Halloween Fun into Thanksgiving Gratitude

I can't believe October is gone and Thanksgiving is upon us.  We've had a lot of fun and are truly grateful for the blessings God has given us--that Kelly is well, the kids are good and we have a great family, near and far.  Happy, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Two handsome boys and one beautiful girl!  This is right before the Primary Children's Program at church.  They all had a short speaking part and did very well--and they sang like angels!  Zalyi's dress has glittery sparkles all over it that we keep finding in the strangest places--Dallin's hair, the cold cereal--

Jordan the Scout receiving his Tenderfoot rank and a couple of merit badges that he earned at the Scout Camp he attended over his birthday.  He was pretty proud--can you tell?  (We were proud of him too!)

The fall colors were so beautiful one day that we tried to get a picture with the kids--but it didn't even come close.  The tree behind them is really a neon red--it almost glows in the dark.

Oh well, the children came out well!

This is Zalyi at her preschool's field trip to "The Great Pumpkin," which is what she called the pumpkin patch.  (She's been watching Charlie Brown).  She's standing next to her best friend, Hayley, and another pal, Andie.  They each got to pick out two pumpkins and Zalyi chose hers with great care.

Xavier attacking his pumpkin.  He found the biggest one he could carry and had to stand on the stool to be able to clean it out!  We always have a jack-o-lantern carving party the Monday before Halloween.  Here are the kids underneath their pumpkins and the scary, finished product.

The Bus Stop Gang Halloween morning.  The kids get to wear their costumes all day.

Here's our three Trick-or-Treater's--a couple of tough football players and a scary cat.  The kids trick-or-treat our neighborhood, which takes about 20 minutes because there are only 20 houses, and then we head off to a friend's house to gather candy there.  George sat on the driveway with our friend Jim and passed out candy and I took the kids around.  Their bags were pretty full in no time.

Grandkids, Birthdays, Teeth . . . and Napoleon Dynamite

Opa (George) had a great visit out West and got to see Lorelei and Soren (and Tony and Mel) in Provo and Reagan and Coen (and Nick and Ashley) in Coeur D'Alene.  We think these four faces are the best! 

 

Homecoming Week had a different dress-up for

every day.  This was our personal favorite--

Once a year on a Monday Night in October we do caramel apples.

We only do them once a year because it takes the rest of the year

to clean up afterwards.  Oh, but it's worth it--

Zalyi's bottom right tooth started getting wiggly about

a week ago and Sunday night--in honor of Jordan's birthday

I'm sure--it came out!  She's very proud and as soon as she

sees anybody she knows, she opens her mouth so they can

ooh and aah.  And the Tooth Fairy really does come!

Jordan's Golden Birthday--11 on the 11th!  It was

a Pokemon fest, along with some wonderful money

and some camping gear.  He spent the weekend at a

Scout camp where they sang to him three times and

one of the leaders brought him apple cobbler for a

cake.  We had birthday dinner Sunday night and he only

left two candles burning--a couple of girlfriends eh, Jordan?

Zalyi the Prima Ballerina

Zalyi started ballet and tap on September 26.  The smile on her face when she put on her new ballet shoes was priceless.  Now she only wants to wear her hair "like a ballerina," (which works well for her Aunt Lori).  She already looks good at the bar--she's got great legs for a 4-year old and she points her toes the very best of everyone in her class.  Probably even in all the classes! (I'm not biased in the least)

FALL MEANS FOOTBALL!!!!

JORDAN AND XAVIER ARE FLAG FOOTBALL STUDS!! 

Jordan was honorary Captain his first game and also got a "tackle."  Don't you love the black mouthguard look?

Xavier right before his game and on the field.  The first time he had the ball, he ran end around and scored a touchdown!

His team is the

Silver Surfers

Football Fans:  We spend every Thursday afternoon at Dallin's football games.  The kids are having a great time--eating some snacks, playing under the bleachers and looking for treasures, and even watching some football!

We love Thunderhawk Football

Dallin plays outside linebacker--#54 for the Lakota East Thunderhawks.  His best pals on the team are Jacob Dean and Jared Hopkins.  The kids always watch for these numbers out on the field.

Hurricane Ike visits Cincinnati

MMM--hot dogs and s'mores for dinner!

Sunday, 

September 14  We knew some remnants of Hurricane Ike were heading our 

way--but we expected a lot of rain and got a lot of wind instead.   We had gusts up to 80 miles an hour with sustained winds at 40-50 mph.  It started at about 1 PM and by around 2:30 we lost all our power.  We were without power until Monday about midnight.  It was really fun the first night and day--flashlights, candles, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows at the fire pit. 

But we were pretty happy when the lights came on again.  Of course, when the lights came on, then we lost phones and computer!  But we got everything back by Tuesday night.  There were some people in our area that were without any power for a full week.  The kids were out of school until Thursday!

Zalyi's First Day of School

September 11  Zalyi's First Day--finally! at the River Preschool.  She was very excited.  Her teachers are Miss Tammy and Miss Kelli and her best friends are Hayley (rhymes with Zalyi), Darby  and Zoe.  And yes, she is the cutest one in the class.

Saturday,September 6

For the past four years we have been involved in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

Walk for the Cure held at King's Island.  This year Jordan, Xavier, Zalyi and Becky joined our family for the early morning walk.  We all made it the 3.2 miles--even Zalyi who only climbed on my back for about the last ten minutes!

School Days Come Again

September 2, 2008

 FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Jordan, 5th Grade, teacher Mrs. Brown

Xavier, 2nd Grade, teacher Mrs. Radcliffe

The boys wait for the bus with a bunch of kids from the neighborhood:  best friends Trey and Taylor, Lexi, Emily and Ethan.  And Zalyi helps wait a lot of times too!

It's a Rahlf tradition to have freshly baked chocolate chip cookies waiting after the first day of school.  Zalyi is a great baker.

Jordan, Xavier, Dallin and Becky all enjoyed Zalyi's hard work.  The cookies only lasted a few hours!

Hi everyone--okay we're up and running and I'll keep this updated so you can see how Jordon, Xavier and Zalyi (along with supporting cast Uncle George, Aunt Lori, Dallin and Becky) are doing here in Ohio.  We've had a great three weeks and been very busy with school, football, new friends, Scouts, Power Outages, etc. etc.  See for yourself!