Halloween through the years

2002


2003


2004


2005 (NOT MY COUCH!)


2006


2007
(testing out Jared's old costume... Connor HATED it. Shrieked and flailed on the ground, clawed at the hood, etc. Amazed I got a decent photo of him wearing it! He ended up being Superman instead)


(Connor liked the Superman costume just fine, but he absolutely detested being forced to stand still for the group photo!)


2008


(couldn't resist posing Dan the ape with Connor the chimp)


2009
(apparently I didn't bother taking a picture of just my three, but I've got a fun picture of the group of kids we trick-or-treated with that year! Connor was (to quote him at the time) a "knight in arming sharmor", Jared was a SWAT guy, and Emily Grace was Little Orphan Annie)


2010


(and just because it makes me laugh...)


2011


Stay tuned for 2012 after I snap some pictures tonight during the festivities!

Triathlon photo

I finally got the triathlon photos I ordered in the mail, and I absolutely LOVE this one of Jared! I hadn't ended up with one of him exiting the water (first kid in his age bracket out of the water) on my own camera, so I was so thankful to see the hired photographer had captured it. Nevermind that it cost me an arm and a leg to purchase...


The boys have both asked when the triathlons will start up again, and I have to say I'm pretty excited for them to start back up again myself! SOOO much fun. This picture makes me extra anxious to get the boys into another one. LOL

Connor sings

This may be about the most adorably off-key thing I've ever heard! He's been learning this song in music class at school, in preparation for the upcoming Veteran's Day assembly.  He's very proud to know the words and to soon be performing it with the other kids at the school. So sweet!

 

 

And it's made that much more adorable by the missing tooth!  Okay, so maybe I'm biased, but this video totally melts my heart!

Missing Front Tooth

Last night, CJ joined his siblings in the "lost a front when it wasn't totally ready" club.

If you remember, Emily Grace had a somewhat wiggly front tooth, which got knocked out when she fell forward on the teeter-totter and hit her mouth. Jared's tooth wasn't the tiniest bit wiggly prior to making contact with Connor's head in a bounce house, but it never did set up properly in the gums again, it hurt him a lot, and ended up falling out (he was four).

As of last night, Connor's tooth was definitely wiggly, but easily a week away from being totally ready to come out. He asked me to give it a wiggle to see how it was doing, then walked away while I finished a conversation with Emily. Less than a minute later he was standing in front of me, starting to panic, with a mouth full of blood and the tooth dangling precariously out of his mouth and I was wondering what in the world happened in such a short time-frame! LOL! Apparently he'd gone to the couch where Dan was propped up on his side and dove from one end onto Dan, who didn't know it was happening in order to try and catch him, and Connor's arm slipped out from underneath as he was catching himself, so he ended up face-first into Dan's shoulder. It was a little gruesome for a few minutes while we stopped the bleeding and assessed the "damage" (the other front tooth that was barely wiggly is now considerably more so), but the end result is one rather proud little boy.





That sweet little face kills me!!! Now the question is do I get school picture retakes done next week to show off that adorable little gap (he's the only one of my kiddos who's first grade photo doesn't show off missing front teeth/tooth), or leave well enough alone? hmmmm... I guess it depends on how the first picture turned out (which I assume we'll be getting any day now??).

Coffee cozies here, coffee cozies there...

Coffee cozies everywhere!

It all started with a Facebook post of a my 16oz white chocolate irish cream frappe in a cute cozy I'd made myself


What happened shortly afterwards was an awesome whirlwind of compliments and orders! I've filled orders to the tune of approximately 30 cozies in all colors, varying flowers, and size requests over the last three weeks. I wish I'd taken a picture of my front seat piled with cozies as I went around meeting up with the recipients around town. LOL

Here is just a small sample of what I've done lately, per request of friends/family:


Even got some orders for some boy-themed cozies, in addition to the girly ones:


What I love about the cozies is that they work better than the cardboard ones available at the coffee stands, they're usable for hot AND cold drinks (keeps the cold and condensation off your hands for the cold drinks, and keeps your fingers from being burned on the hot drinks--not to mention helps keep your drink hot longer), and they're REUSABLE, which means less paper waste. Sort of a win/win/win if you ask me! *grin*

1st swim meet

Jared and Connor had their first swim meet this weekend. It was so fun to watch them compete! There's a lot of little technical stuff you have to do (or not do) in order not to be disqualified in a race, and we're learning as we go... Jared had some major disappointments being disqualified in some of his events, but his coaches were quick to assure him that it happens to everyone at some point, especially when he's only been in the swim club for a month!

The coaches pulled us aside and had great compliments for both boys and said they're excited to see them grow in their abilities. I am VERY proud of my little guys! It was very brave to go out and compete for the first time, and both boys had really good times for their ages and how long they've been swimming.

