It's Halloween!!

Halloween is always such a busy day.  Between partying, pumpkins and ToT, it's hard to do anything else.

Ella and Owen on their way to school.

Baby in a pumpkin.  Everybody say, "awwww."  He was so not happy to be put in there, but his face is hysterical.  I think this will be a classic that we pull out every Halloween.  He eventually got fascinated and was having a great time checking out his pumpkin and the leaves.

Princess, Dragon and Knight

All five kids on their way to trick or treat.

Cousins and Shelly

We were so excited to have Shelly and Kevin in town with the twinsies this week.  Bryn was head over heels about these little girls and couldn't believe how much they'd grown up since we last saw them.

Halloween Carnival

We went to the 4H Halloween Carnival tonight.  The kids had a great time, and I liked have one more chance to take Halloween pictures and see the kids dressed up. Max was a party pooper and wore his Halloween clothes instead of a costume.

Hairdo

Bryn has hated having her hair done since she was a little tiny thing.  I have to talk her into it even now, and then take pictures to show her the torture was really worthwhile.  I'm guessing teenage-y-ness will take over soon and there will no shortage of time spent on her hair, but it's still a rare thing right now.  (And I am not one to talk since I look exactly the same all the time. Pot: kettle.)

Mini Golf

I totally won even though I had a wiggling 17 pound handicap on the first eight holes and a sleeping-so-don't wiggle-too-much handicap on the back eight.  Owen was a little disappointed, but he did beat Bryn.  (Shhh!  Bryn doesn't want that one broadcast to the world.) 

The School Carnival

My kids love these things.  I have to admit it's good cheap entertainment and goes toward a great cause. The popular items of the day were hair dos, candy, bounce houses and pizza.  And Max even behaved, which made all the difference for me.  It's so weird to think that last year I didn't know I was pregnant.

Nana/Grampa/Nerd Day

Wednesdays have a long tradition of being Nana and Grampa day.  It's kind of strange right now to just be sending Claire off with them. When they bring Claire back, we have to try and get all the visiting in since the kids are used to seeing them all day during the summer.  It's crazy, but a good kind of crazy.

Today was also nerd day at the Jr High.  Check out Bryn's nerdalicious specs.

Pudding Pops

Do you remember the good ole days of Bill Cosby and Jello Pudding Pops commercials?  I do, and I miss them.  My favorite were the vanilla and chocolate swirled, but I loved the plain chocolate, too.  I've seen some recipes floating around the web and decided to give them a try in hopes of recreating a much missed childhood treat.  Basically, you make pudding and when it's not too hot (but still liquidy) you add in some cool whip.  Not too complicated, so definitely worth a shot. The kids had a great time making them and the swirly ones looked cute in their little cups.  Taste?  Well, not like a real Jello Pupping Pop, but the kids enjoyed them.  I still wish they'd bring the real ones back.

Family Swim

Tonight was 4H night at the water park. Owen is a fearless guy in the water and just goes, goes, goes, so with him, Claire and a baby, it's definitely a two adult event, so the kids have been waiting and waiting for a night when daddy could come.  The kids had so much fun, Max only cried when splashed, and I got a photo with all five of my kids pretty much looking at the camera.  It only took 50 tries and I'll just have to ignore the part about it being crooked, but you can't have everything in life ;-)

Fireworks--because we can

How often do you get to...

 have three heads?

grow wings, or have a really big heart?

 look like a demon from the other side?

or just get the chance to play with fire and light?

PB and Pretzels

I read about this great idea.  Give kids pretzel sticks and peanut butter and let them build.  It's great for fine motor skills, it's a fairly healthy snack, it's fun because you're playing with your food.  Too bad the PB wouldn't hold the pretzels in place.  The girls got over it and just played for fun.  But for Owen it was the end of fun and beginning of mad.

Eventually he lightened up, with a little help from Ella and Mom.

Happy 4th of July

Except that it wasn't.  We tried to go to our traditional Freedom Festival event, but it was super crowded, hot and humid, and then windy  Max fussed the whole time. The kids were grumpy.  Andrew was grumpy. And then I was grumpy.  The proof is in the picture.

So then we took the kids to McDonalds and let them play in the air-conditioned playland.  Sadly, I think that probably qualifies us as super American after all. 

There were still some good parts, like the excitement of starting out on an adventure.

 And the beebs is cute just for being the beebs. He's 2 months and 2 days old.

 And Claire can turn on the cheese when she wants to.

And you get to watch "the boys" set off firecrackers.

And eating pizza on the front porch while watching the newly legalized aerial fireworks is fun, even in the rain, and especially when you have your own sparklers to use.

All's well that ends well.  Happy Independence Day!

Happy Birthday to Bryn

I can't believe my baby is twelve. It just seems wrong.  She's old and I'm old.  Jr High is around the corner for her, and what-death-for me?  Ha!  She really is growing up, and she's smart and kind and funny.  Happy Birthday, Bryn!

Happy Easter

Grandma's Here!

Life is so much better when Grandma's here :-)

Cats Are Not Cooperative

Andrew would say, "Duh!" to that statement, but I really think a little cattitude is a good thing, except when it comes to pictures.  I just don't understand why my cat doesn't want to pose with my two year old?  This was as good as it got, even with Bryn acting as the cat whisperer.

Snow Day

I am not so fond of the snow continuing to pop up in APRIL for goodness sake!  But the kids are.  They all had a great time playing in the backyard today and were especially thrilled when Andrew showed up to throw a few snowballs with them.

What's wrong with this picture?

Besides having a face made out of food, of course.  Have you ever seen strawberries so huge and clementine's so small?  The strawberries are some of the best I've had in years.  (Oh, tiny little fraise de bois--our week together those many years ago was so good, but why do you live overseas?)  Get thee to a Costco and buy some of these gigantically good berries now!  And the asparagus was so yummy, too.  I ate it all and didn't share.  I can't wait for summer produce and gardens and fruit stands.  Yum!

 

4-H leader for a day

Somehow Bryn talked me into taking over the 4H group today while her leader was out of town.  I think it would have been easier if I had any idea what 4H groups were really supposed to do and what kind of projects are appropriate for entry in the fair.  I just went with a generic craft and figured they could find a way to make it fit later.  The girls had a good time, and Bryn was thrilled to have me do it so I guess that's what counts.  I'm just hoping it's a long time before Bryn realizes that gluing a few things on a pre-made frame doesn't really make me crafty and cool!

Abuela Takes the Stage

The Spanish Club at Bryn's school did a play in Spanish.  Bryn played the grandmother.  After the play some other parents were talking to her (one who was Hispanic) and they were all shocked her parents were total gringos and hadn't been any help to her since her accent is so good.  We're very proud parents though we obviously can't take any credit.  It's all Bryn :-)

Owen was particularly impressed with both the grey hair (baby powder) and the Spanish.  He spent the first few minutes of the play enthralled, then looked at me and said, "I totally don't get this.  I have no idea what's going on?  Can we go now?"  You can see he played games on the phone the rest of the play.

Claire currently has a big love for Dora and Diego and has picked up some Spanish phrases from the shows.  She tells us "gracias" and asks for help in Spanish, too.  "Ayuda me!"  I thought she'd get a kick out of the play and was a little worried she'd shout out some of her own phrases in the middle.  She spent the whole time snuggled on Daddy's lap instead.  Probably a good thing, even if it is less entertaining.