Happy Halloween!

shorts all winter

A couple of our kids are "temperature challenged."

They have a really difficult time choosing clothes to wear

that are appropriate for the temperature outside.

Most recently, they've insisted on wearing shorts,

no matter what the weather is like.

I think we may finally have found a solution:

BabyLegs for boys!

And if the problem is a short sleeved shirt?
They can wear the BabyLegs on their arms!

I got the boys' BabyLegs here.
They currently have a promotion for free shipping if you buy two or more BabyLegs.
I should have bought 3.
Bentley was POSITIVE he DID NOT WANT leg warmers.
Until he saw his brothers wearing theirs.
Tears.
Rats. Maybe I can get him a pair for his birthday?

Halloween Party 2007

Today was our 4th Annual Little People Halloween Party.

Some of the kids had a little trouble getting past our

scary front door,

but once inside things looked a lot like previous years' parties.
The kids played Pin-the-Nose-on-the-Pumpkin, and
the Pumpkin Bean-bag Toss.
Each time they played a game,
they were rewarded with a piece of candy.
The "new" game this year was the Cake Walk . . .

. . . and it was a huge (surprise) hit.
Each lucky winner was able to choose a cupcake, cookie,
or a piece of candy.
For FORTY-FIVE minutes the kids played the cake walk game.
Needless to say, they were all on a sugar high by the end of the party.

As usual, some of the moms stayed to help out,
keep an eye on their kids, and to chat.
One of the wonderful moms held Ruby while I ran the cake walk.

The boys had a great time,
and are so glad their friends were able to come!
The awesome decorations were made possible by Elizabeth
generously spending her evening
(the evening of her birthday celebration at our house),
hanging spider webs, placing spiders in the webs,
and cutting out pumpkins and pumpkin noses.
Thanks Elizabeth!

Also, thanks to John for all of his help. :)

Happy Birthday Elizabeth*!

(Elizabeth and Cleo)
(Lyle, Cleo, Elizabeth, John)
(Ginger, Judy, John, Elizabeth)
(Brent, Cleo, Elizabeth)

*Note to Elizabeth:
you didn't seem to like your hair in our wedding photos,
so I went a little further back to find pictures of you. :)

Hope you have a wonderful day!!!

the score

croup: 3

(Bentley, Jonah, and Ruby)

Maxwell: 1

(he says he's still fighting - I hope he wins)

At least they're sleeping . . .

(Bentley, asleep yesterday while I made dinner)
(Maxwell, the way he went to sleep last night)

(his neck seems fine this morning)
(Jonah, under the covers at naptime today)


No pictures of Ruby - if and when she goes to sleep,
I'm not going to risk waking her up to take a picture

the season of SICK

The kids (and grown-ups) in our family have been getting colds off and on now for the last few weeks. Last Friday, Bentley woke up early in the morning with croup. He survived the weekend, and so far the other kids don't have it, yet. Bentley still has a nasty cough, but is feeling much better. Ruby and Jonah have colds and Jonah has a cough, but not a croupy one, thank goodness. Maxwell says he is "fighting Bentley's sick." So far, he seems to be winning. John and I are also fighting off colds, but we aren't using swords and shields like Max. Between feeling kinda crummy myself, and battling tired, whiny, restless kids, I don't have anything fun to share today. Rats.




At least we're not faced with this.

Escapees

When John and I woke up this morning,

we heard the boys rustling in the coat closet.

Maxwell was trying to convince his brothers to go back to bed.

Jonah and Bentley were bundling
up to go outside and have a snowball fight.

When we got out of bed, this is what we saw:

Max eventually decided to join his brothers outside.
He went out long enough to make Bentley cry,
then he came back inside - mission accomplished.

The snow is mostly gone this evening,
but the boys enjoyed it while it lasted.

Jack-o-l-AUNT-ern

Friday, AUNT Brianna came over with four huge pumpkins.

Jonah quickly chose his pumpkin and carving pattern,

and Brianna went right to work.

At first, She had a lot of help. (kind of)

The boys thought the guts were gross, so mostly they watched.

By the time the pumpkin was finished, it was dark,
and Mia (the dog) was the only "helper" left.

Jonah was pretty excited about his "punk."

Nice job Brianna!

Preschool at the Pumpkinland

This morning, our little preschool class went to Pumpkinland.

(Ethan, Jonah, Diana, Jamie, Maxwell, and Elise in front)
Our six little scholars by the giant pumpkins.

It was a beautiful day!

Jonah loved this giant pumpkin.
Maxwell loved the rock wall at the end.

Ruby was super frustrated with her mother because

I wouldn't let her down to play in the mud.

Bentley was a little disappointed when he saw the pictures

because he was at kindergarten and missed the fun.

cavity-free!

Today, John and I took the kids to the dentist.

