October

We got a great deal on passes to Six Flags Magic Mountain.  The catch, though, was that we had to use them at least once before October ended.  The day we picked was supposedly in the low-90's, but it felt like a hundred.  We left a little early because Ryan and I both started feeling dizzy.  The kids had fun, though!
  

Elise decided to be Cleopatra for Halloween, and was so in love with her costume when it arrived, she made me text a picture to her friend, Sarah.  
  

    
After procrastinating for two months, we got waiting-list tickets for the last tour of the season at the Sriracha chile sauce factory.  Ryan had been on a hot pepper kick all summer, so he was especially excited.  At the end, we got Sriracha popcorn and Sriracha ice cream.  Both were awesome, surprisingly.
   

On the last Saturday in October, we went to the Club 21 walk-a-thon in Pasadena.  It's a yearly fundraiser for a Down Syndrome support group and resource center.  Club 21 was hugely helpful for our friends who lost their little girl last year, so they've made it a big tradition to participate and collect donations.  The kids had a blast - the walk was followed by a huge carnival with punch-cards for over a dozen fun booths, including pirate costumes, carnival games, treats, and face-painting.
  

Our team was "Chloe's Busy Bees."

Bubbles!

That evening was our ward's Trunk or Treat.  I don't lie when I say that Trunk or Treat is a bigger deal to my kids than Halloween itself.  Of course, it's never held on Halloween, so we still get to do real trick-or-treating, too.  Elise invited two friends from school, and they all had a ton of fun.

Grim Reaper, Raggedy Ann, Army Guy, and Cleopatra

Ellise with Ellen and Ilani

  
The Joy School Halloween Party included a candy hunt this year.  The kids sang their "Mean Old Witch" song, and ended with (sorta) eating healthy taco salads for lunch.

 

   
On Halloween Day, the older kids had their school costume parade.  It was fun to see all the classes dressed up.  There were something like nineteen Elsas.
  

After school, we drove around looking for pumpkins.  Don't wait until Halloween afternoon to buy pumpkins.  The third store was the charm - I sent Connor, Elise, and Evan in alone to pick them out, and had Connor pay for them by himself.  They were pretty proud of themselves.  Daddy helped Evan with his carving, and Connor and Elise did their own.
   

Evan, Connor, and Elise

Last of all, here's stuff that happened while we were just hanging out at home.
   

Bad Rinny.  Notice the water, and the cup shoved down the drain.

FHE Slurpees

Elise's Paper Computer.  She played with it for hours.

Jumbo Lego Train

Sequoia

Over the first weekend in October, we went with our camping buddies up to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.  It was only an overnighter, so instead of tents, we rented some awesome cabins way up inside the park.  The day we arrived, we hiked around the visitors' center and worked on the kids' Junior Ranger booklets.  Then, we hiked to the top of Moro Rock.  It wasn't a very long climb, but it was definitely steep and scary.  At least there were really good guardrails for the kids.
 

Marshy Meadow

 

Moro Rock

     

    
On the second day, we saw some of the giants, including General Grant and General Sherman. 
   

Can you see the three Brown kids?

General Grant was my favorite.

Ryan thought we needed a picture of the sign, too.

Biggest (Most Massive) Tree in the World

"Whoooah!"

  
Connor had to do some work on i-Ready for school one afternoon.  It was pretty funny.  It had placed him in first grade math for some reason, so he was annoyed.

After volunteering in Elise's class one morning, I went to look for Connor to say hi.  I found him at recess, reading in the middle of the blacktop.

  

Corinne finished up her summer of baby swim lessons with Ms. Lisa.  She loves to tell everybody about, "Lisa, nandy, lalas, stickos, bawws..."  At this point, Rinny can jump in the pool from the side and swim with her face in the water, but doesn't have enough propulsion to get anywhere without help.  We're hoping that by next spring she'll be an official swimmer!