Happy Halloween

M and Q in Hotch Potch Halloween hoodies

HaPPY HaLLoWeeN!

Tomorrow is the big day.  Today we ate bloody intestines {spaghetti and sauce} and rotten bones {cheesy breadsticks}.  Tonight we carved pumpkins.  We also made spider web treats, Jack O Lantern oranges, and pumpkin cupcakes for the class parties tomorrow.
We took pictures of the kids in their costumes on Friday so we wouldn't have to worry about it among all of the chaos tomorrow.  We also snuck in one last visit to Lagoon for Frightmares!
Yesterday, we went to 2 play-off football games and Millie's last lacrosse game.  The Fall weather was perfect!  Unfortunately the 4th graders lost, but Millie and Will's team won, sending them to the semi-finals next week.  Thanks G&G Guffey for joining us!
Last night BS and I went to a friend's house for another Halloween party - costumes were required so I wondered how I was going to manage finding a costume for us when I hardly had time to breathe for the past couple of weeks.  I saw this picture online a couple of days ago and knew that it was the answer...easy and cheap...and pretty funny!
The best part about this costume was that BS and I tended to stand really close to each other for a good chunk of the party.  Usually the guys group together while the ladies stand together and chat.  We really enjoyed each other's company and laughing at lots of things :)

And just for fun - here's the kids being silly different costumes.  They raided the dress-up trunk today:

Well, here's to a fun and safe holiday tomorrow!  Pictures of the big day and costumes to come.

Happy October!

One of our favorite times of the year is here.  The kids wouldn't leave me alone until I decorated the house for Halloween.  Last year I printed pictures of the kids in their costumes from every year since they were born and have them framed or hanging on my creepy black halloween tree.  I love looking at them and using them for decorations.  I plan on adding to it each year.  The girls have decided what they want to be for Halloween but the boys are still working on some ides.  I guess we'll see.  Here's to a month of spooky fun!

Valentines

We had a wonderful Valentine holiday.

It went like this:

Assembling the Valentines:

Millie and Sambo chose to make some that had 2 hearts filled with gumballs and stapled together. To open, you have to tear it to reveal candy inside. Cute! And even better, they could make it themselves!


Will chose to give Hershey bars with a valentine attached to the front with his picture on it.
He was so happy with them and again, could do this all by himself!



Quinny chose these cute little robots. I came across the idea on the internet and I showed the boys thinking they would want to do it...but nope, it was Quincy who loved the robots!



For teachers and friends we gave these water bottles with a valentine label and strawberry Chrystal Light attached. We thought they would be tired of all the treats:


For breakfast we ate Valentine waffles which are pink Belgium waffles with fresh strawberries, buttermilk syrup, and whipped cream. The recipe comes from my friend who's family name is Valentine. Yum.

Here are kiddos with their boxes filled with their Valentines.
{Note: I did not send Sam with that box...he wanted to take it. After school that day he came home a little sad saying that kids were teasing him for having hearts all over his box}.


I got to help with Millie's class party. I was in charge of the games. It was a relief to witness that boys and girls are still not that interested in each other :) I love that age! Here's Millie at school with my little helper:


Later we had game night (played Sorry!, Spoons, and Uno) and ate a special dinner-
Pizza with heart pepperonis, salad with heart cucumbers, bread, and red punch. Then peanut butter blossoms and heart sugar cookies for dessert:



Then it was Valentine exchange from us to the kids. They got flip flops and fancy chocolate truffles that my friend Tracy made.


I gave BS a ski day and night at the Alaskan Inn {with me of course}. We are going next week.
He gave me pedicure stuff and even better...a pedicure with his own hands! And the polish he picked out is really cute! He's as good as the Asians!

I heart you.

P.S. - Somebody turned 4 today!!!

New Years Evening

I'm still playing catch-up. I'm posting about New Year's Eve 2 weeks late. But as of yesterday, I think I'm finally getting on top of things for the 1st time in 2 months. Whew!

We returned home from the cabin, unloaded the car, changed clothes, and went straight to our friend's house to bring in 2011. The Rust family knows how to put on a great party! There was a ton of good eating and playing games. We were having so much fun and the kids played together so well that we didn't get home until 1:00 am!

Everyone played "Just Dance 2" on the Wii...even the little folks and the Mamas.


We got so caught up in all the fun that we dang near missed the ball drop. We broke out the confetti poppers, the blowers, and the horns.

Happy Twenty Eleven!

Halloween part 6: Halloween!

Autumn Fairy:

The Grim Reaper:

An Army Guy: {correction - an army guy with a bloody injury}

Little Miss Cinderella:

Little Miss Cinderella laughing at Nacho Libre:

It was nice having Halloween on a Saturday this year. We started out the day with Sam's football game then lunch at In and Out Burger. They won! On to the semi-finals!

Then we came home and carved pumpkins. Millie even carved her own pumpkin and did a great job! We love to keep the seeds for toasting. Yum. This year, BS did something extra cool with the jack-o-lanterns. He poured some concoction on a roll of toilet paper and placed it inside the pumpkins and flames were coming out for a good 2 hours. It was way cool because it was pouring rain and the flames burned strong!

Because of the cold rain, the girls dressed up as a football player and a spider for trick-or-treating to stay nice and warm. BS took the kids and met up with many friends/neighbors for a fun night. The rain even stopped eventually. When they returned, we warmed up with hot chocolate and chicken noodle soup in orange pumpkin bread bowls. I was dressed as Belle, but darnit, didn't take any pics of myself ;)


As usual, this year was a candy success! Kids put all of their treats together and filled a box AND a paper shopping bag. Holy cow. A few days later, they had already forgotten about it and it sits in the laundry room waiting to be eaten. The favorites are all picked out.

Today was a great day. What a fun month! And I haven't even posted about St. George or Deer Hunting yet!

Pre - Pre - Christmas

Because Sam and I have families that live close (within an hour both North and South), and also because we are so blessed to have such an awesome neighborhood and friends, there is always a get-together of some sort, and especially around the holidays. It all starts about the 1st weekend in December (yes, we did just get Thanksgiving over) and from there it's just party after party after party. This is a good thing! We love parties!
So, this post is about a couple of the events we had a couple weeks ago. Though there were other parties, these are just the ones I took pictures. To my friends and family who are reading this, I would like to thank-you for the fun times at Christmas parties this year and I would really like pictures from you if you don't see your party below (especially Whitney) :)

Neighborhood Hayride with Santa:
We hosted the 2nd annual neighbor party where we donate to a charity instead of making/giving neighborhood gifts. Everyone came with a donation, rode with Santa on a hayride, sang carols, enjoyed hot chocolate and doughnuts, and mingled. It was super fun, and a great turn-out.
For some reason, Santa Claus looked a heck of a lot like Grandpa Tom! Quincy was really nervous and scared of him at first, but after a few minutes with him, she warmed up to Santa not knowing who he really was! But thanks to him, she is no longer afraid of Santa! The boys had no idea either. He did a really good job.

Family Party at the Cabin:

Make a Smilebox slideshow

P.S. Happy Birthday Sam! We love you!