Happy Hallow-weekend, part 2

This year, our ward Trunk-or-Treat was on Saturday. Here we are in our costumes. The kids look mad, but they really were excited- they had been waiting all week for this! Jonah was Buzz Lightyear again and Levi was Tyrone the knight. I was a haunted equestrienne.

Eden was the cutest little ballerina.

Her hair turned out pretty cute. We did this again for church the next day.

Before the Trunk-or-Treating started, we ate some yummy soup in bread bowls and had a little carnival for the kids. My Mia Maids were in charge of a face painting booth, and they did a great job! Yes, that's right. I got moved from secretary to 1st Counselor in the Young Women. Still figuring it out, but I'm really excited.

Here are the girls, working their magic. I found out really quickly that I am not a good face painter!I was comforted to see that some of the other adults dressed up...

My kids loved the cupcake walk! They must have done it three times each. After all that sugar, they didn't even need to Trunk-or-Treat!But they did, and they got full buckets of candy. Here is our trunk. I should have taken video so you could hear our awesome Halloween tunes!Fred from Scooby Doo showed up while we were out! Too bad Levi wanted to go back to the trunk early. He missed out on seeing one of his favorite guys! But he did get to see Darth Vader (an adult- seriously, he looked legit- had the sound effects and everything!) and he must have gone over to his trunk at least 15 times. He kept saying, "Look! Aunt Nader nice! He give me candy!"

The kids had a blast. Here they are with their loot. I love how my mom took pictures of my little brother and sister like this every year. I'm going to do it too!

Halloween night was spent watching Harry Potter and passing out candy with the kids. It didn't even phase them that they weren't Trick-or-Treating. They loved passing out candy! It was a fun Halloween.

Happy Hallow-weekend! part 1

We started off our Halloween festivities this year on Friday. We went over to a friend's house for a little Halloween party! It was nice to have a practice run on the kids' costumes. We didn't do Eden's hair in a bun, but it worked! Can you see why people ask if these guys are triplets?

At the party, there were all sorts of yummy treats and crafts and games. The kids (not even just mine!) just wanted to read though.Eden and I got to hold Kallie, our newest little neighbor! She is a sweetheart and was so content. And here is the whole group!

That night we went over to IHOP for their kids-eat-free Halloween pancakes. And after searching for pumpkins at three different stores, we finally found a corner pumpkin patch. Saturday was filled with errands and chores. But first we did this.

We went to two different drugstores hoping to get flu shots, but found out that they wouldn't administer to the kids. I found out that Wal-mart will do kids 4 and up, so it looks like we'll be visiting this week.

We got around to carving our pumpkins that afternoon. The kids were pretty excited. Jonah took some pictures while we finished.

Things

It bugs me when...

In church, the teacher says, "Get out your Book of Mormon" and everyone gets out their phones.

My kids completely ignore me and walk away when I ask them to do something.

I accidentally pick up a phone call from a telemarketer and it says, "Please hold. A caller will be with you shortly." What? YOU called ME! I'm not holding!

My kids are completely quiet until I get on the phone, then they all are as loud as possible.

People say "ex-specially."

My kids take off their shoes and socks in the car on the way home from church and I forget to take them out and my car smells like feet.

I smile when...

I hear my kids giving their toys a "time-out."

I see carved pumpkins on the porch.

My kids sing in the car.

People ask if any of my kids are twins.

Levi asks for a "chipmunk kiss."

My kids run for the door when they hear the garage open, signaling daddy's home.

