Fall festivities

I was presenting a paper at the BYU Accounting research conference last week, so I was unable to update the blog.  Here's a summary of the interesting things that have happened recently.

Pumpkin Patch

Tara took the kids to a local farm (Wasen Farm), where they enjoyed picking out their own pumpkins from the field.

Pumpkin Carving Contest
State College had a pumpkin carving contest this past weekend, which the kids participated in.  Aria and Zade used a dry erase marker on their pumpkins to design their jack-o-lanterns, and we helped them carve it. We then went to the Pumpkin Festival at the Penn State arboretum to see all the pumpkins that were entered into the contest.  It was really cool!  There are a lot of creative people in this town.  We even ran into a reporter while we were there.  Here's a brief excerpt from an article article in the Center Daily times on October 19th, 2013, that we ended up getting mentioned in:

“The Christensen family moved to State College this year from Arizona. Dane Christensen said this was a nice way to bring the family together and have some fun.

His son Zade, 3, and daughter Aria, 5, both entered the contest this year. Zade won third-place in his category as he carved a monster face on his pumpkin.

“It’s a good way to spend some time together and get the kids motivated,” Dane Christensen said."

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/10/19/3844917/jack-o-lanterns-light-up-arboretum.html#storylink=cpy

The full article can be found at: http://www.centredaily.com/2013/10/19/3844917/jack-o-lanterns-light-up-arboretum.html  Zade was pretty happy for the recognition in the 2-4 year old category.  Aria was ticked she didn't win as well.  :)

On to Solid Food!
Ryzen went to the doctor for his check up and is apparently in the 97th percentile for height & 75th percentile for weight.  He's a jolly little 4 month old, and eats like a champ.  So Tara has decided to let him move onto solid foods.  Here's a pic of him eating in the tub, which is where Tara prefers to let messy babies eat. :)   

To help Ryzen settle down before bed, Tara likes to put him in the bath for a few minutes.  For about a week or so, he developed the incredibly irritating habit of waiting for us to put him in the water, and then immediately have a bowel movement.  There were several nights where he'd do this multiple times in a night.  We'd change the water and put him back in and then he'd immediately relax and drop another bomb.  Thank goodness he's stopped doing that. Ah, life with babies. :)

Parent Teacher Conferences
Aria had her 1st parent teacher conference this week.  Her teacher said that Aria is a great listener and friend.  When the other kids are having problems, she likes them to sit by Aria.  She also says that Aria is an artist, and is right on track with the curriculum.  We're happy she's having a good time in school and doing well.