can halloween please be over now?

Halloween is the biggest day of the year at our house. The only thing that could make it better, according to James, is this:

"Mom, what if we could have Halloween, my birthday, Christmas, fly to Utah, and go to St. George, all on the same day?"

Talk about fun overload. I feel like we've been celebrating Halloween all month long with the Halloween birthday party and all the Halloween ideas I posted on my other blog. So when the actual day finally arrived, I was kind of done. We didn't even carve our pumpkins! We did enjoy a Halloween party with the ortho gals on Monday, the carnival at the church on Tuesday, plus trick-or-treating and a party at a friend's house on Halloween, so the kids got plenty of fun (and candy) in. I don't even think they noticed the lack of pumpkin carving.

We got to meet up with our friends the Pierces at the carnival while they were in town getting ready to move to Japan. We're going to miss you Jared and Ethan!

James was very specific about the costume he wanted: a black ghost with his skeleton showing and blood dripping down his face. I was actually ready to try and create this costume myself (sans blood) to save money. But when I saw this glow-in-the-dark skeleton on sale at JoAnn for $7, I convinced him it was exactly what he wanted. And boy does he love it! He's been wearing it for a week straight.

James has been telling me everyday I can have whatever candy of his I want. Luckily he doesn't like any of my faves, like Almond Joy and Baby Ruth.

Addy had been telling people the week before that he was going to be Iron Man for Halloween, but I reminded him how much he wanted to be Buzz Lightyear (a costume we already had). Wow, I sure wish this power of persuasion stuff was going to last with them!

Halloween was also James' first day of soccer! Grandma Holly gave us money for soccer lessons for James' birthday this year to go along with his new soccer ball and shin guards from Mom and Dad. We found a cool indoor soccer league for kids called Scott's Soccer Tots. Scott is amazing--he is so good with the kids. I think James was the only kid who hadn't played before, so he was a little shy about the whole thing. But Scott worked with him individually and he ended up doing great! He even blocked a couple of goals while playing goalie. He asks me everyday if it's soccer lessons today. He isn't the most athletic kid, so I think this is going to really help him learn some coordination and other skills he needs.


They were moving so quickly I could hardly get a shot!

Taking a water break.

I've got lots more pics and updates to post, so don't give up on me! I'm still here!

farewell to summer, only two months late!

Sadly, I've let another month go by un-blogged! James started his second year of preschool in September, and we decided to cram in as much fun as possible before we were tied to a schedule again. So here's a short chronicle of our farewell to summer!

James and his teacher, Mrs. B.

First day of school! James and Aidan are t-r-o-u-b-l-e. They often get separated in class for being silly, but how great to be in the same class as your best friend!


Bleu Cheese burgers, blackberry buttermilk pie, and great company made our Labor Day BBQ a perfect send off for our beloved summer (which was tragically too short this year!).


But it gets better. How about 500 water balloons and Mom's okay to get soaked? Stacy hosted a water balloon fight for the kids in the street and they LOVED it!

The funny thing is that they didn't really throw them at each other. They mostly tossed them into the street or tried stepping or squeezing them until they popped. Not that I'm complaining.

Now you see the water balloon. . .

Now you don't. Too much fun!


But wait, you can't really say goodbye to your favorite season without a giant inflatable castle, can you? Well, we couldn't. All the boys could say was, "AWESOME!"



We let them jump for about 2 hours straight before shutting down the fun. We had a blog meeting and got SO MUCH done! It was pretty easy to set up and take down, too. Maybe this Costco special would be a wise investment in the future. Although I suspect it's toys like this that keep my husband in business. . .

Speaking of Christian, he was actually able to take a few days off to go camping near Lake Wenatchee before the snow hit. Gor-geous. We had a great campsite on the river with tons of room for the boys to run and get really dirty.


Future Boy Scout.

Our personal chef.

This is the exact moment James' love affair with Lil' Smokes began.

What happens when you're too far outside civilization for sippy cups.

James is pointing out the "dinosaur fossil" he found in the rock. He was pretty intent on coming back later with shovels and brushes to dig it out.

Hey Cody, how's James' form? He told me he wanted you to take him rock climbing when he gets a little bigger and "not so afraid."

The river water was FREEZING! (Check out the expression on Christian's face!) But of course, the boys wouldn't let it rest until they took a dip. Crazies!

Holy Underoos, Batman!

Christian took such good care of us the entire trip. I hardly lifted a finger. He set up the tent, tended the fire, cooked the food, and played with the boys. In fact, one afternoon he took the boys exploring so I could curl up with The Agony and the Ecstasy (it was crunch time, just a few days before book club!). I knew when I married him that Eagle Scout status would come in handy someday (and I am not referring to the Eagle Charge, Cree--that has proved pretty worthless).




