Halloween Fun

We had several days of pure Halloween fun. I will have to admit that once it was over, I was a bit relieved... :) But the important thing is that everyone had fun. The Thursday before Halloween I got to help out with Rachel's class party. So, me and four other moms (wahoo - lots of help)! went in and put on a little party for the kids. Hopefully it's the first of many more opportunities to help out in Rachel's classroom. It was fun to spend some time in Rachel's classroom and meet the kids that she plays and learns with. I was a bit nervous about sending Rachel to school with her costume on for 5 hours. But it worked out and nothing got spilled or ruined...

I had to laugh when Rachel sat down at a table full of boys:

Look at that concentration - making her own candy necklace:
Rachel so proud of her mask and necklace:
Ready for a story:

Friday morning we headed to the Children's Museum. Children could come in their costumes, go trick or treating, and do various other Halloween activities. Just a side note, I was surprised at how many people knew the girls were Dutch girls. Maybe I'm out of the loop, but 3 years ago I probably wouldn't have known what a little Dutch girl would look like in traditional dress. Only one person got it wrong and she thought they were pilgrims, which isn't too far off since the pilgrims came from Holland. Anyhow, the girls had fun gathering their treats. They also enjoyed an art project...

And frosting and decorating sugar cookies:
All dressed up outside the museum:

Friday afternoon my friend Karla put together a Halloween party and invited us. So, the fun continued...

Tongue out - we're working hard!

My girls are totally obsessed with babies right now. Here's Audrey with Baby Jake:

Rachel with Baby Weston:
Most of the gang:

Friday night we carved pumpkins. Well, Andy and I carved pumpkins while the girls played in the backyard. Halfway through carving we asked each other exactly why we were carving pumpkins... But it was fun for Andy and I and the girls were quite impressed with the finished jack-o-lanterns. We waited until Friday because here in hot, humid Texas jack-o-lanterns don't last too long. Mold takes over and they cave pretty quickly. Plus, it had been a super busy week for Andy.

The girls not too sure about the pumpkin guts:
One touch and she was done!
Lots of fun!
Audrey's pumpkin - nice and simple - I'm not too creative:
Rachel's pumpkin - a bit more creative:
On Saturday I had to make sure I grabbed a picture of the girls in their Halloween shirts:

Saturday night we headed to our church carnival and trunk-or-treat. The girls all dressed up with their wooden shoes (just for pictures!):

Audrey loving her black cat bag full of candy:

Andy probably only took the girls around to about 1/3 of the cars. They had enough candy and Rachel was so happy to help pass out candy the rest of the time.

Rachel with her friend Kasiana:

On Halloween I decided, being motivated by a high school friend who always makes the holidays so special for her kids, to make a fun dinner. So, we had mummy hot dogs, carrot fingers, and ghost bananas. And I'll have to admit, I'm a fan of the mummy hot dogs. :) The girls had fun that evening passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters. And they didn't even mention wanting to go out themselves. We had enough candy anyways! We got a fair amount of trick-or-treaters this year, probably around 25. In years past we've had like 5... Anyhow, here are the girls Halloween evening dressed in their cute pajamas:

Halloween was lots of fun this year. Busy, busy, busy, but fun. The girls enjoyed their Dutch outfits and they are still enjoying their candy! :)

33 years young...

Two days after getting back from California we celebrated Andy's birthday. The girls were so excited to celebrate Andy's birthday! They were still on California time, so they didn't see him in the morning. But they had fun calling him and saying "Happy Birthday Daddy". Even Audrey had it down perfectly. As a matter of fact, every now and then Audrey still wishes Andy a happy birthday. Luckily, since October is one of Andy's busy months, he was able to get home around 8 that night. So, I bathed the girls before Andy got home and they stayed up a little later than normal to help celebrate Andy's day. Here's some pictures:

And then, just for fun, I'm going to spotlight Andy. Those of you who know Andy know how much he doesn't like to be in the spotlight. And these are all answers I have come up with. I guess if he wants to correct them, he'll have to figure out how to blog! :)

All About Andy, Drew, Andrew, Dad, Dada, or Daddy...

I was born in Salt Lake City, UT.

I am married and have 2 little girls.

I have 1 brother, 3 sisters, 7 brother-in-laws, 4 sister-in-laws, 3 nieces (soon to be 4), and 3 nephews.

My favorite food is probably cheesecake.

My favorite ice cream flavor is mint chocolate chip.

Some of my talents are being able to kiss owies and make them all better, hunting down and getting rid of mosquitoes in the house, telling stories "out of my mouth", making 3 girls laugh like crazy, providing for my family, and learning new skills that come with home ownership.

Some of my recent accomplishments are installing a new dishwasher and putting together an outdoor playground.

One of my goals this year is to put Christmas lights up around the house.

I enjoy golfing, skiing, traveling, working in the yard, playing games, and spending time with my family.

My favorite part of the day is when I get to come home to 3 very excited, sometimes screaming with laughter, girls.

When I grow up I want to be just like Rick Steves.

***All fun aside, we are truly blessed to have Andy take such good care of us in so many ways.***

California

We headed out to California a few weeks ago for my brother Jeff's wedding. The girls and I were able to make a whole week out of it. Andy was only able to join us for the last couple of days. Everyone took time off from work and we all met in Fresno. Family members traveled from Texas, Indiana, and various parts of California. It was so fun to be together - all of us - it hasn't happened in over 4 years. A lot has changed since then... It was good to be together again as one big family. Hopefully it won't take another 4 years for it to happen...

