We had a wonderful Halloween! Regan was a fairy. She assembled her costume all by herself from her dress up trunk. Haden was a fireman, also from his dress up trunk. I love those kind of costumes! And Lila was a pirate. I had a princess dress that was her size too, but the pirate costume just seemed to fit her personality more. The kids loved trick or treating with their friends! We all got way too much candy! It's a good thing Halloween only comes once a year!
Haden had been asking for some time to go back to Idaho. He loves it there! So, for fall break, we indulged him. The kids rode 4 wheelers, fed the cows, and played with their cousins.
I know, I nearly had a heart attack the first time I saw Regan riding on the front of the 4 wheeler, too! She is only allowed to ride there when Clint is driving and going VERY SLOW!
Clint and I went on a 4 wheeler ride with his parents and some friends. But no kids! That hasn't happened for a long time! (Thank you, Karalee, for watching my little stinkers.) It brought back a lot of memories. Many of the outings while Clint and I were dating involved a 4 wheeler or a horse. Thirteen years and three kids later, I still love hanging out with him!
The colors in the mountains were spectacular!
Lila tormented this little dog every chance she got.
She loved being able to have so much room to roam around!
She was definitely intrigued by the chickens.
My little brother and several sisters met us at Swore Farms. The kids loved running through the hay maze and the corn maze.
At each intersection in the corn maze, there was a question about Idaho or agriculture. The right answer pointed the correct way to go. The questions were all completely random and I have no idea where they got their information from! Needless to say, those of us who actually read the questions went the wrong way many times! Clint and the kids were just running around, hiding, and jumping out trying to scare the rest of us. I was glad Haden was wearing red. It was a lot easier to spot him among the corn stalks!
Lila loved playing in the swimming pool full of grain. She yelled and yelled when I finally pulled her out.
We finished up the day at the Blackfoot pool. My kids love swimming!
It was a fun trip. The weather was beautiful and the kids behaved for the car ride. Well, except on the way home. Haden was crying because he didn't want to leave Idaho, he "loves Idaho!"
We spent Saturday in the mountains at Golden Gate State Park. Since we have discovered that the kids don't really care for hiking, we have to bring alternative entertainment, like fishing poles. Clint knew of several little ponds perfect for fishing with kids. Clint baited the poles and the kids took over. Regan really is awesome at casting and has probably outgrown her Barbie pole. Haden doesn't focus on fishing long enough to know if he is a decent caster or not. Thankfully, there was a mountainside behind us that he could climb around on as much as he wanted. Next time though, he will have to wear a brighter shirt that doesn't blend in with the trees so well!
When Lila wasn't digging in the mud, she was talking on the "phone". She really prefers talking on the television remote, but she's not too picky.
Flying baby! She was cackling the entire time. Little thrill seeker!
Thankfully, no fish were caught! We really should try fishing before noon. We might have much better luck!
We found a playground with some old barns that had been converted to picnic shelters. They made a perfect background for an impromptu photo shoot!
Regan picked out the matching outfits.
I thought it was funny. Lila had no issue sitting up there (Clint was holding on to her) and Haden was holding on for dear life! He has never been quite as reckless as Lila. I'm not complaining!
I know I am a little biased, but aren't my kids just beautiful?
The kids found an old water pump. Clint showed them how it worked. Lila was so excited! She loves water! She was completely drenched in no time at all.
Clint got tired of pumping before Lila got tired of playing so Regan and Haden did their best to help her out.
And then we headed home. There isn't anything quite like the mountains in the fall. They are positively breathtaking!
It seems like we do the same things year after year. I really don't mind, it just makes me nostalgic. I remember when Regan was Lila's age and we visited the same park.
I love hanging out with my family!
Haden's first preschool field trip for the year was to the Junior Symphony Guild's concert. Since it was held at the Wildlife Experience Museum, we toured it afterward. Even though Haden's class is full of boys, he hasn't really bonded well with any of them. So, I invited some friends to come with us! It was a lot of fun. This is the third time I have been to the concert. I enjoy it every time. Lila did make this time a little more difficult, though! Everyone sits on the floor and the orchestra is in a circle around us.
They always bring a kid to perform too. In the past they have had very young piano players perform long pieces from memory and the orchestra accompanies them. This little girl is 5 and has only been playing the violin for a year. Her memorized piece was several minutes long. I was very impressed with both her talent and her lack of stage fright.
The kids loved the museum. Haden insisted that we really need to go back. The animals weren't real, but would still move. The kids loved the alligator/crocodile. He would open his mouth really wide and make some loud noise and the kids would jump back every time. We had to admire it for a long time! 
I absolutely love Haden's teacher. It has been interesting to notice the difference between having a girl and a boy teacher. Instead of coming home singing cute songs like last year, Haden sang Queen's "We Will Rock You" all the way home from school yesterday. It's a fun change!
