Halloween Festivities

I had intentions of this being several different posts, but it just didn't happen. So here is our week of Halloween Festivities:

First was the Costume Parade at Grandma and Grandpa White's House on Sunday:

Kayden dressed up as a cow and Skyler, his cousin, dressed as Superman.

Josh loved being Curious George last year and insisted on being Curious George again this year.

Jaxon dressed as Santa.

And McKay was Anakin Skywalker.

All of the White Family Cousins dressed up: Ben (Spiderman), Maddie (Tinker Bell), Nick (Batman), Emma (Indian), Josh (Curious George), McKay (Anakin), Tre (Transformer), Skyler (Superman) Jaxon (Santa), Olivia (Cowgirl) and Kayden (Cow).

After the Costume Parade we went to Grandpa and Grandma White's neighbor's "Spooky House". This neighbor goes all out each year and puts on quite the spooky show in his yard.

Here is Josh in front of Frankenstein that is at the "Spooky House".

Kayden and Jeremy by the spooky bats and mummy tomb.

Jaxon, Weston, Olivia and Jennise with the witches making their brew behind them. Olivia did not like the "Spooky House".

Josh being "spooked" in the zombie corn patch.

The next night was Family Home Evening so we carved pumpkins.

McKay taking the time to draw on his pumpkin face to make sure it is just right. He carved his pumpkin by himself this year.

Kayden and Josh made a BYU carving in their pumpkin.

Jaxon looks as if he is out to really out to "get" his pumpkin. Between the two of us Jaxon's pumpkin looked great.

Jeremy is one serious carver.

Here are all the pumpkins lit up and the pumpkin carvers. (Bummer that the picture turned out blurry.)

Thursday night we went to ride the Stringtown Railroad with Grandma and Grandpa Haacke. It is a free train ride in Lindon that runs the week of Halloween. While it is still light out the ride is very mild, but apparently when it gets dark the train ride gets quite scary. Mostly we just waved at a bunch of monsters who waved at us first.

I love this picture of my dad all squished up in the train. He is such a trooper. He has a couple of bad knees and I know this wasn't the most comfortable position for his to ride in. But he was smiling and enjoying the ride none the less. My mom is right behind him all smiles.

Way back there on the tail end of the train is Jaxon and McKay. They had a great time but said the back of the train was a bit bumpy.

Josh was positioned right in front me (which made it hard to get a picture). He was very nervous about the train ride but loved every minute of it and can't wait to go back and ride it next year. Kayden and I rode the train together, but no one got a picture of us.

On Friday I went to the school for the boys' class parties.

Here is Jaxon at he second grade party playing Halloween Bingo and also showing off the spider that he made during the party.

I am McKay's room mom this year (What was his teacher thinking?) so I was in charge of his party. I had one mom and a dad come in and play a couple of games with the kids and one mom come and do a craft. I help the kids make these spooky edible chocolate trees with a candy corn fence and pumpkin patch. Surprisingly the party was a success and the kids had a great time.

Finally: Halloween! The whole family dressed up for Halloween this year and went trick-or-treating. My parents came out to celebrate the holiday with us. My mom came trick-or-treating with us and my dad stayed at the house to pass out candy and toothpaste. (Yes, you read right--toothpaste. It was a success until the end of the night when someone graciously returned their toothpaste by placing it on our top stair. It was like they said "No thanks. I didn't want toothpaste for trick-or-treating." At least we didn't get toilet-papered.)

Getting ready to go trick-or-treating: Jeremy (The Man in the Yellow Hat), Jaxon (Santa), Kayden (Cow), Me (Professor Wiseman), Josh (Curious George), and McKay (Anakin). We posed in front of the dinosaur that McKay earned at school. He spray painted it black and red with the help of his brother and dad. Then they hung it in the front of the house. It looked awesome! It was a successful Halloween week and we loved every minute of it.

* What were you for Halloween this year?
** Did you give or receive anything unique for trick-or-treating?

The Fall Soccer Season

It was a great soccer season for my three oldest boys. They had great teams and great coaches. Here are a few highlights from the fall season:

We signed McKay up in the city league this year. He had a fun coach and team. McKay would play goalie the first half of the game and then he would play all over the field the second half. I SWEAR I had a picture of him being goalie, but I can't find it in any of my files. Bummer, because he was a GREAT goalie. You should see his drop kick. Above McKay is the team in red. (His team name was the "Bombers".) He was lining the ball up for a goal here (the one in red furthest right).

