pumpkins

 The kids have activities every day after school so we had to carve our pumpkins the weekend before.  We knew they probably wouldn't last until Halloween but oh well.

 Carter being a good big brother letting Evelyn help him scoop the guts.

 She loved playing with the guts.  She kept on scooping them up and saying, "eww."  She was a good helper when it came time to pick out all the seeds.

 All 5 pumpkins done!  Chuck's is the far left, Carter did Iron Man, Audrey's is Belle, Evelyn's is the dog and mine is Tinkerbell

 Family pic

 Evelyn was so excited that hers was a puppy!  Can't you just hear her saying, "Cheeeeese!"

Children's Discovery Museum

 The end of October the kids get a Thursday and Friday off for parent teacher conferences.  We got conferences over with Thursday so we could have a family fun day Friday.  Chuck took the day off and we took the kids to the Children's Discovery Museum in Normal.  The entrance was so cute decorated for Halloween.

 This skeleton scared Evelyn.  When Carter pedaled, so did the skeleton.

Evelyn loved the water table

 The future Dr. Aprahamian.  She loved this operation table. Chuck was so proud and happy the kids enjoyed the surgical area of the museum. 

 Carter did well tying knots with the surgical simulator.

 Evelyn was entertained trying to catch the scarves that came flying out of the tubes.

 The lucky climber was the biggest hit.  The kids spent a ton of time climbing around.

 Carter made it higher than Audrey.  She did better when she followed him.

 I'm glad they didn't get scared or stuck.  I can't imagine Chuck or myself having to squeeze through the narrow spaces.

Evelyn didn't go in very far.

 It was a really neat exhibit.

 The girls dancing in the music room

 I think this was Evelyn's favorite area.  What kid wouldn't be happy to have a wall they are allowed to paint on?

 All 3 painting

 More dancing

The kids had a lot of fun here. I wish there was one in Peoria!  We will definitely be back again.

Back to reality

After a week in paradise, it was time to get back into the swing of things.  Audrey had a friend's birthday party the next day.  It was a cute art party with a Pete the Cat theme.  She got to paint a canvas with Pete's shoe on it.

 We had parent teacher conferences for Carter and Audrey.  They had great reports so we got a treat at our favorite coffee shop Jamberry.  They make their own jams and use them to make a home made "pop tart" they call jam pockets.  They are so delish!

 It was also time for Halloween activities.  Great Grandma Aprahamian sent the kids a popcorn ball decorating kit.  So much fun!

 Carter taking it seriously as always.

 Audrey hard at work

 Evelyn did a better job of eating the candy than putting it on her popcorn ball.

 Carter's first finished product

 They really turned out cute.

 Audrey's first

 Evelyn actually putting candy on

 The best part is eating it

 Another Carter creation

 A very mature Chuck making it look like his is pooping.

Maui zipline tour

 We did the Ka'anapali zipline tour with Skyline Eco Adventures.  It was a blast!

 We piled into the utility van to make the trek up the mountain

 The mountain we had to drive up

The view of Lahaina and Ka'anapali were gorgeous from the top

 The group on the platform of one of the lines

 So much fun!

 We stopped at this viewing platform halfway through the course.  We had a delicious snack from CJ's Deli and enjoyed the view of Kahoma Valley.

 One more group shot before finishing the hike to the last line.

 We had such a great time and had a couple of fantastic guides.  I can't think of a more beautiful place to have a zipline course.

 After the zipline tour we decided to cool off in the pool before dinner.

 The sun was starting to set on our way down the mountain during the tour.  We watched the end of the sunset from the pool.

This is the last of our Maui adventures.  We had such an amazing week and completely fell in love with Maui!  We can't wait to bring the kids here.  A HUGE thank you to my mom for taking the time to watch the kiddos for us!