Halloween Fun

These first pictures are from Maris Farms.

(This picture courtesy of Stephanie).

Little Brother was sick and only trick-or-treated a few houses in my parents' neighborhood.

Big Brother got to go with Allen, Uncle Shawn, and some friends from our ward trick-or-treating. He had a great time and was exhausted by the end of the night.

This was Moochy's alternate costume. He told me Halloween night that he wanted to be a construction worker, but I decided that when he saw his friends as elephants, he would probably want to be a "Hundred Dalmatian" puppy, so that's what we went with.

I love this soundtrack!

1.Silence - Delerium
2.Party's Just Begun - Nelly Furtado
3.Policeman Skank - Audioweb
4.Rock the Casbah - Solar Twins
5.Damaged - Plumb
6.Fingers - Joi & Jorio (original mix)
7.Contradictive - Tricky/DJ Muggs
8.Leave It Alone - Moist
9.Naxalite - Asian Dub Foundation
10.Even While I'm Sleeping - Leonardo's Bride
11.Bangkok - Brother Sun, Sister Moon (Thai Version)
12.The Wind - PJ Harvey
13.Deliver Me - Sarah Brightman
14.The Arrest / Darlene Goes Home - David Newman

Unfortunately, I couldn't find all of it on iTunes, but I did find some of my favorites. I used to have the CD, but who knows what happened to it...

More October Fun.

I haven't posted in a while because we've had a lot going on. Our blog isn't the only thing that's been neglected, so I'm doing this while I take a break from cleaning the house. We've had a pretty good week. I've been a slacker with taking pictures too, so I'll post those later (when I get them from Stephanie).

We went to our ward Halloween party the other night, and that was fun. Hayden dressed as a Dalmation Puppy, and Torrin was a Penguin. Hayden LOVED playing the games (fishing, donut on a string, beanbag toss, decorating cookies, etc), but his favorite part was "dancing in a line with the kids." He was so tired from running around, and HOT from that costume, that his cheeks were red. (Sorry, no pictures yet).

Stephanie was visiting from Vancouver, so she was able to go with us to the Pumpkin Patch on Saturday. (I did take some pictures, but can't find my camera. Go figure.) Allen's brother, Shawn, and my mom went with us too. Hayden got to ride on a pony, which he really enjoyed. (You know, one of those ones where they walk around in a circle). Near the end he asked, "Where are we going? Who's driving this thing?" We got a laugh out of that. The boys also enjoyed feeding the goats and seeing some other animals. We got to watch a little pig race, which was fun too.

The Pumpkin Patch was out in Buckley, but it was worth the drive. I decided that I want to live in Buckley "when I grow up." :) Not because of the pumpkin patch, but because it's beautiful out there. You almost forget that Seattle/Tacoma are just down the hill. I wonder how long before "the sprawl" hits it, though.

Good times.

1. Dead rats in the walls = HUGE flies and a very stinky house (at least the flies are gone now, though). Thank goodness for the 5 for $5 Renuzit cones that Allen found for us to place all over the house. (Please, no one come visit until this is taken care of--unless you like the smell of decomposing rat. It's really bad.)

2. Clogged kitchen sink = very difficult to cook or do dishes. (Allen is out now trying to find a "snake" to fix that problem).

3. PSE Crew Workers replacing a pole outside our house tomorrow = No power ALL day long. Guess we'll be at my parents' tomorrow. (They're in Hawaii--I wish I were there!)

Allen got the results of his written test for Seattle PD. He ranked 6th out of 75 who passed the test, and scored a 96%. Not bad. Not that it really matters, but I find it interesting that even with doing that well on the PAT and written tests, it didn't work out. Oh well. Their loss.

We're still trying to figure out where to go next. We're starting to feel like maybe Heavenly Father doesn't want Allen doing shift work (nursing, police, etc). (I prefer bankers hours myself--with holidays, weekends, etc off). We're thinking maybe teaching or computers, but it's only been a few days of thinking it over, so it could go any way at this point. Either one of those options means more schooling, but that's ok. We don't mind that so much.

Back to the drawing board... Again.

Well, Allen had his oral board interview yesterday, and I guess he didn't have what they were looking for. Generally, interviewing is one of his strong points, so we're a bit confused. (And most of his answers seemed good to me). Either way, I'm proud of Allen for working so hard to train for the PAT test. The only explanation we have is that it's not what Heavenly Father wants for us. I just wish I knew what it was that He wants us to do. It would be nice if He would just send a message in a bottle or something. ;)

So, it's back to trying to figure out where to go from here. We're not sure if that means continuing to pursue law enforcement, finding a job elsewhere, or going back to school. Wherever we end up, we are blessed to know that we have two wonderful boys, a roof over our heads, and that Allen still has his job (even if it isn't where he wants to stay forever).

Excuse me, while I brag about my husband.

After a day of anxiously waiting, waiting, and waiting to hear the news from Allen, I finally got a call. He passed the written test this morning, so was qualified to take the Physical Ability Test this afternoon. Not only did he pass the PAT test, but he maxed out in all of the categories. He did his 300-meter sprint in 49 seconds (max was 56)! His 1.5 mile run in 11:48 minutes (max was 13:35), and maxed out in the sit-ups (38) and push-ups (35). We're proud of him (as always). Now he has his Oral Board Interview tomorrow. Wish us luck.

ETA: By "max" I mean for maximum points.