October in Reverse (read from bottom to top)

Will I ever get used to having all boy? Not if they keep carrying dead animals home in their bare hands. I begged #3 to at least come and get gloves next time. :)

We love Disney's Cars, and we especially love Mater!

A trip to the farm with some buddies and #5 (on the right).

Mom turns 34. YIKES. This Yoda backpack was a serious bright spot to aging!!!

Davy Crockett. #3 did a seriously terrific job on his book report. He even learned that Davy Crockett wanted to always be called by his legal name--David.

#4 had a field trip to Fire Safety Town.

Mom went to UT to meet Momba (her mom) and hang out with Sandra. Somehow the cameras really didn't make it out--but rest assured there was lots of chat, treats, and crafting!

Pic from the zoo. Loved watching these shadows dance around.

I love parenting with Mike! We asked #1 for a proposal of how we should pay him for babysitting. He and I talked it through a little, then he finished it up to present during family council. That presentation, of course, led to some questions and discussion. If you can't see, on the board is a comparison of HOURLY, COMMISSION, and SALARY payment options. In case you're curious, the negotiations (we went through the entire process as part of the educating) settled on a salary of $24 per month.

Birthday costume party! What fun!

Good friends!!

Decorating cookies at the party#5 and L all dressed up for a cookies and costumes party. Allie and I laughed because L's breastplate is so long it makes his legs look incredibly short--we called him lego storm trooper.Another play date with Samuel! Learning about the letter C, we played several different games of catch, including trying to catch candy corns in our mouths.A wasp got into our house. #5 told me about it, but I could never find it. #3 told us about it again at bedtime because it had landed on him. We made sure we couldn't see it in their room and closed the door so it couldn't enter and started back downstairs. We were stopped by incredibly loud and urgent screaming. We headed back to learn that it had gotten INSIDE his nightshirt and was stinging him (I think repeatedly in the same spot). I was amazed that he had the presence of mind not to smash it, and we quickly got it off of him. Mike "took care" of the wasp while I took care of #3. He fell asleep completely hidden by this blanket except for where the sting was because it was covered in this water / baking soda paste.This is an eco-friendly habitat advertisement at the zoo. While C and #5 explored the snakes, frogs, and birds, L was entranced with this bed. :)We cannot believe the gorgeous weather we've been having! We've enjoyed it at the zoo every chance we could get!Picture opportunity for #5 at Walmart. We loved the movie "How to Train Your Dragon"--better than the book, which is almost NEVER the case!We made our yearly visit to the Pumpkin Patch! The hay ride is always a huge hit, especially with C and L along! (Allie and Krista are fun, too, when they're not texting--got pics and BOTH were texting during the hay ride. :D )#5 has a weekly play date with his friend, Samuel. This time we learned about the letter B and wrote our own book like "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" with all animals that start with the letter B. It was a huge success because #5 "read" it again and again and again...to anyone who'd listen!Singing songs with a cold #5 helps keep Mom warm, too. This particular night, #5 provided extra fluid while sleeping, which left both of us FREEZING, so we spent most of the night in the car...the heater is a beautiful thing...once you figure out how to turn off your husband's automatic lights and the car alarm #5 sets off when he kicks in his sleep.Dad's incredible dutch oven set up means we eat WELL out in the "wilderness"!S'mores each and every time, of course!We've gone camping 3 out of the 4 past weekends! A dirty and ecstatic face like this makes all the effort and planning it takes for two non campers-by-nature types to get ourselves out there and just do it.They did all kinds of really fabulous things in UT--raced go karts, had all our favorite treats from our college era, tried some new ones (grilled cheese stick sandwich!), toured museums and church buildings, played games late at night (OK, excluding Mike who slept (: ), visited several old friends, etc. They really had a blast!This is Mike, #1, and D in front of a statue of Karl G Maeser on the BYU campus. He's famous for saying that no matter what prison you put him in, there is a chance he could escape. But have him draw a chalk circle around himself and give his word not to leave. Could he escape? Never! He'd die first. The boys are drawing a chalk circle around the statue.Mike and #1 took a weekend to go to Utah in October. In our church, young men receive the Priesthood--the authority to act for God--when they turn 12. One session of General Conference is dedicated to teaching young men how to act in order for the Priesthood to be effective in their lives. Mike and I wanted #1 to be able to attend his first Priesthood session of General Conference in person.

Quotables: When we got out a hat and sweatshirt for the first time this fall, Eli couldn't quite remember or understand. "So these are for when it's cold?? I'm almost like a SNOWMAN!"