Our church had their Fall Festival tonight.  We had a chili cook-off, games, crafts, cake walk, and of course trick-or-treating.  The kids came home with loads of candy!

Magei started violin lessons today.  We bought her violin about two weeks ago, and she has been counting down the days ever since!

Magei had a big day on Sunday…it was her first ever primary program!  She worked all week memorizing her part.  She practiced every day:

“We are all children of God.  Heavenly Father loves his children.”

She stood at the pulpit and said her lines perfectly!  We were so proud of her.  She had fun sitting up in the chior seats and waving to us the entire time.  Nate, Sam, and I reverently cheered her on in the congregation during her big show.

This Saturday we took the kids to Boo at the Zoo.  The kids had so much fun getting dressed up!  Magei was Alice in Wonderland and Sam was a skunk.  If I can get it together before Halloween, I do have a white rabbit costume for Sam…Although I think he makes a pretty cute little skunk.  I think it has something to do with his black pants that are slightly to short for him.  Oh well…when else can you wear floods and get away with it?

Magei was totally serious about the fall activities we had planned for Saturday.  Her cowgirl boots were the first thing she put on when she woke up on Saturday morning.

My friend Robyn mentioned the orchard they recently visited and ever since I have had apples on the brain.  We decided Saturday would be a perfect day to do some picking of our own at Granville Orchard.  The owners of the orchard advised us to try all of the apples to find out the ones we liked the best, so we had a great time tasting each variety.  I think Magei and Sam each ate 4 or 5 whole apples during the visit.   These are the best priced apples I have found in the area; 20 lbs for $8.

After apple picking, we took a picnic lunch and ate at the park.  We got the kids brand new trick-or-treat bags this year, so we packed Magei’s and Sam’s lunches inside and gave them to them.

Next, we were off to meet the Beazers at Jaquemin Farms.  The kids had a blast playing on the blow up toys,  running through the haybail maze, sliding down the slides and playing in the corn box.  Of course we had to bring the powdered donuts for a treat!  We also took a hayride out into the pumpkin patch and let each of the kids pick their own pumpkin.

Annie tagged me a few days ago…before I get to my picture, here is one of Annie and Rob.  What a special night.  We miss you guys!!

Alright, now for randomness.  Here is my 6th picture from my 6th folder:

I’m so happy this was my 6th picture in my 6th folder.  Seriously…Classic Kendall.  Oh, we miss the Buxtons, too!

Hazelhead Park was really fun for the kids.  They have a petting zoo and a huge playground.  Sam did more pointing then petting.

Last but not least, a few random things.  First, I’d like to tell Nate what an excellent job he did driving on the left.  We only almost died a few times.  It really is quite an experience not knowing where the heck you are going in a huge city with foreign road signs and driving on the wrong side of the road.  Good job, Nate!  Speaking of road signs, whenever we travel outside the US we find a few to chuckle at.  Below is our favorite from this trip:

One last photo - Sam did not hesitate making himself right at home.  We really tried to keep him out of Matt and Tia’s fridge, but those European fridges are just the right height for him!  In this photo, Nate had just caught him stealing Kalani’s yogurt…the evidence was all over his face.

Thanks again to Matt, Tia, and Kalani.  Getting to hang out with you guys was definitely the highlight of the entire trip!

We took a trip to Cawdor Castle, which was really neat because it is actually still being used.  The woman who lives there (a duchess I think) uses it as her winter home, so people can tour it during the summer.  It is funny because it is such a grand castle - just what you would imagine - but then there are modern photographs all over of people I’m assuming are her friends and family.  Cameras are not allowed inside, so we only have pictures of the outside.

This was a mistletoe maze.  You can see part of the castle in the background.

We took a road trip to see the infamous Nessie, the monster that lives in Loch Ness.  What a gorgeous day!  We made a few stops along the way:

Burnovat Waterfall

 There are almost as many sheep on the roads in Scotland as there are drivers.

 Speaking of animals, Highland cattle also add to the Scottish countryside charm.

Loch Ness was beautiful…and HUGE!  I don’t remember the specific facts, but it is one of the deepest (if not the deepest) lakes in the world.  I can see why a lake monster would live there undetected.

Urquhart Castle is on Loch Ness.

I had to include this picture of Magei doing a little float/prance/dance move at the castle.  She was in pure heaven and so happy to be there.

 We finally found Nessie!!

Sunday was an especially relaxing day.  We went to church and then Matt dazzled us with his world famous (and published, might I add) pizza making skills - seriously, it was so good!  Afterward we worked off all our calories by walking around the River Dee.