It's Snowing!

So of course you should wear a short sleeved princess dress and sandals.  Ask Claire; she'll tell you it's appropriate for all social situations.

Claire ran outside and spun around in the two minutes of very light snowflakes we got today, but she had a great time celebrating the arrival of winter.

Food Friends

Some days I'm amazed at how easy it is to entertain my children.  We picked up our Bountiful Basket this morning, and as usual there were some questions over just what the food was.  Fennel was the mystery object this time.  Owen was so excited about the watermelon, and claimed it as his so I drew his face on it.  Then of course, all the other fruits and veggies wanted to join in.  

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.

Crazy Hair Day

Did you know that it's crazy to do drugs?   Owen and Ella got in on the drug education with their Halloween styled hair.  Owen was a ghost and Ella wore a spider.  These were super quick hairdos, because as usual I had great aspirations and then forgot about crazy hair day until the morning and had to go with what worked in 15 minutes.  Colored hair glue and googly eyes can do wonders.

Claire did not want to be left out of the action and also wanted a spider on her head.  Hers was a teeny little bun with only two legs, but she was happy with it.  Poor bald Max didn't even get a chance to participate.

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.

Smudges and Nursery Teachers

Claire got to visit her nursery teacher today.  She had the best time since there was a kitten named Smudges, chickens, raspberries, tomatoes to pick,  and eggs to gather.  She was really confused by the end since the Smudge's mom is named Amy and her mom is Amie.  Then her teacher is Hanna's mom, and her mom is Hanna's teacher.  It's a lot to wrap a three year old head around!

Soccer Mom

Today I fit the stereotype, except there was no soccer.  Instead there were three drop off and three pick up times for school, baptisms for Bryn, violin for Ella, wedding brunch for me and the little kids, activity days for Ella, volleyball for Bryn, dance for Ella, and then the regular homework and other things.  Poor Max got fifteen minute catnaps in the car.  It turns out I forgot to feed Owen any lunch.  And then dinner was microwavable frozen foods.  And Claire, well, she was found eating whipped cream off her hands. Oops!

Great Wide Wonderful World

I love it when my kids are happy.  Big O had a tough day at school and came home a serious grumpy pants.  A hot shower, Wii time, pizza and some time outdoors made him a much happier boy!

And a few more shots of the day: weedy flowers, Claire in the ripped out hostas and the view.  Life is good.

Feels Like Fall

Somehow decorating for the season makes it real.  That makes no sense, but it works and now it feels like fall to me.

Max thinks so, too.

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.) 

Lego Mania

I love Legos. I only love them because all of the kids love them.  Then they all play together and are quiet and nice.  Life is peaceful for me.  Lego should pay attention to this and start marketing with this in mind.  I'm pretty sure their sales would skyrocket.

The day Max gains a pincer grasp will be a sad day for me indeed.

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.

Why NOT to have 5 Kids

Grocery shopping is so not fun.  Neither is unloading the car. Nuff said.

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.

Baby on the Beach

(Preferably sung to the Wiggles "Barbie on the Beach" tune.)  Max was pretty funny at the beach because he was his usual cranky self, until he suddenly enjoyed being dipped in freezing cold ocean water.  Confusing?  Yup.  I don't think we'll try that at home.

I hope you just said, "Awwww," because that is the appropriate response to such cuteness.

It sure is good to have a Grandma at the beach.  One mom and five kids is not the best ratio,

 especially with a newborn.  One Grandma and five kids seems to work just fine.  How does that happen?

People I love, place I love, equals picture I love.

Like a Frog on the Wall

Wait, not LIKE a frog on the wall, but an actual frog on the wall.  Frogs aren't really common finds, so we were surprised to see one hanging out on the wall of Grandma's house.  Owen and Claire were particularly excited and played an unspoken game of who can get closest to the frog.  It was really funny to see Claire, who's typically more likely to freak out, sitting with her nose two inches from a frog and trying to block O from getting in there.

La Petite Artiste

My father will probably cringe because I made one thing disagree with another or swapped some genders around.  Too bad, Dad!  Claire was an adorable little artist today and took her work quite seriously.  So seriously that she swiped some extra canvas to create additional masterpieces.

So seriously that she crashed and burned afterward.

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 ;-)

Perfectly Average

This is just a snapshot of a random moment in our day, but it's perfect since it's my kids so everything they do is cute and adorable and photo worthy.  (I am in no way a biased parent, FYI.)