October

The Quick Version:

Erilyn likes to swing.  And to smile sweetly.

The boys like to swing, too.  Mom likes October weather.  It's perfect for playing at the park.   (We don't do parks in the summer.  At least, not in Texas.  October thru March is park weather here.  At least for me.)

Erilyn got to ride Joe at preschool, and I got to help the Pony Lady give all the kids rides.  Besides watching Erilyn fall in love (again) with horseback riding, what I enjoyed most was smelling Joe's neck.  Ahhhh....I love the smell of horses.  It makes everything right in the world.

I try to be crafty.  I really do.  For the sake of my children. Here we are trying to make mini caramel apples as a Halloween activity with friends.  You use a melon baller to get out balls of an apple, stick a pretzel in the top and then dip it in melted caramel.  Really cute idea.  Didn't work at all.  The pretzels would slide out too easily, so we always had to fish the apple-ball out of the caramel bowl with a fork.  Nice thought, though.  And a caramel dipped apple tastes just as good from a fork as it does from a pretzel.  Thank goodness.

Tanner likes to climb.  He loves to climb up the ladder and go down the slide by himself.  The first time I saw him do it I almost had a heart attack.  I didn't even know he could climb the ladder.  When I ran out there, the kids assured me he was okay, saying, "Mom.  It's okay.  He does it all the time."  !!!!!  He does though.  And he loves it.  LOVES it.

I love this sweet baby face.  

Erilyn's Halloween costume.  She was a black kitty a couple of years ago, too.  What can I say--she likes black cats.  (I think it goes back to our cat Shadow that we had when she was a baby.  I know she can't possibly actually remember Shadow, but she still knows she loves black cats.  

Not sure why Anthon looks so scared, or sick, or sad...can't decide.  He's a vampire, and Tanner's a spider.  In case you couldn't tell.

With no planning or communication whatsoever, Jessica, Erilyn's best friend, also chose to be a black cat for Halloween.  And Dallin, Anthon's friend and Jessica's brother, also chose to be a vampire for Halloween.  We didn't realize it until we all showed up at the ward Trunk or Treat party.  True story.