Happy Halloween!

It was a fun Halloween! Ali and Logan both had offers to go trick or treating with friends, but both decided to go with us! I loved taking them all out. Logan's cool blow up costume was a $10 goodwill find, Jake decided he wanted to be a scarecrow in early September and stuck with it (his was a $5 online yard sale find!), Eli decided last minute to be a warewolf (he was Harry Potter at other Halloween events), and Ali was a zebra (ALSO a goodwill find...I spent about $25 total on costumes this year!).

It had snowed earlier in the day, and was still very cold, but thankfully no wind or new snow while we were out. Because of the less-than-ideal weather, there weren't many kids out which lead to VERY generous people giving out candy (some gave the kids several handfuls each!) so they got a lot of candy; 23 pounds total this year, a couple less than last year but they were out for much less time too!

Pumpkin carving

Wouldn't be Halloween without carving pumpkins, so we did.

Halloween Happenings

We had our annual Halloween party and made the usual spooky spread. My mom was here to help this year, and Ali and Logan helped some too so it was much less work for me (and even more fun too)!

 I think we had 29 kids and 10 adults.

 Inflatables are a hit, but of all I've seen Logan's is my favorite!

Jake and some buddies. 

Eli's friends.

They all played football for a lot of the time (even the alien!).

 Ali and her friends sang karaoke and did commentary for the football game. It was a good time.

We also enjoyed the ward trunk or treat and my scarecrow loved it.

Crazy Hair

Crazy hair day plus hair needing a haircut plus lots of gel equals one awesome mohawk!

Benefits

One of the benefits of having a little brother is that it's ok to play with "little kid toys" when you're playing with your little brother! Logan built this amazing house out of lego duplos the other day.

Too Big

Jake's Mommy thinks he's too big to be carried, but lucky for him, he has siblings that don't!

Happy Birthday Eli!

Nine years ago this boy became part of our family, and I am so thankful for him. He brings so much fun and joy into our lives. We love you Eli: then, now and forever.

To celebrate his birthday, Eli and some friends went roller skating and he had so much fun. He wanted to draw the skate on the cake himself and I was impressed with how well he did!

Happy Birthday Eli!

All Tied Up

Logan occasionally likes to test his Houdini skills; he'll ask us to help tie him all up and then see how long it takes him to get loose.

Game

One day Ali created a game board with her legos and came up with rules! It was a very complex, well thought out game. What a cool girl.

Cantigny

We went to Cantigy  three time this summer. One day it was the anniversary of D Day (which I hadn't remembered) so they had tons of extra fun things like reenactors, jumpy houses, and this cool memorial built from sand from the actual D Day beach! The second time we went it was the birthday of the man who used to live there and donated it to the city upon his death, so entrance was free and there were extra activities again including everything from the D Day celebration and cupcakes!! The other time we were showing Great Grandma and Aunt Donalyn's family around, and we always love introducing people to this awesome place. We had great Cantigny luck this summer!

Ducks

We had a really stressful July as a family. The biggest thing was Jake being really sick for two and a half weeks, but we also had a million things break and need to be repaired or (expensively) replaced. There was some silly video Jason showed the kids one night about rubber duckies that they all thought was hilarious, and I thought we could used more of those laughs. So I bought these ducks and hid them. Everyone thought it was so funny, and the ducks moved around for a few days. It didn't last as long as I'd hoped, but I can see it being an inside family joke for years. I sent a couple to school in the kids' backpacks, some to work in Jason's bag, and Jake still loves it when a handful of them magically move around the house.

Jake's First Day

Jake started Preschool the first of September. He was so excited to start, his only disappointment being that he didn't get to ride the bus to school. It took him a couple of weeks to not be super grumpy every afternoon, but other than that he took to school like a pro.

 His buddy Hermione from church is in his class!

 We carpool sometimes, and her mom took these pictures of them on picture day.

They're the cutest little friends. Their conversations in the car are hilarious.