Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!

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1. Happy Halloween!
Yeah, I went with an orange theme. Though I felt a little odd today in church surrounded by a sea of red, I guess I missed the memo that Reformation Sunday's color is red.



2. My punkin with my punkin. Sam took a Good Nap (Chris didn't) so to reward Sam, we got dressed up before we left and sat him by the pumpkins. He was so adorable, and loved stomping through our front yard leaves.



3. Dueling Sleepers. The Julius's invited us over for Trick-or-Treating and Dinner. You think Halloween is tough on the kids? Check out these poor Daddies! They were falling asleep just waiting for everyone to finish supper, so we could get Started Trick-or-Treating.




4. Waiting on Jesse.
My Buzz and Woody Couldn't Wait until Emily was fully transformed into Jesse. They stood waiting not so patiently outside her door.



5. The Toy Story Crew: Jesse, Buzz, and Woody. Though Jesse's cows were being put in the car, Cowgirl Jesse and Woody could have easily handled the cows.



6. Dancing Time. Now, if you've seen Toy Story 3, you know that Buzz and Jesse do some dancing. Daddy had made an emergency battery run (for Buzz's wings) while we loaded up the kids. But we ended up waiting a little bit, turned out to be Just enough time for some dancing. To no music.



Video of the Dance:



7. No Patience. These yahoos just can't wait to get serious about Trick-or-Treating.



8. The Full Crew. Our clan joined the Julius Clan and met up with their friends the Cudworths for Trick-or-Treating in their neighborhood. Their Mary fit in our Disney theme as Belle, even though we were all Toy Story bedecked. The Julius twins made the cutest cows, just perfect for cowboys and cowgirls to try and wrangle.



9. Jesse and Buzz: A Love Story Chris had been waiting for Days to see Emily as Jesse. He was Enchanted. And pretty enchanting as well. We got compliments on how adorable they all were at so many houses I lost count.



At one point, however, a pair of people, one of whom was Don King, wanted to take a picture of our Jesse and Buzz, because they were so cute. Yeah, they were. At the end of the evening, Chris didn't want to leave her side. He was Screaming, "JESSSSSEEEEEE!!!" He sounded like Marlon Brando calling for STELLA! I'm not kidding. He was so upset.

10. Trick-or-Treating The kids charged up every house. Sam followed, and sometimes he kept up with the big kids, and sometimes he didn't. He didn't say Trick-or-Treat. But he would reach one mittened hand in the buckets, and say 'thank you' (feen tu) I did hear him say Treat (dee) once as we left a house and were back on the sidewalk.



11. Sam and the Jack-o-lanterns It became clear Sam was unfamiliar with the light coming from the pumpkins. We bought pumpkins this year, but didn't have time (or motivation) to carve them. At first he just looked at them, but by halfway through, when and if he was lucky enough to be walking on his own, Sam would just STARE at those pumpkins. One home's driveway was decorated with fancy carved pumpkins. Sam was enthralled. He wouldn't even continue the few steps forward to accept candy from the homeowners, he was so hypnotized by the flickering lights.



12. The Light Kathleen's Aunt JoAnn lives around the corner from her, across the street from friends, who joined our Disney trick-or-treating horde. We circled around and ended up at her aunt's house. Sam loved how super festive her home was decorated. But he couldn't keep away from the front door which glowed with orange lights, and had all kinds of yard decorations and lights out on the lawn. Sam was drawn to it, and he wouldn't step away, not for chocolate or friends. We decided it was just about time to go home then.




Chris, on the other hand, must not have been paying to much attention, distraught as he was leaving Emily, his Jesse, behind because he wiped out as we left Aunt JoAnn's house. He had just taken off before us, much like he'd been doing all evening, and by the time I got there, he was flat on his face. I picked him up, and he shook a little bit, and as I'm asking him if he's ok, he giggles and tells me, "I Fell with Style." And then he was off again, "To Affinity And a Beyon!!"

