I held our annual "Thredgold Hallo-extravaganza" this month. My family never disappoints. Call me a child (because I act like one most the time,) but I always fill with great anticipation upon their arrival......can't wait to see what their creative minds have concocted for costumes this year!
Here are the Whitmers, with Jeff as Gru, Jack his minion, Shera as David Bowie from Labyrinth with "the babe" and Kenny as a devil. Shera cracks me up!!
Thredgolds here with Scotty the pirate, Audrey the Witch, Meghan as little Red, and Topher as Batman (with a light saber, of course)
Eggertz here with me as Rosie the Riveter (you can do it!), Amelie as Anna from Frozen, Cam as Olaf (that's as dressed up as he gets folks) Dax as Indiana Jones, Josh an Alien, And Ella a "Pop Star."
Thredgolds with Lisa as a Make up Consultant (that's her job!) Mom and Dad as the scariest thing they could think of.......U fans!!! hahahahahaha!!! And little Cam as....haha.....Monty! (my parents deceased dog. Cam and Monty had matching hair so Cam sprayed his hair white. Man I love that kid!) My mom even spray painted her hair red, painted her nails red and wrote "I love U" on them, and bought U socks. Those two crack me up!!
We had a pot luck dinner this time with some Mummy dogs, Spooky-enchiladas, and of course, witches brew.
The kids had a table to themselves in the kitchen, and the adults ate in the dining room. We only had two casualties while we ate......spilled juice all over the floor and an overflowed toilet. haha. Never a dull moment with 8 grandkids.
Ella couldn't get enough of holding little Johnathon, and Topher was enamored as well!
We played a variety of games including Bobbing for apples,
Had our "Mummy Walk"
And did a little "Pumpkin Bowling"
Then, devoured some "doughnut on a rope." They are getting good at this one! I need to get bigger doughnuts next year.....
Look at these red folks. Newest grandbaby-#9!
We also headed to St. George this month for Fall break. It was an awesome trip. We met up with good friends and made some pretty incredible adventure-filled memories.
Our first "Hike" (I use that term loosely here, as it was actually canyoneering) is called "Yankee Doodle."
Here is how Cam and I roll. I generally don't fill him about family events, and he doesn't fill me in about the difficulty of hikes or rides that we do. It's all completely unintentional, we just don't communicate very well. So when we arrive at the Yankee Doodle destination, hop out of the car, and I see Cam pulling out ropes and harnesses; a lightbulb goes on and I ask, "Oh, so does this hike have a repel?"
Turns out it had two repels, freezing cold canyon water that we had to swim through, and a pretty gnarly climb back up to the cars. And don't get me wrong, I was totally cool with that. Good times! No doubt a few tears from the kids, but great memories. (it will either make them tougher or cause much resentment towards their parents.)
We were joined by our good friends, the Drury's. And though they may never speak to us again after taking them through this, it sure was nice to have the hilarious company, and the help.
It started with our first repel into the Canyon, about 30 feet down.
The next repel was about 100 feet.
Amelie was hooked into the rope with me, and we were off!
We hiked along the canyon walls, and the kids found a snake. Carter caught it, it bit him, and he threw it in the air! Luckily Carter (and the snake) were okay, and all the kids took turns holding it.
Next, we started descending further down into the slot canyon. Getting narrower and colder!
The kids would scale the walls to keep from getting wet. (that's water on bottom, not sand)
Some just preferred to walk through the water.
Cam and Jeff just hanging around. This is how they crossed the water part. They were always so helpful with the kids. One would be above and one below, making sure the kids were always okay.
We finally got to water that we knew we had to cross. Josh wanted to go first, to test the depth. He stripped down to his undies and he was off! It was chest deep in one part. Time to get wet!
Dax was next. Cam went first to encourage him forward!
Cam carried the girls on his shoulders, and shuttled them across. I made everyone turn around while I stripped down to my undies and crossed.
The Drury's were next.
That's a good dad!
At this point, we thought we were out of the slot canyon and finally done with all the water. We climbed up to the sun, ate our lunch, and warmed our bodies. Little did we know we had more water in store......
After hiking a bit further, we heard the boys say, "There's more water mom!"
And this was our last one. It was deep enough that the dad's couldn't carry the kids, so they had to make a swim for it. We had Cam on one side, Jeff on the other, ready to help if needed. The older boys swam across, while the younger ones held on to the inflated dry bags and kicked their way across. I had the girls holding the dry bag while I pushed them across, all 3 of us in our undies. What a sight! It was cold! But they were so brave. And thankfully we had those dry bags to keep our shoes, socks, and clothes nice and dry.
Finally we reached the end and scrambled up the rock and back to the car. Phew. What an adventure!
The next day we met some more good friends to hike "Kannaraville Falls." Yet another encounter with freezing cold waters, but luckily we didn't have to do any swimming. It was a great hike, with some adventure as well, as you had to traverse up and over two waterfalls. There were some cold feet, and two wet bodies (as both Cam and Arlo fell into the water) but once again, great memories and no casualties. I love hanging out with cool people and tough kids!