Don't you wish you had a high kick like Jaxon's? My word that boy can kick. Jaxon loves to play soccer and was very beneficial to his team this year. (His team name is the "Blue Flames".) He played all positions on the field, but his favorites are goalie and sweeper.

Here is Jaxon playing goalie. He stopped many goals from going in the net.

Josh was the biggest shocker of the season. When it came time for soccer sign ups, he did not want to play. But I signed him up anyway. I wasn't sure what he was going to do. He surprised us all when he was the team MVP scoring several goals each game (they don't have goalies in his league level). His team is the team in yellow. (His team name is the "Yellow Buzzers".) Can you tell which one Josh is? He is the one that is a head taller than everyone else on the field.

Here is Josh (number 9) dribbling the ball down the field to score a goal.

We can hardly wait for the spring season! All the snow will gone then, right?

A New Addition To The Family

Our boys have been begging us for a dog. We have wanted to get one, but the timing has not been right. Well, the time has arrived. Jeremy and I went on a date yesterday afternoon and came home with a dog. Our boys were so excited! Jaxon was so excited he even started crying! It was fun to surprise them with a puppy. So let me introduce you to her:

This is when we first brought her home and surprised the boys. Kayden was the first to see me with her and he pointed and said, "Dog!" The boys kept saying, "Is this our dog? Really? It is our dog?" It was just pure joy!

Kayden gave the puppy a hug.

Jaxon making sure that the dog is really ours.

The kids taking turns petting her. (The taking turns thing didn't last very long!)

Letting the puppy explore the backyard for the first time.

Her first bath. She didn't like it very much.

The boys with the puppy just before bed. All of them were clean and tired from a fun day. Up until this afternoon, we just kept calling her "Puppy". But we finally all agreed upon a name. Her name is Suki. We got her name from one of the boy's favorite TV shows, "Avatar: The Last Air Bender" that is shown on Nickelodeon. She is definitely a welcome addition to our home. Now if only we can get her to go potty outside ALL of the time....

There Goes My Streak--

It took ten years of parenting. I thought I was going to make it. Then last week it happened when I ran across the street to borrow something from a neighbor. While I was gone, Josh got out the scissors and decided he and his friend, Kaden, had to cut the parts of their hair that was "sticking up". I didn't notice right away, in fact it took me until the next day to discover it. I just thought Joshua's hair was extra messy the next morning and wouldn't comb right. But when I went running in the morning with my friend Camie, Kaden's mom, she asked me about Josh's hair. I didn't know what she meant. She then told me that Kaden came home from my house with a chunk of hair missing!! I was horrified! I can't believe that I didn't notice either one of their hair. After much searching, I found the evidence:

Josh thought I wouldn't know. He even told Kaden's mom, "I didn't get in trouble because my mom doesn't know." With which she responded, "She does now!" Josh had three bald spots on his head. His longer hair was just covering them.

Needless to say, he had to get a buzz--an EXTREMELY short buzz. His friend had to get a buzz too, but not as short as Josh's (thank goodness). Hopefully Josh's friends' moms will still let their kids come over to play.

Jaxon Is Baptized!

Jaxon was baptized at the American Fork Tabernacle yesterday. He was so excited, he said that he woke up early in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally the time came and Jaxon was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The whole day was very nice and memorable. Here are a few memories to share:

Jaxon and his dad just before Jaxon was baptized. I think both of them are quite handsome.

The White Family dressed all in white. (And I didn't even plan it that way.)

Jaxon with his dad and Uncle Brady. Jaxon asked his Uncle Brady to give a talk on baptism.

All the people that came to Jaxon's baptism. (Except Uncle Jason and Aunt Melodie's family--we didn't catch them before they left.) Jaxon had a lot of family, a lot of friends, his home teacher, and bishopric members at his baptism. There are so many people that love and care about Jaxon.

The boys with the Haacke cousins that made it to Jaxon's baptism. From left: McKay, Marissa, Jaxon, Alexa, Bryan, Josh, Lachlan, Samantha and Kayden.

This is our friend Marilyn that made Jaxon a cupcake tree for his baptism. She is so kind and giving and very talented with cakes. We loved the cupcakes she made for Jaxon. They had sports balls, Yoda rings, and Star Wars bouncy balls on the cupcakes. All of which are some of Jaxon's favorite things.