My parents drove down to Houston and flew out with the girls and I. It was so nice to have their help on the flights. The girls loved all the special surprises Grandma packed for the airplane and enjoyed being spoiled by their Papa's attention. I think from Houston to L.A. Rachel talked nonstop to Papa. So, we gave him a break from L.A. to Fresno and switched seats around a bit. Once we arrived in Fresno the fun began!

We spent lots of time just having fun and hanging out. I was able to meet up with a few friends from high school as well, which is always nice. Andy was able to fly in late Thursday night right before the wedding on Friday. Here are a few of the highlights:

Monday morning I was able to meet up with Jennifer, a friend from high school, at a local park. Our kids had lots of fun playing together and we enjoyed talking. And then that evening we carried on a Michaelson tradition - Family Home Evening at Woodward Park. And just like old times we enjoyed a KFC picnic and playing softball. This time we were able to add a special event - a baby shower for Ken and Jenny's baby girl due to arrive in mid-February...

Rachel, Ashlyn, and Aaron had so much fun together throughout the week:

Helping Papa in the outfield:
Watching on the sidelines:
Papa helping Rachel hit the ball a few times:

On Tuesday all the adult girls went out to lunch to celebrate with Amy and give her some gifts before the big day. It was fun for all the girls to get together and the guys did a great job of entertaining the kids while we were gone. Tuesday night we went over to Jeff's house and hung out. The girls had fun checking out his dogs - as long as they stayed outdoors. Here's Rachel having fun with her Uncle Jeff:

Wednesday morning Paul, my mom, and I took all the little ones to the zoo. I was able to meet up with Sarah, another friend from high school. It was so much fun to be able to see her and catch up. It's been too long! Every time I have the opportunity to see old friends I realize how much I miss them and how much fun it would be to live closer to them. Between the 4 adults we managed to keep track of 7 little ones. We enjoyed the zoo and then a park nearby.

Audrey kissing the frog:

My mom then kept the girls while I went out to lunch with Nhung, another friend from high school. It was good to see her as well and so nice to enjoy another lunch without little ones! The girls hanging out with Grandma... The weather was in the 70s the whole time we were there and the outdoor pool just wasn't quite warm enough to enjoy...

That night the fun continued as the grandparents treated everyone to Chuck E. Cheese. They have this tradition with their grandkids who love and expect it. We spent a few hours playing and eating.Audrey really got into playing some of the games this time. And of course she loves collecting the tickets! All the kids were able to get a few prizes.

Thursday we kept busy as well. All of us went miniature golfing in the afternoon and that was a lot of fun... Until Rachel feel down and skinned her elbow pretty bad. Luckily Aunt Rachel was prepared with neosporin and she was back to normal pretty soon. It had been years since I had been to Blackbeard's, and it was fun to return to an old favorite.

Drum roll, please... Friday came and it was the most fabulous day. Words cannot describe the experience as we (meaning all the siblings, their spouses, Mom, and Dad) were able to be in the temple that day. That's the first time that's happened and it was wonderful. And of course Amy was an absolute gorgeous bride and Jeff was one handsome groom. Here's a picture of the adults right after the temple sealing:

We then celebrated by going to lunch. Later that evening we returned to the temple with everyone (kids included this time) to take pictures. I'm looking forward to seeing some of the wedding photographers work! But for now, here's some of ours and Jenny's shots:

Family pic (thanks Jenny!):
Grandma Lola (or I guess Great-Grandma Lola to my girls) came in to town for the wedding. It as so good to see her! Audrey meeting Great-Grandma Lola:

My amazing parents:

From the temple we headed to the reception. It was definitely a day full of celebrating. And I think the bride (which that's the only one who really matters) loved how everything turned out. The three girls headed into the reception:

Audrey WAY excited for the bride to make her entrance!

More hanging out time for the cousins:
Rachel whispering secrets with her Uncle Ken:
Cutting the cake:
Dancing (check out that smile!):
Ashlyn and Audrey with the man of the night:
Audrey chilling with Uncle Steve:

Besides the bride and the groom, I think our little family made the most use out of the dance floor. Rachel loved it! She was so sad to have to leave, but once the bride and groom take off, what's the point of staying? Rachel is ready for another wedding... Here are some pictures of Andy dancing with the girls (and yes, I did cut in at one point). Rachel was lucky enough to dance with her daddy to "Brown Eyed Girl". We certainly had fun on the dance floor!

Twirling away:

Saturday was spent just hanging out and getting ready to travel back home on Sunday. That morning we joined the bride and groom as they opened their presents. Ken and Andy played some golf as well. On Saturday night we finally put together a game night down in the lobby of the hotel:

Audrey happy to chill with Grandma Lola while the others played games:

Andy spent most of Saturday night and a good chunk of time at the airport on Sunday getting some things straightened around. Somehow the lovely United/Continental systems had my parents as no-shows on the flights to Fresno, so they just went ahead and canceled their reservations to go back to Texas. Needless to say, everything worked out, but what a pain!!! Anyhow, some final fun pictures:

We landed around dinner time on Sunday. On our way home we grabbed some dinner. And let's just say, Audrey made a mess of my frosty in the car... Luckily it was all over her though and not the car.

California was such a good time. It was so much fun to see everyone and to have everyone together. Andy met Rachel (who's been married to Steve for 2 1/2 years) for the first time and we all met Amy for the first time. We are so happy for Jeff and Amy. Marriage is a wonderful thing and it's amazing when you are able to find that "one". We wish Jeff and Amy the best in the years to come and are glad that they were the reason for all of us to get together!