Pumpkin Patch and Halloween!!

This Halloween season was actually pretty lame. It seems that every year, the kids get dressed up at least 3 or 4 times. I always dread getting them ready over and over again and am usually burned out by the big day. But this year, they dressed up on Halloween and thats it. Our ward is new and the activitys comittee was not on the ball.

For family night we decided to go get a pumpkin. There is this adorable little pumpkin patch in front of this old mans house and the pumpkins are so cheap. The kids had a blast. I tried to get a family picture, but the kids were more interested in climbing all over the pumkins.

Tyson had fun climbing in his enormous tree

There was also this really old swingset that my kids would not get off of. I told them I was leaving and I got in the car and they still didnt come. Im starting to think my threats dont work anymore. Time to think of some new ones!!!

Noah and Lani got to wear their costumes to school for a Halloween parade.

Tyson is in afternoon preschool so he got to wear his the whole day.

I think Tyson was trying to imitate the Jack Sparrow drunken stance!!

These cute boys are just some of the 5000 boys his age in our neighborhood. They are at the bus stop waiting and sooooo excited for their school parade.

Halloween night:

Noah was G.I. Joe army guy

Lani was a dead bride

Tyson was the awesome Jack Sparrow. I told him Jack didnt wear and eye patch, but a pirate isnt a pirate without a patch.

He loved his beard and said he was going to grow one when he got bigger because he thought he looked sooo cool.

We really dont know what Caleb was. I guess a trooper of some sort. He just liked that it looked like he had big muscles.

Avery was the cutest of all little Ladybugs. Isnt this the sweetest costume!!!

I couldnt stop taking pictures of her because she looked so dang cute.

It was such a nice day and we couldnt believe that we were actually going to get a nice Halloween night. Last year, it was like 30 degrees and windy and snowing. This year it was supposed to be 70. All the weather men need to be fired because they said that rain was coming on Sunday and what do you know, the second we walk out the door it starts raining. And... the second we all came inside it stopped. At least it was warm.

Avery was so excited to dress up and do what the older kids were doing even though she had no idea what she was really doing. She was all geared up and ready to go...

And then she realized that she had to go up to strangers doors and she was NOT having it.

(if you look closely at her face you can see her panic)

So I ended up just carrying her from door to door.

(excuse my 50 year old face in this picture)

After going for a while, we realized that there were too many empty houses and it was too hard to tell if they were occupied or not, so we decided to head over to Scott and Andreas neighborhood.

The kids had better luck and I got to see this cute little Lia.

Isnt she the cutest thing!!!

Avery decided she was done so we stayed with Andrea and played with tractors in the rain.

I think they did pretty good this year.

Im already so sick of candy.

When they came in, they all dumped out their buckets in piles and starting chowing down.

It was so cute, after we made them put the candy away, they went and sat on the front step so they could pass out the candy. Tyson and Caleb were yelling "candy over here-free candy"

Claire was the cutest dragon, but she wouldnt let me take a picture of her. I think she decided that since her face was painted so cute, she needed her nails to look cute too, so she broke out the polish, sat on the front porch and painted them. She is almost 5 and can paint better than me.

Fun night and too much candy...cant wait till next year!!!

Love this guy!!

Picture time!!!

Or something like it.

I had planned about 2 months ago when I wanted to take the kids pictures. I think its ridiculous to go to a studio with ALL the kids because it NEVER works out. So I was pretty proud of myself for being on top of it this year. I had picked a Monday that I knew would be good weather and the kids had off of school.

So what happens the Friday before???

Avery takes a nice nose dive out of the car onto the cement and gets some nice road rash.

How cute!!!

I had postponed once already because Caleb fell off his big wheel (dont ask me how) and scrapped the entire side of his face, so i wasnt going to do it again. If it wasnt one kid it would be the other.
While at church on Sunday, I was talking to a friend and she had said they were going to Gardner Village after church because they have all the Halloween decorations out and she said no one goes there on Sundays. I thought that would be a perfect place. So we rushed home and got ready in lightning speed.

