought the newest fashions in outfits (surprising for a grandma, huh?), complete with hairpieces and earrings. Holiday meals were amazing with many of Grandma's own, signature recipes. In fact, every Thanksgiving since I've been married, I've made her Strawberry Walnut Dessert Salad. My Grandma always had a keen interest in my academic endeavors as well as my extracurricular involvements. My grandparents attended my dance concerts and came to see me cheerleading. (The latter I have not owned up to since high school but am now because it was something she was proud of me for.) The ripple effect through the generations is so sweet. She absolutely adored my children and couldn't get enough of them whenever we were in town. She loved talking on the phone with Dagan and always got a good laugh out of some of the things Logan would come out with. Even at her rest home when we visited her in July, she had something she had won at the games they have there for each of my children.

The funeral events occupied the first couple of days in NY and then we had a few days to do some more upbeat activities. We spent a day with Grandma Polverelli (Tara's mom's mom) and time with Dagan's cousins. Tree Paad was such a hit in July that Dagan asked if we could go again. We brought Justin's son, Payton, and Maureen this time. Dagan and Payton had so much fun together.
Payton, Dagan and Aunt Maureen going down the slide together:
Payton planted a big one on Dagan...so cute!
We took Betty-Jean, Charles and Ben to this place called "Explore!", also in Glens Falls. Glens Falls is so much more exciting than when I grew up there. Well, maybe exciting isn't quite the word, but there's a lot more to do than I remember. They had a multi-story (like three or four) ball pit/slide/activity thing that they spent most of their time on.

Dagan and Charles running a vet clinic:
Taking after their Dads who are fabulous cooks (I know that should say Moms but speaking for myself, not Betty, I can only follow recipes and these two boys were very creative) in the kitchen:
Dagan at the helm as a pirate:
Betty and Ben:
All in all, a great trip in spite of the circumstances that brought us back there. Logan and Morgan were well taken care of by two of my sister-in-laws, my Mom and of course Alan, all of whom I am very grateful for. Dagan and I had some really memorable one-on-one time and a nice break from the hectic beginning of the school year. And to our family in NY, travelling with one child was so pleasant that you may not see all five of us together for a very long time. Logan says he's next!

Logan Starts Preschool!

On September 2nd Logan started preschool. He turned 5 on September 19th but the cutoff for kindergarten entrance in Utah is September 1st. (We look at it as a bonus year to maybe catch up in size to the other children his age:) Conveniently, as with Dagan's former preschool, Logan's is also just a couple of streets over from us out of a neighbor's home. His teacher, Miss Jodi, taught in a public school until she had four children of her own. Grapevine Preschool had an Open House for the families to attend prior to school starting. Here are a few photos we took at the Open House. The third one has Morgan in it as well, having some refreshments with Logan.

Here is Logan on his first day of preschool:
Below are Dagan and Logan in front of our house. This is the first day ever that they are both going to school. Logan has anxiously awaited this moment for a very long time.
Dagan telling Logan what school will be like:
Logan so grown up on the front porch at his preschool:
I had to share something that Logan did the other day that made me laugh. He has been asking me since the beginning of last year when he would start kindergarten. My all-too-assuming response was "when you're five". I failed to explain to him "the academic year that starts after you turn five". He attends preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays but Monday morning as I'm getting Dagan ready for school, Logan is scurrying around asking me to help him get a "show-and-tell" for kindergarten. (???) I asked him why he thought he was going to kindergarten and he said because he turned five on Friday. Poor boy was so disappointed when I explained he has to wait another 11 months. (My children measure distant future events by how many birthdays and holidays have to pass first.) However, once I pointed out that if he went to kindergarten Miss Jodi would not be his teacher, he was relieved to still be in preschool.