Trick-or-Treat!

The Ladners came over for dinner and trick-or-treating with us which always makes Halloween even more fun for all of us. This year we had a witch's daughter (Abby), a Nexo Knight (Landon), Darth Vader (Coldon), Rey (Reygan), Captain America (Nolan), Princess Elsa (Maylie), and a dinosaur (Willow).

I was amazed that we were actually able to get a picture with all of the kids and no one was crying!!

Of course we needed another picture with "Anna" and "Elsa" too!

All the kids loved trick-or-treating but Maylie really got into it this year. She was so excited about all the candy she was getting just from knocking on people's doors. She kept asking for days afterward when we would be going again!

Carving Time

On the Sunday before Halloween we set aside some time to carve our pumpkins. I am the master pumpkin degutter (scraping out all the seeds and pumpkin guts) and the kids all came up with their own design and did most of the cutting themselves.

Well, except for this little one who stuck to painting her pumpkin instead!

Jason helped Landon draw his design out and then he did the rest of the carving.

We ended up with a Nexo Knight sword (Landon), a rose (Abby), and a square face (Nolan)!

Halloween Festivities

On Tuesday, October 21st, I took Abby, Nolan and Maylie to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat activity. Jason and Landon went to Landon's last baseball game instead.

Maylie was thrilled to find her best friend Ayda. They made an adorable duo as Elsa and Anna!

On Saturday, October 28th we headed back down to Six Flags with the Ladners to enjoy some more rides and spooky activities. It was a lot more crowded this day but we still made it on a lot of rides and enjoyed a fun stunt show before leaving the park before the "awakening" when all the scary people come out!!

October Happenings

This girl endured a lot late nights watching baseball games for both Landon and Nolan. She was quite the trooper!!

Jason's parents came for a quick visit near the end of October and we had fun taking them around the area, including to this fun Corn Maze at Misty Meadows Creamery!

On Saturday, October 21st, all the kids were playing outside while we made dinner for Jason's parents. Nolan came inside crying saying that he had hurt his arm while jumping on the trampoline. Turns out they were "catching each other bounces" and this bounce had caused him to go pretty high up and then he reached out to catch himself with his left arm. He wasn't crying too much so we told him to rest on the couch for a minute until it felt better. A few minutes later I went to see how he was doing and noticed that his left arm was bowed! Needless to say, I rushed him over to Urgent Care where they discovered that he had fractured both his ulna and radius in his lower left arm!! 

This was our first broken bone in our family so we were caught completely off guard. Urgent care wanted us to go to the ER that night where they splinted his arm and made an appointment for us to see an orthopedist on Monday.

The orthopedist was in Pennsylvania and he recommended surgery to fix his arm as well as a rod and screws which would require another surgery in 4-6 months. We set up his surgery for the next day, but as we were driving home, Jason and I both felt prompted to get a second opinion. After a lot of calling, running around, and seeking recommendations, we were able to meet with a pediatric orthopedist in Frederick who told us he definitely didn't need any rods or screws and she thought she could fix it that day right in her office. It was a painful few minutes for Nolan when they reset his arm, but it is now healing nicely with no surgery!!

He will be in an extended cast for 5-6 weeks and then a brace for a few more weeks until it fully heals. Thank goodness we felt prompted to get that second opinion!!

Middle School Cross Country Race

One week after the Elementary School Cross Country Meet, it was time for the Middle School race. This race isn't nearly is popular, with only 20 runners participating in the 6th grade girls race. We knew about a third of the girls running it since a lot of them were from Paramount Elementary.

And they're off...

Abby looked strong throughout the entire race!

Glad to be done!

All the 6th grade girl runners...

Abby ran hard and finished in 10th place which she was pretty happy about.

She earned a ribbon and some bragging rights too!

Fright Fest at Six Flags

Right after Landon's Cross Country meet, we headed down to Six Flags to attend their Fall Fright Fest. During the day, it was just normal amusement park activities and we were sure to leave before 6 p.m. when all the "zombies" came out!

The kids had fun riding all the kid rides and Abby even enjoyed a few roller coasters with Jason too!

This gigantic ball pit is always a hit with our kids too!

With temperatures in the mid-80's, it didn't feel much like fall, despite all the creepy fall decor all around. We hope to make it one more time before the fall season is over!

Landon's Cross Country Race

On Saturday, October 7th, Landon participated in the Washington County Elementary School Cross Country race. He ran with over 100 other 4th grade boys and was pretty nervous before it started. Last year he came in 23rd place which earned him a ribbon for placing in the top 30. He was hoping to do even better this year.

He got off to a great start in this stampeding mass of boys!!

And ended up coming in 15th place overall, enough to earn him a medal!!

A few pictures with the top 30 4th grade boy finisher...

If you couldn't tell, he was pretty pleased with that medal he had worked so hard for!

It even made the local newspaper!!

Three on the third!

This little girl had her "golden birthday" this year, turning 3 years old on October 3rd! To say she delights our family would be an understatement. Of course she also provides us with lots of frustration too, but since it's her birthday, we'll let some of those thing slide!

It's my birthday!! She knew exactly what that meant this year...lots of presents and treats!!

I tried to get her to hold up three fingers and this was the best we got!

And her signature "dance move" to finish off our little photo shoot!

After everyone came home from school and work, we got down to birthday business.

She loved opening up all of her presents and was so excited about each and every one of them. I LOVE this age for life's little joys!

This may have been one of her most favorite gifts though...a  Princess Elsa costume complete with want, tiara and gloves!

After dinner at Chick-Fil-A, we headed home for some birthday cupcakes.

Make a wish sweet Maylie Magoo!

This girl is just so much fun and is full of personality. She makes us all laugh on a daily basis and loves to be "one of the big kids." She loves reading stories, watching "Daniel Tiger", all things princess, and especially her little lamby. She recently moved out of her crib and into a toddler bed which she loves. She is growing up way to fast and we are just trying to soak up every minute with this little one. Happy 3rd birthday Maylie!!