October

A few days after Sophie's Birthday Party, Matt went on a business trip to England and Australia for 2 weeks. I took advantage of the time to get a firm routine and start a parenting system called "Accountable Kids". The girls took to it well but I had to have all my ducks in a row and coax them through it every day. I would get the kids down early and then spend the evenings organizing and cleaning the house. I must say it's the most organized the house had been in a while.

Matt got home just in time for the ward Halloween party. It was so good to have him back. He brought lots of fun gifts back including a little Wambat which goes everywhere with Ellie. Sophie wanted to be Pocahontas and Ellie wanted to be the "Island Princess". I found Sophie's costume for 3 bucks at Savers but it was way too short so I supplemented with a skirt I made--I bought Indian type fabric. I couldn't get the sewing machine to work so I ended up sewing it by hand at the last minute.

Halloween night was so fun. We stayed in our neighborhood this year which was nice. The girls had so much fun and Mathew slept through the whole thing. It's amazing how much candy they got. Our neighbors sat outside to hand out candy for themselves and us to that was nice.