Thanksgiving Weekend - Nov 22-24

The Cook's came to visit for Thanksgiving.  They stayed with us and Jason made a wonderful meal with all the traditional dishes.  We invited Travis over to share our meal, because he didn't have a place to go.  He brought us some fancy cheese and crackers, gourmet chocolate, and a potted plant of herbs. 

The Lund's were visiting Mike's family in Newport and we went there Friday afternoon to visit, eat more food and the kids swam in the hot tub.  That evening we went to Balboa Island and walked around, looking at the ships and houses by the water being decorated for the holidays.  It was a fun time to get out and burn off some of the energy and extra food. 

Saturday the Lund's came over and we took all the kids to the park.  It was a really warm day with the sun shining bright.  After another meal of left-overs the Cook's and Lund's headed for home.  It was fun to be with family and hang out together.  See you guys next year!  :)

Dental School T-Day Dinner - Nov 19th

Andrew and his friend Reid.

Ella going cross-eyed.

Kaitlyn after her huge meal-a look of content.

We went to James' school for a potluck Thanksgiving dinner.  They have done one every year, and I look forward to a night off from cooking.  There was a great variety of foods and desserts.  I was amazed at how much the kids ate, and drank!  They got a little sugar rush from drinking Sierra Mist (except for Kaitlyn, she's had a goal of no soda for a year). 

Bday Party, 2 Soccer Parties, Feeding the Missionaries! - Nov 17th

Leona had created a really fun Ninja themed birthday party.

Ella bowling at her soccer party.

Andrew is obsessed with wearing his Ninja headband.

Ella's soccer team with the coaches.

Kaitlyn's hair creation of braids and twists.

This was a super busy Saturday.  We went to Liam's birthday party from 11-1, Ella's soccer party from 1-3:30 and fed the missionaries dinner from 4-6 and went to Andrew's soccer party from 6-8:30!  It was a pretty packed day!  We had food at all of the events too, so by the time we ate with the missionaries, we weren't that hungry, but we gave them all of the leftovers to take to the other missionaries.  So soccer is officially over, and Andrew is already gearing up for basketball which starts in January!  Ella is preparing to test in karate for her purple double stripe.  After that she will be working towards her blue belt! 

Andrew's team with his coach.

Andrew with his trophy.

Thanksgiving School Parties - Nov 16th

Ella and Andrew had Thanksgiving parties in their classes today.  Andrew doesn't really care for pumpkin pie or cornbread muffins....he preferred to read his book.  Ella had a huge potluck and they wrote what they were thankful for on the paper tablecloth. 

I went and saw Breaking Dawn 2, Friday night with a bunch of Dental school wives.  It was a super fun night to be able to spend it with the girls!

Windy Storm - Nov 10th

We had a bit of rain and some wind that knocked a lot of pine needles out of the trees by our garage.  Kaitlyn decided to sweep them all up and wanted a picture of the huge mound.  See, we have proof we have weather destruction here in California too  :)  She's even cold enough to wear a sweatshirt!

Last Soccer Games of the Season - Nov 10th

Ella played her third game in the playoff's.  They lost the game so they don't continue on.  But Ella scored the only goal we made, almost by accident.  She went to kick the ball into the goal and it bounced off of an opposing team member's shoe and went into the goal.  The ref gave Ella the credit for the goal since she was the last member on out team to touch the ball.  That was her first goal!  :)

Andrew played his last game of the season too.  It was a tie 0-0.  So he counts that one as a win!  :)  He had many close calls where the ball almost went in.  It is so fun to watch the kids play soccer!  I am already excited for next season.

Ella - Running for Commissioner of Grounds - Nov 6th

Ella ran for Commissioner of Grounds on Election day.  She did well on her speech.  Although she didn't win, she gets to go to the student council meetings each month.  The meetings take place in her classroom, so she's excited she doesn't even have to leave and she can eat her lunch at her own desk.  :)  She will have another chance to run for a wider variety of offices next year as a 5th grader.

THE soccer game - Nov 3rd

Ella went to the playoff's in her division.  Her team won, 5-2.  They have another game on Tuesday night and another next Saturday.  She came close three times to making a goal!  She plays super aggressively when she is a forward.  Unfortunately, Andrew's soccer game was overlapping Ella's game, so I was only able to go to Andrew's.  He played a team that was undefeated, which has some real powerhouse players on it (one of which is Andrew Alva-his best buddy).  It was THE game we have been gearing up for all season.  We WON!  The score was 2-1 and Andrew scored one of our goals!  I think their team was surprised that they had to work so hard.  They usually clobber the opposing teams winning with many goals, but we came out strong.  It was so intense, I didn't sit down the whole game.  I wish I would have taken some video or pictures of the game, but it was to exciting to sit still. I did take this video at the end, but it's sideways... Andrew is the second guy out of the tunnel.  We went to In N' Out for lunch afterwards to celebrate, even splurging on chocolate shakes! 

Halloween - Oct 31st

Andrew and some of his buddies.

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Oak Mesa Elementary has a costume theme for Halloween.  This year's theme was "what I want to be when I grow up."  Ella was a veterinarian and Andrew was a dentist.  Ramona Middle school doesn't have dressing up at school, so Kaitlyn wasn't able to put on her costume until after school.  In the evening, we went to our friends house to carve pumpkins and eat dinner.  We also went trick or treating in their neighborhood.  They sure got a lot of candy!