This year we had Izzy (Jake and the Neverland Pirates), a Ninja, a blockhead dude from "Mine Craft" and a pretty roller skating ballerina. :)
We did pumpkins the night before. Daddy made Wiggy a cat pumpkin and a duck pumpkin. Tubbs made a Pokemon ball pumpkin and Bubba made a Minecraft pumpkin.
We went and had pizza after work then we went to the church for Trunk or Treat. We did manage to knock on a few doors afterwards before heading home to hand out candy.
Maybe Wiggy looks a little more like mama with the dark hair.
It was Crazy Hair Day at School and First Quarter Report Cards.
Lucky for us, we continue to have many reasons to celebrate.
Mom survived the first quarter with a sixth grader. Hallelujah!
The first 4-6 weeks were a big struggle for mom. Bubba went from very little homework last year, to 2-3 subjects a night. We had parent/teacher conferences today, where we received the report cards. The boys insisted we head to BJ's to Celebrate.
Great idea! My brilliant bugs each received all A's and one B. I continue to be very proud of their hard work.
This year is Bubba's last Primary program at church AND Wiggy's first!
It was so fun to picture all three of our kids up on the stand and see their faces smiling at us. Bonus--it was me and Luke's first time sitting with no kids, in a LOOOOONG time. It was so quiet...and we actually got to sit by each other.
I always manage to take a picture of these three bugs, the morning of the program. Bubba will be twelve in a few months and in the Young Men's program, instead of primary. I really can't believe it. So I guess next year, Bubba will sitting with us during the program, making faces at his brother and sister.
Bubba never expressed any concern to us, regarding him getting up in front of everyone and speaking into the microphone. We were 20 minutes into the program and Luke and I waited impatiently, for each of the kids' classes to stand up for their parts. Tubbs' class was ahead of Bubba's. Then his class sang a song together in the very front. I could tell Tubbs thought he was way too cool for that. :) Next was Bubba's class and we saw Bubba stand up and move to the front. As he waited his turn, we could see him practicing his part, in a whisper. When he got up to the microphone he stammered and stuttered, but when he was done, Luke and I looked at each other and said, "He did good." We watched Bubba go back to his seat and begin crying. As all the kids stood for the next song, Bubba slumped down in his seat and tried to hide. I really wished in that moment that I could rescue him. Thankfully, we saw two of his classmates talking to him and make him smile.
Wiggy's class was up next, so Bubba forgot about himself and was watching for his little sister to have her turn on the microphone. Bubba and Tubbs giggled as Wiggy said her part with a big smile.
After Sacrament the kids walked down to Luke and I. We were so proud of them. Primary Program Sunday is my favorite Sunday of the year! I love hearing the kids sing and see them watch us from up on the stand. Wiggy even waved to us a few times.
Sunday evening there was a knock on the door during dinner. One of the primary teachers dropped off a special treat for Bubba. She had made a card for him and some homemade treats with Rolos and pretzels. It really just touched our hearts that she thought of Bubba and did this for him.
It was "late in the season" by our standards, but we managed to squeeze in a trip to the beach before the Autumn cool down. Our final destination was the beach, but of course I had a few stops I wanted to make along the way.
First stop was in Costa Mesa at Sidecar Donuts.
I have been following this place on Instagram, so I really wanted to try it. They bake fresh donuts every hour, so your donuts are always warm and fresh. We waited in line for about 10 minutes, but it was completely worth it. This bakery also changes their donut menu every week too, so it gives me a good excuse to go back again and again...and again.
After sampling the best donuts ever, we went across the street to Cafe Rio for lunch. We got there right when it opened, which is I'm pretty sure, the best time to go. Every time we stop at one of these, there is a LONG line.
After full bellies of love, we made our way to a beach, just south of Newport Beach. At noon it was still pretty overcast, but since it was warm we went for it. It seemed to completely burn off after and hour or so. When I made plans for this day at the beach, I somehow zoned out on the fact that Bubba still had his cast on. Lucky for us, my dad told us about this plastic cast cover you could buy. We picked one up on the way and it worked great.
On our way home, we made one last stop for treats....Sprinkles Ice Cream and Cupcakes in NewPort! :)
They say "third time is the charm."
Not so this time around.
This race marked my third half marathon, but it was my first Disneyland half marathon on Labor Day weekend. It seemed like such a fantastic idea when I signed up in January. Mark my words....I won't be doing a race in the summer....everrrrrrrr. That being said, it's over and it's another race I can check off my list. It was just extremely hard to train in the heat for this race, so i wasn't as prepared as I imagined in my head I would be. The humidity, even at 8am, really did get to me. I supposed it's because I didn't train enough in the heat. Throughout the race, I was pouring water down my back at every water stop. By the time the race was over, my short and pants were soaked. In the end, I added three minutes to my PR time. Oh well.
Bob and Nancy came down on Saturday morning to watch the kids for us and Luke and I headed to Anaheim. When we out of the car to pick up the registration at the Disneyland Hotel, I had some serious doubts. It was so humid down there! Perfect. :(
After we picked up the registration, we met up with Cassie and Jenny. Then we went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. It's a tradition I supposed...but we just love CF.
Chicken stuffed tortilla with a side of noodles.
After dinner we ended up going over to the outlets at Orange and walked off dinner. I am always glad we eat an early dinner so we can get back to the hotel and not feel stuffed. I ended up passing out before 9pm. It's a shame too, because they upgraded up to Executive Suite at the Hyatt. The kids would've loved the room. It had two flat screen TV's and a living room with a large sofa.
Waiting for the elevator at 5am. Don't I look marvelous?!
Cass and I before the race.
Jenny and I before the race. We are so excited to run early on a Sunday :)
Running around the outfield at Angels Stadium. Very neat to clap hands with all of the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts
My stomach was KILLING me all day after we got back to the hotel. But that didn't stop me from making our ritual stop on the way home. There would be celebration cupcakes consumed at some point!
That Stop Wasn't On My Itinerary....
So the Hogue's made it to Florida for our first official family vacation. It was Sawyer's first plane ride....and Simon's first plane ride that he can remember. We were excited....the boys were stoked. We had everything we needed! But it seems that Sawyer packed something with him that wasn't on our checklist: a big case of pneumonia. Yes, the little fella made it almost one whole day in Florida before he started heading downhill fast. Our 2nd day in Orlando we were in the Urgent Care south of Cocoa Beach. (By the way, to see a doctor more quickly, it helps if you vomit all over the waiting room in front of the receptionist. Little tip for ya) After chest x-rays they advised us to head to the ER in Melbourne, where they eventually admitted him to the hospital. So, we had 3 night deluxe accommadations at the Holmes Regional Medical Center. The little whipper snapper was a trooper though! The nurses loved him, thankfully, and made us all feel right at home. We were going to send postcards out with pictures of the hospital since we spent 40% of our trip there...but they didn't have any. Imagine that!Hmmm.....maybe its something they should consider.