I decided to give Avery a little nap so she wasnt too cranky. (Our church is from 1-4) Bad idea. We had to rip her out of the deepest sleep and she never did snap out of it.
She wanted nothing to do with it. It was so pretty there and it was the best lighting so I was so disapointed that out of over 200 shots, I really didnt get a good one.
Soooooo...I decided to stick with my original plan and give it another go the next day. I really wouldnt recommend it. One day is enough.


Here are a few that I liked-or the best of the worst-same diff.

I actually really liked this one, but it kinda looks like that jack-o-lantern is sitting on Lani's head.
Im ok with Avery not smiling- because she can still get away with it-as long as the other 4 are. Its a pretty hard task.

I really like the background in this, but the picture is a little blury.

This was my favorite background and I took like 30 pictures and didnt get ONE. I want to go back just for this tree, but im sure if I do, all the leaves will be gone.

I did have luck the next day and I got some cute ones, but I hate the backgrounds on the ones that turned out. Im so exausted and done, so what I have will have to do. I dont know why I put so much pressure on these pictures. I love my kiddies no matter what faces they make. I actually like the ones where they are being them the best. I really enjoy taking pictures and would love to do this on the side, but I might have some perfection issues so I might need to get over that. Im the same way with hair-im so slow because I get bugged if it doesnt come out just right. Now if I could just transfer that to house cleaning!!!

Hopefully I will get my favorites edited soon and then I will post them. Not all, but some. I need to keep at least one good one a suprise for Christmas cards.

Crazy Hair Day

Today was crazy hair day and the kids went all out. It helped that its Halloween season and we had a lot of options.

Tyson was a little nervous about his hair, but after I showed him the picture and told him he looked sooo awesome about 1000 times, he finally felt ok and said "I wish it could be crazy hair day every day!!"

Anywhere but my bed!!

For some strange reason, Caleb loves to sleep anywhere...but his bed.

He starts out in his bed, but we always later find him somewhere else. I thought it would be funny to take pictures of him all week and this is what I got.

This day he didnt even make it past the dinner table.

This is in between the stairs



He dragged "Pengi" all the way dowstairs, but looks like he forgot his blankie so he just grabbed what he could find for a blanket...a towel.

This is behind the couch. I love that his hand is down the back of his pants. He loves that penguin.

This is at the bottom of the stairs

So is this one, but he brought all the stuffed animals to keep him company. I think on this day he had a little nap, so he was up later than the rest of the kids. When this happens, I let him stay up, but it has to be in his room. I think he thought I wouldnt notice that he was playing at the bottom of the stairs. I just chose to ignore it!!

He is loving this frog costume and wants to wear it everyday and night. If we are home, I let him-and most nights he wears it to bed. I think its a bit too small, but I dont have the heart to tell him. Im pretty sure he will be this for Halloween...AGAIN!

One of those days

Its one of those days. One of those "I have NO motivation" days. Who knows why-maybe its the fact that its now only 43 outside and its supposed to snow tomorrow and Sunday. Maybe its the 5 loads of laundry that needs to be folded and put away. Maybe its the HUGE task of switching out the summer clothes with the winter clothes. Maybe its all the projects, projects and more projects that are calling my name. Maybe its the frustration of the mess in every room in the house despite the hours and hours of cleaning. Maybe its all of it. Who knows. All I know is I just want to curl up with my kiddies and watch a movie and drink hot chocolate and not make dinner and let the mess wait until tomorrow when my husband is home to help me.

And so I shall.

CRAP!!!

Wait a sec... What is this??

This is awesome!


This is the greatest thing I have ever seen!!

Guess who has been bitten by the "Yo crappa crappa" bug?

How did this happen? I went upstairs to throw in a load of laundry while Avery was eating breakfast and when I came down, yo gabba gabba was on. The first few seconds were enough to reel her in. Avery is not a tv watcher, but she sure loved this.

