Our Last and First Primary Program

The brave Primary presidency decided to schedule the sacrament program the day after the trunk or treat. It was likely that kids were hopped up on candy but it went really well. There were the usual amusements that come with unpredictable kids, but that's why I love this program every year. For us, it was our youngest's first program and our oldest's last. Its a weird transitional time for us now.

Paige was up in the night throwing up. She had no fever and I hoped it was just that she had too much candy the night before (even though we rationed it and hid the excess she found it). But in the morning she felt better so we chanced it. And she was fine. In fact, she provided some excitement as, after one song, her teacher's (Sister Robison) eyes got wide. She picked Paige up and began carrying her off the stand. I was confused (I thought maybe she had to go potty really bad or something) but as she passed me Sister Robison whispers, "Blood!" I looked down to see that Paige had picked a scab on her arm and was indeed bleeding everywhere. I snatched her from her teacher and took her to the bathroom. I washed her up, grabbed a bandaid from the first aid kit in the maintenance closet (I knew it was there from the days we cleaned the church - yay for church service opportunities) and sent her back up to the stand to finish.

Eva and Paige were both "parent wavers",  especially Paige who waved whenever she caught our eye. Darby took it all very seriously and sang her heart out. I am told often by the Primary leaders that they appreciate how she always knows all the words and sings loudly and proudly. Its a bit off key but adorable. Brendan looked obviously uncomfortable but at least he was sitting in a chair in the front instead of being squeezed up on the stand (which would have made him lose his mind). His speaking part went well, as did the girls' since I made them all memorize the parts.

I love the Primary Program and am a bit sad that next year one less McDaniel will be up there. But I'll savor it while I can.

Trunk or Treat

The ward's Trunk or Treat was tonight. We decided to arrive after the chili cookoff to avoid chili spilled on costumes.  I made them all take pictures on the porch so we'd have record of costumes before something happened to them.

We have Frodo from Lord of the Rings. He even has the One Ring!

And Velma from Scooby Doo.

 

 

 Darby wanted to be Glinda the Good Witch. She got to wear some makeup too. Oo-la-la!

 

Lastly, Paigey is a fairy. She got glitter for her eyelids and loved it!

At the church, the YM and YW had fun carnival games for the little ones while parents set up their trunks.

Brendan and Henrik decided to have coordinating costumes - Frodo and Samwise. Little brother Viktor wanted to be Gollum I love it!

Erica Thompson was in charge of a room and Nick Thompson was handing out candy so when I found Sohvi wandering by herself, I thought I'd just take her around to the trunks. Jason took Paige and the older kids all ran off to trick or treat with friends. They got quite a haul and some awesome trunk decorations (one had a movie projector with Harry Potter playing while the parents were dressed like Quidditch players, complete with brooms and a golden snitch). It was a fun night and a good warm up for the neighborhood trick or treating in 2 days.

Pumpkin Carving

Jason here.

So every year we carve a pumpkin. We aren't great about it. Our neighbors? They are great. They have Halloween lights and cool signs out everywhere. They go all out.

Eva has been on the Halloween kick, made signs and pictures and stuff and has put them up.

Me? Ill carve a pumpkin and take the kids out trick or treating. Thats the extent to my getting in the spirit of Halloween.

But I like carving pumpkins. So the kids picked a pumpkin, chose the design, and we carved it up. I think it turned out pretty cool!

That was last night. Here is our sad decrepit pumpkin now.

Oh well.

Pumpkin Carving Continued

Jason showed you the finished product of our pumpkin carving but I wanted to show you how it got there. The two little girls painted pumpkins while the older kids and Dad planned, gutted and carved the big pumpkin we got at the pumpkin patch.

Jason likes to use gloves when he pulls the guts out of the pumpkin.

 First the design was drawn on the pumpkin.

Then Daddy let the kids do some carving, finishing up details himself.

I'm bummed that it didn't last long. It looked really cool.

Gross Farms

We had to follow our family tradition of a corn field maze in the month of October. There are a few around but our friends, the Thompsons wanted to join us and this one had a great military deal. So we chose Gross Farms.

The male part of the families were invited to go paintballing that morning so Erica and I took the girls and Viktor and met them up there since the paint ball course was closer to the farm than home was. It was a beautiful drive. The men arrived before we did so they were out in the field as well pulled up. It was a gorgeous but cold morning.

Brendan reported having fun while paintballing but not doing well. I found out from Jason that he played without his glasses on. Well, not being able to see might affect your aim. ;)

The farm had yummy apple cider donuts, lots of livestock to pet, slides, pumpkin cannons and a bouncy area.

Then we made our way to the maze. After losing some kids who dashed off ahead once, we made record time. However, as we exited we saw that we were coming out the entrance. Yep, we had done the maze backwards. We are that awesome!. :)

Then we made our way to the pumpkin patch to pick out a pumpkin and get pictures.  I actually got on with all four kids looking at the camera. Woo-hoo!

On the way out, the girls wanted to milk the giant cow. Silly girls.

