The Pollard Place: October: A Hippie, a Vampire, an Army Man and Elsa

I love fall in the Heber Valley, and the Wow trail is probably the prettiest trail I've ever been on. I did it with Jessica this time which made me less stressed because we didn't have to get back at a certain time for a babysitter. We had a great time and I loved the trail! I didn't crash (HOORAY) and could feel my confidence growing a little bit.

Fall means it is time for Henry to play soccer! This season I feel like he made the most progress of any season. It might have been because I told him that if he didn't start practicing he wouldn't be able to make the teams when the Rec teams end and you have to do teams with try outs. I told him that he'd have to play a sport and if he wasn't good enough for soccer he'd have to do something that didn't require try outs... like ballet. Haha.

We went to a cool pumpkin patch with Sara and her kids! It was so cute and felt very "small town" and I loved it so much. We walked around and the kids got to pick out their own pumpkin, and we also saw a little group of kittens! After the pumpkin patch we went to a park to play and let the kids get some more energy out.

The two Amelias!

Della and Ayla!

We got to go to the cabin! We've had it for a while now, but it still just feels like such an incredible blessing and we are so grateful to go. It feels like a great opportunity to unplug and spend time together as a family. We did a spa night, went on walks, and the kids played on the little ropes course thing we have.

While we were at the cabin, Alyson threw a Harry Potter Party! I thought it would just be an hour away and not that big of a deal, but it ended up being two hours (go figure) and was a little bit rough to do that all in a few hours. Uncle John and Aunt Connie watched the kids so we could go and it was so fun! The food was fun, the decorations were amazing and then we played trivia! I thought I knew a bit about Harry Potter but man. These questions were INTENSE and I definitely lost haha.

Then we had some more time at the cabin! We went for a side by side ride, rode dirt bikes and four wheelers, set a mouse free, did a fashion show with back to school clothes, and went fishing. Fishing was our first time here at the pond and it was... fun. It was definitely successful! Della caught four, Henry caught two and Amelia caught two. I had to help because they were all getting caught at one time and I was not a fan and thought that mine had died, but I think it was just playing dead. I don't like fishing when you actually catch a fish.

The girls are doing gymnastics and loving it! Henry somehow gets a treat after their classes too.

We did some cool science experiments with candy in honor of this blessed month with Halloween!

The homeschool group went to Hee Haw Farms again, and it was soooo stinnkin cute! I met Larissa, Sara and Amy there, and then we also ran into a bunch of other people that we know. The kids had a blast! Afterward, the Cowleys went to Jurassic Taco with us. Great fall day!

The co-op had a little tea party, and the girls were so excited to dress up! It was cute and they decorated hats and had snacks. They are making some good friends there!

Time for Cornbelly's again! We love this place and the kids look forward to it every year!

There was a fun Halloween party at the Cowleys! The kids wrapped each other with crepe paper like mummies, did a scavenger hunt, and roasted hot dogs. We love the Cowleys!

Henry has been asking and we finally had time for him to go to the track with Rusty! They had a great time, and Rusty was so proud of Henry for being brave. He took on that track and conquered it!

Rusty and I went on a date night, which maybe is not that crazy but it was the first time that we didn't get a babysitter! We were just going to the Mercantile so Henry babysat! I love their food and especially their bacon wrapped dates!

For Beckie's birthday we were going to meet everyone at the cemetery, but on the way Amelia threw up twice so we had to turn around. I had the Taco Bell and the pumpkin pie for everyone so that was a bummer.

Another thing we did for Beckie's birthday was go on temple date. I always love to do sealings around her birthday and her death date because it brings me a lot of comfort. This year I decided that I would try to go with someone important to me every time, instead of going only with Rusty (who I love and adore obviously). This year we invited the Cowleys! We went to the Orem temple to do sealings and then got some ice cream on the way home.

A leaf landed on my head while I was talking to Rusty in the truck haha

I love these people!

One time after the Cowleys were here, I found all of these loves notes. They were between Miles and Della and they were pretty cute and funny. Miles had started writing about kissing her so I told Larissa and we each talked to our kid about stopping this and slowing down. Della was so nervous to hurt Miles' feelings, and then he came over and told her that he just wanted to be friends. She seemed disappointed when he left, and I said, "Della that's great! You didn't even have to hurt his feelings!" She said, "Yeah, but I wanted to tell him not have him tell me he just wanted to be friends." OH MY GOODNESS.