Last Weekend

1. Levi's Speech Evaluation- So Levi met with the speech therapist last Friday. After a great meeting with the school district's psychologist, I was very happily convinced that Levi would make it into the program. Well, after meeting with the speech therapist, not so sure now. I felt like she wasn't very thorough with the testing, and that she gave him too many chances to get the right answer, then marked it on her sheet that he could do a certain thing. Maybe I'm just worrying too much or being overly critical. It's just that this is my third time going through all of this and I feel that she was a little easy on him. Yeah, maybe if you ask him to say "dog" he will say it perfectly. But ask him to use it in a sentence, good luck making out "dog" or almost any other word, for that matter. I felt like she was a little patronizing, which felt weird because she was probably only 24 years old. Whatever. He was a good boy at the appointment, and even if he doesn't get into the program, he scored a prize from the teacher's treasure box. He picked these glasses. See? Comedian.2. T-Ball- Well, no more lazing around on Saturday mornings. We are into the season now, which means a game almost every Saturday morning. I don't know what's going on with our kids; one day they love it, the next they hate it. Levi loved it for at least one inning this last weekend. Not sure about Eden. Maybe this Saturday will be her day. 3. Neighborhood Fall Festival- We went down to the fountain for the neighborhood party. The worst part? No free hot dogs. There were hot dogs, but there was no price list or signs anywhere, which led us to believe they were free like in all previous parties, which led us to stand in line until we realized that they cost money and we had no cash. Embarrassing. I don't care that the food wasn't free, but post some signs! Sheesh!

Eden went on this slide like twenty times in a row. Sorry it's blurry- that's how fast she was going!We got some balloons and free cotton candy. It was a prefect day to sit on the grass and watch people make fools of themselves doing the chicken dance. But the best part was the petting zoo! They had a cute little fenced off area with a bunch of cute animals- donkeys, ducks, chicks, rabbits, goats, a pony, and a cute little pot-bellied pig! Eden and Levi wimped out, but Jonah loved every minute. He didn't want to leave.

This little donkey was my favorite! The lady said it was only 6 weeks old? I think that's what she said. It was so cute and fuzzy.Eden and Levi did go over and see Snowflake, the pony. I can now understand why it's said that little girls always want a pony. Snowflake was adorable! I want one now :) Maybe for Christmas.

Fall Break, T-Ball and Our Commedian

I have figured out over the past few weeks that I like structure. I like spontaneity too, but I like me a schedule because that's how things get done around here. Without one, we are a mess. Case in point: Eden had two weeks off for Fall Break and Jonah had one week off for Fall Break. It is all a blur. My house has yet to recover. I don't think I washed a single load of clothes the week they both were off. Even though I supposedly had more time from not driving kids to and fro, I accomplished less. Wait, I accomplished nothing. At least when it comes to homemaking duties. I barely cooked or cleaned. You get the idea. The kids have had their toys out basically for the entire two weeks. Which means that you can't see their floors, and who knows what's in there, camouflaged among the cars and train tracks. Maybe food, maybe bugs, maybe broken glass... Ha ha, no it's not that bad. But still.

We did have fun and got a lot of playing in. I even played with the kids for most of the days.We've almost finished a week back into school, and it hasn't improved. My brain is in a real funk. I just can't get back on schedule! I have been going through the motions, but it feels so forced. Nothing is flowing like it did before break! I think I have a new idea. We need to get out of here during our breaks so things don't get this way!

On top of it all, Peter has been working crazy busy hours, which almost never happens, but when it does, you know it. He worked until 3 am the night before the kids' first T-ball game so he missed the game so he could sleep. Last night he was on a call working until 5 am! And he even went in today from 10am until 6pm and then came with me to an Enrichment activity for wives and husbands on good communication. Oh, I love him.

T-ball was difficult without Peter. Jonah had to be my helper since both Eden and Levi need encouragement on the field. He manned the camera, and like the true artist he is, snapped some pretty great shots.

I think Jonah got a little bored during the game, because I found these on the camera.I love this one he took of this cute little girl.

Good game, Pirates! Good game, Sharks! (That's us)

The kids are always cracking us up. Levi, though, cracks up the most at himself. He thinks that he is just the funniest guy alive. He says something to me like, "Hi, Daddy. You're not daddy! You're Mommy!" Then busts up laughing like it's the best joke ever. He does stuff like this all the time, then cracks up laughing. He came to me like this the other day. I have to admit, this actually was pretty funny.