13. Out Cold Chris conked out on the ride home. Sam didn't. He was jibber jabbering all the way home. Normally I try to take a picture of the kids with their Haul. Well, they didn't quite fill their buckets tonight, but they did yesterday, and combined all that candy loot and leftover chocolate will be quite the undertaking to eat. I'm up for the challenge. But since Chris fell asleep on the way home, so much he didn't budge when I unbuckled him, I just took the final shot in the car, not even bother to move them. They were so Done. But they sure did have a good time!



I think Sam said it best, as we drove home, "Yee-hah, Yee-hah, Yee-hah, Bye."

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Trunk-or-Treat

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Just when I think I have too much STUFF on the schedule for the boys, and I can't single parent it anymore, or I get tired, God shows me. This morning, I was straining to get it together to take the boys to our MOPS group Trunk-or-Treat.
Now, I had never heard of or participated in a Trunk-or-Treat until this group, now we're on our third annual....and it's so much fun. We decorate the cars, the weather was nice enough, albeit cold and a bit windy, for us to have it outdoors, and we had some food and a craft after going Trick-or-Treating from car to car.



The boys were so happy to help me with the car.



My mother in law came down and sat doling out goodies with the car, Hooray! While I got to go round the trunks with the boys. Though honestly, Chris went himself not really bothering to wait for Sam and I, and not really too concerned about going in order either. But he was having a great time.



Not surprising, Chris wanted to go "To Affinity and a Beyon."



And Sam just might be my child. He was going for the chocolate. Turns out the boy is a fan of M&Ms. I think our new favorite family game just may be, "You might be my child, If...." Sam seems to win me everytime, and Chris usually wins Daddy. On occasion they switch parents. But Sam, Sam likes his candy carbs...just like Ma.

Friday, October 29, 2010

A Visit from Opa

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My Dad came out to visit this evening. Nothing fancy, chili in the crock pot, and a young boy who wanted to play in spite of having Outpatient surgery this morning. That was adventure enough.

But he settled for getting to sit in Opa's new car, which has a "Way Back Seat" that points behind, folds up and down, and is specially formulated for 4-12 year olds to ride in Without a Carseat. Did I write that? Yup. Without. A. Carseat! And I let Chris ride in it between houses. And He LOVED it!



Now I can remember not too long ago, when I would ride in a similar location in my babysitter's stationwagon, and I thought it was All That with chips. But that was when they didn't have Seat Belts back there. Sometimes I'm amazed we survived. Then again, we still have Sam ride in his Bucket. He's just about to outgrow it in poundage, he's got another pound to go, but his legs are so thin, that though they are bent, he fits. We have a regular seat in Eric's car, but this works for Sam.



The boys loved visiting with Opa, it was a nice date, without Chris being too adventurous, he's had enough. Sam cracked me up just repeating, "OpaOpaOpaOpa..." all evening long. He's quite the little talker.

Of course, I took a few pictures of Daddy's tour of the new house. But so did he.



And you wonder where I get it?

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pre-Halloween Festivities

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Crazy Fall Days.

First things first, Buzz Lightyear, hit St. Andrew's Nursery School this morning.



That class was like the Partridge in a Pear Tree of Halloween Costumes that bring Chris Joy: 3 Spiderman, 2 Spongebobs, and a Superman Halloween Costume...of course he was also pretty stoked that there was a Woody and a Jesse for his Buzz.



After lunch with friends, and a fairly brief naps, we went to the Zoo for Zooboo. Buzz and Woody were a big hit.



Mommy's favorite Zooboo decorations were the Peanuts Gang Halloween Costumes.



That was pretty appropriate, because after getting all kinds of chilly Trick or Treating through the zoo, riding the train AND the carousel, we were COLD. We came home, cuddled up on the couch, drinking Hot Cocoa, watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and having a great dinner of Popcorn.

