Halloween

A few years ago we outgrew the "theme" for Halloween costumes. We used to do some sort of cutsey theme, when my kids were smaller, and they had no opinions on what type of costume they would wear. That is over and done now. Dillon and Logan both wanted to be Army guys, but didn't want to match each other. They compromised by one of the having face paint, and the other a mustache.


Morgan didn't decide what she was wearing to the party she was invited to, until the day of. Her costume is from 4 years ago, and doesn't fit all that well anymore- but that's okay!
They all had a great time trick-or-treating, and partying. Camden loved to see the "scawy houses" and to get treats on top of that, was just great for him. He kept running into peoples houses though, so we had to put a stop to that. Dillon spent most of the night with a bunch of friends, and a parent, so I didn't see him very much. Camden was slowing Logan down, so after a while, I brought Camden home and put him to bed. I took Logan out afterwards, and he sure got serious about scoring the treats. They all came home with plenty of treats. (of course!) Logan will probably hide his in various locations all over the house, and continue to eat them for the rest of the year. Dillon gave away probably half of his candy, because he is so picky about things. The rest will probably be gone soon! It was a nice night and they didn't even need their coats! It was a fairly humid night, which isn't usually a good thing for me when I straighten my hair. Somebody asked me if I did it that way for Halloween. Nope- just lucky me, with the frizzy hair. Next year maybe I will be a witch. :)
It is SOOO hard to get a picture with Camden. He will not look at you, or is squirming/running away. He was a cute little giraffe- I just can't prove it. :)

Funny things they say....

The kids and I were talking about who looks more like Matt's side of the family, and who looks more like my side of the family. We decided that Logan and Morgan are more like Matt's family, and Camden and Dillon are more like mine. So Dillon said, "My hair was so blond when I was little, and yours is dark now." I told him that my hair is dark because I colored it, that it wasn't that dark when I was little. I said it used to be strawberry blond. Logan said, "Oh is that what color the box said?"

Free two year old!

Wow! My little cute, sweet boy is SOOOO two! It has not been a good week for him. So far he has: ruined my carpet with red paint, peed on the tile on purpose, dumped syrup on his head, colored on the walls (again), spilled a whole box of cereal, and then there is the regular every day stuff. You know- like get naked 12 times a day, dump all his toys, take cushions of the couch and hide stuff in them, stuff things in the heater vents, etc.I was in the room with him when he dumped the paint. I just wasn't fast enough to get it. Now- we need to replace the carpet. I swear I watch him! He is just so fast, and does this stuff in a seconds time. I am worn out, and need to keep reminding myself that ALL of my kids did this, and they outgrew it. I put cute pictures of him around, and on my phone, so I can remember when he is being naughty, how cute he really can be. :) So- remind me how adorable he is, so I won't give him to the next person who comes to my door!

Football

Dillon has been in flag football this year. He has had a great time playing on a team with the neighborhood boys. Their team did really well, and made it in the playoffs to the championship game. They were so excited! They lost that game, but had a great season, and they still got trophies, so they didn't seem too disappointed! Congrats Dillon!

Fall is here

I know so many people *love* fall. They love the cool crispness, the changing colors, sweaters, etc. I hate to admit, I am NOT one of those people! I dread the day the cool air comes and I can't wear my flip flops. I love the site of the changing trees, but know too soon, those leaves will be gone, and the trees will be bare. I don't love fall or Halloween decorations. Orange and black? Not my favorite color combos. I decorate later every year, because I want my summer stuff, and not some ugly ghosts, pumpkins and goblins. My kids LOVE fall though. They want scary stuff, like spiders, mummy's and gravestones for our yard. I have tried to at least pretend I enjoy the season, for their sakes. I even went so far as to make a Halloween themed lunch.

"Monster mouths"

"Hot dog mummies"
That's as far as I go though. I am still mourning for summer. Every year after the first snowfall, I do look back and wish it was still fall, though! But there is NO season quite like spring. After the LONG, cold winter, and seeing the flowers bloom, the buds on the trees, and the growth of new plants in our garden. The beautiful bright colors of tulips- and no more orange and black!

