The Nutcracker

Courtney was in her first performance of the Nutcracker this last weekend. She was pretty excited and their dance was very cute. Her class was the youngest group again and they were all concentrating on their steps so much they had a hard time remembering to smile, but they were great anyway. They came out hiding under Mother Cinnamon's skirt and at the end of the dance she ordered them to hide under again when they left the stage. We were all impressed with the performances of the older girls. They looked so professional. Courtney is excited to someday be the sugar plum fairy because she got to wear pink and had a solo. Luckily it wasn't too long and so the little kids didn't get too restless. Paige was standing up on my lap and cheering for each dance. I can see that she'll want to be in ballet too, when the time comes. It is so fun that Leanne gets to be in the same class as Courtney and she also had a little girl from the ward in her class this year. It was a great start to the Christmas season for us.

Harvestvest!

It's pumpkin time again! Courtney had a day off of school and it was sunny and warm, so we decided to head out to the pumpkin patch. We went to EZ Orchards because we could see the petting zoo and climb hay bales etc. at no extra charge. The kids loved riding in the wagon out to the field to pick out their pumpkins. We got some fun pictures.I especially liked this one of Paige on the tractor. Then, we were all so warm, we decided to get some ice cream!

1st Grader!

Here's my big first grader. I can't believe that she is so old! Either that or I am getting old. This year has seen Courtney make real strides in coming out of her shyness. She tells me that I don't need to meet her at the bus stop anymore, but I still feel like I need to. She really enjoys school and going to ballet with Leann. She never has a problem getting up in the morning, and is happy from the moment she wakes up. Courtney's favorite thing to do is drawing. She will spend a lot of time every day just making pictures to fill up my refrigerator door. Having things "just perfect" as she says is very important to her. What she wears and how her hair is done is very important to her. She is already starting to comment on what I wear and how I do my hair! If she could get away with it she would probably wear a dress everyday and put curlers in her hair. Everytime I tell her that she is growing up too fast she tells me it's OK if she grows up because she will take care of me when I am "old." She also plans to have her own bookstore someday where she draws the pictures for the books, so I can come and buy them.

New Family Pictures!

Well, we got brave and went in to get some new family pictures, mainly because I was getting sick of the old one. Also because the kids grow so fast. Paige was only a few months old last time and I can't believe how quickly the time has gone. She is such a big girl these days and wants to be so independent. I guess it comes from watching Dylan, who is almost insulted when you ask if he wants help with anything. Paige is still not talking much as far as real words go, but that doesn't stop her from discoursing at length in her own language. She gets this very intense look on her face and repeats herself over and over, hoping that I'll somehow figure out what she is saying. No luck so far. Courtney just started first grade this week and she has really been enjoying it. She is still shy about talking to new people, but she is not scared to go and in fact loves getting ready to go in the morning and taking her own lunch. I think she feels very grown up.

Haycock Family Campout!

This is our third little trip this summer and I think we are ready for a break! It is a lot of work to pack and unpack, but we sure had fun while we were there. This time the whole Haycock family, that was available, went to Honeyman State Park near Florence, Oregon. It is technically on the beach, but the two nearby lakes are actually easier to access and so we spent our time there. It was great because we not only had the fun of playing in the sand, we had canoe rides and jetskis to ride as well. I didn't get a lot of pictures this time, but we had fun being all together as a group. We were in a group campsite this time and this made mealtimes easy, since there was a central firepit and tons of picnic tables. We took turns being in charge of meals and Ericka, Steph, and I all brought activities for the little kids to do while we were in camp. They were painting, getting prizes from the fish pond, and going on a scavenger hunt. Dylan spent a lot of time taking over Lana's bike, since we didn't have room to bring his. Of course we all spent our share of time shuttling kids back and forth to the potty. It was just typical of our family campouts, but we wouldn't have it any other way. It was great to have Mason and Laura back this year, but we can't wait to have Amanda and Joe, and hopefully Emily and Steve next year.

Beach Vacation

We spent two days this week at a KOA between Astoria and Seaside. It was a lot of fun. We were in a little two room cabin and there was so much to do at the KOA, we didn't have time to fit it all in. We only spent a few hours at the beach in the afternoon. It was just enough time to get good and sandy. Dylan had fun jumping in the waves with Clint, and Courtney kept busy running to fill up her little bucket with seawater in an effort to make a sandcastle.
The jumping pillow at the KOA was a big hit with the kids. It is literally like a pillow on the ground that is pumped with air and tapers off at the sides. I don't think I ever saw it empty in the time we were there.
We also spent quite a bit of time at the pool. The kids have been in swim lessons this summer, but haven't been brave enough to dunk their heads in the water. This weekend Courtney finally worked up the courage to do it and was so proud of herself that it was difficult to get her out of the water.We also made an attempt to teach the kids how to do minature golf. I don't think they really got the concept. Ah well, you can't win them all. This place had so much to do, and we had so much fun, we can't wait to go back. I made the rest of them tour a historic home with me in Astoria, called the Flavel house. It had 14 foot ceilings and a tower so you could watch the ships come in. I love the uniqueness of these old homes. On the way home we stopped at the outlet mall in Seaside. Now, if we could just get the kids to sleep when they are not in their own beds I would say it was a perfect trip.

Southern Oregon Vacation

Clint and I decided to use the week between our birthdays to go down to southern Oregon and see some of the sites here in Oregon that we have never seen before. On our way down, we went to the Wildlife Safari, just outside of Roseberg. Clint took the kids on a camel ride and I couldn't believe we got Courtney to do it. Seeing all the animals up close was a lot of fun as we drove around the park. The bears were the most amazing and scary.
On day two we went to Crater Lake. We were staying near Grants Pass but it was still quite the drive out to the Lake. The kids were amazed to still see snow on the ground since we were at a pretty high elevation. I had to keep my eyes off the road because the cliffside dropoff is alittle too much for me. I was amazed at how clear and beautiful the lake is. We toured the visitors center and the historical lodge that had recently been renovated.
Day three was the busiest. In the morning we went on a tour of the Harry & David factory in Ashland. It was a pretty amazing set of factories and fields. At the end we got free samples of the chocolates and cookies. The kids loved them, but I think they liked the tour bus best. Then we had to stop by the Medford Temple since we were so close. It is right next to the stake center and we couldn't help wishing our temple was that close. It was small but beautiful and we were sad that we didn't have anyone to watch the kids so we could do a session. Later that afternoon we went to the Oregon Vortex. This is similar to the Bermuda Triangle. We saw a bottle roll uphill and people appear to grow 2 inches by walking on a level board. There were also these spots to stand in where, when you relax, you can feel yourself pulled to stand at an angle. I'm not sure how much the kids understood, but Clint and I were pretty impressed.
On the fourth day we went to a children's science museum in Ashland. The kids loved it there. They had a bubble room like the Gilbert House in Salem, but everything else was new and we spent a couple hours just letting the kids explore. That afternoon we also went to the city park to let the kids play and Dylan got himself soaked in the water feature there. We were scheduled to stay the night and go home Friday morning. But we decided that we really just wanted to sleep in our own beds that night. So we packed up after dinner and made it home late Thursday night. Whew! We had a lot of fun and despite the lack of sleep and the ant problem we'd definitely do it again, just not right away!