Halloween Week

Okay, so I'm a little messed up on my order of events.  My blogging has slowed down and now I'm trying to catch up.  I have so much to post that I keep finding things I missed.  Here are some pictures of Halloween week.

Since Halloween was on a Friday it didn't leave much time for pumpkin carving.  I got them all ready for Rich and Ava to carve for FHE on Monday Night before.

Ava drew her face on before and Rich used a stencil.

Ava made a scary face and Rich's is Donald Duck.

Unfortunately, we left the pumpkins inside for a couple days and they started growing mold.  It actually looked kind of cool and spooky for Halloween, but they were really soft and squishy.

 

Halloween Themed Lunches

On Halloween Ava got out of school early, so I took her for a delicious milkshake treat.

Scriptures

We have been reading the scriptures as a family since Ava was little.  We started with the "My First Book of Mormon" board book, then started the Book or Mormon Reader made by the church.  Just recently we have started reading "The Book of Mormon for Families".  It is the the Book of Mormon, but broken up in smaller sections, with pictures, and has definitions.  It has been a great way to introduce Ava to the language of the scriptures and allows us to have good discussions about gospel principles.

Not only do we read the scriptures a family, but Rich and I also have personal scripture time.  We have been doing this for most of our marriage.  While we are not perfect we do read almost every night.

A couple months ago I decided it was time for Ava to start her personal scripture study.  She is starting to read and I thought it would be the perfect time for her to start developing the habit.  Of course she can not read the "real" scripture yet, but she can read the board book versions.  So a couple months ago Ava started reading the scriptures, with a little help, at night before bed.

It is a wonderful thing to hear her read the words.  I have noticed that the stories are starting to take on a whole new meaning to her.  She is getting more from them and I think (I hope) developing a love of the scriptures.  I just hope her desire to read and learn will continue as she grows older.

The Tooth Fairy Visits Ava

On November 10, 2014 Ava lost her first tooth.  It was dangling and holding on, but the other tooth was starting to come in behind it.  We encouraged Ava, with the promise of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and an episode of Studio C, to let Rich pop it out.  She agreed and the rest is history.

Ava was excited to loose her first tooth.  She was also just as excited to eat mom's Ben and Jerry's Phish Food ice cream.  She ate her ice cream, watched her show, and then placed her tooth in her tooth pillow.  Ava was excited to see if the tooth fairy would visit and also tell all her friends at school the next day.

The tooth fairy did visit.  Ava was excited to find some money and a note.  The tooth fairy left Ava a note with her tooth attached.  Ava thought the tooth fairy was so kind and generous that she wrote her a note back.  That night Ava left the note and a dime for the tooth fairy.  She is such a sweet and giving child.  The tooth fairy was appreciative and touched that Ava thought of her.  She left Ava a thank you note in return.

This pillow was my tooth pillow as a child.  Ava loved having something that was mine.  She also liked that it was Winnie the Pooh because we read the book during the summer.

Beauty and the Beast

 

In November we took Ava to see the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast.  We saw it at the Harris Center at Folsom Lake College.  After Ava saw the Aladdin show at Disneyland we decided she was ready to see a bigger Broadway production.

That night Ava was really excited.  We decided to dress up and make it a special night.  Ava even took her purse, which was my grandma's.  Ava couldn't wait to get there and find our seats.  She excitedly anticipated the start of the show.

When the show started she was a little scared.  The storm and when they first arrive at the Beast's castle frightened her a little.  She sat on Rich's lap for a bit and was okay.  She loved the show though.  The music and dancing were great and we also laughed a bit.  It was a fun evening out as a family and we look forward to more Broadway shows together.

Visit With Kim

In November we had the opportunity to visit with Ava's birth mom, Kim.  It was a wonderful visit.  We had fun at the at the Old Nut Tree location in Vacaville.  We had lunch and then enjoyed the carousel.  We ended the visit with some delicious ice cream.

A Disney Halloween

In October we went to Disneyland for one of their Halloween Parties.  The park closes to regular visitors at 6pm and if you have a special ticket you get to stay and play.  This was our first time at the park for Halloween and it didn't disappoint.  We had fun wearing our homemade Frozen costumes and trick-or-treating around the park.  We got a lot of candy and some healthy snacks too.  The decorations were great and we got to see a special Halloween firework show.

The following day we went back to the park.  We were surprised because some of the decorations were taken down from the night before.  We were happy we got to see Disneyland in its full Halloween glory the day before.  We were also happy we found matching Disneyland Halloween shirts.  We had to search hard to find Rich's.  Fortunately, one store had his size left.

It was a crazy, fun, and fast trip!

Fall Fun