Feels almost like Halloween!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

My Punkins

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What a great time of year. The pre-halloween festivities kicked it up a notch today. First we started small, playing around the house before school this morning. Sam loves balloons, and the boys were having a great time playing with balloony leftovers from cousin Brittany's baby shower.




Chris was on best behavior at school today, so they got to wear costumes to the Children's Museum Haunted House. The theme this year was Skeletown, with visits all around town; as we went through Scary Stadium with Colts garb on skeletons, it cracked me up. Chris had a lot of fun finding "Skely" everywhere. Buzz and Woody were a big hit!



Just thought this was really pretty of Buzz with the reflected glass from the glass blowing exhibit.



This evening, Daddy was home, for the first time in a while, so after supper we ran over to the church to pick out pumpkins. The youth were on it tonight, and were enchanted as the boys went poking through the pumpkin patch. First Sam picked his own.



Then Chris picked his own. It was so heavy, and he kept trying to move it all by himself, with some success, surprisingly.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Spring in Fall

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We had the weirdest weather today. It was like spring, but not. I mean in one sense it was very windy, as a fall Halloween day should be, but on the other hand, it gave me the willies.



Rightly so, turns out our lovely state got 8 tornados touch down today. Oy. We're safe, don't worry. ;)

But the tornado sirens went off here in town, but I was worried about taking Chris to school. Eric assured me that the sirens near his church preschool hadn't gone off, since he works close. So I took Chris in. But then as I was leaving, they went off. So I flipped out a little bit and called a girlfriend of mine to see if we could crash at her place. She let us, and we stayed safely indoors (in a home with a basement) while the wind whipped from 45 up to a supposed 65 miles an hour. It did rain practically horizontally.



It was gone in an hour, and we were left with a morning's rain. When we went home, after Chris's preschool. We stopped by the lot. The top of a tree from the lot across the street broke off in the middle of the street. It was kind of spooky, the brick guys, had JUST moved their cars to the driveway to load them up, they were fixing to call it quits, and loading up. They weren't that scared, until they heard that tree hit the street. Yipes! But they were all Blessedly Safe, and so was the house, and the stuff. Whew!



The storm blew through, and Eric called after a long morning of meetings, I was able to talk him into joining us for lunch at Boulder Creek for Soup. It was a Good day for soup! As we were leaving, the sun was already starting to peep through, and the sky was crazy. Gray clouds on the white sky, and White clouds against a Gray sky. Still weird.



What is this April or something?

Monday, October 25, 2010

Out to Play

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Got to enjoy a bunch of sweetboys today. Sam was his usually sweet self, and I just liked this picture of him.



Sam had a playdate today with his friend Nathanael, and his mommy. They were playing in the kitchen, emptying out the tupperware drawers, throwing pot holders, and wreaking havoc with the fridge magnets. It's scary that though they are 10 months apart, they are only 1 1/2 inches apart in height, and very close in weight. We all packed up the car for lunch and a house tour. I think Sam was extremely puzzled at having someone next to him, he rode the whole way to the house trying to get up on his elbows and looking over his friend. There may have been joint babbling too.



And of course, the boys had a good time at the house, except for the occasional desire to jump off into the foyer. But that's not much new.



I figure you all haven't seen a recent whole house pic in a while. The brickers started last Thursday when the house was officially decreed weather tight, including roof, windows, doors, and the house is wrapped. The brick guys have most of the back done, and a bit on the sides. But it's gorgeous.

Windows of Love

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On Friday, I was giving house tours, and after some comments, I began to contemplate how dark the master closets are. There weren't any windows. I mean, who thinks to put windows in their closets? Not us. We weren't even sure how much area there was going to be once the slope of the garage roof was in. We figured we'd just call whatever we got closet. Maybe we'd have two sides, his and hers. But when it was built, it was Big. Huge. So Eric made the comment that he thought we could fit our stuff in one closet and the other one could be exclusively my crafts. A Craft Room?! You know I jumped on that one.

Remember last weekend, when Eric built me a kitchen window? Yeah. That was sweet.

