2 Captain Americas and a Ladybug Girl

This halloween was by far the best one we've had in terms of the kids really "getting" it!   They were very excited about their costumes that Lolli had gotten them when she was in town a few weeks ago and had been BEGGING to wear them around the house!  But I stayed firm...I think the first time you wear it should be on Halloween...and  my luck if I let them play in them before Halloween they would have ruined them somehow and we would've had a complete and total meltdown.  So for the safety (and sanity) of  those of us in the house...dress up can be played AFTER Halloween!  So here they are in their costumes....

    Carter wasn't sure about his mask and more times than not during the night he pushed the eyes of it up on his forehead, but he was excited he matched Will!

     Every house we went to that said "Oh what a cute Ladybug!"  Isabella said loudly, "I am not a ladybug....I am Ladybug Girl!"  I tried to explain to her that not everyone has read the book Ladybug Girl so they might not know and she said to me, "But Mom, I look JUST like Ladybug Girl.  How could they not tell?"  I gave up....

    This boy thought he was hot stuff and was "shooting" bad guys constantly with his glow in the dark stick!

We stopped by Chris and Brandi's house first and got to trick or treat there.  Of course this is where I realized I forgot my camera and only got a picture of them together on my phone and of course I have no idea how to get it on my computer  :(    


This is also where Dan taught the kids what a Reeces peanut Butter Cup was and how they should ALWAYS go for the "big orange" ones.  He also informed them that whoever brought home the most wins...well if you know my kids and how competitive they are I'm sure you know we have DOZENS of Reeces that were brought home.  Daddy was happy!

Then we headed off to Chris and Libba's house b/c their neighborhood was having a block party with bounce houses and pizza!  That was a LOT of fun!  Then we started off our trick or treating by hitting a few houses with Kenzie and Berkley!

   They went right up to the houses and somehow thought it was okay to go IN a few of the houses.  So we had a have some quick reminders that these are strangers houses and that we ONLY go to the front porch.....then they were off again!

   After awhile we headed out to stop by a few more houses!  We had to hit Aubrey and Jen's and make sure our friends Grady-bug and Jettaroo (as they are affectionately called by my kids :-)  got their special Halloween treats from us!  

   Not sure if Bella is throwing up a gang sign or what!!  ;-)  But didn't they look cute?

   Then we hit up the McKinzie house and got some good candy, too! 

We left our car there and walked around the block in their neighborhood.  Literally, our kids couldn't carry their pumpkins by the time we made it back...it was a TON of candy!   They actually wanted to keep going, so we went back into Melissa's to get some walmart bags so we could unload the candy into them and then they discovered the excitement of PASSING out candy.....so we ended up just staying there for awhile!

   While we were there Dady was already starting to coerce the kids into giving him the good stuff!  See those tied up plastic sacks on the table....our candy filled up 3 of those FULL!  and that was after I took out the candy I don't let them eat and gave it to the older kids....CRAZY!   We're letting them have a treat every day this week and then the rest will go to our church fall festival this Sunday for them to use! :-)

               I know I'm partial, but they are seriously SO CUTE!!!!

Hope you all had a great Halloween too!!

Community Helper Day

Well, Bella decided for Community Helper Day she would dress as a Police Woman.... 

but I'm not sure she really "gets" what policemen do.  

When I asked her what her job was she said it was to pass out candy and make french fries for the other workers.  

Maybe she thinks she will be a policewoman at a Chick-Fil-A???

:-)

Cousin Fun!!

A few weeks ago 2 of my sisters and my nephew came to see us! We had such a great time together!  I can't tell you how happy it made me that even though it had been 3 months since he's seen us, my precious little nephew came RUNNING up our driveway -giving out hugs and kisses!  That just made my day! Besides the fact that he's unbelievably adorable....he's my only nephew and he has a BIG piece of his Gaga's heart! :-)

                                     He is seriously so funny!!

We did so much while they were here.  They got to experience life on the soccer fields for 4 hours Saturday...I'm sure that was their highlight! ;-)  Once we finished 2 games and pictures for both teams we FINALLY got to head home and just hung out Sat pm.  We enjoyed Nikki's delicious homemade guac and I introduced them to the greatness that is the Tortilleria at our Kroger that makes HOMEMADE tortilla and taco shells every day...hot...out of the oven...YUM!   And my sisters and I snuck out of the house for a Girls Night and got to see a movie together...fun!!  We went to church Sunday morning and then decided to go to the TX state fair.  I have to say....it was interesting, fun amd great to eat yummy food, but to those of you who have been to Wilson County Fair in TN...it's not much different.  Just more spread out and more expensive. 

                          On the tram in the parking lot to the gate.....if you are smart like you you will convince your kids that this is a "ride" also!! ;-)

                   Enjoying a Roasted Corn Cob and waiting for the pirate High Dive show!

                   Carter, Bella and Will with the Pirates after their show!

         Riding the racecars!  Will and Carter rode together and Blake and Bella!

         Waiting to get on the rollercoaster!  And, yes, we ALWAYS dress our kids in the same color when we go to a really crowded place...it makes constantly counting them easier! :-)  

                    Carter's favorite part...cotton candy!

