Sickie and the Big Feet

It's not fair!

I take it back!

I'll knock on wood!

Really? I mean, I didn't even say it out loud!!!!

So, I jinxed myself and I'm not happy about it. The thing is, can you really jinx yourself if all you do is think it? Apparently so....

Just yesterday it hit me how healthy Katie has been (you know what's coming, don't you?) She hit 8 months without even a mild fever! When you compare this to Tyler - 8 days in the hospital when he was 6 weeks old and months on oxygen at home. And Jason - numerous ear infections with tubes being put in at 13 months. And Jackson - well, I think Jackson was pretty healthy, but I was a postpartum haze and it's all a bit foggy! So anyway, there I sat thinking about how wonderfully healthy she has been. At that very moment I am sure the nasty bug germs inside her were having a grand old time, laughing at me and mocking me and infecting my perfectly healthy little angel. Now she is coughing, clingy, has a nose that runs like a faucet and is running a temp. I hate sick babies. Wait, that sounded wrong. I don't hate the babies....I hate the sick part.....you know what I mean. On top of this comes a big dose of mom guilt. The kind every mom I know has mastered to a science. This week I have been diligent in my gym attendance. I am running again and I'm loving it - didn't even realized I missed it, but I did. I've tried yoga and some other classes but for me, there is nothing like just me a treadmill. Classes tend to get in my head and mess with me - but that is a topic for another time! I was feeling really good about taking time for "me" and yet how can I not link the new sickness with a week of going to the gym childcare. What can I say.... I mean, I'm building her immunities, right? Or is that just something some mom made up to make herself feel better. Oh well, it was bound to happen eventually. Might as well be now.

Back to the running....can I just tell you how much I love a new pair of running shoes? I mean the good ones, the ones some supposed foot expert (with really cute toe nail polish - kicking myself for not taking a picture of it....but that might have been weird) picks out just for your feet that feel amazing the second they go on. I had been using a pair I bought on sale awhile ago that I thought were cute (what was I thinking ) and my shin pain made me want to cry. One shoe shopping trip later and todays run was way faster with NO pain! :) However, what I didn't like about the shoe experience is that since having baby number 4 my shoe size has once again gone up a half size!!! NO!!! It's sad, really sad. I simply can not have anymore kids if for no other reason than I REFUSE to have bigger feet than my husband! I was wondering why my cute summer sandals were so uncomfortable at church last week. It's kinda heartbreaking and shallow at the same time..... and I'll probably keep trying to squeeze into them for awhile.... but I have a feeling some lucky friend of mine (who wears a size 9) is about to score on some shoes! All of you willing to admit your shoe size on my blog, leave me a comment. Free cute shoes should be motivation enough - after all, I put all this out there and I get nothing but big feet! Boo.

Who would have thought I could start a post about my sick daughter and end up talking about my feet. Maybe it's due to my overload of diet coke today, or maybe it's just been one of those days!

However, I must say....these cuties sure do make big feet worth it!

Easter Memories and Traditions

I love Easter. It is hands down my favorite holiday. For one thing - it's in the spring - my favorite season! But also, some of my best memories as a kid are of Easter. Now that I have my own kids, I spend a lot of time thinking about why that was. I want to be able to create those kind of memories for my family and I love holiday traditions. My mom always did such a great job with my egg hunts and baskets. I still remember where she hid my baskets most years. Some of my favorites were... in the dryer, balancing on the towel bar in the bathroom (I kept looking and looking but must have been short and never looked up) and the year it was hiding in a field in the forest with a balloon attached. There were always eggs everywhere, and every year she would count how many she hid and yet we would never find them all. So, every July or August, one of the dogs would show up with a cracked plastic egg in their mouth. Then there was the year that each egg had a clue leading to the next egg. It was by far my favorite egg hunt! I started this tradition last year with my kids and it was a huge hit - they were writing clues and making there own egg hunts for days after. They are already making sure that I will be doing the same again this year. (Luckily I still have my clues on the computer so with a few changes I can use them again!)

