Halloween...I know a few months behind.

My camera broke right after I took pictures of Halloween and I didn't get it back until a couple days before Thanksgiving.  So, not only did I not blog any pictures, I didn't take many.  Then, when I got it back I was out of the swing of things so I am trying to get back ont rack.  Amelia had two costumes this year.  She started out as Dorothy because I got this costume for about 5 dollars.  I thought she was pretty adorable.

Pumpkin carving at Grandma and Grandpa Fillmores.  My girls are pretty serious about it.   Dad is always the lucky helper.

 Clara dressed up like a nerd and Susanna was a grandma.  She got a nightgown she wouldn't take off she loved so much, so we worked around it. 

 some of the grandkids with their creations.

 Grandma and Grandpa with Jacob.  It's good to have them home.

 Then, Amelia's real costume...a little flapper.  It is my favorite put together costume ever.  Eliza wore the same thing when she was this age.

On Halloween the neighborhood has a little chili dinner and kids parade.  Justin came over after swim practice.  His hair does crazy things after swimming in chlorine all afternoon so he dressed as a surfer.

Clara decided to dress up like a nerd this year.  I think it was partly because I told her I wouldn't buy any costumes and partly because her cousin (who she kind of worships) Annie was a nerd the year before.  I think she was almost still too cute to pull it off.

 Eliza was Goldilocks and the three bears which would never stay in her pockets.  It was such a cute costume.

 Some of the cute neighborhood kids.

 Eliza and princess Avery, our neighbor across the street.

We love Our Grandma

For 3 weeks this year, we were all so spoiled and lucky to have our Grandma come visit. Last year we got her even longer but we will take what we can get. For 3 weeks she watched us do tricks and play outside, read us pop up books non stop and was just fun to have around. She is so easygoing and a gentle calming spirit in our home. This last week and its craziness made this mom really miss all the help she always is when she comes. Come back Grandma, we can't wait until next year.

SAY CHEESE

The other night I was busy making dinner. Eliza told me she wanted some cheese as I was getting it out to grate. A few minutes later I looked over to see that she indeed had wanted some cheese. She just took the big block and dug right in. Gross.

City Champs

It's hard to believe I have a boy this big and old. He swam in the City swim meet for Mt. View and did a great job. In backstroke, he improved his time by 2 seconds and got a 58.97 in the qualifying round. In the finals, he came in fifth. He also swam in 2 relays. He got his best score on his 100 freestyle and is waiting to hear if any of his times qualify for state. He has had such a great time being on this team, with such a super group of boys that have treated him like a little brother. I have been so impressed with how good they are to him and always look out for him. He is hoping to swim year round and really improve for next season. Way to go Justin.

He is in the blue cap.

Mt. View girls and Boys teams both won City champs...by like several hundred points. It was kind of funny. It will be harder at state as they go against Brophy. Good luck boys.

Toro Cheerleaders in Training???

Every year, the Mountain View Cheerleaders and Pommies put on a toro cheerleading camp for little girls. We always skip it because we have dance conflicts. This year it was all on a Friday and the kids could participate. They had a good time but man it was a huge group. kind of like Where's waldo trying to find your kid and they couldn't do any jumps or really move much. I couldn't seem to get any good action shots or even very many clear one. It was a fun night and I think the poor Toros were happy to have a crowd to watch them. It has been a dismal year in football.

Clara was in the blue group, Susanna in the white and there was an entire red group also. Big crowd.

beach Fall 2011

We went to Ventura for Fall Break. We were so sad to leave Justin behind. He had to stay home for swim team. We cut our trip short and went home a few days early so we could watch him swim. But, we made the most of our short trip, with beautiful weather and great times with eachother and our Jones cousins.

We always have to take a walk on the pier. Right by the pier there is the funnest park. It has all kinds of strange apparatus to climb and play on. The kids love it.

Always striking a pose.

Amelia loves loves loves to be outside. She just wants to be outside all the time so the beach was so much fun for her. This was her first trip since she was about 3 weeks old.

My sweet girls

Clint and Nathan took the kayaks into the harbor and did some paddling. The girls want to try it next time it looked like so much fun.

Notice the toe pop and posed hands. She makes me laugh.

Chorus

Justin is a pretty amazing kid. He seems to dabble and try a lot of different things. This year, he added choir to his list of interests. He has had a lot of fun singing and having fun with his class. Many of his good friends are in his class which definitely makes it more fun. I keep asking him if he is going to keep with it or just do it one year. He hasn't decided yet. I got to go to his choir concert and it is definitely more enjoyable than the orchestra classes (sorry). Here he is with one of his good friends, Parker Frame...striking some GQ poses.

Beautiful Amelia

I have some random pictures of Amelia. She is at such a fun age. She does so many funny things and the kids love teaching her a new trick of face. We love her so much, and think she is pretty great.

Amelia loves to get in the dog food drawer and get treats out for Nixon, sometimes way too much. When we bought these mini milk bones, she often had to just take a little lick first to see if they were as yummy as they looked.

She really loves her puppy and it is one of her first words.

Amelia loves her hair, it takes the place of a blanket. When she is sad or tired or anything, she likes to hold onto her hair. Ponytails have created quite a problem for her because she can't get a good fistfull of hair. We usually end of pulling one side out so she can blissfully play with her hair.

A Girl's Best Friend

This is a definite example of what a good dog Nixon is. I get super mad at him lots of times but seriously??? The other day Clint saw her doing this to poor Nixon. He let it go on for probably 10 or 20 minutes. Every morning she loves to go sit on his bed and pretty much torture him. Take his toys, pull his tail, kick him. (all with love). She gets his chew toys and holds them out to him and runs away laughing. He just takes it. I think he loves the attention and he really knows how to be gentle with her. She loves her puppy, Nixon.