Halloween Fun

Is it me or do Halloween festivities last for 2 weeks?  I'm not complaining, but by the time Halloween is over I'm ready for a vacation.  We carved our pumpkins Monday for FHE and the kids all pulled out their own guts this year.  Sam did his own carving completely on his own.  Jack attempted not to cut his fingers off, but he caved in and opted for my help.  Lyv was just happy to have a pumpkin with sharp teeth.  

 This girl LOVES Halloween!  I think the holiday was specifically designed for her.  She was able to dress up 3 different costumes to attend parties and trick or treat!  She made a pretty cute Tinker Bell...but she also insisted on a dinosaur.  Really?  I finally get a girl to dress up in frilly, sparkly things and she opts for a roaring dinosaur!  Oh well.....

 What is Halloween at our house without our traditional sugar cookie decorating?  Not Halloween.  This is the first year that Sam missed out, his own choice, but Jack and Lyv are the ones that truly appreciate frosting cookies.  They eat the frosting off the spoon and dump a truck load of sprinkles on each scrumptious bite!  We even introduced Max to the sugar cookie rush...... He didn't think it was too shabby.  It is a good warm up to his first birthday cake.

 This week got a friendly visit from our neighbors the ducks.  I think the New York ducks passed the word along to their western country cousins, because these ducks came right to the patio to get bread.  It was fun for Max to see them waddling around. He kept pounding on the window saying.. Da,Da, Da!

I can't get away from these awful boobs!

Seriously....this is Jack reading me a book titled, Dinosaur Detective Undercover!  The word was Blob...but he kept on reading it wrong - Boob.  I was totally cracking up because that word still doesn't mean a whole lot to him at this point in time.  Here's what he read:

"This is very alarming! I can't get away from these awful boobs!  Go away! he shouted at the boobs!"

"He began to sit up.  As he sat up he noticed two large boobs moving toward him under the blanket."

"I had a bad dream.  I was being chased by boobs!" When I woke up it was true.  Detective Dinosaur began to sit up, and the boobs moved under his blanket.  Just then Cadet Kitty pounced on the moving boobs."

"Brave Kitty!  Ouch! Get those boobs! Ouch! OUCH!

How do you hold it together at times like these?  Well I couldn't tell you because I was laughing hysterically, and Jack just thought that the story was seriously funny!

My sweet, innocent boy!  If only I keep this attitude during his teenage years!

Grove of the Patriarchs - Mount Rainier National Park

We had the a gorgeous drive up to Mount Rainier National Park today.  The fall colors were out in their full splendor, and it was breath taking!  I commented to Shawn that I'm turning into my mother, because she used to always make comments on how beautiful the scenery was when we were driving, and we would roll our eyes and moan about how it was just a tree!  Now I find that my "maturity" has given me a greater appreciation for God's creations and for the change in seasons.  We've live in several parts of the country and have witnessed several beautiful falls - the one thing that stood out today was the depth and variety that we have here.  The colors ranged from deep green to vibrant yellows and reds.  These colors were found in all kinds of trees both coniferous and deciduous (wow! where did that botany lesson come from?) We were thrilled to see mountains...actual sheer rock jutting out atop the tree line.  It was amazing!

We hiked a short trail to the Grove of the Patriarchs were there are 3 trees that are over 1000 years old!  These trees were HUGE!  My favorite was the cedar - it's colors were gorgeous.  The kids loved the trail and it was the perfect afternoon outing.  Thank your Heavenly Father for such beauty.

My Little Pumpkins

I found the best Halloween decoration idea on Pinterest - easiest, cheapest, and most kid approved decoration yet!  

 Since I was snapping photos, I couldn't resist getting a few shots of the kids - Max and Jack's were my favorites.

 Jack has also taken to photography, and I find 20 random photos of the floor or the rug on the camera everyday.  Here's one shot he took of Lyv and I that actually wasn't too bad....we had to practice a few times, but he's getting there.

1 more month of PURE Baby!

Where has the time gone? Honestly writing this down brings a heaviness to my heart.  My Max is 11 months, only 1 more month of baby left in him.  I'm so sad by this, but I do love this stage.  Max continues to be very sweet and loves to cuddle and snuggle.  He has started to eat better and is drinking milk, so I'll be weaning him soon.  Again another milestone that I'm sad is approaching.  He loves to nurse and will come up to me when he's ready and start to gnaw on my legs, my hands, my face - I think he thinks I'm edible.  A little scary and Hannibal Lectorish!) 

He LOVES being outside and crawls all over the yard in search of dirt and rocks.  He is already down to one nap - why are my kids not into sleeping? But he is so content and happy I don't miss having him down for two.  He is such a good - happy boy.  He'll play with toys in his room for 15-20 on his own, and I love that.  He's found the joy of the splashing in the toilet bowl - GROSS!!  He love it though.....ugh. It is hard to keep both bathroom doors constantly closed and toilet lids all down with 5 people + occasional neighborhood friends around.  

He also continues to terrorize the house, but in a very habitual and predictable manner.  He has key areas that are always his favorites. 

 #1) Tupperware drawer - filled with an array of lids and bowls, so much fun in such a small area.

 #2) The wii and skylander baskets - again a lot for a little effort.

 #3) His newest attraction the marker cup on the easel.  For so long I was able to hide this little beauty from him, but he finally figured it out.

One would ask - why bother cleaning it up and/or why not put it high enough that he can't reach it.  First, I like to know that if he's going to do this, he has "safe" messes to make. Second, I like the small reminders of his presence!  A good reminder that maybe I've been trying to do to many other things when I should take a break and spend it with Max-O. Finally, I have a sneaky suspicion that he's inherited Jack's Where there's a Will, There's A Way mentality and putting them up high would only lead to precarious situations and possible trips to the ER.  I'm not ready for Head Wound Harry, Jr.  At least not yet.

Halloween's Come Early

I pulled out the costumes the other day to take stock of what we have.  We always go back and forth between trying to get the kids a "theme" or just letting everyone choose their own.  This year we've opted for Star Wars - thanks to Sam!  It will be good, but lest any good costume goes to waste we had a little dress up session.  Max was thrilled!  He would have made a cute elephant.

 Lyv is doing a co-op preschool and it was my turn to teach again.  These five kids are really great to work with and Jack gets to "help" out and feel like a pretty big boy, so it's a win-win.  After pulling out the train tracks to entertain the boys, the girls decided to get fancy and dress up in the princess dresses.

 Look at these beauties! So much fun.

Jone's Farms Pumpkin Patch

What is fall without a visit to a pumpkin patch?  Not fall around these parts!  We found this cute small patch, and the kids were happy to be outside on such a beautiful day.  They had a straw bale maze and slide on a pyramid of bales, along with a duck pond. We made out with 5 awesome, very different pumpkins.  

Max made his pumpkin patch debut and we seemed to be pretty excited about being able to play with the big kids.

 This handsome fella was able to come along.  Oh how we love Fridays.  They are usually 1/2 days for Shawn right now, and we LOVE having him home early.  Our neighbors the Woods came with us.  They have 3 boys around our kids age, and having friends there always makes the adventure more exciting.  The boys couldn't get enough of this tractor, and I think we have some future farmers of America here.