Our Christmas Dancer

At the kids' elementary school, the third grade is always in charge of the annual Christmas play, so it was Alyssa's turn to take the stage this year.

Here she is performing as one of the dancers.

During rehearsals, Alyssa stood out as one of the better dancers in the group, and the music teacher asked her if she would make up a dance for one of the other songs. Here's Alyssa leading the mice in the dance she choreographed.

At the end of the play, the music teacher said he wanted to acknowledge "a special student" and recognized Alyssa for her dance. This is Alyssa as she figured out he was talking about her.

Ken & Julie Come to Charlotte

My brother Ken and his wife Julie were in Virginia visiting her family for Thanksgiving. Since they were finally on our side of the country, they made a side trip down to Charlotte for the day. Ken and Julie wanted to do something unique to Charlotte, so we took them to the Speedway in Concord. (After all, this is Nascar country...)

Here's Craig, Joanna, and I in the tour van.

They were holding the driving school that morning, so there were a few cars on the track. Of all the sports out there, I'd have to say Nascar is the least appealing to me. It was fun to watch them go around a few times, but I definitely can't imagine watching a real race with hundreds of laps!

The tour included a side trip across the street to the new drag racing strip. There weren't supposed to be cars on the track, so when we got there, our driver had to get out and ask if we were still allowed in. Not only did they let us in, they let us drive on the track and "race" one of the dragsters. Obviously, it wasn't much of a contest...

In Winner's Circle

We eventually made our way to Melanie and Ben's house for dinner and ice cream sundaes. Here are the kids with Ken and Julie. They were so excited to spend the day with their far-away aunt and uncle (and their close-by ones, too).

Happy Halloween!

This year we had...

a Clone Trooper ("Captain Rex"),

Hannah Montana,

and a Punk Rocker.

Sorting the loot... We started the evening at the trunk-or-treat at church then headed home to the neighborhood for a little door-to-door trick-or-treating.

Once the kids sorted their candy, the trading began. Dad (with his cool microphone) became the auctioneer and announced what candy was up for grabs.

Pumpkin Masterpieces

Time to carve our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch!

The finished products!

Celebrating Halloween with Family

My sister Melanie and her hubby Ben love Halloween. (Actually, they love all holidays, but Halloween is definitely a favorite.) It's become a tradition over the past few years to have a Halloween dinner/party at their house each October. My sister Joanna and her husband Craig join us, and the evening starts with dinner. And then the fun really begins...

Somehow the mysterious "Count" always knows we've gathered, and at some point not too long after dinner, the doorbell rings. We have yet to actually see him (because he's so mysterious and all), but we always find the ingredients and recipe to make "Squished Witches" sitting on the doorstep.

In case you're unfamiliar with Squished Witches, the ingredients are pretty simple: ghost blood, powdered ghosts, squished witches, and frog eyes. (If your grocery store doesn't sell those items, sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and chocolate chips make pretty good substitutes.)

Here's Ben helping Courtney pour in the ghost blood.

Here's Alyssa taking her turn mixing up the witches. Important note: Each person must take a turn, and you must say your name backwards as you stir. (That's why she's laughing...)

After everything is mixed, you roll the witch dough into little balls and roll them in powdered ghosts.

Then we snack on squished witches while we carve pumpkins!

Courtney, Dad & Jordan

Craig & Joanna
(Notice who's doing all of the work!)

Alyssa & Melanie

Craig and Joanna found what appeared to be a tiny slug in their pumpkin. This is everyone crowded around to see if pouring salt on it would dissolve it. Yes, gross, and no, it didn't work.

Our finished pumpkins!
And thanks to Melanie and Ben for a great nite!

To the Pumpkin Patch We Go

One of our favorite parts of Halloween is our annual trek to the pumpkin patch. The weather was perfect, and we had a great afternoon!

Here's Jordan weighing his pumpkin options. Picking the right pumpkin is a decision he doesn't take lightly. Side note: Jordan always ends up choosing the biggest pumpkin he can find. Great for carving. Not so great for carrying.

Alyssa, Courtney, and Jordan posing nicely for Mom.

The farm has a tractor the kids can sit in and pretend to drive. I've taken this shot of the kids in the tractor wheel for several years now. This year, however, they had to work a little harder to squeeze in together and fit! Sigh...they're growing up way too fast!!

(And the cute smiles hide the argument over who gets to sit in the middle that occurred just seconds before the picture was taken...)

The playground at the farm is where we spend most of our time. Here are the kids heading up one of their favorite slides.

Alyssa racing to the top.

And a few stunts to keep things interesting coming down...

Alyssa and Courtney running to our other favorite slide.

There's a warning sign telling adults to slide at their own risk, but why should the kids have all the fun??

We'll be back next year!

Tweetsie Railroad

Over the summer, the kids participated in our library's reading program. A few days after it ended, we got a call from the library letting us know Alyssa had won one of the grand prizes - tickets to Tweetsie Railroad! After consulting the BYU football schedule, we strategically planned our trip for a Saturday when BYU didn't play. (Jason's condition, not mine.)

Located in the mountains near Blowing Rock, NC, it was about a two-hour drive. Definitely not as big or as high-tech as an amusement park, Tweetsie Railroad is more like a county fair. It wouldn't be worth the regular admission price (a whopping $126 for our family of five for one day), but since we got in for free, it was well worth the money! We really did have a good time, and it was a fun family day out!

Ready for the train ride! There were "real" cowboys who rode along in each car, and we stopped along the tracks at one point so they could look for a wanted indian at a distant outpost.

The girls enjoyed the carousel a lot more than Jordan did.

This was one of the kids' favorite rides. The lines weren't long for anything, so most of the time, we could get right back on. I have no idea how many times we rode this!

I was following Jordan and Courtney, and Dad and Alyssa are in the lead.

Jordan and Alyssa are at the top and off to the left. Jason and I got our fill of this ride pretty quickly, but these two kept riding it! (Much to her dismay, Courtney wasn't tall enough for a few of the rides.)

This was the first time our kids had been on a ferris wheel. Courtney loved it the most, and she went back later for a second time (much to her mom's dismay since I was her riding partner). I don't mind heights at fast speeds, so I was fine when it was spinning, but I'm not a big fan of just hanging & rocking high in the air as it stopped to load and unload. Courtney wasn't phased by it a bit and kept telling me to let go because it felt like flying.

Panning for gold.

Jason and the girls on the chair lift that connected the upper and lower parts of the park.

This was another favorite ride. Jason and I quickly realized that almost all of the rides involved spinning around and around. About halfway thru the day, our stomachs needed a break, and the kids proceeded alone.

I threw this one in just to prove I really was there!!

Thanks again to Alyssa! Her love of reading paid off for the whole family!