The other thing that always made Easter so special was my Grandpa. Being an only child, there were no siblings compete with to find the most eggs. So, the egg hunts were between Grandpa and me. He would chase me around trying to steal my eggs and talking a big talk about finding them all before me. When I was little I was worried he really was stealing my eggs - but as I got older (and realized he gave me all the eggs he found) I just loved the tradition and fun of something we shared together. Last June he passed away and with Easter approaching I am missing him more than ever. How grateful it has made me to have the gospel in my life - knowing that I will see him again is such a blessing! On a side note - as a family we are taking this week to ponder and learn about the saviors death and resurrection. This morning we were reading about Mary not recognizing the savior when he first appeared to her - we asked the kids why she didn't recognize him and Jackson's answer was, "Because he was brand new- with some holes!" They really do make scripture study pretty entertaining (when they aren't asleep!)

Anyway, Easter is almost here and for the first time I can remember, we won't have any family here with us. Luckily, we are having some dear friends over and I get to be in charge of the egg hunt! It's helping me to focus on the fun parts of this Easter and pass along all the fun I had as a child - I love it. I am also in charge of the Ham (wish me luck...) and some other food. I am sure it will work out - and if it doesn't - my friend is a great cook so at least something will be edible. And Grandpa, I love you, I miss you and I promise to steal eggs and candy from all my kids in honor of you!

Why I do what I do!

On days when my life feels uneventful an unimportant, having my 8 year old bring this home from school makes it all worth it!!

You may need to click on the picture to read it - sorry it's so small, but I'm trying out blogging from my phone which is new to me!

Yesterday wasn't my favorite day. There were 8 loads of laundry (only 6 were completed) errands to run, kids to take to swim team, a huge school project to help Jason with and an endless list of things I would have rather been doing. On top of that I have had a nagging headache that comes and goes for the past few days and I haven't been sleeping well at all. So, I was a little (ok, maybe a lot if you ask my kids and husband) cranky. Cranky, but trying my best. So when the rain started to fall, I felt instantly comforted. I love the rain. I always have. I think I love it more when it seems to match my mood on the inside. So I scooped up my adorable baby from the highchair, grabbed her dinner of plums with applesauce and headed to the front porch to watch it pour. Of course the whole family followed and can I just say that there is nothing better than watching your kids run around in the rain. There are no electronics involved and yet pure joy seems to radiate from them as they splash around and are beyond thrilled to get soaked to the bone! Now, if only inside showers could excite them the same way..... Anyway, after all that excitement, who would have thought it could get better? But, of course, it did, in a big way! It was one of the best rainbows I have seen in years. If only I had a a lens that could have captured it in it's entirety.

The kids were convinced that the rainbow was ending at our friends house who lives a few blocks away. I thought about making a joke about the pot of gold being their three daughters but decided to let them enjoy the fun instead of turning it into a "Mo-ooom" (insert annoyance when reading aloud) moment for them all! So, Jessica -if they come knocking and asking about the pot of gold - they really do mean gold, not girls.

And on a completely random note that is covered in spinach....

I can't seem to get enough of these baby blues! I mean, can you blame me?

I have regrets.

Big ones...

And here is the regret for today: I tend to compare myself to others WAY to much! (I'm not the only one right?) I used to love blogging, I loved writing about my little family and reading the comments from my friends that followed. However, the habit of comparing reared its ugly head... My blog wasn't as cute, the writing not as witty, the layout not as appealing, the pictures not as well taken. So, I gave up something that I loved doing. It wasn't a decision I woke up one day and made, it was a decision that my inaction made for me. The problem is that I have spent so much time regretting all the things that have happened in our family that I wish I had written about! So, I'm not making promises, I may not blog again for another year or so. However, I will try. Try not to care if my blog isn't what I want it to be and will try to just let it be! Try to once again enjoy writing about the funny and touching moments of my life with these four little ones I love so much. If for no other reason that I seem to have the worst memory lately and hopefully this will help me remember these years that are passing by way to quickly.

Random things I'd like to remember:

TYLER'S BACKSTROKE

The kids are swimming. It has become a huge part of our life but they are loving it. The older two are on year round swim team but we have been trying to get Tyler ready for summer swim team so we put him in private lessons a few months ago. He has made huge progress and can now swim 25 meters in backstroke and freestyle. When he first learned backstroke, his teacher looked down and wondered why he was only using one arm. Turns out the other arm was holding on to the strings of his swim suit. According to Tyler he was "holding up his belly button!"

KATIE

I love having a daughter. I always knew I would but I really wasn't prepared for how much. I thought I would love the cute clothes and hair bows (and I do) but it is so much more than that! Not really sure how to put it into words without sounding overly corny but I can't imagine our family without her.