The avalanche machine was Haden's very most favorite part. The styrofoam "snowballs" have to be carried up to the top of the machine. When there are enough, they all come down flattening everything in their path. Haden is awesome at playing with anyone. He quickly befriended this little boy and they played together for a long time. 
I think Lila's favorite part was the fossil dig. There was a sandbox full of tiny pieces of rubber. You were supposed to use a paintbrush to brush away the dirt and expose the fossil. Or just use the paintbrush as a utensil to throw the little rubber pieces. I bet the janitors hate that thing!
It was a fun day. Haden insisted that he couldn't walk any farther and dramatically collapsed. Not to be left out, Lila had to go sit down beside him.
It was a fun day! Both kids took long naps that afternoon.
Apparently they found the sauna, too!
They got back before me and wanted a hot bubble bath. Since I neglected to pack bubble bath, Clint just dumped shampoo in. Shampoo plus jets equals serious bubbles! The kids LOVED it!
The kids had to keep running back and forth between bathrooms to see who had the most bubbles!
The next day we headed down the mountain and into town. I love browsing through all the little shops. That is, when I don't have three kids and one huge stroller with me. So, we skipped all the fun boutiques and went straight to Peek A Boo Toys. On our last trip here, I discovered that the back part of the store was a toy room. The kids loved it, and since it was off season, we were the only ones there.
Regan did not like this horse nearly as much as she likes her own. She still rides her horse daily, even though both feet can touch the floor. She is offended when I mention that she might be outgrowing it.
Poor little Lila was already worn out!
Next we stopped at a playground in the center of town. The kids had fun playing on the toys carved out of big boulders.
I don't know what this thing is supposed to be, but Haden kept hiding under it and Lila loved finding him!
We found a beautiful garden along the river that runs through the center of town. The kids posed for a few pictures and then we headed back up the mountain because it was getting too cold!
Regan insisted that I include this picture of her in my blog. She does look beautiful!
That night the kids insisted on going swimming in the new swimming pool they found while exploring with Clint while I made dinner. I was not expecting an outside pool! It looked miserable! It had started to rain and the temperature was dropping quickly. I was very surprised the pool was pleasant! Lila is a little fish. She loves being in the water. Haden preferred to be in hot tub where he could touch. He still is traumatized. He had a death grip on me whenever we were in the big pool.
What a beautiful view!
The next morning we walked to Ready Paint Fire so the kids could paint their own pottery. We did this last time we were in Breckenridge 3 years ago and the kids have been asking when we could go back. Regan selected a "Chinese bowl" that she is planning on eating rice in?? Haden decided on a cup that was as big as his head.
They both did an exceptional job painting and were rather irate when the clerk said that he was going to have to mail them to us because he wasn't going to have them done before we left. I was a little annoyed with the steep shipping fee, but the kids had already started painting and I couldn't very well leave their masterpieces behind. Now they get to look forward to a package in the mail!
This was the only way Lila would stay out of trouble. She isn't yet sure how to get off chairs so she actually stayed put!
Next we were going to tour the firefighter museum. Haden was so excited! Until we got there and discovered it was closed. At least he got to peek through the windows at the firetrucks.
And then we found this cool train! Haden inspected it thoroughly!
After a break at the condo for lunch and Lila's nap, we went to the elementary school. They have a great playground! It was the perfect place to burn a lot of energy for all three kids!
That night we took Clint for a walk and showed him all of our favorite places. We had more posing in the garden.
Lila really doesn't like to be held down at all.
Have I mentioned how beautiful Breckenridge is?
Haden didn't want to be in the picture with the everyone else. His legs were "so tired!".
Lila got more comments than anyone else, mostly from the hotel staff. One guy said she looked like Pebbles off of Flintstones! Her hair just won't do anything else!
The last day we did a little more shopping in the morning. I intentionally didn't take the stroller so we could go into whatever store we wanted. I think every store clerk was grateful when we left! Lila was ridiculously loud and refused to be held. Haden and Regan liked to play hide and seek with her in the clothes racks. Then we had lunch at a "fancy" restaurant. You should have seen the look Regan gave the waiter when he tried to replace the glass goblets with kid cups!
Lila picked the perfect time to take her nap. She slept the entire way through lunch. It was actually peaceful!
We finished up with a round of miniature golf. My kids seriously need more experience playing! Their technique is horrible! And they get frustrated quickly and resort to cheating!
Haden was cheering after he dropped his ball 2 inches from the hole and putted it in.
Then we met Clint and headed home. It was a wonderful week and we all had a lot of fun. But I did need to go on a bike ride all by myself when I got home so I couldn't hear anyone say, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!"
