Trick Or Treat!

Halloween is by far one of my favorite holiday's. I love the excitement of dressing my kids up and playing spooky games all month long with them. This month seemed to whizzzzz by however. I didn't get to do most of what I wanted to with my kids, but we did do a few fun Halloween things this year.

One thing I hate about my kids getting older, is that they have their own ideas of what they want to be for Halloween. In the past, I would tell them what they were going to be for Halloween and we would work a "theme" out of it. This year...not so much. The only kid who knew exactly what he wanted to be, was Ledger. Brody started off wanting to be a zombie and then changed his mind. Case didn't want to dress up AT ALL! He told me that he thought it was a little weird that we dress in costumes and knock on doors asking for candy at night. After he explained it all to me...I totally agreed! After 3 stops at the costume store, he finally gave in and picked a costume. As for Miss B., I still get to pick her costume which means it will be complete fluff and over the top darlingness!

This year we headed over to Sugar's house for a low key (haha) family party. Sugar had fun games planned along with a scavenger hunt that made the night. We ate yummy food and trick-or-treated her neighborhood. As I was walking my kids around the block, it dawned on me that even though I grew up in this neighborhood, we never went trick-or-treating there. It was always tradition to trick-or-treat in my best friend Sammi's neighborhood. Our dad's would take us kids out while the mom's stayed home to pass out the candy. I have no real memories of trick or treating my own neighborhood until about 8th grade when my friend Misty Breinholt were catsup and mustard together. Miss B. and Ledger did great walking around the block while Brody and Case ran from house to house with Kim, Katy and Hunter. Everyone enjoyed the night, especially all the candy.

When we got home from Sugar's house (at 8:30), all the neighbors were out on lawn chairs at the Dolenar's house passing out candy. We grabbed our chairs and headed over for more fun in the neighborhood. We have such great friends and families here. We are so lucky! I literally thought my kids were gonna pass out by time the night was over. Case was hysterical at about 9:15 because he was hungry and I wouldn't let him eat. I was too tired to think about food so I threw him in bed crying. He fell asleep about 2 seconds later and we were done! With all the class parties and candy today, it's amazing we made it past 7:00! Although Halloween is one of my favorite holiday's, I am looking forward to the calmness of Thanksgiving, some cooler fall weather, and more football games! Hope your Halloween was spooky fun!

I love this picture of Spider Man reaching for the doorbell.

Trick or Treating is so much fun!

Playing games at Sugar's house was the best part of the night.

Case playing bowling.

Lady Bug B and Spider man.

While at the cabin for fall break, Sugar had all the kids make a Halloween bean bag to use for Halloween night. The kids each signed their names and the year so they will have them forever.

The scavenger hunt was a huge hit.

Parade Time!

Today I was able to watch Case participate in his second Halloween school parade. I'm telling you what...this kid is a funny one. He has been so hesitant about dressing up this year. I don't know what it is, but he thinks it's no longer the "cool" thing to do. After convincing him that dressing up is what you do for Halloween, he chose the same ninja costume as his big brother, Brody. Great, costume problem solved. Here comes parade day and Case is stressing all morning about wearing the costume to school. He is worried that non of the other kids will be dressed up or that one of the older kids on the bus will make fun of his costume. He is asking what he should do if one of the older kids says something mean about his costume when he is parading around the school. He is just worried all morning about this parade. I give him the, "do we really care what others say about us" talk that my Mom gave me a hundred times as a young girl and teenager, and sent him out the door to the bus. As we approach the bus, I notice Case is holding his ninja mask instead of wearing it. I try to convince him to put the thing on but he doesn't want to. I ask him to put it in his backpack, but he is too busy stressing that not everyone at the bus stop has a costume. I arrive at the school ready to see my little ninja in the parade and here he comes...mask missing, leg guards and stings gone. As he walks past me I ask, "Case...where is your mask?" With the cutest dang smile he shrugs his shoulders up and says , with a giggle, "I don't know." I look at him and laugh because he could care less that some of the costume is missing. Why should I? The parade finished and I go to his classroom to take what's left of the ninja costume home with me before he looses any more. I am puzzled about the ninja mask so I go to the office and ask the secretary. No luck. I try both lost and founds. No luck there either. As I'm pulling out of the school parking lot, in pulls the bus Case rides each morning. SCORE! I flag down bus driver Lloyd and search the bus. No ninja mask on the bus. By then I'm done searching of the mask and head home. At 1:15 I arrive in Case's class to help with the party and there is Case with a big old grin on his face. "I found my ninja mask Mom, " he tells me. "It was in the bush by where I line up with my class." I am not kidding when I tell you that I think this kid is purposely trying to loose his ninja costume before we trick-or-treat tonight.