Scott found some bamboo like grass that he made into whistles for the kids.
Entering the slot canyon. Wet feet from here on out!
Cam decided to use the rope instead of the ladder, to scale the falls. This picture was taken seconds before he swung over, into the falls, lost his sun glasses, and fell into the water. Poor guy. That water is cold!
And the picture below was taken seconds before Arlo (in front) slipped and fell into the water. Luckily he was okay (just wet and cold).
Cam and Josh also managed to squeeze in a bike ride that day as well. Dax, Ella, Amelie and I hiked around instead and found some cool petrified wood!
Our last day consisted of some yummy doughnuts from Fractured Prune, followed by rock climbing in Snow Canyon.
Here are Cam and Andrea doing a climb. Thank goodness Cam can lead climb these routes so I can do them on top rope. Climbing scares me now.
Time for the kids to climb! Josh was ready to go.
Dax had a good day. He climbed quite a bit.
And here is Ella
Amelie had a try as well. This girl still gets pretty nervous, but she did it!
I love this shot. We tried to have lots of kids going at once. With 15 kids, we had to keep it crankin!
Amelie and Lily playing on the rocks. While the adults climbed, the kids played capture the flag, hide and seek, and all sorts of imaginative games amongst the sand and rocks.
Joshua
Josh finished up his football season this month. His team lost by one point in the playoffs to advance to the semi finals. And his sack was a few yards away from a safety. Such a sad game. But they played hard and he did a great job this season!
Josh chose to be an alien this year with his buddy, Jude. We even got him a voice changer. Pretty rad.
Josh, Jude, and Abe (aka "The Three Amigos) at the clubhouse having pizza before trick or treating began.
Daxton
Daxton has perfected what we call his "Charlie Brown Walk." He gets so sad sometimes (usually when he's done something wrong, or he can't get something he wants.) But he's getting better at expressing his emotions verbally rather than "Charlie Brown" walking off to his room and throwing things in his garbage as retribution.
This year Dax decided to be "Link" from Zelda. Poor forgotten child, his was a "choose a costume from the box," this year.
Dax had "hat day" at school. He, of course, chose a top hat.
School Pictures. 3rd Grade.
Ella
Ella wanted to be a "Pop Star" for Halloween. So I found this strappy dress at the thrift store, did a little cutting and sewing, and $5 later, she had her costume.
School pictures 2nd Grade. She looks so old!
The following pictures are a good example of Ella and the little "explosions" she leaves around the house. First, she woke up and I found her outside on the deck, carving yet ANOTHER pumpkin.
She leaves the pumpkin, without carving it or pulling out the innerds, and moves on to her next project....
Creating a little "monster guy" out of yarn. She leaves that mess out while she moves on to her next project......
Building a "house' for her "monster guy" out of cardboard she found in the recycling box. And so on, and so forth, all day long.
And while all these projects took place in just an hours time, and she didn't finish any of them and left everything out, this is why I love my Ella.
She also drew a picture of her being a cheerleader when she gets older. I think Cam said "heck no" to this one.
Amelie
And while Ella is making all the messes, this is what Amelie is doing:
She loves to help and to clean. Oftentimes I find her with the clorox wipes, cleaning off cupboards or floors.
This year Amelie decided to be "Elsa" from Frozen. She saw the costume at Costco and was in tears when Cam told her to "put it back." She won, and got the costume.
Amelie must be growing because she seems to be exhausted all the time. I was lucky enough to be reading the kids "The Witches," when she fell asleep in my arms.
Amelie was not so sure about reaching her hand into that pumpkin. It took her a good 10 minutes before mustering up enough courage, and even then, she only took a few handfuls, then called it quits.
I caught Amelie one morning, rubbing her brothers back while she ate her cereal. She and Dax have a special bond. They are very sweet to each other.
School Pictures. Preschool!
Cindy
This was the month for broken things. First, I broke my toe.
Then the dryer broke.
Then the dishwasher broke.
Luckily we got them all fixed (toe is on the mends) and all are in working order! Plus the kids were pretty sweet while my foot has been hurt. (aside from the morning I rammed my broken toe into Ella's backpack and cried out in pain, only to hear Ella say, "sheesh mom! You scared me!" and Amelie tell me that I should "watch where I'm going.") But at least Ella helped me to tighten the straps on my boot.
This year I decided to be "Rosie the Riveter" for Halloween.
We can do it!
Our Halloween display this year. My favorite new item is the skeleton that we dressed in a black cape, top hat, and red scarf. He is sitting in the graveyard, walking his skeleton dog.
Amelie took these pictures of Ella and I one night.
She captured me reading "The Witches" to the kids. I love reading this one aloud. Doing the Grand High Witches voice is fun.
Have to add a picture of our "Pumpkin Cakes" that we had on Halloween morning.
This is how Cam often looks when he arrives home. On the phone, and looking handsome as ever.
And this is how Cameron looks around Halloween time. Thrilled, as you can see.
The aftermath of Trick or Treating mayhem. CANDY!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment