GMAT complete!

In August Ben decided to go back to school, and that gave him only a few months to study for the GMAT. Two, to be exact. When he looked at the average amount that others study for the test, he found it to be six months to a year and many people take it three or four times. But with deadlines looming, Ben didn't really have a choice. He decided he could take it twice, and then as a I mentioned in an earlier post, he spent every spare moment studying.

He took it the first time at the beginning of October. His score was 560 out of 800. Not fantastic, but considering that test taking isn't Ben's strong point, we felt it was a good starting point. Then at the beginning of November he took it again and got a 610. We were thrilled. This is the smile on his face when he came home from the test that day:

As a matter of interest, I have to mention the breakdown of Ben's score. The test is broken into four sections- math, verbal, data analysis and an essay. On the math and data analysis he scored in the 25th percentile, but on the verbal he got in the 95th percentile and on the essay... he got a perfect score. Seriously. I was so proud of him. It's evident what Ben's strengths are, isn't it? He's a whiz with words and communication, but math is his Achilles heel. All the better reason to go back to school, right?

Now onto applications. We've done a ton of research, thinking and praying and we've decided to apply to BYU and the University of Utah. We feel like it's time to go home and reconnect with family for a bit. We'll likely leave Utah after school, since we have an adventure bug that has to be fed, but if all goes as planned we'd love to have that time with our families again. Stay tuned!

Halloween with Elsa and a Pumpkin

Halloween has come and gone, but what a fun holiday! I think Halloween is especially special as a child. There is something so magical about dressing up as someone else and eating candy to your heart's content. Okay, maybe magical isn't the word... stellar? Marvelous? I guess I'm at a loss for words. Let's just say it's great.

Ben was on a business trip the week before Halloween so he missed our ward Trunk or Treat. The kids were so excited. Nayeli dressed up as Elsa from Disney's Frozen and Teddy went as a pumpkin (the same costume Nayeli wore two years ago- I'm all about recycling costumes). To make their costumes coordinate, I said it was Queen Elsa and her pumpkin jester.

For the Trunk of Treat Ben was in charge of making targets for a marshmallow shooting game. He brought home big pieces of cardboard from work to cut holes in, but didn't get a chance to do it before his trip. I told him I could do it, but I did it in my own way. Behold, how I cut holes in cardboard:

I finished the ghost to my satisfaction, but by the time I called it quits at 1am I was too tired to make the pumpkin more elaborate. I don't think anyone noticed anyway.

We had a great time at the ward party and our neighbors Pops, Makayla and Maddie also came. They were super helpful with the kids and Pops even made some chili for the chili cook-off (he and Ben have a rivalry each year to see if either of them can win). Unfortunately Ben couldn't compete this year and Pops didn't win anything, but we still had a great time.

Saturday the 31st started with cards from our neighbor Nana, who has adopted my kids as her surrogate grandchildren.

Opening Nana's cards

Ben was studying for the GMAT all day, so I took the kids to a Halloween celebration at our local grocery store. We rode the city trolley, decorated sugar cookies, and drank hot chocolate. It made for a fun morning.

Trolley ride!

After we returned from the grocery store party, the weather began to unleash it's fury and I think the only way to describe it would be monsoon-like. Raining pouring from the sky, wind, puddles that were filling up cars- it got pretty bad. Luckily by the night it was just lightly raining. We dressed the kids up and took them to trick or treat at a few of our neighbors.

Of course the candy isn't the thing that grasped Teddy's attention- the puddles were. We let him get soaked to his hearts content. He was thrilled.

Our last stop for the night was at Pops and Anita's to show off costumes and chat until bedtime. The kids ate candy until they were sick and then Ben and I put them to sleep and watched Studio C on YouTube. It was a great Halloween and I can't wait until next year to celebrate it again.

Fir Point Farms

A friend recently commented that I haven't been posting as many pictures on social media of our family on Saturday adventures. That's because, ever since we made the decision in August for Ben to go back to school, he has devoted every Saturday to studying for the GMAT. That leaves me as a GMAT widow and although I am adventurous, I am not as likely to take the kids on adventures by myself. However one Saturday in October Ben stopped studying a 4pm and we took the kids to a local pumpkin patch.

This boy. Pumpkins everywhere and all he wanted to do is splash in the puddles.

Cute Nayeli picking a pumpkin

There were games and a train ride at the farm, but when I went in to buy tickets at 4:45pm, they told me they were closing at 5. We were bummed, but they gave us a bag of cider donuts that were going to be thrown away and told us to come back again. So we ate donuts and the kids splashed in puddles. It wasn't such a bust after all.

We purchased a few pumpkins and took them home to paint them. After all the issues Teddy has had with knives lately there was no way we were going to carve them.

We returned to the pumpkin patch a few weeks later. Ben was going to be gone on a business trip for the weekend, so he took off the Thursday beforehand to go with us.

I dream of having a home with a tire swing someday

Teddy was not as excited as Nayeli about the tire swing

We also went to pet the animals. The goats were a favorite.

Inside the hazelnut house, or filberts, as they call them here

By the time we had explored much of the farm, three school buses full of excited Kindergartners arrived. As you can imagine, it quickly became too chaotic for our family so we looked for a more secluded place. Ben remembered seeing a sign at a trail head down into the ravine behind the farm. The sign read, "Farm Trail- enter at your own risk!" Nothing that could deter us! Adventure is out there!

The way was steep, wet and muddy but we had a great time. It was quiet and beautiful, and we loved exploring the make-shift path and bridges that someone had put in them self.

She got herself dressed. Pink, pink and more pink.

She told Ben, "I'm going to make a cute face". Mission accomplished.

Oregon is so stunningly lush and green- I will miss it so much when we leave.

It was such a fun day at the pumpkin patch and so nice to have some time with Ben. The kids and I have sure missed him lately, but soon the GMAT will be over and then life will get back to normal. We look forward to more Saturday (or in this case Thursday) adventures all together.

Finding Their Groove

A few photos of my little buddies. They are becoming better friends every day and are finally starting to find a groove of friendship.

Dancing on the kitchen table together

One day they were being so quiet it was disconcerting, then I found them like this. She was "reading" to him. Melted my heart.

They are big into jumping off the couch right now. It's a great way to keep them busy.

They are also big into wrestling together. It gets rough fast so it doesn't usually last long.

Playing with my necklaces and bracelets together

One day they snuck a head of lettuce off the counter and thought they were being so sneaky. Too bad it wasn't the most delicious thing they could have taken.

Playing horsie

This picture is great because it shows how different they are- she is ALL girl and he is ALL boy. She is all about dress up and he is all about adventure. But they balance each other out, and it's fun to see them combine their interests. I sure love them and am glad they're forming a bond.

Fall in Oregon

Fall is a stunning time of year in Oregon. Actually I'm pretty sure that I say that about every season here. Oregon is just beautiful year round, okay?

 Foot shot on a morning that I happened to take the kids out for a run (I only run about four times a year so it seemed a picture worthy moment).

Playing in the leaves

Playing with our neighbor Maddie

Making leaf angels

General Conference was a great time and I tried to make it fun for the kids. With each apostle's talk Nayeli could open a grab bag with a toy or craft in it. It was a hit.

Family selfies! Since Ben is spending nearly all his free time studying for the GMAT, most of our recent pictures don't include him. It's nice to have these of our whole family having fun. 

We took a nice day to go to the Portland Zoo. The kids had a great time.

Nayeli has also had a recent obsession with ballet. It's so fun. She wears her tutu all the time- I can hardly get it off her to wash it.

Such concentration

Spinning

We harvested the seeds from our sunflower! We weren't able to roast them, but we've saved them to give to some neighbors and plant next year.

As the weather gets colder, we spend more days at the library. Story time is once a week and we love it.

Sundays are our day for walks. We've been playing hide-and-seek in the park lately.

Father and Son

One Saturday I had a Relief Society activity so Ben took the kids and went hiking with a picnic lunch. He took this picture while they were eating. They are the cutest.

Teddy has never met a puddle that he didn't like

Ballet in the park

Ben had a business trip around the state of Oregon at the end of the month. His company was filming a promotional video and he went to shoot photography. Last minute, he was asked to be an actor in a survivalist scene and ended up cutting himself with a machete. Poor guy- he hates to see his own blood. Luckily his boss was there to drive him to the ER.

He cut into the joint capsule of his pointer finger so it's been a rough road of healing.

He sent me these pictures from the ER. Eight stitches later he was fixed up, although he still can't make a closed fist and will have to follow up with a hand surgeon.

Dad brought home hats! We always love having Dad come home from a business trip.