In the morning, I was very impressed by the mountains of pancakes those boys ate! And I was so thankful to have a little girl - three boys are a lot of work! They had a great time though, and the best part was when Jesse was hiding and we couldn't find him (he was hiding from his dad in their car), Isaac said that he'll just have to sleep over one more night.
The helicopter landing. Man, did that create a lot of wind! Emilie didn't approve, but the boys thought it was neat.
The Big Man himself. Isaac made sure to yell out that he wants lots of trucks for Christmas! Emilie was intrigued, but I think a little bit scared of him. At least she got in a good wave! (Her hand is the one with the white coat.)
What is that crazy little key ring, you might ask? It's a major award! And I'm not talking about leg lamp either! It is my 10% award from Weight Watchers! I had really wanted that key chain as my present to myself, and I was a little worried that I might not lose enough weight before my meeting on Tuesday with all the cake and other celebrations from the weekend, but my hard work paid off! To date I have lost 19.8 lbs and am well on my way! This week I even wore the smallest jeans I own and they fit! I think I'm going to need to do a little shopping soon so that I have clothes to wear, what a wonderful problem to have!
On Sunday we had dinner with Jarom's family and Cindi made a yummy cake complete with 32 pink candles. Isaac and Emilie happily helped me extinguish the inferno.
Friday night we went back to our old stomping grounds in Draper for our former ward's truck-or-treat. Our ward cancelled ours last weekend because of the swine flu (why can't people just stay home if they're sick?!?!?!?!?!), so I was happy that we could still go to one this year.
Emilie took a little while getting used to her costume but was a pretty good sport about it all. She loved taking her little basked up to people and getting candy. She was so polite and would say "day-diyoo, bye bye!" and wave at each person. Way too cute.
With the weather so nice today, I took the kids to Hee Haw Farms in Pleasant Grove and I just wish I would have gone sooner in the season so that we could have come back a few times! I loved it, the kids loved it, and it was a lot more affordable than some of the other autumnal attractions in our area. I expected it to be packed today, but it wasn't too crowded and the kids were able to do everything they wanted. Isaac thought the giant slides were a blast. 
Why is it that kids love to get buried in corn? And throw corn? Maybe that's why these places have giant corn pits. 
Emilie just liked making piles and watching the other kids go crazy.
Bouncing in the hay. I had to finally climb inside to get Emilie out, she was having such a good time in here.
Riding the pony. I didn't let Emilie have a turn, last time I tried to let her have a pony ride, she let everyone know within ear shot that she did not approve.
Riding in the tractor train. Isaac would have stayed in all day, Emilie was very ready to get out by the time the ride was done.
The kids had so much fun in the petting zoo. The goats and sheep would eat right out of your hand. Isaac wanted to keep feeding them and would laugh every time they licked his hands. Emilie has two main categories for animals: cats and dogs. The goat, evidently, is a cat.
And pigs are doggies.
What do you do when you can't find your way out of a short maze? Just climb up on the top and jump out. Worked for Isaac.
After we got home, Emilie took a quick nap and we had a fun BBQ with some of the families on our street. Then it was time to put the costumes back on and let the kids hit the pavement.
Nathan and Julie came over with Justin and we all went out trick-or-treating. 
The babies only stayed out for a little while, then I went out a little longer with Isaac because he just wasn't done. He just about wore me out, but towards the end, he wanted to take a little break. After that, I knew it was time to go home and put that boy to bed!
And if the saucepans aren't working for you, then just look for your brother's shoes. To really top the look off, put them on over your footie jammies. Adorable.
From there we make our way to California and Isaac was thrilled to stay in a hotel. He didn't even mind sleeping in the pull-out bed. On Thursday while Jarom was at work, we kept busy by visiting Grandma and Aunt Chris. Emilie had fun coloring with Grandma. If she gets any artistic skills when she's older, we know who to thank for them.
Chris made sure that Isaac was plenty spoiled and had a goodie bag full of all kinds of neat toys for him to "earn." 
We had a nice lunch at McDonald's and Isaac made friends with all the cute little girls playing in the play area. I had a few moms comment to me what a nice boy Isaac was as they were leaving and it just made me laugh how quickly he makes friends and goes out of his way to make people happy. What a good kid.
After eating, I think the long night of driving caught up with the kids because they both needed a good rest.
Jarom was done working Thursday night, so Friday morning we went back to Grandma's house and picked some avocados off her tree. Isaac loved picking them and worked hard to grab as many as were in his reach.
After warming up to her, Emilie was so happy to just jabber away at Grandma and had to tell her all about everything. She loved visiting "Pa Ma!"
Way too soon, it was time to go home, but we wanted to do at least one exciting thing before we left, so we took the kids to one of our favorite places, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. I think Emilie's favorite part was the shark tank. Her hands and face were plastered to the window and she just laughed and talked to the sharks as they swam past.
Watching the sea lions swim around.
They have a really neat Lorikeet exhibit that for some reason we've never been inside before until this year. If you get their special nectar, the Lorikeets fly right up to you and drink out of the little cup.
After we finished up at the aquarium, we got on the freeway, got stuck in some lovely California traffic, and drove home. We arrived home at about 3:30am and my bed has never felt so good.
My sister Michele, me, and Emilie.
Emilie got her first hair cut last week. When my neighbor Camie was done trimming up my hair, I had her even out Emilie's hair and got rid of the baby mullet so now her hair will all grow in at the same length. And it's still long enough for her little piggie tails! 
Then yesterday, the weather was so nice and Isaac didn't have school, so we went to the zoo to see all the new baby animals! We saw the baby elephant, giraffe, and tiger cubs! TOO CUTE!!! Here are the kids lined up in front of the giraffe. (Emilie didn't want anything to do with the picture, she just wanted to walk around and explore.)
Mommy and my little zoo creatures.
(I told Isaac to give me his best "pirate face" and this is what I got.)
Then they went outside for a pirate obstacle course. Isaac loved walking the plank.
Breaking the pinata. And no, Emilie's blow did not do too much to break the pinata apart.
Can't keep good friends apart! Lincoln, Isaac, and Ben.
#2 Since firefighters spend so much time at the fire station, they have it set up like a house with a kitchen and little bedrooms. Isaac was quick to point out a toy fire fighter on top of the tv console! Then the kids got little fire fighter badge stickers and they were sufficiently trained to see the trucks up close! 
#3 Fire trucks have lots of really cool things inside! The fire fighter opened up the different doors to show the huge first aid kit they sometimes use to help people.
#4 Fire fighters really like their cool toys. This guy got so giggly happy talking about his hydraulic scissors that cut cars in half. 
#4 Underneath all their heavy equipment and clothes, fire fighters are just normal people and aren't scary. And they talk like Darth Vader when their oxygen mask is turned on. They had the kids practice yelling "I'm Here!" when the firefight asked, "is anyone in here?"
#5 Fire trucks are just neat to walk through. I'm sure Isaac would have been happy to spend hours exploring the big truck!
#6 Field Trips to the fire station are so much fun! Here's Isaac's little class with the fire fighter.