FRIENDS

I am grateful for friends lately. I used to make friends really easily. Four years ago, I was more open, more outgoing and probably more fun. But life happens. I may not like it but some of that "life" changed me and I'm more reserved now about who open up to, more afraid I'll get hurt and less willing to let friends in. I'm working on it. Everyday. So, when Katie was born I was so touched by the people that came to help. It reminded me of all the people that I have here that care, friends that I could turn to if I needed anything. It happened again a few weeks ago when I hurt my arm. (Jason fell on it while we were playing on the trampoline-ow!) There they were again, coming over to help, bringing food, changing my sheets and just calling to check on me. Life with four kids can get busy, and sometimes I try to convince myself that it is enough to be a wife and a mother. But it's not. Being a friend and having friends, makes me a better me in all areas of my life. It brings balance to the busyness.

FUNNY DINNER CONVERSATION

The other night at dinner Jackson sighed and asked, "Mom, why did Satan turn against heavenly father?" Tyler didn't miss a beat, turned to him and said, "It's because he's Brittish!"

Not sure where he comes up with this stuff, but we sure enjoy it!

New Beginnings

A new school year is now in full swing. Once again, it was a year of change for our family. We moved here one year ago and started a new school not knowing what we were getting in to. It didn't take long before we loved it. I loved my kids teacher, I loved the sense of family that the school had and I loved all the friends I made through my kids. However, last spring they deceded to rezone the school district and our neighborhood was affected. So once again we started a new school year at a new school. At least this time they got to take a few of their friends along with them but it is still an adjustment. Plus, every time we drive by the old school my kids look out the window longingly and express their how badly they want to return to the old school. Mean while I am trying to stay positvie, telling them how great their new school is, yet on the inside screaming that I too want to go back! Yesterday we went back to visit friends and last years teachers and it was bitter sweet for us all. Upon leaving Jackson asked, "Mom, can we do this everyday?" He really loved his kindergarten teacher - she was the perfect teacher for him and as much as he likes his new teacher he kept telling me how much he wished he were still with Mrs. Ratcliffe. On a positive note, I am happy with the kids teachers and they seem to be liking it well enough. The adjustment for me is really the small things of coming from a school with an extremely active and way organized PTA and now not really understanding the organization or plan of the new PTA. Oh well, we have our first PTA meeting this Monday and their is a group of us ready to go in united and shake things up a bit. (In the nicest way possible, of course!) Should be interesting! :)

As always, I took some pictures on the first day of school. I didn't really look at them again until yesterday when I decided to do some editing. When I did I realized that I liked many of the pictures much more than I had remembered. Amazing what editing can do! Here's the video I put together yesterday. The music still needs a little fine tuning but all in all I am happy with it. Let me know what you think!

Memories of Madison

Lately I have been feeling unproductive. It is almost ironic because my house is more organized than ever - I've been running everyday (even beat Sean's time last night for the 2 mile loop in our neighborhood - woo hoo!) and getting a ton accomplished on projects around the house. What I am starting to realize is that sure, all of that helps, yet I really need to have more of a creative outlet in my life. Nothing else brings me the same kind of peace, stability or sense of accomplishment in my life. I also need to have a place to share it, so after a year of being a pathetic blogger - I am determined to come back in full force! I need to force myself to start scheduling time where my camera comes out of the bag - I need to quit watching videos, reading blogs and magazines on how to take great pictures and actually start taking them again!

This summer I went back to Wisconsin for the family reunion and to see my Grandfather. My mom and I spent a day driving around the east side of Madison, going to the parks, beaches and houses I grew up in. Next year we will hit Stoughton, the other main area of my childhood, but this was all we had time for this trip. It made me realize what an incredible and beautiful place I lived. At least I can say that when my visit took place during the summer months. In the winter....not so much. I made this video clip of all the pictures and video clips I took from the trip. Hope you like it!

Oh - on a side note, you can call me indecisive but I'm not changing my blog - I'll use my other blog for posting other stuff.

A Change of Address

No, we are not moving!  However, I have been considering a change of blog address for a while now and I am finally giving  the Mac site a try.  I may be back, I am not completely sold yet so let me know what you think.  You will have to tell me what you think on this site thought because I still can't figure out how to allow comments on the mac site (hopefully I figure that out soon or I'll be back REAL soon!)  Basically has anyone used it or have opinions about it?  Let me know! 

In the mean time here are the links to the new site.  The first link takes you to my websites home page which has tabs to the Blog.  But then I get confused on how to navigate  so the second two links are to the two posted blog entries!  Enjoy!

