Halloween

Halloween was a success.

Not like last year.

You know, the year where we closed on our house on Halloween day,

which allowed time for trick or treating to only one house.

One.

Dressed in a table cloth cape.

Pathetic.

But I thank my lucky stars that I have easy to please kids

who were just grateful for at least that one house.

So I decided that this year had to be a bit more magical.

So I brought my game.

And suffered a bit for it.

But before we get to that,

feast your eyes on my little darlings all dressed up.

Minnie (chocolate lips) Mouse

Aubrey had her first real Halloween experience this year.

She would run to each door with her hair blowing behind her.

They'd give her a piece of candy and instead of saying thank you,

she'd let out a big squeal and giggle all the way to the next house.

Handing out candy was no less exciting for her.

She would squeal with delight at the people knocking on our door. 

1st Mate Bradley

To my amazement, Bradley actually decided to dress up this year.

Each of the past Halloweens, he has not been a fan of the idea of dressing up.

He made up for lost time by squeezing into our size 2 pirate costume.

He was popping the seams, but hey, he willingly put a costume on.

Progress!

Captain Jack Sparrow

Dave's Mom bought this Jack Sparrow costume 3 or 4 years ago.

Jack likes to dress up in it when he goes to visit.

This year he asked if she would mail it to us so he could wear it for Halloween.

Hooray!  After 3 years, it finally fits!

For the record,

you have to do a fair amount of scrubbing to remove dark eyebrows

from a blondie. 

The black cat with a toxic looking cupcake.

Brooklyn had a long list of things she wanted to be for Halloween.

A black cat was not on the list.

But one day at school her teacher (who she idolizes)

jokingly told the kids that she didn't want any scary costumes knocking on her door.

She only wanted friendly things like little black cats.

So guess who then decided that she needed to be a cat?

Aren't they all darling?

Yes.  Yes they are.

I like them.

I like them alot.

But enough of that mushiness.

Let's talk about how I suffered on Halloween day.

Here's the deal.

I've made a goal to be a bit more fun.

I find that I spend a bit too much time saying,

"Hey, [insert child's name], let's bond while we clean your room/fold laundry/do something boring.

So I said to myself,

"Self, let's make a special treat for the squirts on Halloween.

Just because I love them and want them to feel special."

So I fired up the oven.

Annnnd then I smelled the smoke.

Nasty black burning plastic smoke.

Dah.

Cookie cutters don't do well in an oven heated to 350 degrees.

Who knew?

30 minutes later,

I had chipped all the plastic out of my oven.

Which ranks on the fun-ness meter right up there with being poked in the eye.

All in the name of skeleton cupcakes.

I do believe it was worth the effort.

Later in the day though,

as I was firing up the oven for dinner...

Ahem.

Hey Aubrey, let's bond while we put the cans back into the cupboard.

Do we even want to know what might have happened had these been heated to 350 degrees as well?

According to Dave,

cans will most definitely explode.

...something about chili being splattered all over his tent on a scout campout...

Soccer Part 1

Just a few pictures from this soccer season.

Mostly for Grandpa, who's been asking for them.

Taking it to the GOAL!

She *might* be breaking the rules in this picture...

but she still looks pretty cool.

Jack fighting his way to the ball.

(Boys play sooo much more aggressively that the girls do!)

Ummm...not exactly sure why he is airborne,

but that ball is about to get a swift kick down-field.

Now of every soccer picture I have taken this season,

there is one to be cherished.

I absolutely laugh out loud every time I see it.

You must have a look.

Check out that kid's face!

You'd think that Jack was about to give him a cleat to the face.

Ahhh..good times.

 More to come!

Two Suits

Just when I thought I couldn't possibly be any more in love with a man in a suit.

I got two little men in suits.

(And a big one)

Stop it right now.

My fluttering heart can't possibly take anymore of this.

Since Jack has been strutting around in his suit,

Bradley decided that it looked pretty manly and cool.

Soooo...now we have two irresistibly charming young men at our house.