Mrs. Hunt's First Grade Class

Some of the cute first grade kiddos.

Lady bug B was there to watch Case parade around the school.

So was spider man!

Brody was there too but apparently 3rd graders are too old to participate in the Halloween parade. Sad!

From Pumpkin to Jack O Lantern

Tonight after church (yes I said tonight since we don't even get out of church until 4:00), Sugar and Jim came over with PF Chang's to help us carve pumpkins. The boys designed and carved their own pumpkins this year. I'm not kidding when I say that all a boy needs in his life is a knife. These boys were like Edward Scissor Hands, cutting everything in sight! When it was all over, they ended up with some very cute and spooky pumpkins. Now on to the fun...

Case was all business tonight. His pumpkin turned out darling.

Miss B. loved using marker to decorate her pumpkin. After she went to bed, we carved it up for her. Sorry you were so sleeping tonight Miss B. 3 hours of church during your regularly scheduled 3 hour nap time is hard on us all!

Brody did super carving his pumpkin tonight.

Even the 4 year old carved his own pumpkin.

Trunk-Or-Treat

Tonight we went Trunk-Or-Treating at the church. Today has been so crazy that by time we got there, I was shaking. My nerves were shot and I was exhausted. The kids had fun playing games and gathering candy from all the darling decorated trunks. It was fun to see friends and even second cousins. It was a great way to start the Halloween fun that has yet to come!

Ninja Case was hard to keep track of tonight. He and Brody were all over playing games and having fun with friends. Therefore, I have no pictures of Brody from tonight!

Cute Mallorie hung with Miss B. all night. She is so sweet with her and Miss B. ADORES her!

Ledger, I mean Spider man, loved every game he played tonight. He is a fun kid.

Miss B. couldn't believe that all she had to do was hold her ladybug bucket up to people and they would give her candy. She was in heaven!

Jack Stradling and Ledger, aka Indy and Spider man.

Megan Stradling and Miss B. Too cute cousins!

Erie Canal

This afternoon Brody had his fall piano recital where he performed "Erie Canal" He did a fantastic job even though he was heartbroken that Sugar couldn't be there at the last minute. Lucky for him, Nanny and Papa were there to hear his spooky song. Can you believe Brody played the whole song wearing his mask?

A Hint of Fall

There was a hint of fall in the air today. Although it was sunny outside today, there were large grey clouds in the sky. A few times today I thought it was going to rain. This evening as I went on a bike ride with my kids, the wind blew and it was a tiny bit chilly. I love this time of year and wish that it was colder during the day. I am ready to pull out my boots and sweaters. I am ready to play outside and not get hot. I am ready!

Yesterday Ledger had his preschool Halloween parade. He loves his Spider man costume and wears it all day everyday. He now is the proud owner of light up Spider man tennis shoes from Target. I've never been a fan of light up shoes. My kids have begged for them and I have said, "NO!" I'm still not a fan but Ledger is in love with them. (I hope they don't get lost after Halloween:) If I had only know the joy that light up shoes can bring to a 4 year old, I might have considered letting my other kids own a pair.

Spider Man's Halloween Parade

Today Spider Man had his Halloween parade at Miss Jody's school. He looked adorable with all his school friends. He loves loves loves this costume and has worn it for about 2 weeks straight now. I'm hoping it will even last until Halloween.

Cute Cottage Kids.

Oh Jordan. I love that you want to hold hands with Ledger. He is a nice boy even if he doesn't quite get that you are flirting with him. I hope your dream of getting married in the Temple together comes true cause we love your sweet family.

I love you Spider Man!

At 2 years old...

...Miss B. is dang cute! She is talking up a storm and making us laugh daily. Some of her favorite phrases are, "I dough know." "Ledger, I happy!" " Caaaaaaaase!!!" "Where Dad?" "Daddy home!" "Hi guys."

The girl can sing just about anything. Although we don't always know what it is she is singing, we can tell by the tune of the song what it is supposed to be.

She thinks she is going potty in the potty like the big boys, but unfortunately, she hasn't figured out that she doesn't "go" the same way they do.

She dances every time music comes on and can sing most of the primary program songs.

I love that she sits on the kitchen counter each evening and watches/helps me make dinner.

She is fast at lightening in everything she does.

She can throw a ball better then any of my boys. To bad she is going to be a dancer or gymnast and NOT a ball player!

