Happy Halloween!!!!

We had our ward trunk or treat party last  Saturday night and it was super fun!  

 Hailey was Merida from "Brave"- we sprayed her hair red!

 Tom was Clark Kent aka Superman, and I was his girlfriend, Lois Lane (I even made a reporter ID tag with my "name" and pic --but people still thought I looked like Nancy Pelosi!?!  ha ha!)

 Spencer was a BYU football player (we will get a better photo tonight!)

 After taking a shower, Hailey zonked out on my bathroom floor!!!

 Sunday night pumpkin carving!!!  ooooooh scary!!

 EEWW!!!

 These were YUMMY caramel apples!

 Silly dad!

 This morning I was making some Vampire Blood Cupcakes for Spencer's class and Hailey said, "Mom, there are some kids in my class who are vampires and they LOVE blood!  Please make some for my class too!!"  ha ha!!!

So guess who ended up making two pans of cupcakes and giving up her workout time?  Vampire MOMMY!!  (it's ok - this is where my heart is and I love it--blood and all!!  ha ha)

Day 3 of Fall Break - SEA WORLD!!!

The third day of Fall Break we went to SEA WORLD and it was so awesome!  The entire month of October Sea World gives free admission to kids so when I found that out, we decided to go!

The weather could not have been more perfect.  It was cool enough to feel like October, but warm enough to feel good when we got wet from the water rides!

If anyone knows Hailey, they know she has an extreme love for animals.  She went crazy petting the bat rays!

We went to pet the sea animals while the older kids went on the rides Hailey was too little to go on.

...and she LOVED the pink flamingoes!

The shark tunnel is one of our favorite attractions.  It's always so creepy to 

Cool Sea Horses :)

The sea lion and otter show has been around since I was a kid.  They even do some of the same jokes and tricks with the animals (and they are still pretty funny! ha ha)

Yea, it was crowded!

I went on this ride once with the kids and it was super fun!  We got out pretty soaked but the kids wanted to go again!?!  So, I opted to sit it out and take pictures!  

Hailey wanted to show Spencer how much fun it was to pet Bat Rays, so we had to go back and give Spencer a chance.

Does Hailey want the cute little dolphin stuffed animal?  No.  Does she want the pretty pink starfish toy?  No.  She wants the bright green, long, sharp-toothed EEL!!!!  That is Hailey for ya!

We also had a blast watching the trainers with the dolphins.  The kids even got to pet one as it swam by them.

SHAMU!!!!!

I love this picture of Shamu!!

Soooo - little Hailey didn't want to sit up high with us, even though technically we were still in the "splash zone!"  We were in the "safe zone" as far as I was concerned.  :)  Hailey wanted MORE - so she went up right where those kids are standing and boy did she ever get SOAKED!!

This is a video of her getting soaked.  She is the little girl in red near the girl with the yellow shirt.  Actually, the real soaking came from those fountains that went off and right as I turned off my video camera, the fountains aimed right at her and she absolutely was drenched!!!

She was drenched and she was MAD about it!  ha ha---She came back up to our seats and sulked in the corner for the rest of the show.  (look at the people across the stairs from her - their reaction to her "wetness!")  We had a little talk about making choices and having to pay the consequences---that really didn't cheer her up but as a mom, I had to do it.  

Well, on our way out, we passed a Sea World worker who was transporting a parrot.  Hailey LOVES parrots and her sister said, trying to make her smile a little, "Hailey - there is a parrot.  You LOVE parrots!"  Suddenly, the worker stopped and said, "You love parrots? Can I show you my parrot?"  This woman clearly looked like she was in a hurry transporting this animal somewhere as we passed but soon surmised the situation and stopped to make a little girl SMILE.  

She let Hailey pet the bird and she got her own little private show with the beautiful bird.  Hailey was in heaven!

Can I tell you how impressed I was with this Sea World employee?  Those short 2 minutes she spent with Hailey made ALL the difference.  We had our happy little girl back again!

Spencer fell in love with a very cuddly white polar bear and I was so happy that he wasn't too "old" for stuffed animals anymore!!

The park closed at 5:00 and we walked back to our car, the kids changed into some DRY pajamas, and we drove back to Phoenix.  I was exhausted to say the least but we got home before midnight, safe and sound with fun memories of just being together!!

Day 2 - Fall Break with Cousins!!

On Day 2 of Fall Break, my sweet little sister, Suzanne, met us with her four adorable kids and we played at Laguna Beach!!

Here is Hailey with her awesome cousin, Olivia.

Tate - the sand monster!

Spencer's closest boy cousin and the kid who makes him really smile . . . . LUKE!!

Here is the newest cousin, Noel :)  I LOVE HER!!!

She is absolutely adorable and I think I smooched her little cheeks over 100 times!!!

I couldn't help it!!

We sat for hours and just talked and talked.  It was so nice to let the kids play and catch up with my little sister.  Suzanne was so great to just leave her routine for the day and take her kids out of school early so they could play with us.  They live only about 15 minutes from the beach and every time we come here we just have to meet for a party on the beach!