Back off ladies, these two are all mine for at least 10 - 15 more years.

Independent Bradley

See this boy?

I love him.

He's a quiet little fellow,

who is positively content with life.

He mostly spends his days cruising around the house and yard observing

and "experimenting."

I would pay $1.99 to know what he is thinking in that little head.

Those little wheels never stop turning, but being a man of few words,

you don't always get the privilege of knowing exactly what he is thinking.

When you do though, it comes by way of the cutest raspy "man" voice,

and in what sounds like a Brooklyn, NY accent.

(I am going upstairs would sound like, "I am going up-STAYS)

Positively charming if you ask me.

Well our little friend has been doing lots of growing up and has certainly gained some serious independence around here.

Besides mastering the art of painting his sisters' fingernails, he now also makes his own lunch!

Which requires us to have 2 jars of peanut butter and jelly open at a time.

One for knife-licker Bradley, and one for the rest of us.

He has also attempted to comb his own hair.

Buuuuut, that one needs a bit more work.

And a whole lot less hair gel.

It doesn't end there though.

Oh no it doesn't.

He is quite helpful with household chores.

He's in charge of putting the clean silverware away each day.

Which now that I think about it is pretty scary after our PB&J story above.

He loves to do the shredding for me,

all while keeping his fingers intact!

And recently he has grown impatient with my "laundry speed."

(Or lack thereof)

When in need, he knows right where the jackpot of clean clothes is.

I know I really shouldn't post it, 

but frankly he caught me off guard that day when I walked in the laundry room.  

And I've been laughing about it ever since.

He has also taken his older sibling role very seriously.

Not only does he swipe marshmallows for himself and Aubrey,

he teaches her the finer things in life.

Like smooshing play-dough on your face.

It's the thing to do you know.

Rolling pins and cookie cutters can only take you so far.

A true artist can create a masterpiece like this:

Creepy, right?

It looks like this was laid on this face, but he laid it out on the counter and smashed his face into it.

Those nostril holes are actually sticking up at you.

Can you see it?

And look!

It appears that his nostrils are kind of heart shaped.

All the more reason for me to love that little guy.

A Sharp Dressed Man

Check this guy out.

Does he look official, or what?

I'm not going to lie.

Every time I look at this picture, I can't help but imagine it on a missionary plaque.

(Well you know, after you add bigger teeth and a 5 o'clock shadow)

Makes me swell with joy, I tell you.

I had planned on getting Jack a suit when he turned eight.

But he convinced me otherwise.

One Sunday morning he came into my room a little concerned.

He told me that he wanted to be the prophet someday and that he needed to dress like him.

Sometimes this boy can catch me off guard like that.

So I said something super intelligent like, "Uhhhh...ok."

Apparently his usual white shirt and tie isn't cutting it anymore.

He wanted the suit, the shiny shoes and most definitely a comb in his pocket.

How can a mother resist?

She can't.

It took me a couple of weeks to find a suit for a price that suited me, ha!

but when that puppy came, 

we had one very happy boy.

His Dad taught him how to shine his shoes.

Which he took very seriously, and then proceeded to shine everyone elses' shoes.

Then we got him all dressed up, combed his hair 

(and of course, put the comb in his pocket...you know, just in case)

and stood back to admire our sharply dressed young man.

And do you know what he said?

"Mom, I think I might be the handsomest man in this family."

Nice Jack.

Next week's Family Home Evening:  Why we shouldn't have a puffy head.

You know, on a very consistent basis lately, this boy has amazed me with his foresight and logic.

A friend of mine said he sounded like he was 26, not 6.

Which does seem true sometimes. 

He always wants to know the BIG picture of why he is or isn't doing something.

(Coming soon:  A series of stories of a mother trying to out-logic her 6 year old.)

Check out those shiny shoes!

He sure is handsome (just don't tell him that!)

and despite his ultra difficult toddler/preschool years

he is turning out to be quite a gem.

A Case of the Naughties

I have pretty good kids.