Well, I asked him if it was possible to build closet windows, just teeny little ones, before the brickers got that far? He said Maybe.

Apparently Saturday, Eric went shopping and found windows. Little ones. Just right to fit between the studs.




Sunday afternoon, Mom W. and I popped by to find Dad and Eric had cut holes in the walls.



Peek a boo!



And by the time we returned home from a baby shower I had windows. In my closet.



My sweet husband gave me windows for our anniversary, our dating anniversary. 16 years ago he asked me out, and I said yes. Smartest thing I ever did was say Yes. He loves me, so much he gave me windows.



I love you too!

Happy Hayride

Saturday night, we went on a Hayride with friends from Chris's preschool. I hadn't been on a hayride in Years, and this was so much fun, it may have to become an Annual thing. We had 5 different families attend, and it was madness, exciting and beautiful, itchy and sneezy, and poopy at times, but it was wonderful.



Chris did what he does best, found a big stick and ran wild.



We had a fire pit, but because it's been so dry, Eagle Creek Park wouldn't let us have a bonfire. But that didn't stop the kids from playing around the fire pit, finding big sticks, like we would have used in a fire, and just marching on the beams Sam wanted so badly to be one of the big kids.



Daddy left off working on the hew house to come out and play with us. It was so fun, we really had a wonderful time together as a family.



Chris climbed into the hay wagon with his friend Grant, right up front.



Maddie wanted Sam to sit next to her, and she was thrilled, she has a beautiful heart for age 8, and she spent the whole hayride taking care of Sam. Future babysitter maybe?



We could tell it was almost time to be done when Chris started letting Bryn cover him in hay.



Unfortunately, Eric's allergic to hay. Not as bad as my sister, but he was itchy and wheezy. But we all were itchy by the time we got home. We stripped down in the garage and paraded directly into the shower. Do not pass Go. And just when I thought I had gotten rid of all the hay through laundry and by not letting it into the house, Chris puts on his shoes this morning, the ones he wore Saturday, and finds hay tucked all in them, takes them off, and spreads it all over the house.

The hayride was great, and I suppose it will be an annual thing for us to have to de-hay the house. But we had so much fun, it may be worth it.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Butler Homecoming or More Band Cousins

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We had planned on going to the Butler Homecoming football game. I was so excited to take Sam to his first Bulldog Football game; I thought he was big enough to enjoy it, or at least enjoy seeing Dawgs and the Band. However, I did not take into consideration, the lack of sleep from the night before impacting the boys' moods. I got the boys all dressed up, and within 5 minutes of each other, Chris got 3 timeouts, and Sam bit me.

OK, there's my sign. We can support the Butler Bulldogs safe and sound from home. We'll play later.



At least they looked good in their matching t-shirts!



After naps, we met other friends in town for Butler's Homecoming at Squealer's BBQ on the northside. Good grub. But the minute Jack came in with his parents Joe and Kate, my boys were Sold. I don't think Chris stopped moving or dancing for a minute.



Jack is 5 months younger than Chris, and his sister Amelie is 6 weeks older than Sam. I wanted to put the youngsters next to each other, and after some initial curiousity, they got along swimmingly. And OH! the Cuteness!!!



I heard her say, Give him a Kiss. Oh yeah, the fight begins over Sam. My boys are just so adorable the girls can't keep off them. ;)



I swear we didn't plan the whole matching shirt thing. Just lucky. Aren't they so cute.



Chris and Jack acted like brothers. They were running all over the place, climbing on chairs, fighting over toys.



Chris and Jack weren't the only ones wearing this shirt, Bryn joined in the fun too!



Our very nice waitress brought balloons for all the kids. That made all their days. They were so excited, they ran simply wild. It was a good thing they let us take over the back room.



Of course, with a giant party like this of Butler band geeks, sig figs, and kiddoes, we had to have a big room. But it's so neat to see everyone, too bad we can't do this Every Homecoming. Maybe we ought to try. Maybe next year we'll host in the new house.