The cupcake tree completed. The top of the tree was a cake with a picture of Jaxon when he won his Karate trophies earlier this year. Very cool.

This is a day that I will not forget. It is one of those proud parent moments when you look at your children and have an insurmountable amount of love for them. I am grateful that Jaxon made the choice to be baptized and receive the Holy Ghost. He is a great kid and we are very proud of him!

Jaxon Turns 8!

Today is Jaxon's Birthday. Yes, eight years ago at 3:38 PM (Eastern time) Jaxon made his way into the world. He was a much easier delivery than his older brother, McKay. I felt good enough to go and visit some friends in our ward down the hall from us in the hospital (they had their baby the same day Jaxon was born) the day after Jaxon was born.

Jaxon weighed in at 7 pounds and 13 ounces. He was 20 3/4 inches long. He was handsome from the very beginning. Here he is yawning.

Here is one of our quiet evenings at home a week or so after he was born. He looks so cute with his arms folded under his head.

Jaxon today. We went to Iggy's for dinner (Jaxon's choice) and opened presents there. Here McKay is doing the traditional "Heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head...."

Jaxon had just opened a Jedi robe. This kid LOVES Star Wars.

Josh having a turn "bumping" him on the head.

Jaxon is modeling the Anakin Skywalker glove he had just opened.

All the servers came and wished Jaxon a Happy Birthday and gave him an ice cream sundae.

They gave a sundae to Kayden too (all the boys got one). Kayden made a mess, but he sure is cute!

Eight Things That We Love About Jaxon:

1. He is very tender hearted and knows just when someone needs a kind word or hug.
2. He is a great dancer and loves to sing and dance to Numa Numa, his favorite song. Check out the video he took of himself below. It is well worth watching for a good laugh--the three minutes are worth it!
   
3. He has a great imagination and loves to use it while playing with friends. He loves to pretend to be a Jedi.
   
4. He is a great athlete. He excels in soccer, basketball, baseball and is also a Sr. Yellow belt in Karate.
5. He is a good brother. He is always fair to his brothers and watches out for them.
6. Jaxon is great at telling you whatever is on his mind. He is especially great at telling his grandpa that he can see his nose hairs.
7. Loves school and is a good student. He currently loves reading Fly Guy books.
8. He is a good friend to everyone and we couldn't be prouder of who he is.

Happy eighth birthday Jaxon! We love you!

The Utah State Fair (For Real)

We made it to the state fair this week! After our attempt last week, we were able to REALLY get to the fair this last Tuesday. Here are a few of the highlights:

There was a Shark Encounter Show there. Around the show they had exhibits that you could look at and interact with. The boys were in a shark cage acting scared because of the large shark right behind them.

Josh, McKay and Josh with the shark tank behind them.

They have an interactive area where you are able to work on a farm, and then trade in your goods for money, which you spend getting a snack. Here is Joshua and Jaxon milking a cow.

McKay and Kayden milking the cow.

Kayden planted a tomato seed. On the other side of the sandbox, he harvested his tomato.

Driving the tractors to the spot where they sold their goods.

There were cutouts of girls and boys showing that kids can be apart of the FFA (Future Farmers of America). Jaxon was less than thrilled that he had to put his head in the girl cutout.

Josh and Kayden. Kayden didn't care that his head was in the girl cut out.

They had a fishing pond at the fair that taught fishing safety and then let the kids fish for 30 minutes or until you caught a fish. All the boys caught a fish with the first five minutes of fishing. The fishing was catch and release (thank goodness). McKay was the first to reel in a fish. He was VERY happy about his catch.

Jaxon reeled in a whopper!

Josh was so excited! He wasn't sure exactly what to do! I wish I could have caught his facial expression in this picture.

Grandpa, Grandma and Kayden watched the boys fishing from the sidelines.

The fair would not be complete without a ride down the famous yellow and green slide. Here is Josh and I riding down. Grandma and Kayden were at the bottom waiting for us, along with McKay.

McKay and Jaxon got to go for a second ride later in the day. McKay is the one in red and Jaxon is the one in the middle wearing white. It was a great day at the fair and we had such a great time. Glad we made the trip back up. It wouldn't be the same with out our traditional annual visit to the fair. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for going with us each year to make it great!