CRAP!!

Happy Birthday to Me!!!

I love birthdays!!!

I dont even care if I get one present, I just love being the center of attention for a day. What better day than a Sunday to have a birthday because your husband is home and you can relax and not feel guilty (unless you are giving a talk in church and your church isnt until 1 and you stress out all morning-but AFTER all that you can relax)

Bill and I actually got to go out on Friday night to dinner and ice cream, thanks to his brother Ben who watched our kids for us for a couple hours. Its pretty sad, but this is only the 3rd or 4th time this year we have been out WITHOUT kids and we ate up every second.

This is what I woke up to on Sunday morning.

Noah took charge and told the little kids what to do, but the sweet boy pretty much did it all by himself. Isnt he so cute!!! He kept asking me all day if I was having a good birthday. He is such a sweet and caring boy.

Noah climbed over that ledge and hung it up there. My blood turns cold just thinking of it.

Avery was all over the balloons. I think she popped every balloon she touched because she would try to eat them.

These 2 underwear bandidts stole the balloons from Avery and made her cry.

(tyson is wearing my Grandads indian necklace because it gives him eagle powers-especially in his underwear)

Bills brother Scott and his wife Andrea were so nice and they brought us the best dinner and cupcakes. I was so happy she brought those cupcakes because the kids were all over them which left more of the double layer chocolate cake that Bill made and decorated (YUM) Which, by the way, is so much better the next day after its been in the refridgerator.

I have such an awesome family that made this day so fun. My favorite all time gift that I get from Bill and the kids every year is a giant bag of peanut butter M& M's and a couple of my favorite gossip mags to which I sit in bed, catch up on all the "news" and stuff my face. Its the best!

I love Birthdays!!!

A day of first's!!

Avery went to nursery.

All by herself.

Not even crying once.

Of course she had her blankie in hand at all times, along with that trusted thumb. We may start calling her Linus.

Its also a historic day because this is the first time since I got pregnant with Noah that I was able to attend ALL my classes without an infant/nursing baby/toddler in hand or a pregnant belly. Its a great feeling!!!

I also got a new calling... Cub Scout den mother.

I also got asked to speak in church next Sunday. Not Bill, just me.

Did I mention next Sunday is my birthday?

Funnies

This is mainly for journaling purposes. My kids always say such funny things (at least I think they are funny) and I forget to write it down. So that is what im doing.

Avery: The other day, we were getting ready to go somewhere and all the kids were getting their shoes on, which are in a massive pile by the front door. I had just finished getting Averys on and she ran to the door and yells "SHOTGUN" Bill and I had to look at eachother just to make sure we heard her right. She is only 19 months. She is such a big copy cat!!!

Tyson: I swear, I could write a novel on the things this kid says. Pure comedy.
Tonight while him and Caleb were playing, Caleb took something that Tyson had and Ty started to get mad. After trying for about a minute to get it back, he finally gets so mad that he yelled "Ugh, Caleb, your...your a one year old. Stop acting like a 2 year old". Caleb is 3. Do you think he might hear that alot???

Tyson: The rule at night is that if jammies are on and teeth are brushed and they are IN BED by 8:30, and that includes prayers, then they get to read in bed for about 15 minutes. I could just hear them putting the toothbrushes away when Tyson comes running downstairs to ask Bill a question. He goes "Hey Dad, (Quietly: please dont say no, please dont say no) can you come tell us a story instead of books?" Bill tells the kids the most creative stories and they LIVE for stories from Dad. Its a treat to them because these stories will last like 30 minutes. Being the mean mom that I am, I dont allow it all the time because then they dont go to bed on time, and if they dont go to bed on time it interups MY time and if MY time gets interupted then mommy gets cranky!!! Im a HUGE bedtime nazi.