We are actually enjoying fall here in the Pacific Northwest, but I think I still have a few more summer pics to post. So you'll just have to be patient--I'll get there!

5 + 3 = so much fun!

This week was BiRthDaY mAniA at our house!

On the 7th James turned 5. His favorite number used to be 4. Can you guess what it is now?

For his birthday dinner, James requested pancakes and "Lil' Smokies." I can't get this kid to eat a hot dog, sausage, even hamburger, but suddenly he is in love with Lil' Smokies. It must be the maturity of five. Now this tasty mini pork product has earned the title "best food ever." He said he'd eat a hundred-thousand, two million of them if I let him. And this morning he requested a hot dog for breakfast, and we let him have one (aren't we stellar parents?). I think I like five.

For his party he really wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's. However, Daddy was on call that night, so we had to schedule it for the next night, which happened to be Addy's birthday. But James was extremely distraught that we couldn't go on his actual birthday, and thought it was completely "no fair" that we were going on Addy's real birthday, and asked me to explain it to him about 70 times before he finally accepted it. So for his actual birthday we hosted a Halloween birthday party with creepy decorations, treats, and games. You can see more pictures and details on my craft blog. It was a lot of spooky fun!

Can you believe my baby is 3? His birthday is the day after James'. He was so thrilled with Chuck E. Cheese's and all his presents that I think he forgot why we were celebrating. . .

No Lil' Smokies for this kid! Maybe when he's five.

The Clarks and Myrups joined us at Chuck E. Cheese's for the birthday fun. These people are truly like family to us. Who else but family would give up their night and spend a fortune on pizza and tokens to help us celebrate? The boys were so excited to have their best friends there. And the presents were a huge hit! Thank you!

Addy is keeping his eyes on the road. This driving business is very serious.

Not so much for James. . .

What Halloween/Transformers/Chuck E. Cheese birthday party would be complete without a smiling pirate cake? Yes, please be impressed, I did make this cake on my own. Well, sort of on my own. I watched a video tutorial first. But it was so fun!

I love my boys SO much! They make me laugh every day. They are such good buddies, too. I love to hear them laughing, tackling, playing Leapster, and running around like crazies together.

This picture was taken while James was in "time out" for throwing something at Addy. Within minutes Addy was doing the time with him, and they were giggling like nothing happened. . .

James is inquisitive and extremely insightful. He wants to know the details of every intricate part of life--from whether or not we still have birthdays after we're resurrected, to how the lungs get air in them (and no, telling him that your diaphragm forces them to take in air is not detailed enough--Christian said the answer he was looking for was "negative pressure", something I'm sure I know nothing about). He understands life on a much deeper level than I'm sure most five-year-olds do. He amazes me every day.


Addy is truly a free spirit. He lives in his own little world. That explains why I sometimes have to ask him a question ten times, and then get right in his face to get him to recognize I'm speaking to him. He's also on his way to being an Olympic gymnast. He jumps--no hurls his body--onto and off of everything in his path. The kid has no fear. He's also sweet and sensitive. He loves to stroke my hair and give me compliments. My favorite has to be, "I like your eyebrows." I actually had a boy tell me that in high school, too. But I like hearing it from this boy much more.


I don't usually bring my religion into my posts because I'm kind of a private person, but I know without a doubt that these little boys were sent to me from my Heavenly Father for me to love, nurture, and teach, so that they may grow to be exemplary, worthy men of God with burning testimonies of their Savior and his gospel. That is an enormous weight to bear, but I am so thankful for the opportunity. I am learning so much and increasing my own testimony from their sweet, innocent spirits. They bring complete joy and happiness to Christian and I, and we wouldn't trade the spilled milk, stickers on the furniture, toys in the toilet, meltdowns in the WalMart check-out line, screaming matches, or explosive diarrhea for anything. Happy birthday, "my two boys!"

comparisons

Yesterday James and I were discussing the difference between "bigger" and "older" since we often use the phrase "big brother." For example, Uncle Boy is "bigger" than Daddy, but Daddy is "older" than Uncle Boy. I could tell James understood when he made this comment:

J: "Oh yeah, because Uncle Boy is fatter than Daddy."

Me: "Uncle Boy's not fat--he just has big muscles."

J: "Well, but his muscles make him look kinda chunky."

Sorry, Uncle Boy. I guess James just likes to call it like he sees it. Kind of like when he told Grandpa Layne that he had yellow teeth.

On a similar note, Addy is starting to be very conscious of body parts lately. He is also learning how to compare:

A: (Pointing at my chest) "You have water balloons in there, Mama?"

Me: (Cracking up) "Uh, no."

A: "Oh. Mine are tiny, but yours are HUGE!"

I'd like to think Addy is just calling it like he sees it, too, but I know better.