Halloween

We had some super cool pumpkins this year! Eli's was a spooky face, Jake's a ghost (in honor of his "ghostie" obession this Halloween), Logan's was an awesome witch that took by far the longest to carve but was totally worth it, and Ali came up with and free-handed her moon, stars and cat.

Jake had a cute Joyschool Halloween party that we parents were invited to.

We had a Warewolf, a Grim Reaper, a Butterfly, and a Pumpkin this year.

A mommy pumpkin and a Jakie pumpkin (he wears this green hat everywhere, every day, and it was the perfect "stem" for his costume!)

And my other favorite pumpkin:

The weather this year was uncharacteristically lovely and we had so much fun trick-or-treating. Jake was a trooper and stuck it out the whole time with the big kids, even with no stroller. When I would ask him if he wanted me to carry him or his bag he'd say, "No, Mommy, I'm fine," and would chat with everyone giving out candy at all the houses.

They got SO MUCH CANDY! About 25 pounds between the four of them...yikes!

Jason's Mom is in town for Eli's baptism this weekend, and it was so fun to celebrate her birthday with her!

It was one of our best Halloweens yet!

Halloween Party

We had our annual Halloween Party the Friday before Halloween. Here is the food. I tried a few different things this year with the emphasis on super easy to make, and I loved the new additions.

 We had about 33 kids and 5 moms; I think that is the record for most attendees.

This year I put on a movie for the first time, and we will definitely be doing that in the future. At one point probably at least a third of the kids were sitting quietly and watching!

The kids had fun and mine were particularly grateful this year, so it was a win all around.

Out of Town

Jason and his siblings decided to surprise his mom for her 50th Wedding Anniversary. Last minute Amy couldn't come, but the other three were able to spend the weekend with their mom.

All dogs love Jason.

Jason and Todd went on this cool hike to see the petrified dunes.

When Jason is out of town I lose all motivation to cook, so in the three days he was gone we got pizza one night and went out for burgers another.

Happy Birthday to Me!

On my birthday I threw myself a party by inviting friends over to visit. Then in the evening we had a family party and I felt very loved from all the people who called and visited!

Then a few days later we celebrated me and Eli at Aunt Amy's house. I like celebrating birthdays with this kid!

Eli's Birthday Party

This year for his party, Eli decided to invite his friends to our house so that he could invite more friends. We had a lego theme and played lots of fun games, and were glad it was nice enough outside to then go play in the backyard. Seven friends equals a lot of energy. But we had fun celebrating Eli and he felt loved, so mission accomplished.

Tanks

Boys love tanks. We found these at a park. See Jake on the bench?

Happy Birthday Eli!

Somehow we've gone from this precious newborn:

To this eight-year-old ready for baptism:

We sure love Eli! He is Fun, loving, smart, and kind. We're sure proud to call him ours.

Creators

My kids are such great creators!

Play with Jake for Technology Time

A common heard question around here is,"Can I play with Jake for extra technology time?" The three older kids get a certain amount of time a day to play the computer, Wii or Tablets, but once they've done that they allowed to play with Jake for 20-30 minutes for that much extra time. I'm not sure what Jake will think of this practice once he gets a bit older, but right now he loves the attention, I love the break, and the kids love their technology. It works.

Library Display

Logan displayed his Roblox figures at the library during the month of September.

I got the biggest kick out of Little Brother wanting to stand just like Big Brother.

Critters

Alison and Eli have been having a lot of fun with her Calico Critter collection lately. I'm glad she has a brother or two that like to play with her and her non-lego toys sometimes! 

Family Fun Day

One of our recent family fun days was a bike ride to the park and then to McDonalds for ice cream. 

This is how Jake and I "biked."