On another note... Mom, Noah finished the book you got him. He started it on Saturday. This kid is a reading machine. I love it. Bill on the other hand is trying to think of ways to de-nerd him. I think its great and I love that he LOVES to read. I think Bill is just bitter because everytime I start a book, I dont do anything until its done, and he gets ignored. Boo-hoo.
Speaking of Noah, he got his first fumble recovery at his game on Saturday. He is a defensive lineman so he doesnt get any ball time. It was pretty exciting-even though his team lost.

I guess I should add some stuff about the other kids so they dont feel left out.

Lani is loving school and is making tons of friends. She comes home from school with a new phone number everyday. She is doing so much better with her reading, but we have just realized that she is squinting and she said that when she blinks she loses her place because it gets all blury. When we were at Noahs game on Saturday, she put my glasses on and said "wow, I can see far." Whoops. Looks like we are off to the eye dr!!! I hope this isnt the reason she has had such a hard time reading. I will feel so bad.

Caleb is awesome. I have had so much fun with him since school has started. When he isnt playing with his friend, we go run errands, make cookies, play, look at blogs (he loves the pictures). Its been fun. He just started his speech class this week and I think it will be so good for him. This past month he has really developed a bad lisp. I think its the cutest thing, but it wont be when he's in junior high, so I guess its best to try to take care of it now. We go once a week to a class and I get to stay with him and be part of his learning. I love it and I learn things that we can practice at home. He feels like a big kid becasue he gets a homework folder and has to do homework, just like Noah, Lani, and Tyson. He has a friend next door who he cant get enough of. Those 2 will play all day. They play good, so im not complaining, but it is sad when they would rather play with their friend then go somewhere with you. I guess its whats to come, so I might as well get used to it.

As a side note, its starting to get chilly. The kids have started needing sweatshirts in the morning. We still had snow in our driveway in June. It snowed on the last day of school for crying out loud. Im not ready for cold yet. 3 months is not enough "summer" for me. YIKES!!

ITS OFFICIAL!!!

Tyson FINALLY started school, and I couldnt be happier!!

Its too bad they dont have all day kindergarden because he would be all over that...me too!!

I went picture crazy with this guy because #1, I LOVE to take pictures and #2, he LOVES to get his picture taken.

Can you tell?

Doesnt he just look so dang handsome.

Tyson is one kid that HAS to have an input into what he wears. I can proudly say that he picked out his entire outfit down to the socks.

This is his favorite shirt. He tried to wear it the next day and I had to explain that things are different when you are in school. You cant wear the same things every day like we do in the summer (or like I do everyday-hee hee)

He thinks he is the coolest boy in his class-as long as he picks his outfit.

Today, Bill got him dressed for school and he didnt like his outfit. He said he didnt want to go to school because he had a stomach ache. Bill asked him why and he said that all the kids would think he's wierd because his dad dresses him funny. This kid kills me!

Most of the kids were clinging to their moms and refused to go on the bus.

Not my Ty-bo. He let go of my hand before I could even give him a kiss and ran towards the bus
Later Mom.
Of course I followed the bus. I had to make sure he found his class ok. But I had nothing to worry about because they had it under control. A teacher met them at the bus, lined them up and walked them to the classroom.


Such a big boy...he is already following directions.

I wasnt the only mom who was having a hard time letting go. I think every kids mom was standing there. The teacher said to say goodbye, and she led them in.

Such a wierd feeling to only have 2 kids at home. Actually, its only 1 because Avery takes a nap. I love it!! Caleb and I are having great times.

I did it Mom!!

He was the happiest kid when he came off the bus. He was so proud that he got on the right bus and did it all by himself. Its amazing to see how much he is already learning and how much he loves to learn. He asks me all morning if its time to go yet. Its such a fun time for him.

After he came home, Bill and I sat down with him to ask him how the day was and Bill asked him if he made any friends and he said, " No, the teacher wouldnt stop talking."

I LOVE this kid!!!