I got out some golf tees and a hammer for Amelia to put into a pumpkin and it ended up being a big hit with all three kids!

To wrap up our bird unit, and to go with our read aloud we did that was Mr. Popper's Penguins, we went to the aquarium and got to feed the penguins! It was so fun and the kids loved it! I also loved it so much too. They are so stinkin cute!

One begging from Della but she has none left!

I don't know that I remember to do this every October, but I do like to do spooky bedtime stories with a flashlight with the kids. We just read our normal Halloween books but with the lights off and it feels extra spooky!

Homeschool means lots of Halloween school activities! We did some fun science experiments and wrote about what it would be like to have a vampire live next door.

TIME IS A THIEF

We still love playing in backyard! We get a lot of outside time here, and this year the weather was so stinkin nice all the way through October!

Homework with Sneaky

For a school assignment, Della was supposed to read and act out Mary Had a Little Lamb. We thought it would be extra funny if we had Lia be the lamb and we performed it for Dad!

For art this month, we did some Halloween crafts! We used sponges cut in different shapes and sizes and all kinds of paint. Then we added on some googly eyes!

This year we were able to go to the Mothers Without Borders Gala. It was really a cool event, and I love this organization so much. I was able to finally meet Josephina, we heard Yahosh Bonner sing, and watched a piano duel which was really cool! We learned about the progress that was made this last year, and I particularly loved hearing about the Boys program that we helped start. These are such amazing people and I felt so honored and out of place to be there with them.

We had a Halloween party at Mom's! Gigi made spooky potion with the kids and we ate some yummy food!

It was time for the ward party! Always a big hit, and this year was no different. They helped me decorate my trunk to give out some candy. Henry was an army man, Della was a vampire, Amelia was Elsa and I was a hippie. Rusty was boring.

Boring.

Amelia made her 5 little pumpkins puppets and we recited the rhyme lots and lots of times!

We had chili in our little cauldrons for dinner! I LOVE HALLOWEEN if it wasn't clear already.

We went trick or treating in Dutch Fields this year for the first time and it was so dreamy! I can't explain it but it felt like we were in a cute Halloween movie. There were so many kids running around and playing and having the best time. We went with the Cowleys and had the greatest time!

One house gave out cotton candy!

Our cute house on Halloween!

After trick or treating we went home and watched Room on the Broom while the kids sorted and traded their candy. YAY HALLOWEEN!

Henry's Highlights:

We were watching The Wizard of Oz and all of the people were twirling around in the tornado just looking like normal. Henry said, "How are they not distressed?!"
Phyllis sent us some D3 oil to give the kids and it tasted awful. I made them eat it and the next day Henry said, "No thank you. I'll get my own D3 vitamins from oranges and stuff."

Adeline's Adventures:

Loving her gymnastics class! She has a real talent for it and is picking it up really quickly
She is so loving and kind, and has a strong nurturing personality
LOVES to be fancy
Ended up being the best fisherman of us all at the cabin!

Amelia's Updates:

Amelia got a pink dolphin and named it Elizabeth. She said, "Mom, make sure Henry and Della don't touch my dolphin. If they do, just karate chop them. Remember our deal." Then a few seconds later she heard Henry's voice and yelled down the stairs "MOM! KARATE CHOP HIM!!"

Had a bad cough and said it sounded like a walrus
Was pretty upset about Julio the mouse's death at the Bear Lake cabin (Julie-O). Video of her being sad and then asking for a snack.
Got all dressed up in her pretty dress for a tea party and then got really sad and said, "Mom? What if someone sees me fart? Or toot? Princesses don't do that..."
I yelled to Della "Della do your hair!" but she didn't hear so she said, "What?" And I yelled, "Why don't you care?!" and "Go to the chair" and then Henry, Della and I were just yelling rhyming things back and forth and laughing so hard. Lia all of a sudden yells at the top of her lungs, "WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE BUM CHEEKS?!"

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