Later that night we met the Thomspons in the D for a hot cider by the fire pit. What a great day!

Dog Trainer

We decided that we needed to get a trainer to work with us to train Stella. We wanted one that would come to our house so all the family members could work with her in her "natural" environment. It was a good choice. The trainer from Core Canine helped us with "leave it", which Stella picked up on super fast. By the end of the time you could put a treat on her paw and she would leave it alone if you told her to. The trainer also helped us with teaching her not to pull on walks, how to correct her jumping on people and how to get her into her crate without dragging her in there. We worked on teaching her not to bolt out of the door when it opens as well. We had been using a long line so I could go ouside to get the kids from the bus without her bolting.

And it turns out that we were doing a lot of things right with her, which made me feel better. The trainer answered our extensive questions and gave us strategies. By then end, Stella was so mentally exhausted that she laid down and slept. As she gets older, we may hire the same trainer again for more involved training. Stella has shown how smart she is and I think she would love agility, scent or other doggy games.

  

San Diego Trip

Jason here.

While I was a resident I was introduced to a group of endodontists that meet every year in San Diego. I went this year and it was great. I made some new friends, caught up with an old high school buddy, couch surfed a few nights, and attended a temple session in one of my favorite temples.

I checked in and then figured I had some time to kill, so I went to the San Diego temple grounds to visit. I wasn't really dressed for it... but I felt strongly that I should go in and do a session, so I did. Years ago while I was on a high school spring break with some friends, the Langelands, I remember driving by the San Diego temple at night and being awestruck with how amazing this building was. I had been inactive in the church for years at this time. The Langelands told me it was an LDS temple and I was impressed for some reason. So, whenever I come back to San Diego, I always visit the temple there and reflect on the turning points in my life.

That night I visited with an old pal, Ian Galbraith and his family. Ian and I were old high school buddies and I used to hang out at his house all the time. His dad was the best chess player I have ever played. Ian got into some trouble with the law when he tried to outrace the California Highway Patrol on his track ready motorcycle a few years ago. Now he sells motorcycles and prepares for the Zombie Apocalypse. It was an interesting night of talking and then I crashed on his couch.

The conference itself was good. I have tons of respect for the guys in this group. They have high standards and practice the way I want to practice. I made some friends and connections that I hope to maintain for a long time. I met up with a guy who I have known informally through internet forums for years. Turns out he is married to an acquaintance from high school who graduated the year after I did. It was interesting to compare notes about our differing experiences in high school and what happened to some of the folks we new. And then I crashed on their couch (they rented a beach house for their family and their office staff).

Day three was more conference, a movie, and one of the longest nights I have had in recent memory. After the movie I was kind of tired of sleeping on couches, though I had an open invitation to crash again on the Weeds beach house couch, so I tried in vain to find a hotel. Everywhere was sold out, so I gave up and tried the Weeds, but the door code didn't work and I wasn't going to wake them up, so I went hotel hunting again. I found a sketchy place and crashed for a few hours before the last day of the conference.

That night I stayed with my pal Ian again (on the couch) and then flew back home. Fun times.

All in all a pretty productive trip with some interesting walks down memory lane and more couch surfing than I thought I would ever do.


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Shenandoah

 

Last year we rented a cabin and stayed in Shenandoah. This year we could only devote a day. But seeing the leaves in that valley is a must-do for fall so we took Columbus Day to do it. We did a short hike along the parkway to begin with.

I love the autumn leaves here and the kids are great car travelers. They love climbing all over the rocks at the lookouts.

Here is a picture of me to prove that I was there too. :)

We went to Skyland for lunch. We had to have the blackberry ice cream pie - a dessert worth traveling for.

We walked around the resort a bit, looked out the viewing machines and met an adorable puppy (which the kids all fawned over).

Then we wanted to take another hike to the summit. As we pulled out of the parking lot at Skyland and drive a bit to the trailhead, Paige says that she has to go potty. When she says that it usually means "RIGHT NOW!" Jason turns back around to go back to the resort. As a smell fills the car, Paige tells us that she couldn't hold it. Now I knew that she had recently had diarrhea but I was hoping she was over it. As Jason pulls the car to the curb in front of the resort and I unbuckle her, I know that's not the case. I thank my lucky stars that I always keep a change of clothes for her in the car. Luckily, fleece pants hold in a lot as long as I can keep it from dripping out the bottom. So I grab her and carry her like a baby but away from my body and I run into the building. The restrooms are down a flight of stairs and people are looking at my oddly but I don't care. I managed to get her to a stall, extricate her from the stinky pants and and underwear without too much smearing and wipe her down. It took almost a whole package of wipes. I put it all in the wet bag (thanks to cloth diapering I have plenty of those) and re-dress her. I managed to get very little on me as well. And so I nominate myself for the parenting medal of honor and take her back to the car. Notice the different pants she is now wearing.

The hike was fun but at the summit the kids were making me way too nervous. Its quite a drop off and they were getting too close to the edge. I was glad when we went back down the mountain but it made for nice pictures.