We enjoyed corny dogs, frozen iced tea, nachos, funnel cakes....oh so good!

  On Monday, Nikki, Natalie and Blake went to school to have lunch with Bella which she loved and then we hit the mall and Sam Moon.  For those of you who have no idea what Sam Moon is, it's basically a HUGE jewelry, purse, accessories warehouse and they now have a home decor store and a luggage and gifts store...so that took awhile! :-)  

  That night we took them to Gattitown, which is my kids FAVORITE place here in Frisco.  It's like Chuck E Cheese but 100 times cleaner, with a pizza and pasta and salad buffet.  And instead of a cheesy character show they have a movie room that you sit in to eat and then a HUGE gameroom with lots of videogames and simulator rides, bowling, bumper cars and some bigger rides!  They loved it!

They had so much fun eating pizza and icees and running around to play games and ride rides!  

They all get along so well and played together so great the entire weekend!  My kids LOVE their "Blakey"!
Tuesday we spent mostly at IKEA and then they got to see the boys play another soccer game before they headed out that night!

                           All of us on our last night together!

               Our silly faces...I think Natalie's is the funniest!  ;-)

    2 of my beautiful sisters! (We missed you, Jessies!!)  As we have gotten older we've become so much closer and I'm so thankful for that!  They are all amazing, strong, fun, beautiful women who love God and love our family!  I'm so proud of them and miss them so much!

 There were many tears in my house the night they left and most of them came from this little girl!  So sad, isn't it??  

       Thank you sooo much for driving so far just to spend time with us!

We love you guys and can't wait to see you at Christmas!!

When did they grow up??

Our precious boys are 4 1/2 now and there are some days recently when I've looked at them and been shocked by how big they are.  They are so tall and handsome and can do so much by themselves!  Some of our good friends, Justin and Alyson Steiner , have twin boys that are in the NICU now and hopefully getting to come home soon!  It's so unbelievable to see their sweet little boys at 4 lbs 14 oz (Which was Will's weight when he was born) so tiny and then to look at my boys and realize how FAST it happens!  There were a lot of days that were difficult...(I mean, hello I had 3 kids under 18 months) and I just wished for them to get a bit bigger, start sleeping more, start walking more, start doing more....   But if I could go back and hold them just one more time as tiny babies I would in a second! But, since I can't seem to convince them that it's cool to be wrapped up in a blanket and and rocked at the age of 4 - I am enjoying where they are now so entirely..... knowing the next stage will be here soon enough!

We had picture day at preschool yesterday!

            Will is our "funny" guy!  Always looking to make us smile and I can always tell when he's up to no good b/c he has a very "impish" grin!  Blue eyes are as bright as ever!  We has an extremely empathetic heart and loves his daddy!  He's forever coming downstairs dressed in Dan's clothes!!  Anything to be just like daddy!  He's a peacemaker...which is a good thing to have with three kids!  

 

                                    Sweet brothers!

                               So handsome!

                  Carter is Mr. Independent!  He lets me know a thousand times a day "I can do it all by myself!"  He is super competitive and sees everything in black and white.  Everything has to be done fair...otherwise he will let me know that it's not! :-)  He is very detailed and likes to do things right!    He is a mommy's boy for sure and can be so upset about something yet, if I start scratching his back he melts into a puddle on my lap and can lay there for an hour! He loves to make others happy and is always doing sweet things for me and Bella (i.e. cleaning up a mess, making her bed)!  

These boys keep me busy and laughing!!!  I love them!

First Field Trip!

Bella had her first field trip on Wednesday!  We went to the pumpkin patch in Celina but I'm not sure if the pumpkin patch was her favorite part or the bus she got to ride to and from the pumpkin patch!   :-)

We had so much fun and I loved getting to see her with all of her friends!  She's so funny and sweet and I love that she's completely confident and doesn't care what the other kids are doing.  If she enjoys something or is having fun, then that's all that matters to her!  I hope and pray that this quality stays with us for a long time!

She has some really sweet friends and I loved getting to know some of the other moms that were there too! 

                                        Waiting in line for our hayride!  Naina, Bella and Rome

                                              Kim and Bella

                        Rome, Bella and Natalia with the pumpkins they chose!

                                       Her class 

                                    Bella's class with her teacher, Mrs. Thomas                                     

                                      Francesca, Bella and Sarah

                                    Bella feeding  the animals

                                         Having our picnic lunch!

                                      Mrs. Thomas and Bella                                                                                        We are so thankful to have such a WONDERFUL kindergarten teacher!        

                                  Bella and Sarah and Naina

What a fun time to get to experience with Bella!  She's doing so great in school!  I had a conference with Mrs. Thomas last week and she said she was so honored to get to be Isabella's teacher.  She said that Bella was a great leader and was always so kind to all of the other kids!  She is the only girl at an all boy table and she said she is a "mother hen" to them.  Always helping them stay on task without being bossy (surprised me on that one :-)  and that she has helped them all do better in school!    She said she has a high reading level and just excels at anything they have done!  We are so proud of our little girl!