Ruby fell asleep on the way there, so John stayed

in the car with her and ate his lunch

while the boys and I went in for the appointment.
Last year was kind of traumatic, but today was wonderful!

Bentley watching a movie and waiting for his cleaning-
he's an old pro at this dentist stuff.

Jonah had x-rays and a cleaning for the 1st time!

Maxwell was dreading this appointment, so that makes him
The Bravest of All.
He let "the girl" clean his teeth for the 1st time ever!
Hurrary! I hope it will be this easy next time!

Chuck E. Cheese

Today the kids and I met my friend (and former roommate),

Leah and her kids (Joshua and Ashley) at Chuck E. Cheese.

We tried a playdate last month, and the kids fought most

of the time; so this time, we decided to go somewhere they'd

be totally distracted so we could TALK.

While eating his pizza, Max paused, looked at me with
a super serious expression on his face, and said,
"Mom, Chuck E. Cheese is where a kid can be a kid."

PBS kids, anyone???

The boys managed to eat a little, before going nuts on the toys.

It's like a mini-ferris wheel! Bentley loved it!

Couldn't get this truck to work, but the Red Ranger liked it anyway.

Maxwell, holding on for dear life - but he's smiling. :)

Watch out! Here come Ruby and Ashley!

Afternoon rundown:
2 hours,
1 pizza,
5 sodas,
9 tokens
31 tickets,
3 tootsie rolls,
6 tired, happy kids,
2 tired, happy moms.

Thanks, Leah! See you next month!

BYU vs. UNLV

Spencer's recap of the game is here.

Oh, and if you want to see the terrible conditions the

football players languish in before game time, go here.

In other brother news,

Mikey's weekly email is here.

Funny Kids

It's that time of year again, and Bentley decided we should add

to our familiy's annual Halloween decorations.

This is the "Hallawen Mostr" that he drew,

colored, cut out, and taped outside next to our front door:

Meanwhile, Jonah was putting up a fight at bed time.
He eventually fell asleep;
on the floor, in a hat:

The next morning, Maxwell protested standard Sunday clothes.
He finally agreed on a white shirt and cords, but
insisted on wearing boot liners to church:

(Really, the boot liners didn't warrant a fight.)

Ruby went to church in more conventional footwear,
although not really Sunday shoes:

(I found the cute little dress at Target !)

Long Lost Friends

This is Ruby and her "friend," Ethan.

Today was actually their first meeting, but these

little people have a lot in common:
their dads were college roommates many years ago;

they are both 9 months old;

they both have older siblings who are 5, 4, and 2;

they both like to stay in their pj's all morning;

and the obvious - they're both stinkin' adorable!

Ethan and his Mom were in town today, and
we were lucky enough to have Ethan stay with us
while his Mom was at a funeral.

Ethan's family moved away 6 1/2 years ago,
and it always makes me sad to think of the fun we'd
have if we lived near each other.
Bentley, Maxwell, and Jonah have often heard
about a mysterious family of friends (the exact same ages as them),
whom they've never met.
We're so glad Ruby and Ethan were able to play today,
and hope that one day the older kids will get to know each other as well.

Rocky Mountain Band Festival

Last year the boys and I met my brother, Greg,

at the mall while he was in town for a marching band

competition. It's that time of year again, so today the kids

and I headed back to the mall for lunch with Greg.

The TV at the food court was on Nick Kids

(which we don't get at home)

so the boys were glued to the TV while they ate.

After lunch, we followed Greg to the arcade.

Of course, the kids loved that.
This afternoon, my Dad (who's in town on business)

and I took Bentley and Jonah to the

Rocky Mountain Band Festival at BYU.

Greg's band played songs from the musical, "Wicked."

Greg's the trombone player front and center in the above picture.
Jonah, Greg, Bentley

The boys had a great time. I thought they might be

bored, but they loved watching and listening to the band.
We came just before and left just after Greg's High school

band performed, and Bentley was pretty disappointed.

He says he wanted to see ALL the bands.

I'm so glad we got to spend a little time with Greg!

Love ya, buddy!

Knights and Princesses (aka their favorite game)

Once there was a beautiful Princess named Ruby.

She loved to play with her brothers, the Knights.

One day, a wicked witch took the Princess,

and locked her away in a tower.

Princess Ruby was guarded by a fire breathing dragon,
some bad knights, and the wicked witch herself.

Luckily, the good knights came to rescue her.

They fought the bad knights,

slew the dragon,

and destroyed the wicked witch.

They saved Princess Ruby from the tower,

and they all lived happily ever after.

(Until they discovered that the witch
and the Princess were decoys and the real Witch
was hiding the Princess somewhere else.
Then, the knights had to redo their entire quest!
However, they did it with happy hearts, glad to be
of service to their sister, the Princess.)