Welcome to my world

    I don’t know how or when it happened

    Reflections on the Day

Idol upset bigger than we thought???

Before I begin this you should all know that I DO like Kris Allen. I will probably buy his music and love it. However, as much as i LIKE Kris, I LOVE Adam. The talent is undeniable. Plus, whenever Kris sings and extended note he shifts his chin to the right and it bugs me to no end. It just.....looks seriously weird and some what demented.  I would cringe every time he did it, obviously he was way too modest because if he had ever tried singing in front of a mirror he would have fixed this.   I wasn't going to blog at all about the upset, I was able to vent to a friend who agreed whole heartedly and thought I was done with it. After all, it isn't like Adam wont have an incredible career without the title of American Idol! But, this morning as I was skimming through the news headlines on the internet I came across this story. Who knows how much of a difference all this made, but I thought it was noteworthy none the less. Plus it helped explain things in my own mind. 

Take it for what you will....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/27/earlyshow/leisure/celebspot/main5042391.shtml

My Excuses, for what their worth...

*****OK, so I just went back and re-read my post. All I can say is WOW, I really need to proof read these thing before I press the publish button! My apologies too all who already read it. I think I have the mistakes out now! I think I must have been so excited to actually be publishing a post that I got carried away!


So I am sure there are a few of you (granted a small few - but a few none the least) that are wondering why I haven't been blogging these past few months. Well, I have reasons, they may not be the best reasons, but their mine. The first has to do with my latest obsession, coupons. I know it sounds lame, I know to a lot of you it probably doesn't sound nearly as fun as blogging, but you have no idea - so let me educate you! :) Like most of you, I would always see the news clips with ladies saving an unbelievable amount of money using coupons. I was skeptical, yet curious. I tried it a few times and decided it wasn't worth my time. It was always hard to customize it for the stores in my area and I figured that I would end up buying things I wouldn't use anyway, so I would eventually give up. Then last fall I gave it one more try. Except that this time I had a partner in crime. My friend Charity had started up the quest once again and was making more progress than I ever had. She had a cousin that told her about some great web sites and with that information, we took off and haven't looked back since. It took a while for us to perfect the process, the organizing and the all the local stores coupon polilcies, but doing it with a friend made it really fun. So... just how good are we talking? Well, last time I went to Publix I had a cart full of groceries, I spent $28.00 and saved $114.00. Not every trip is as good as this but I do save a least minimun of 60% most every time I go, usually more. I have always given them a higher value in coupons than I do in actual cash. I am sure you are now thinking that I must be buying things I wouldn't normally buy. Nope! I am buying things I would normally buy and also things I would have liked to buy but maybe wouldn't because of the price. My pantry and freezer are so full I have had to get creative on where to keep stuff! Last Monday I bought 5 boxes of Post Select Cranberry and Almond (It's Sean's favorite so I stock up when it's on sale) for $1.00, not $1.00 a box, $1.00 for 5 boxes or 0.20 per box! For those of you that know how much I love a good deal, you can understand how much fun I have been having! For anyone interested who lives in the south, my favorite website for help is www.southernsavers.com . For anyone else you can look up help for your area at the grocery gathering at www.becentsable.net . They have a compiled list of helpful blogs for different areas.
There is a cute story to all of the coupon madness. Obviously my kids are learning the value of searching for good deals and coupons. They love it when I buy something for nothing or when the manufacture actually pays me to take the product from the store. Apparently Jackson started collecting coupons when we would go to the store (he would take them out of the little red boxes, or blinkies, located in the iles or from tear pads...anywhere he could find them. Then, on Mother's Day he brought me a big old pile of wadded up coupons, and with a proud smile on his face gave me a hug and said, "Happy Mother's Day, Mom." It was priceless. Knowing that he had thought about what would make me happy, planned it out and had done it all by himself made it so special to me. Gotta love that kid! In honor of mothers day... here are some pix of me and my boys.

I know....I know....please don't remind me

Ok...so I KNOW it has been FOREVER since I last blogged. I got behind at Christmas and then it seemed like the more I had to blog, the more overwhelming it was to get it done. And now it's April and I can't believe how fast 2009 is going! I now there's lots I need to write about but first I figured I just need to rip off the band aid and blog something, anything, just get it done!
Highlights from this year so far....

