Parties and so much fun

We have been really busy in October. We attended a fall festival, a Haunted Hollow at the city park, a Halloween carnival for Kailey (probably the best event of all), a Halloween party for the primary kids at church, Ethan and Heidi had Halloween parties in their schools and of course all (but Kailey) went trick or treating with their dad.  Heidi decided to stay home during their potty break after about an hour but rain did not keep the boys from going back outside and get more treats.

Our weekly field trips were also fun as they were all fall and Halloween themed. We also kicked off our baking season this month and made several ghostly treats.  

Dave and I went to an alumni dinner at BYU that was great! It was a fancy dinner with a quartet of violinists that set just the right mood. It made the whole dinner feel more elegant. We also went to a regional Scout dinner. Not only was it nice to have some couple time, but it was great to get away from kitchen duty.

October has been the last month I teach in 2010 in Relief Society and Sunday School. I may resume teaching in early 2011. Dave is still as busy as ever at church, the branch president is constantly gone for a couple of weeks at a time. 

Two weeks ago I started weekly OBGYN doctor visits to closely monitor the rest of the pregnancy and do non-stress tests on the baby. The weekly visits are earlier than usual but that is what diabetes does to you. I am almost 35 weeks along so I am almost to the end considering the doctor prefers that the pregnancy not go beyond 38 weeks.  A couple of days ago the doctor told me I can now check my glucose twice a day and occasionally three times a day which is great, less bleeding!

The kids’ music, karate, tumbling classes as well as our weekly field trips are all on hold until January.  Kailey’s in home visits are also on hold until January.  I am shifting gears and will now focus on getting myself, the family and the house (specially the freezer) ready for the new baby.

V.I.P

Heidi was very excited to be the V.I.P in her class this week. Her 11 classmates peppered her with questions about her favorite things. She was the special helper all day as well.
Gavin came into her classroom and was right at home taking toys off the bins and did not really want to leave. He was so thrilled to be part of her class for a little bit.
On another note, we got blasted by a storm that brought LOTS of snow! What is up with that?

Trustworthy

A few of days ago I was looking at all the stuff Ethan had brought back from school. I looked through his work package for every subject and it was all marked with a perfect score, even math and Chinese. I then found a letter from his teacher. Once I started reading it, my chest puffed up filled with pride. Ethan had been selected to receive the "principals pride award" for exemplifying the quality of trustworthiness in school. On Friday we attended a ceremony in which he was given his award.
On the other hand, Kailey surprised us a few nights ago. I heard some noise from the stairs so I panicked because I had not put the gate up so she would not fall down the stairs. So I dashed as fast as I could to the stairs to make sure she was not going to roll down and to my surprise Kailey was coming down in full confidence and at full speed. Me and the kids cheered her so she stopped and clapped! Usually kids learn to climb up the stairs before coming down, but she is doing it backwards, much like her teeth. She has two top molars but not two front teeth. I am thrilled she is progressing so well.

Ethan with the other recipients of the award. Ethan is in the orange shirt.

October Fun!

We have been busy this month and have had several fun activities. Here are lots of pictures.

Ethan participated in a play at school, he had one line but sang really well the rest of the play.

We were able to finish our front porch decorations for a spooky season!

Here are my pirates of the caribbean ready for some arrrgh fun!

Gavin, the most feared pirate of all, is lost in a hay maze

Ethan, our ghostly pirate.

Heidi, the pirate princess left her shoes at home so she had to watch all the fun from afar.

Ginny, the fabulous one, turned the big 60!

20 of the 23 Christensen cousins are in this picture. There are 4 more to come within the next 5 months!

Karate Kid

Ethan started Karate classes about a month ago and even though it has been a short period of time, his instructor recommended he take the test to advance in belt colors. He had his test this past week and did well except for a couple of times he lost focus. Heidi thought Karate was hilarious because they yell out loud, “yes ma’am” and also yell "Hi" through out the test and then informed me she was not interested in learning karate at all. Ethan really enjoys his class and is now an orange belt! Here is a video of part of the test.

Harvesting

Part of the fun in the fall is going to a pumpkin patch and being able to pick a nice pumpkin. We were invited to a garden patch to do some harvesting. We have gone twice and had a great time, except for the time I lost my keys and had absolutely no idea where they could be. We looked everywhere with no luck and Dave was out of town. So I had to go home in hopes of finding a spare key there. When I returned, someone had just found them! I was very relieved. Dave had warned me it would cost over $200 to get a replacement. When I got back, Ethan had taken it into his own hands to get potatoes before they were all gone so like a good Idahoan descendant, he got to work and filled up a bag with red potatoes.