Gymnastics - Fall 2009

We are finished with the Fall gymnastic season. Both girls did well (Emily is not doing gymnastics anymore) Elisabeth had the highest score on floor at her meet. Unfortunately we did not get to see her meet, because Leilani had sectionals in Roseburg at the same time. But Grandma and Grandpa Bevans took her to the meet and videoed it for us. Unfortunately my dad's videos are way too big to post.
Leilani had one of her best seasons yet. She earned 9's on every event but bars.
It is fun to see Elisabeth compete and see how far Leilani has come.
Beam is definitely Lani's best event; although it is not her favorite event.
She seldom even wobbles.
This was her first season using the grips on the bars. It was hard for her to adjust at first, but she did it!
The moments while you wait for your score are full of anticipation.
This is the highest vault score that Leilani received this season.
This was her highest beam score - which earned her second place. Below is a video of the routine that earned this score.

Fall Fun

Alan took the day off work yesterday, so he volunteered to help at the first grade Thanksgiving feast.

They chopped vegetables to make soup.

When the soup was done, the class divided into Pilgrims and Indians and ate their feast of soup, juice, bread and pumpkin pie.

The younger girls had a half day, so we decided to enjoy the last day of sunshine and take a bike ride along the river path. (It is pouring rain today)
The fall leaves were beautiful.
We stopped at a playground and let the kids play before we turned around to head home.
For some reason I didn't take any pictures of us on our bikes yesterday, but here are some from summer time.
We found a great deal on a trailer at a garage sale, so we were able to start going on long rides again.
Emily really needs a new bike, but luckily for her Lani will probably get a new one for her birthday...so there will be one to hand down! (Poor middle girl) :)
Alan has to use my bike or borrow one, because he ruined the back wheel on his bike giving Emily a ride in the baby seat. He got it fixed, and ruined it again. Sigh.... we will probably give him a new one for Christmas. Anyway, it was a beautiful fall day and I'm glad we were able to enjoy it together!

Primary Program 2009

We had our Primary program today. Since I couldn't take pictures at church, I took pictures of the girls when we got home. They did a great job!
Emilyanne accompanied the Primary and a small singing group on the piano for the song "Happy Family" She did very well!
Elisabeth sang "Happy Family" in Japanese with a group of kids from her school.
Leilani was one of the narrators (which she has been looking forward to since she turned 8)
We were very proud of them. It was a little sad for me too, because this was Leilani's last Primary program - she will go into Young Women in March!!! I also can't believe that Benjamin is going to be a Sunbeam next year. Yikes! Where does time go?


This didn't turn out great, but I filmed Emily playing the piano while Elisabeth sang "Happy Family" in Japanese so we could capture the moment.

Halloween 2009

Trunk or Treat
Our ward had a fun Trunk or Treat party. We ate hot dogs, nachos and hot apple cider
They had fun games and a pinata.
They also had Trunk or Treating - which the kids loved!

School Activities
I was really sick the week before Halloween, so Alan ran to school on his lunch hour and took pictures of the kids in the costume parade.
It is the first year I have missed this, and I was sad not to be there. But I was really glad to get pictures!! (Emily could not seem to make up her mind which costume to wear this year)
Benjamin had his first Halloween activities at school, and he was very excited about the ghost he made (we hung it up in his room) and the trick or treating they did.

Halloween Day
On Halloween day, we took the kids to Toys R Us for the costume parade and trick or treating. They got Lego cars, coloring pages, crayons and some candy.
When they got home, Alan helped the kids carve their pumpkins. He missed out on this last year because he was in Missouri.
Elisabeth decided to color on her pumpkin instead of carve it.
Emily designed her pumpkin and carved most of it herself.
Leilani also designed her pumpkin herself, but had a little help from Dad with all the carving. Hers definitely had the most carving!
The finished products were very cute!
When it was getting dark, the kids got dressed and went over to Grandma's house to meet up with their cousins for trick or treating. Alan was nice enough to miss the football game and take the kids out because I was still not feeling that great.
It started raining, so we broke out the umbrellas to keep them dry. Luckily the rain was on again off again showers, so they didn't get too wet. When they finished trick or treating, we all went to Grandma's house for our traditional cider and donuts. It was a fun Halloween, and we were glad to have Alan here with us this year.

2009 Pumpkin Patch Trip

We went to Thistledown farm for our annual family pumpkin patch trip.
It was muddy, but it was sunny and not too cold.
The kids were excited to find their own pumpkins.




We had a fun time. The kids really liked the wagon ride too. We were pulled by a tractor on the way out and pulled by horses on the way back.

Kim and I also took the kids on our traditional walk through the corn maze, but it took a little longer this year. For some reason we seemed to get lost more often :)

First Day of School

The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school, and I am still getting used to a quiet house. I miss having the kids around all day, but they are enjoying school.

Benjamin started preschool this fall. He loves it, and he is excited that cousin Hailey is attending with him!
He only goes twice a week, but it is strange not having any kids home on those mornings.
Emilyanne and Elisabeth are still attending the Japanese immersion school.
1st grade
4th grade
Leilani started middle school this year (6th grade). She is still doing Japanese, and has started band (playing the French Horn). She didn't have the "right" backpack to start school, but thanks to Grandma she has the "perfect" one now...so life is great!

Labor Day Camping

We did our biannual camping trip at the coast for Labor Day weekend. We had some wet weather, but there was sun too. We took a hike up on the sand dunes during one break in the rain. The cousins were having a good time with each other.
Leilani is really enjoying holding babies lately (although Travis does not think he is a baby!)
We climbed up the sand dunes...
all the way to the very highest point...
and then ran down the sand dunes...over and over again!
The puddles were fun to play in.
The kids also enjoyed riding their bikes and scooters around.
These talented riders could even do it on one leg :)

We played tether ball - which really gets your heart rate going!
They jumped out of swings...
and had a fun time together at the playground.
The guys had a hard time keeping the fire going sometimes, because of wet wood and rain.
We did our annual trip to the beach on the way home from camping. If you look behind the kids, you will see a sea lion that was on the beach (it is not dead, but it was acting sick)
Everybody had a good time playing in the water (except my husband, who had to go home and work at a gymnastics' fundraiser bbq - what a nice dad!)
They jumped over the waves,
and ran away from waves,
and got knocked over by waves! It was a good weekend. We got a little wet, but we had a lot of fun.