On the way to her 2 year appointment today, Miss B. kept saying, "James hurt." "James hurt." When I would say to her, "Does Dr. James hurt?" She would make this funny little whimper noise like she was crying. She knew shots were coming today. She handled it quite well though. A little yelp when the needle went in but that was about it. The girl is tough!

Height: 33.5 inches (41%)

Weight: 23.1 lbs (8%)

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (39%)

Shots given: Hep A (Round 2)

September Pack Meeting

Tonight at Pack Meeting, the Wolves were in charge of the flag ceremony. This was Brody's first time doing this and he did great.

The theme was cooperation. The boys did some fun activities where they had to cooperate. Brody and Mason had fun trying to keep the balloon in the air.

Jonah, Wyatt, Mason, Brody, Kamden and Parker.

Only

I don't know what it is, but Ledger and I seem to be having some of our best conversations in the car. Yesterday on the way to pre-K our conversation went like this:

L. "Mom...do you spell "arrow," O-N-L-Y?"

M. "What?" (thinking to myself...what are you talking about?) "Nooooo."

L. "How do you spell arrow then Mom?"

M. I start looking around wondering what he is talking about. Low and behold I see this sign.

After I explain to him what that street sign means, he starts in with a spelling quiz.

L. "How do you spell tree?"

M. "T-R-E-E"

L. "How do you spell Window?"

M. "W-I-N-D-O-W"

L. "How do you spell Purse?"

M. "P-U-R-S-E"

This went on and on. Anything he could see he wanted me to spell. An then...

L. "How do you spell air?"

M. "A-I-R"

L. How do you spell Heaven?"

M. "H-E-A-V-E-N"

This kid is a thinker.

Fear The Fork!

Jeremy and I had the opportunity to take Brody and Case (sorry you couldn't behave today Ledger) to the ASU football game tonight. We ate dinner at El Charro and then met Kunkle and Presley at the stadium for a night of fun. I love going to the games with the kids. They get so excited seeing it all happen live. Since we have the best seats in the house, the whole night it pure excitement. So I have a question for you. Would putting large vinyl "forks" on both sides of my car be considered a mid life crises? I seriously think my husbands having one. I about died when I saw these things on my car. Jeremy thinks they are, "sooo cool" however they weren't cool enough to put on his truck! I can't even tell you how many people have flagged me down, hanging out their windows showing the "Devils" sign. My boys and I are constantly laughing at the ASU crazies! Apparently forks on the side of you car ARE waaay cool because someone stole one off my car the other day at the grocery store. Way cool or U of A fan? You decide!

Yep that's us. 50 yard line, second tier up, second row. These seats are AWESOME!!

Presley and Kunkle. Go Devils!

Case and Presley.

Poor Case had some dental work done and his little mouth got so swollen and sore. He had a canker sore on his bottom lip about the size of Texas. I should talk to my dentist about that:)!

As long as Brody has a Root Beer...life is good!

Learning so much in Pre-K

Ledger has been working so hard on learning to write his name.

Unfortunately he forgot the rule about only writing on paper.

Funny thing about the picture above...he wrote on his right hand...HE'S RIGHT HANDED!

Willis Farm

While at the cabin for fall break, I had the opportunity to take the kids to Willis Farm in Snowflake, to find the perfect Halloween pumpkins. It is such a fun experience picking your pumpkin off the vine rather then from a cardboard box on the corner of Power and University. We walked up and down each row of pumpkins searching for just the right pumpkin. Brody wanted the biggest pumpkin in the field. Case was looking for the most unique. Ledger just struggled with the fact that one side of the pumpkin was dirty from growing on it's side in the field. Therefore, finding the perfect pumpkin was impossible. Miss B. was more interested in pushing the wagon then looking for a pumpkin. When it was all said and done, we left Willis Farm with 4 of the most awesome pumpkins you've ever seen. Can't wait to see what we end up doing with them for Halloween. Hope this record heat doesn't ruin them before the big day.

Miss B. had a ball pulling the wagon around the farm.

This was the highlight of the trip.

Thank goodness Sugar was able to find a pumpkin that wasn't dirty for Ledger.

Yep Brody...I think that's big enough.

Love these little Pumpkins!

Oh so fun!

The pumpkins at Willis Farm were all so perfect. It was hard to choose which we wanted. Is it weird that I felt a little guilty picking up and pumpkin and then putting it back because it had an imperfection? I felt so bad.

My cute little 6 year old pumpkin.

Thanks for going to Willis Farm with us!