They are cute and charming and the apple of my eye.

But I should mention that they can sometimes be positively naughty.

Like last Friday for example.

Now, I make an honest effort to get in the shower everyday.

And for you young mothers out there, you know that sometimes that feels like a small miracle.

Well, that day, I should have skipped mine.

I enjoyed that shower, 

but I sure didn't enjoy cleaning fingernail polish out of the carpet when I got out.

Although, let's go ahead and give credit where credit is due.

Bradley (who is 4) painted his and Aubrey's toes and fingernails with surprising precision.

I must admit that I was mildly impressed...

right after I nearly laid an egg right there in the family room.

Curse you blue finger nail polish!

Well, after feverishly working to remove the stain in the carpet

(and trying to think happy thoughts!)

I went upstairs to look for those two little devils darlings.

I heard giggling coming from Bradley's closet.

I slowly opened the door to see Aubrey throw her hands out and yell

"TA! DA!"

And then Bradley slap his hands over his eyes.

Which is a sure sign that: 

A) He was being naughty

B)  He KNEW he was being naughty

C)  He thinks I'll never know...because obviously I can't see him there.

Sheesh.

Can't we spread out the naughtiness a little?

Two biggies in one day is definitely over quota.

Family Vacation

Dave's parents just celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary.

So, they decided that by way of celebration, they would take the family to Palmyra.

Sweetness.

I must admit that I was a little nervous about flying across the country with our busy little people.

But as it turns out, they've grown up a bit since the last time we flew - so it really wasn't too bad.

You know, besides the time when Bradley had to be pinned in his chair by the flight attendant, who put her hand in the apple juice he spilled, and thought it was urine.  Poor girl looked positively mortified.

And can you blame her?

Then he may have been yelled at for pushing on the back of the seat in front of him.

Oh the dirty looks.

All I can say is that I am extremely grateful for dollar store trinkets, a husband who can make a wicked awesome snail out of play doh, and Scooby Doo cartoons.

Without them, this small boy (and a few others) may have been checked as baggage.

Our first stop was Niagara Falls.

We rode the "Maid of the Mist" which takes you right up to the falls.

Amazing.

I was seriously wishing that I had had a pair of goggles just so I could see.

The picture below was taken before we got anywhere near the falls.

We weren't nearly so dry when we came back.

The next day we headed to Kirtland, OH.

We took a tour through the Kirtland Temple and then walked through the cemetary across the street.

Where Bradley showed full participation.

Tell us how you really feel about having your picture taken, Bradley.

He cheered up a bit after a quick wrestling match on the temple grounds.

Is that even legal?

On our way out of Kirtland, we drove through an Amish community

which I personally found to be quite fascinating.

It felt like you were taking a step back through time.

I honestly found much of their lifestyle to be strangely refreshing.

Cheers to a simple life.

The remainder of our trip was spent in the Palmyra, NY area.

We stopped to rest in the shade (and run up and down) the Hill Cumorah.

Saw the log home where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph.

We walked around the Smith property (and tried not to disrupt the other visitors)

and of course, the crown jewel of the trip for me was time spent in the Sacred Grove.

Our first trip through the grove (with the kids) included

one speech from grandpa about how you can lose an eye if you play around with sticks,

(I can't imagine what possessed him to give that speech...)

one family photo, 

some dust being kicked up by two nameless little boys,

and a smooch on the trail.

My second time through (without the kids) was a bit more like I expected.

It was early in the morning, dew on the grass, cool, crisp air, birds chirping in the trees, 

and hardly anyone around.

It truly filled my cup.

It was a great trip.

We saw and did SO much.

So we were very tired when we got home.

So tired in fact, that when we pulled into the garage, I woke the kids up and told them to go upstairs and go to bed.

I found one of them here:

And another one just a few stairs up.

The other two managed to actually make it all the way to their beds.

At this point, that was quite an accomplishment.

A HUGE thank you to Dave's parents for giving us an unforgettable trip.