Halloween

This year I didn't care about Halloween.  The pumpkins sat on the steps until a week after Halloween and never got carved.  (they are sitting in the middle of the garden right now rotting away.)  Halloween was on a Sunday anyway, so everyone trick-or-treated in the rain on Saturday night.  For school, the kids needed costumes for the parade, so they sorted through the Halloween box earlier in the month to find something to wear.

Adam chose the Fireman coat and hat for the third year in a row!  Made my day!

Joshua was thrilled to find a tight Spiderman outfit that matches his new backpack.  He barely squeezed into it, and I made a mental note to make sure to dress him in sweat pants under the costume - not jeans - when he went trick-or-treating.

After finding all her favorite choices were too small, (and lots of attitude,) Emily settled on the dress and wings Miriam wore last year.  It's a nice change from the series of witch costumes she has worn for who knows how many years in a row.

Olivia actually fits this princess/fairy costume!  One of her sisters wore it years ago.  A few safety pins to hold the skirt up, and it's perfect.

And... our last costume choice from Miriam is...?

VAMPIRE!

Miriam insisted on Vampire teeth.  It was the only item I would have to buy for a costume, so I decided I could afford the $5.00 for teeth.   On the way to the store, Miriam was so excited and told me all about vampires.  "Vampires are really beautiful, and wear a black or purple or red dress.  They have a cape, and pointy teeth."  She went on and on about how cool vampires are.  I wish I remembered it all.

How long did she wear the teeth?
Off and on the week before Halloween to scare her brothers and sisters.

Miriam reluctantly wore the vampire teeth for this picture, but she refused to wear them to school, or trick-or-treating.

She is cuter without the pointy teeth anyway.

How do you eat Cheetos?

My mother liked to eat Cheetos.  She didn't like to get her hands dirty, so she always ate them with a fork.  Puffy Cheetos are easy to poke with a fork.  Crunchy Cheetos take a little more caution, but it can be done.  I have never seen anyone else eat Cheetos with a fork until my son, Adam started doing it.  To my knowledge he never saw his grandmother eat Cheetos with a fork.  

Here is my secret video of Adam eating Cheetos with a fork. Silly boy.

Love Joshua in the background.

They did what?

When my sister, Jenny comes to visit, the kids perform.  They love her camera and act as silly as they can, just to see the pictures of themselves acting crazy.

On one occasion, Emily and Miriam were entertaining Aunt Jenny while we put the rest of the kids to bed.  Once we were done, Jenny calmly downloaded her pictures to my computer.  When I saw the following picture, I asked her what they were doing.  Jenny wanted to know the same thing.  Jenny told me she had asked Emily if her Mom had ever seen her climb the walls.  Of course not.

Then I asked Jenny how Emily got up there.  Jenny produced the video evidence...

Funny thing is, I remember doing the same thing as a little girl when my Mom wasn't looking!

Joshua's birthday

He is FOUR years old!

Joshua's birthday started a couple of days early.  His Grandpa was in town, so he got to open some early birthday presents from Grandpa and his aunts in Wyoming.

A container of army men were on top followed by new underwear and socks.  Joshua LOVES his new Spiderman underwear.  (he even gets to be Spiderman for Halloween and is so excited that he will match his underwear!)

My aunt Ladauna helps Joshua unpack some new pants and shirts (thanks!).

Joshua's grandpa loves to golf.  He thought Joshua would enjoy his own mini golf club set.

Here is the first lesson...

(and Dad cringes at the technique - but Joshua hits the golf-balls around just fine.)
The best part is that there are three golf clubs, so brothers and sisters can "share" without Joshua getting too mad.

In our backyard, golf is a dangerous sport.

Joshua had a hard time blowing out his candles -

- but eventually he did it.

Now for your vote...
Is it a fish?

Or an alien with only 1 eye?

Adam LOVES kindergarten

Adam loves kindergarten.  He can sit and wait forever for the carpool to come.

When he gets tired of waiting inside, he walks out to the street to wait.   Olivia loves to wait with him.

After school, he always asks me for tape to hang everything he made that day on the wall around his bed.  

Adam is VERY proud of all his work.  I still need to find a better storage system for his papers other than the bedroom wall.  He is out of room!

To the Mountains

 This year's trip to erode the riverbanks and roast hot-dogs was in September. (but I haven't had time to blog until now)

First thing my kids do after climbing out of the van is race to the river.  Once there, they pick up rocks as fast as they can and throw them into the water.   After about 20 minutes, or when they can't find anymore rocks to throw, they look for other entertainment.  This year the weather was cool, and the water was barely above freezing.  The kids didn't mind and splashed out barefoot into the ice cold river.  It looked like so much fun I joined them.  This is me smiling for a picture with the kids, but secretly I can't wait to get my feet OUT of the ice river, and warm again!

I love it when Olivia "tries" to smile.

My silly Miriam waded out far enough to soak her pant legs.  She didn't mind the cold.

 Emily always smiles the best for her Dad.

Olivia copies everything Adam does.

And while everyone else enjoyed the river, someone else did not.  Joshua hates getting his clothes wet.  He stayed as far away from the river as he could until...

Dad came to the rescue with a new game!  Michael found BIG rocks - the size of your head - and heaved them towards the water.  They didn't fly very far, but they made it far enough out not to get Joshua wet, plus they made the biggest splashes.