January-I can hardly remember...it seems so long ago!
I think Jason had his first Pine Wood Derby for scouts.-

We headed home to Wisconsin (well, my home) for my uncle Bill's funeral. He was way too young and it was hard but I am grateful we were able to be there with my family. One of the benefits of living within driving distance.

February-Sean turned 36 and we had some friends over to celebrate

Jackson was chosen as the Star Citizen of the quarter in his school. I always thought he would be my trouble maker when he got to school but he is proving me wrong! This gives me enormous hope for Tyler...he is at that age that can be...trying on some days! :)

March-

My dryer started acting funny (more to follow)

New school boundaries for our city were announced and my life became consumed with canvasing the neighborhood with petitions, attending school board meeting and meeting with the superintendent. Surprisingly, I loved it. All of it, from the meetings to working with other moms to just feeling like I was making a difference. I had forgotten how much I enjoy stuff along those lines. It was a good wake up call for me to stay involved however I can.

April -

Dryer still acting funny. Bought new washer and dryer (which I LOVE!!! Seriously, I could write an entire post on it! Load of towels...30 minutes to wash, 30 minutes to dry!!) On removal of the old dryer we found a bird inside it! It looked like it had been stuffed, it had been cooked by the dryer. Then we found a complete birds nest inside the dryer vents in the roof. FUN! But, at least I got a new washer and dryer out of it.


Jackson turned 6!! I can't say much because this one has to have it's own post with pictures but it was a fun day and he is a great kid!

We started a major re-landscaping project on our house and I am loving it. As soon as I finish this I am heading outside to plant more and I can't wait! :)

My parents came for Easter. It was lots of fun and the boys all cried when they left. Tyler still asks me daily why Grandpa can't come over!

Swine flu... The kids school closed for a while but thankfully opened back up again last Wednesday. Originally they were going to keep it closed until May 14th!!

And now...it's May. I can't believe it. This year is going by so fast. I can't believe the kids are almost out of school!! I will try to be better in the coming weeks about keeping up with the blogging! Sean got me a mother's day present that should help greatly with that effort!! (more to come about this one if future posts!) Hope you're all doing well. Enjoy these few pictures that I will post to prove to everyone that, yes, we are still alive!

A Lesson Learned....

Last Saturday it was military appreciation night for the University of Alabama Hockey Team. So, we were able to get free tickets to the game. I was excited to go, I knew the kids would love it and you can't really beat free. My biggest dilemma as we were getting ready to leave was which camera to take. I didn't really see a need to bring the big powerful canon. My thoughts were that I wasn't going to be framing any pictures of Hockey players... I could take some pix of the kids before we left the house and then I wouldn't have to carry around the big camera. My other reasoning was that my 8 year old has taken a serious liking to photography and is constantly trying to convince me to let him take pictures - I am MUCH more comfortable with him using my older camera. So... I had decided, and I felt good about the decision, that my old, somewhat reliable Canon power shot would suffice. I packed up the 40D, hoping not to hurt it's feelings, grabbed the power shot and was out the door.

The game was so fun, so exciting and both Jason and Jackson were having so much fun taking pictures of the players - each getting really excited if they managed to capture the puck in the picture. Then, during the break between the first and second period they introduce the parents of all the players. (It was homecoming - I don't think they do this every game) Guess who we then find out is sitting just below us.....Kurt Russel and Goldie Hawn. I could have died, I sat there with all my earlier thoughts running through my head..."I won't need a powerful lens or zoom, what will there really be to take pictures of?" And then, there they are with their perfect hair (seriously, Kurt Russel had AMAZING hair) and I am sitting there with my useless camera. A camera, I had just begun to hate. Why such a strong word, you may wonder? Well, it is because my old camera goes through batteries in what seems like a matter of seconds. (it didn't help that we bought some terrible batteries online because the price seemed so great) So, by the time I realized who was there, I had no camera abilities at all. I did however, have a ton a hokey shots, some even have the puck in it - if your lucky you just might find it.

Here he is....the son....the number one. It was probably a boring night for his whole family. This Mr. Russel is the back up goalie and didn't play all night! :(

So....lesson learned - never again will I leave my nice camera at home. Jason can take all the pictures he can get out of 4 double A batteries on the old one, but I, will always take the newer one. You can never know what picture you may be missing.

On a side note - the part of the evening my husband found hilarious was when in the midst of my frustration I turned to him and said, "I am SO blogging this!"