Connor placed 2nd in his heat for the 25yd freestyle, and 1st in his heat for the 25yd breaststroke. Jared placed 3rd in his heat for the 100yd breaststroke (but DQ'd due to one accidental flutter kick leading into a turn), and 2nd in his heat for the 100yd freestyle (several people approached us and said if his flip turns were better, he'd have easily won--Jared only JUST started doing flip turns this week, basically!).

Connor's events were ages 8 and under (he's 6), and Jared's events were ages 10 and under (he's 8), so they are both at the low end of their group's age ranges, and have lots of time to improve. They really seemed to enjoy the experience, and I loved the heck out of watching them (and also that I was safely INDOORS while all the soccer parents stood out in the pouring down rain all weekend! ha!).

WAY TO GO JARED AND CONNOR!! Mommy and Daddy are SO proud of you guys. You don't have to win for us to be proud of you, you just have to do your best, and you both swam your hearts out. We had so much fun watching you, and couldn't be more proud. Giant high fives to you both!

Quotes of the Week

Jared has been learning to write in cursive in his 3rd grade class, so he's been busy leaving notes around the house (pretty much with the sole intent of harrassing Connor, who can't read cursive yet). He was excitedly telling his Grandpa Dan yesterday about how he can write cursive (while showing off some of his handiwork), and then stated, "I used to only be able to write in English!!"

While pointing at a traffic light this morning on our way home from the dentist, Emily stated, "That looks like a booger." Really? Because I've never seen glowing green boogers, but that's just me! Maybe I should pay more attention to what I'm feeding her??? ha!

While at the dentist, there was a loud squeaky sound, which sounded similar to the high-pitched yelp/shriek Emily Grace does when she's surprised, hurt, scared, etc. (Basically, we hear it allllll the dang time!). As I was thinking in my head how it sounded like Emily, Connor whipped around in his seat to look toward the sound and said, "I think I just heard that dramatic sound Emily does!" hahahaha! "Dramatic sound" is right!

After learning a bit of trivia (at my favorite little coffee stand this morning), I shared the information with the kids: "The average 4 year old asks about 400 questions per day." Now, Connor's not four years old, but he DOES ask a lot (and I mean A LOT) of questions. So it totally cracked me up when he immediately asked, "Why do 4 year olds ask 400 questions a day?" (That's how they learn about the world around them.) "Did I ask 400 questions a day when I was 4?" (Probably more.) "Do I still ask that many questions?" (Probably, YES!) "How many questions do you think I ask every day?" (Too many to count.) "Do you think you should count them and see?" (NO!) And the conversation continued... Dan and I have decided he'll probably be the smartest person in the world because he will know EVERYTHING after he asks EVERYTHING. *grin* Gotta love a kid with interest and curiosity!

"How many more minutes until the bus comes?" (20 minutes) "How long is that?" (shorter than an episode of Wild Kratts) "Is that enough time to play the Wii?" (nope, sorry) "Is it enough time to watch TV?" (nope, sorry) "Well, what can I do then?" (Read a book! Find some toys! Play with Charlie!) "What if I don't want to do any of that stuff?" (Draw a picture, ride your bike...) "Can I play with your phone?" (No) "How much more time until the bus comes NOW?"

Fair Fun

I'm belatedly sharing a few pictures from our time at the fair a week and a half ago!

Grandma Marlee gave the kids each $8 so they could have turns in the "walk on water" bubble things. They LOVED these!!! It was pretty funny watching them trying to maneuver around inside them.


Emily (I JUST missed getting the picture of her upright and running)


Connor, as he's just about ready to topple sideways


Jared standing up and trying to get going


Connor, getting ready to Mutton Bust! There were 28 kids waiting in line for their turn, so the cowboys were rushing and were basically just tossing kids on and flinging open the gate without giving them a change to get situated. I was looking at Connor when they flung open the gate and he hadn't even fully grabbed on with his hands yet! He fell off after about 3 seconds, but he still had a really good time!


Emily and Connor decided to be brave and test this ride out. They both regretted it BIG TIME! Connor got off and threw himself into my arms and burst into tears. I truly didn't think there was a ride that would ever scare Connor! He's such a thrill-seeker... At the point I took this picture, the ride was paused for unloading a car at the bottom, and Connor and Emily were stuck tipped to one side. The cars twist around too much so I couldn't get a good feel for how he was liking the ride, so as soon as it paused, I hollered up, "Connor! Was it fun?" I got back a very LOUD, very FORCEFUL, "NOOOOOOOOOO!" (oops!)


Em talked Jared onto one of her favorite rides. He's not much of a thrill-seeker, but agreed to go one time (and ended up liking it!)


Think someone was a little wiped out on the drive home??