Answered prayers

I came into the office today to do something on the computer. It wouldn't turn on, and it wasn't unplugged. I realized the lights were off and nothing else in the office was turned on either. I started to look for a GFI outlet, thinking something must have tripped it. This is what I found:

Seriously- I started to shake and cry, and realized Camden is lucky to be alive. I know this may seem overly dramatic- but 86% of electrocutions a year are from children ages 1-4. We have covers on ALL of our outlets, and somehow, this one didn't get put back in. Anyway- I am so thankful that Camden was being watched over and protected. Prayers are really answered.

Camden's cold

Okay- I know this is disgusting, but it's kind of funny too. I thought I'd better write it down, so it can make me laugh later, when Camden brings home his first girlfriend, and I need to tell an embarrassing story about him. Camden has a cold, and he does not like his nose clogged. He has taken to picking his nose, and then handing it to me, while saying, "Here's my booger mom." He says it all cute and sweet like it's a good thing, and I should want it. (I told you it's pretty gross!) So today I said, "No- I don't want that. You need to get a tissue and wipe it on there." He toddles off to my closet. I said, "No go to the bathroom and get a tissue." He says in the cutest voice, "I wipe it on two-shoes mom!" Yes- he wiped it on my two shoes, not the tissues. Stinker. I think we need to work on his vocabulary around here. And now I need some new shoes.

Raingutter Regatta

Dillon got to participate in a Raingutter Regatta for scouts. He loves all the activities that we have in scouts. He loves to help in building things and seeing how they work. This regatta was no exception. He loved helping with it, seeing how the raingutters work, and racing his boat. It didn't hurt that we had unlimited supplies of popcorn, and chips. It was pretty chilly, but he had a great time. Love you Dillon!

Magic Eraser

I'd like to bear my testimony today that Magic Erasers work. I scrubbed with a scrubby, a wipe, and a cloth. Nothing would get this marker off the wall. Then I tried a Magic Eraser. Wow- I even scrubbed the door that had fingernail polish on it. It's as good as new, and now I get to keep my 2 year old. He was in serious jeopardy after all his antics this morning.

Fall Break

We were able to take a little trip with the kids last week. They had fall break, and we had planned on going to Jackson Hole. That was until we saw the weather report, and it was supposed to snow and be 25 degrees! So we changed directions, and decided to head down south. St. George was booked, because of the marathon that weekend, so we went even further south to Las Vegas.

We had a great time with the kids. We were able to stay off the strip, in a huge condo-like hotel. It was so nice, and nice to be away from the Casinos. We stayed super busy, while we were there. We swam, ate at the Rainforest Cafe, rode the Manhattan Express roller coaster on top of the NY NY building, and played in the huge arcade there. We also went to a go-cart track, and raced and rode other rides there, we went to the Circus Circus amusement park, saw the Lions at MGM, went to the aquarium at Mandalay Bay, went to the outlet, etc.

One night, Matt took the boys to see Toy Story 2 in 3-D, and I took Morgan to see Donny and Marie. She absolutely loved it! I was surprised how much she liked this show. She didn't even know who they were, and I had to tell her all about them. However, you would have thought she was their biggest fan, because she was so into it! Afterwards she kept saying, "That was the best show! It was so awesome!"

Camden had a great time looking at the lights, and pushing "elegator" (elevator) buttons. He can spot an elevator from a mile away, and freaks out, until he gets to push it. I asked him what he liked to do on our trip and he said, "I saw the dinosaur! It scare me!" At the aquarium, they had a Komodo dragon, and he was convinced it was a dinosaur. He also asked if we could go on the trip in the car again, today. He is so cute!


One funny thing, was when Morgan and I were at the outlet mall, we were at a kiosk and this lady was trying to sell us something. She asked Morgan if she had been gambling, while we were visiting. I said, "We don't gamble, and she's 12 years old!" She was visibly surprised that she was only 12, and then said, just a minute. She went over to this guy, who was maybe 18, and said something. She came back and said, "He thought you were at least 16, and I had to tell him to back away- and leave you alone." Apparently he had told her that he thought Morgan was really cute. I am not ready for this! She needs to stop growing. She is officially taller than me now, and definitely doesn't look her age.

We had a great time, and the drive was actually much better than we expected it to be. Camden only fussed for about the last 20 minutes of our drive home. Now we are home to rain, cold, and even a dusting of snow this morning. Nothing like a little reality on a Monday.

This is pretty much our reality, when we try to take pictures...