The HAUNTED train ride!

 

This weekend Grandpa Ricker and Grandma Cheryl treated our kids to the Haunted Train Ride on the Heber Creeper up Provo Canyon.

Grandpa's Treat Bags

We were all smiles and giggles for the first little while, looking through our treat bags, the boys eating their beef jerky, listening to the legends. And then................

 the zombies start passing through the isles, the smiles stop, and faces like this start making me a little nervous that maybe Maxwell and Benson might be too young for this train.

 I know, I felt a little guilty that I kept snapping pictures, but the train was moving and we weren't getting off.

 These zombies were relentless, Max and Benson must have had huge targets on their foreheads because they wouldn't leave them alone.

  Pretty soon Beetle was hoovering over the boys to protect them and I was yelling StOP, StOP, NO MOre!

 It was a night to remember that is for sure. If you plan on going on this Haunted Train ride tonight, be sure not to take kids 6 and under.

Max was SO Happy to get off that train, he had death grip on Beetles neck. Simon wasn't phased by the zombies, he was mad in this picture because Max was closer to Dad than he was.


 Annabelle loved it, and was privileged enough to sit by Grandma Phyl, Phyl. When we got off the train she said "Mom, my arm and ears are sore from Grandma pulling on me and screaming the whole train ride!"

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Doheny Beach

                            Our final day of fall break we went to Doheny Beach, our kids loved it!

 Simon loved the waves crashing on him, he would laugh and then clap. I loved watching his chubby feet sink in the wet sand.

We heard this sentence from Benson about thirty times on our way to California, "We have to go to the Ocean so Wigdon can teach me to suwf."

 Rigdon is an amazing surfer, he was catching wave after wave.

 

He was also a very patient surf instructor, even though Benson never did actually "Suwf", Rigdon somehow made him think he did and it made his day!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love this boys smiling eyes?

Maxwell & Caroline

  It took Max about two hours to transition from playing in the sand and chasing seagulls to playing in the Ocean, but he loved it!

One thing about going to the Ocean with Rangi, is he makes you look pretty legit, with all kinds of wet suits and booties. This wasn't his first time helping Beetle in to a wet suit--he is getting pretty good at it.

 Annabelle was loving life and I barely was able to get any pictures of her because she was playing in the Ocean the whole time!

The Three Musketeers- Livi, Rigdon, & Annabelle

I hope it's not long before we can visit California again. Thanks Rangi and Sara for making Fall Break fun and memorable for all of us!

Long Beach Aquarium

The Long Beach Aquarium never disappoints and it is like one third the price of Disney land, so we made a visit on our second day of fall break.

All of our kids loved it, but Annabelle loved it the most, she spent most of her time watching the sharks. She waited an hour by the shark tank so she would have the best seat watching them eat gigantic chunks of fish.



We also fed the lorikeets pectin,

 Some of us were more nervous than others,



 and one of us was mostly excited to be out of their stroller, walking all over the place, feeling like one of the big kids.



 Just imagine another boy in this mix.........

 What a fun day!

Riding in Lola

 It didn't take long for the kids to jump in to Lola soon after arriving California. In fact I am pretty sure riding in Lola on the way to and from laser tag and pizza was the highlight of their trip. Don't they all look so happy?

 Maxwell wouldn't stop looking at us through the back window with the biggest grin on his face.

One of the major highlights of the trip for me was winning the jackpot at Laser Island. I was feeling it! I redeemed my tickets for a laser gun that my kids are all still coveting.

Fall Break

This year for fall break we decided to make a spontaneous trip to California. We had no idea we were going to leave until Wednesday morning. I called Beetle at work and asked him what he thought about my plans and he of course was all for it. I also called my sister in-law Sara to make sure she would be alright with us barging in on their family for the weekend. She was very nice about us coming, so I packed everyone up during the day and we left that night.
Our main plan was to drive strait through but when we left a little later than planned, the thought of driving all night started to seem not so fun, besides the 100 oz. could only entertain SUY GUY for so long.


 We stopped in Cedar City for gas at 10:30pm, and before we knew it we had booked a motel. We wanted a deal so we settled for ONE bed. Luckily it was King size and surprisingly we all fit pretty good. All of us slept well but Beetle, he was at the very bottom of the bed sleeping horizontally and he also forgot pain pills for his finger so it was kind of a long night for him, he said he would have been better off driving the whole night. He changed his mind the next morning when the continental breakfast was "all you can eat Bacon."

We could have ended the trip after that night and our kids would have been pretty pleased. They loved the hotel and even woke up early to go swimming.

Beetle's Luck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOUQW74u0mQ&feature=player_embedded

Beetle has not had Good Luck lately.

Brother #4

This is the first image I saw of our little guy. Our Doctor was nice enough to give us an early glimpse of what we were having today. I was really starting to convince myself we were having a girl. That was my final guess before the Dr. put his little wand on my belly( Beetle's too). But then it took all but five seconds before I spotted the male body part. I said "uh-oh, tell me I didn't see what I just thought I did." "Yes, you did see it, --another Boy, Congratulations!". Beetle was still in denial, "that doesn't look like.......isn't that it's leg??"

FOUR boys! I really can't believe it. This little guy came on his own time, I am excited to meet him and his strong spirit. I am so glad Simon will have a brother only a year apart in school, they will be good buddies.
I am still trying to figure out a good way to tell the Princess. Almost every morning while I'm doing her hair, she will say "Mom- you better have a girl, or you will just keep having babies until I get my sister!". I always reply "you will still love it even if it's a brother." and she will always reply back "NO, I won't." And then I usually try to find something else to talk about.
I know Annabelle was meant to be a big sister to all of her brothers, she is so good to all of them and they think the world of her. I know she will love brother #4, especially when she see's how dang cute he is!
(but seriously wish me luck in breaking the news)

P.S.
 Chinese birth chart is a crock!

Tight Spaces

 It's so much fun squeezing in to tight spaces when your small,

 up until the HEAD gets stuck.

Beetle's Boil

 The Dr. confirmed that this is a boil. He prescribed an antibiotic and said it pretty much needs to run its course. Apparently boils get worse before they get better.

The good news is, Beetle is looking a lot less like Worf and a lot more like Simon when he was like two minutes old.

Worf

 My brother (who works with Beetle) called me yesterday and asked how I liked being married to Worf. I wasn't seeing it too much yesterday, but today I'm thinking too bad Halloween isn't tomorrow.

A few days ago it started out as what we thought was a zit  and now we are thinking it's a boil. After taking him some Benedryl for lunch and seeing how much worse it has gotten, I will be giving our doctor a call today. If anyone has ever experienced a zit or a boil like this, we are open to any suggestions. By the way that's "Biotape" on his forehead-it is supposed to heal wounds fast, someone at his work kindly shared.

Happy Birthday to Max!

 This guy has been looking forward to his fourth birthday for a LONG time, the day to celebrate finally came and we had so much fun celebrating his sweet life.

Maxwell LOVES all of his cousins, so he was excited for his cousin birthday party. All the local cousins were able to come, and we even adopted a cousin for a day.

We decorated and flew paper airplanes, since Max is obsessed with them right now. We also had the kids race with a balloon in between their knees, it was so funny!

We love our little Maxwell, he is the peacemaker in our family and loves everyone and everything in his life.
Happy Birthday Max!