October...That Went Fast

So I just realized that I only blogged once in October about something that happened in September. I guess you could say I have some catching up to do. So here it is: October.

Cruise's Field Trip
I volunteered to help at Cruise's field trip to a farm about 9 days after giving birth. I ended up paying for it the next two weeks as I had massive abdominal pain from walking for four hours. But it was still a lot of fun to get out and spend some time with Cruise and his cute class. Here are some pictures from that:

Carrots

We finally were able to pick our carrots! The boys had been waiting all summer and were eager to help pull and clean (and eat) them. Because our soil is pretty much clay, they all turned out short but fat! But they were still delicious!

Barnyard Boo

I love October. I LOVE the fall. And I really love festive activities that don't involve large crowds. Since Dave isn't a big fan of doing Halloween stuff, I had him stay home with Miles while I took Cruise & Jett to Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving Point. The boys had a lot of fun, despite it being cold, and the best part, it was free with our family pass. Free is good. 

Miles 

It really does go by way too fast. Miles has been doing great! He eats like a champ and is relatively easy going. He hates to wait for his food but is just the sweetest little baby. He is still healthy and still wakes up a lot at night. Every now and then he throws in an all-nighter, just to keep us on our toes. His brothers just love him so much, and Jett especially loves to hold him and help me feed him. Sure, it gets exhausting and stressful, but I relish every second because I'm going to blink and they'll all be graduating high school or leaving on their missions. Some days I wish they would grow up, but most days I just want them to stay little forever. 

My 28th

When Dave asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year, I told him I wanted my bedroom finished. When we moved in, we spent so much time trying to paint and decorate all the other rooms, that our own bedroom was neglected since no one else really sees it. But I really wanted my room to be relaxing and chaos-free (as much as possible). So Dave got to work and finished painting the room white, made me a headboard, hung up our pictures and diplomas, and put our new sheets and comforter set on the bed. He still has a couple little details to finish up, but it is looking really nice! He is such a great husband! Once it's finished, I'll take a picture and post it on the blog.

On the Friday before my birthday, we got brave and took the kids with us to Tucanos for my birthday dinner. I got my dinner free and kids 6 and under eat free too! Woohoo! So we got a pretty good deal for a lot of awesome food. And surprisingly the boys weren't horrible. Afterwards, we stopped by Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and we each got a piece of chocolate. There was a little vendor event going on there in the Riverwoods with a band as well, so we stayed and the boys danced (okay, they just smacked each other around like the Three Stooges) to the music until we decided it was too cold for Miles. 

Sunday was my actual birthday. I woke up to feed Miles when Dave got the kids together and they brought me my birthday cake in bed with cards from them. Dave made me my favorite: German chocolate cake, and we all ate cake and ice cream for breakfast. We then got ready for church and I dressed this guy up because I can.  I love being able to dress a kid again. The two older boys don't like it when I try to make them wear things that they didn't pick out. So I take full advantage of being able to dress my babies how I want to, before they begin displaying their utmost stubborn independence (which secretly I'm really grateful for).

After church, we headed to Dave's parents' house where we had a great dinner and dessert, I opened some really nice gifts, and then we carved pumpkins! I was actually surprised the boys behaved themselves for that. Dave's parents actually gave me some money for my birthday, which I decided to spend on a swimming suit, goggles and a month pass to the rec center so I can swim laps. I'm really looking forward to being able to work out again and lose some of this baby weight!

My Dad flew in on Halloween, so we celebrated our birthdays together on the first of November by going out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. My parents actually got me a new microwave for my birthday since ours had exploded the week before. I guess the only thing better than getting what you wanted for your birthday is getting what you really needed. So yeah, it was a great gift. 

My little sister Abby treated me to a pedicure that evening while she watched Miles and Dave took the other two out to a movie. After my pedicure, she helped me shop for a nice outfit for church. I have the worst time dressing my post baby body. It's nearly impossible to feel remotely attractive, but luckily she has a great eye and good taste, so we left Target with a nice outfit. 

All in all, it was a great, drawn out birthday! The best kind! Thank you to all our family for making it special and especially thanks to Dave, he really made me feel so loved and appreciated, which is really the only thing I need for my birthday. 

HALLOWEEN!

Halloween started a day early. On the 30th, Dave & I went to Jett's preschool Halloween party where the kids had a little parade, recited 3 Little Pumpkins, sang a song, and then did some trick-or-treating to the parents. It was adorable.

I gave out bubbles.

After that, we grabbed some lunch and then I headed off to Cruise's school to do his Halloween party. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures, but we had a blast! I was able to recruit three other Moms and I had them each in charge of a station. I had 3 stations and we would rotate every 10 minutes or so. The first station, the kids decorated a gingerbread man into a mummy and then I provided some other snacks once they finished. The second station was ghost bowling and the third was musical pumpkins. Cruise said the bowling was his favorite. Overall I say it was very successful and the kids had a lot of fun. That whole class is just full of adorable children.

That evening, at about 7:30pm, Cruise broke the news to me that he wanted to be an evil scientist for the school parade the next day. I had a Super Wizard costume all ready for him that my sister Charlotte made just for him, but he insisted on being an Evil Scientist for school and the Super Wizard for trick-or-treating. The only problem was that we didn't have a lab coat. He needed a lab coat! So I put him to bed, hopped in the car, and began my long journey in search of a lab coat his size. I first went to a Halloween store where they only had adult lab coats. Then I hit up Target which only had toddler sized lab coats. I lowered my standards for a bit and hit up Walmart where there were no lab coats to be found. I got in my car determined to come home with a lab coat for Cruise, so I jumped onto the freeway and made my way to South Orem where I prayed Toys R Us would have something. 

According to their sign, they were technically closed but the sliding doors opened when I walked up, so that in my world means you are open. I walked in and was greeted by an employee. I asked if they had a lab coat for kids in either the Halloween costumes or the dress up section. She directed me to the dress up where they had a doctor's outfit for $21, complete with a lab coat. I returned to the employee with the outfit and a big sigh of relief. I told her I had driven from Lehi looking for a lab coat, in which she rang me up and high-fived me. Yep, I rock. 

Of course I got home exhausted only to be kept up until 3am with Miles. But luckily come 6:30am, Cruise woke up to find a lab coat and he was soooo happy! He completed his costume with a hard hat (who knows why) and filled some test tubes with soapy water. He was all ready to go!

It being Halloween, Dave had to leave earlier in the day to make it home in time for trick-or-treating, so I had the task of dragging Jett & Miles with me to Cruise's school (again) to hear his class sing their Halloween songs and to watch the costume parade. It was a bit tricky juggling everything, but I did it!

After the parade, the three boys and I loaded up into the car where I went for my phone to call in an order for a jack-o-lantern pizza form Papa Murphys. Unfortunately I learned I had left it at home, which meant...I had to bring all three boys inside and wait in line to get a pizza. The line was long. And as I hit the half way mark, Cruise said he needed to use the bathroom. So I had to get out of line, walk the kids to another store where they had a bathroom, go back to Papa Murphys, get in the back of an even longer line, and wait. As I reached the counter, Miles woke up angry that he was still in the car seat and hungry! So he started to cry and I didn't have an extra bottle ready. I paid for the pizza, got everyone in the car again, and tried to rush home with Miles screaming in the backseat, only to hit every. single. red. light from Papa Murphys to our house. It was a long day. 

Finally Dave got home, installed our new microwave, and then took the boys out to trick-or-treat while I stayed home with Baby Monkey Miles and handed out the goods. 

And THAT was October.