All for One and One for All!

All last month, at least 3 or 4 times a week, I would consistently hear the words, "Mom, how much longer until Halloween?" Well, after much anticipation, it finally arrived. The boys were thrilled to dress up in their Musketeer costumes and head out to gather as much candy as they could carry!

The evening began with a Truck or Treat at the church building. (Trunk or Treat= cars lined up in the church parking lot with trunks open as the owners of those cars pass out candy and visit with friends) It was supposed to start at 5 pm and due to the kids excitement, we were actually on time. The problem was that not many people were. My kids made the parking lot circle in about 6 minutes and then what? Well, cars were still pulling in...so they just kept circling!! All in all it ended up with plastic pumpkins filled to the breaking point and then they were ready to leave. Except for Tyler, who went around the circle maybe twice and then found a place in the grass to sit and eat his treasures!

This is my friends daughter as little red riding hood. I couldn't resist posting it! She is so cute!

After the Trunk or Treat, we headed home to conquer the neighborhood. Jason, Jackson and the friends we had over couldn't wait to start. But, once again, Tyler felt a little differently. Here is what he looked like as soon as we got home:
So, while Tyler slept, we went from door to door having lots of fun. That lasted for about an hour until we realized that Jason was no longer with the group. This is NOT the first time I have lost Jason on Halloween. I think too much candy does things to his brain. I wasn't too panicked this time, he's 8, he knows his address, and last time he was only 5. So, I ran back home and he was getting there at the same time I was. All was good but we decided that was enough fun for one Halloween night. We went inside where the adults had fun visiting and the candy trading between the kids began. All in all, it was a great Halloween. We still have TONS of candy if anyone needs some! :)

Cotton Belt of America

So apparently we live in the Cotton Belt. This is a phrase that even a few months ago would have meant very little to me. But not anymore. I have fallen in love with cotton! (Is this sounding too much like a fruit of the looms advertisement?) I mean, I had seen the plants, they were green, they were every where, toward the end they had little white dots on them and then suddenly, they were gorgeous. Breathtaking. I had no idea cotton looked like this. I am sad I didn't get my entire family into the field for a picture but we aren't going anywhere so there is always next year. Here it is, my newest love. Let me know what you think!

Pumpkin Patch

So, these next two posts will be a little out of order. I completely forgot about them but they are still in the Fall theme of things.

A few weeks ago Jackson had his first field trip. Tyler and I went along for the fun and brought some friends along with us. The field trip was to the local Pumpkin Patch, Tate Farms. I have been to a lot of pumpkin patches (I even remember my first field trip to one in Kindergarten!) but this one was the best by far. They had corn beds, hay mazes, tricycle pits, bunnies, and hay lofts where you could jump into piles of Hay. The kids had a blast and it was fun seeing Jack interact with all of his classroom buddies. Tyler, of course, felt like such the big kid to be included in Jackson's fun!

My only complaint for the day was that I got much better pictures of my friends children than my own. Oh well. Here were the results.

Here is Tyler with his two buddies Kayla and Luke. Kayla, Anna, Luke, Jackson, Tyler and Stephen.

These last two are of my friend's daughter Kayla but I just loved them!

Jackson with his best bud Johnathan from school.

Halloween Party Time

This year we were invited to a Neighborhood Halloween Party this year and it was a lot of fun. The first of a new annual tradition. Sean and I dressed up as a "Cardiac Arrest." He was the police man "arresting" and I was the "Heart" (a jail uniform with felt hearts pined to it. I thought it was pretty creative but I can't really take credit - you sure can find great stuff at the last minute on the Internet! We will have to start planning next years costumes soon... although knowing my tendencies for procrastination, I am sure I will leave it to the night before, once again!

The boys were dressed up as the Three Musketeers. My mom got them adorable costumes with these huge hats and swords. They were thrilled - anything involving swords, pretty much always gets a seal of approval from my boys! They were so cute they won the costume contest for "Best Boy Costume" It was a really fun night for everyone!

Pumpkin Carving

About a week ago we carved our pumpkins for Halloween. It was a lot of fun and every year it gets a little easier for mom because the kids are more and more capable of carving their own pumpkins. This year I only had to carve one!! Jason was so proud of his final creation. Jack and I worked on his together and Tyler decided to color his! It was a fun Halloween!

This last picture does a great job of showing you the wall paper I will be taking down shortly. Any advise on getting wallpaper off the wall??