October 2013

Homework!  A new scene in our house :)  Pearl really only has homework once in a while and I have some worksheets Coby likes to do while Pearl is working.

Thankfully after the first 4 weeks or so of school Pearl finally started to relax a little and enjoy her days.  My urge to snatch her away from those long school days and home school her began to fade too.   I was surprised to get a phone call from her teacher one morning in October that Pearl was being recognized in an assembly for being the top student in her class. 

 Coby and I blazed over to see the assembly.   

Pearl holding her certificate given by the principal.  (She says that the principal is the nicest person in their whole school, which I think is cute ;)  This elementary school seems crazy about tests...maybe all schools are like that these days?? I couldn't believe her report card for the first 6-week period.  They had been tested in every subject!  I don't remember taking any tests in kindergarten.  Kind of sad really.  Kindergarteners are naturally so willing to learn, seems like more time should be spent on fun, interesting lessons than on written tests.  Pearl says they set dividers around each desk to make sure that nobody is cheating...in kindergarten.  No wonder school stresses her out so much!  She is a perfectionist and a pleaser by nature...should kids really be competing for high scores and rewards in kindergarten??

Meanwhile, Coby has a more relaxed environment at preschool.  :)  We visited the fire station with his class.

Then I took him to Costco for some lunch and shopping.  Yummy Costco pizza :)

He and Pearl had planned to be ghosts for Halloween.  But while at Costco, camouflage caught his eye and he really wanted this army uniform.  So Coby decided to be a soldier instead of a ghost.  He kept telling people that he was going to be an army for Halloween.  ;)

We headed to South Padre Island for General Conference weekend.  We rented a small (actually very small - there were bunk beds in the hall) condo for the weekend.  During the Priesthood session I took Pearl and Coby miniature golfing.

 It was a beautiful weekend.  The water was still nice and warm.  

Pearl was invited to the dress-up birthday party of a girl in her school class.  She went as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. 

There was a hired crew there to entertain.  

They put on a tacky show that was all in Spanish so Pearl was quite confused most of the time :s  Between the poor entertainment and trying to mingle with parents at the party that I had never met, it was a fairly painful experience.

 Making Halloween sugar cookies. 

Coby's preschool had a field trip to the pumpkin patch.  I still laugh that they call a bunch of pumpkins sitting in front of a church a "patch," but the kids thought it was great.  

Below is Coby and his friend Isaac.

In preparation for our trip to Chicago, we bought coats for Pearl and Coby.  I said to Coby "We need to buy you a coat for Chicago."  He said in all seriousness, "What's a coat again?"  He wore a coat once last year when we went to Utah so he had forgotten.  Well, he loves his orange coat.  Especially when he discovered that Daddy couldn't tickle him through it.  He wore his "tickle protection" inside for several days.

King James shirts I found on sale :)

 The little carnival that comes near our house each October.

We went to Chicago for KC to take his oral board exam.  TONS of studying for KC in September and October. :s  Results take several weeks to come back but he said it was really tough.  The kiddos and I drove 90 miles to Milwaukee to visit KC's sister Brittani and her family.

Caught a shuttle outside the Chicago airport.  Brrrr!  45 degrees!

The Atwood's have the cutest back yard...with lots of fall leaves!!

We visited the cutest little zoo in Milwaukee :)  Carved pumpkins decorated the zoo.  We found this eye pumpkin and sent a picture to Daddy.

A train ride to end the day at the zoo :)

Ward Halloween party with the Atwoods :)

Was so fun to experience a real "fall" weekend of cold weather and hot chocolate!!

We picked KC up in Chicago after his test and went to the American Girl store.  Cutest dolls and accesories, but for a pretty steep price. 

There was a Lego store next door that Coby thought was great.

For her birthday present, Pearl chose Caroline, a doll with long, curly, blonde hair.  We also had a  birthday lunch for Pearl there at their American Girl Cafe.

Trick or treating in Milwaukee, and it wasn't even Halloween!  People trick-or-treat in Milwaukee the entire week of Halloween, even during the day!  Was so funny to see.

We returned home a few days before Halloween.  Carving pumpkins was a little rushed but we did it ;)

Camouflage day at Pearl's school during spirit week.

Dress-like-your-favorite-story-book-character day at school.  Pearl wanted her hair straight like Alice's. This is as straight as I could make it...and by noon it was curly again ;)

Halloween night!  We did dinner and trick or treating with some ward friends.  Then we headed to the airport to pick up Grandma and Grandpa!!