Halloween 2013

 

The night before Halloween we carved pumpkins.  Colin did his COMPLETELY by himself.  Pretty impressive, right?  The other three….let’s just say my hand was cramped by the end of the evening.

Halloween evening.  I had to include a couple of different group pictures because Ollie’s poses crack me up.

No, Chad is not saying “Call me” and no, his swimsuit is not partially open in front.  Awkwaaaaard.

OH MY GOODNESS do I have the cutest kids on the planet?!  Seriously, these pictures make me so happy.  A word on Carina’s costume – I bought it at Walmart for a couple of bucks four or five years ago after Halloween, long before I had a baby girl.  I didn’t have any great ideas for her when I happened to pull it out and let her try it on.  After that, there was no going back.  She was just so adorable in this costume – my dad could not get over it.  Every time he saw it he would start laughing.  We got the hat on Amazon – the tiara part lit up and flashed.  Just what every little princess cowgirl needs.  Most of Ollie’s sheriff costume was one I made for Colin 7 (!) years ago.  We just bought the hat.  Gabe’s Quidditch uniform was one Colin wore a couple of years ago.  And Colin’s was just an old uniform that we added zombie blood and makeup to.   He was pretty thrilled by it, but his cousin Leslie was not.

We went trick or treating that night with my sister Lindsey, her husband Seth, and their girls Leslie, Mayan and Lily.  We all had a great time and it wasn’t cold at all.  Carina was pretty darn excited and was almost always the first kid to each door.  We brought a stroller and she was too happy to use it most of the time. The boys were exhausted because earlier that day they had a fun-run at their school were all three of them ran the maximum number of laps –36, which equaled about 2 1/2 miles!! We didn’t stay out long, but they still got a fair amount of candy.  When we came home, Ollie and Gabe wanted to go out longer, so they went out with Chad.  We finished it of with a little clip of Treehouse of Horrors, and Carina took foreeeever to fall asleep that night. 

Halloween 2007 here and here. Halloween 2008 here and here. Halloween 2009.  Halloween 2010. Halloween 2011.  Halloween 2012.

Video of our girl

I need to be better about documenting our Carina is at this age - so here is a little video of her eating lunch (a wrap with lettuce and kidney beans and Taco Bell mild sauce on the side - her request).  We listen to Disney Radio on Pandora almost every day while the two of us have lunch, so that is what is playing on my computer.

Great Wolf Lodge

On Wednesday, just before I was going to put Carina down for a nap, my Dad called.  “Hey, do you know anyone who wants a free night at The Great Wolf Lodge?” he asked.  He and my mom had been there the previous night, planning to stay for two nights, and they had decided to come home early.  He explained that they had two bracelets to get into the water park and said we could have their room.  I had just finished going to play group with Carina and was preparing to feed the two sets of ward missionaries that night and Ollie had soccer, and it was a school night, so I just laughed and told him that I really didn’t think we could manage it.  As soon as I hung up I started wondering…hmmm, how much does it cost to get more bracelets? Answer: $40.  No way.

I called Chad and told him I wanted to run it by him just to let him know (we have wanted to try this place our for a long time) and he immediately went to work seeing what we could do. Of course, he is not as Jeppsonish as me and just called the resort and explained the situation.  They said there would be no problem transferring the room over to us, and giving everyone in our family bracelets.  WOW.  THANK YOU GREAT WOLF LODGE.

We ordered the missionaries pizza (again), Chad called his boss to get the next day off, and as soon as Chad got home from work we broke the surprise to the kids.  We had been planning to surprise the kids by taking them out of school on Columbus Day, which is Gabe’s birthday, and taking them to Discovery Place.  So instead we made this Gabe’s birthday celebration, and they could not have been more excited.

I have to say, this little getaway was just the type of little getaway that is really good for me.  Not enough time beforehand to obsess and stress about everything that needs to be done.  Close enough and simple enough that I managed to pack everything in about 15 minutes.  It was a 40 minute drive in traffic and just the right amount of spontaneity to make us all feel a little giddy.

The lodge was just wonderful for the family.  It is well done to begin with, and then they had done it up for Halloween really nicely.  Everyone there is very friendly – to the point that is has a Disney feel to it.  We got there at almost 7 that night and immediately changed into our swimsuits to play at the waterpark for the hour that was left before it closed for the night.  In the morning we strolled to Dunkin’ Donuts (inside the lodge), then lazed around, went to Carolina Mills and lunch, and then spent the rest of the day in the waterpark.  It was one of those magical family days when almost everyone is happy almost all the time.

 

We really loved this place and one night there was really perfect for our family.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

It’s Monday, and it is the 7th of OCTOBER. How is that??

I like to moan and groan to Chad about much I hate Mondays.  He kids me about how cliché the whole thing is and calls me Garfield, but it is still oh-so-true.  I wake up in a panic about what I am going to feed the kids for breakfast, what I am going to pack them for lunch (today it was smoothies and leftover waffles, and bean burritos, respectively). Why is it that no matter how much food I buy for the week, it is always always gone by Monday?  Like we the amount we eat just depends on what there is in the house – if it is there, it gets eaten. 

Zumba with Sabina happens every Monday, which is a highlight, but my goodness I was so tired today and watching the clock like a hawk. 

There always seems to be something I have neglected all weekend that pops up and steals the hour or two of my get-things-done-time.  Today it was finishing off the photos for care packages I was planning to mail off today to our adopted girls.  I have their little dolls and clothes packed nice and tight in Ziploc bags, but CVS photo was just really sucking, so the pictures are now being sent to Walmart to be picked up tomorrow, extending my last-minute project yet another day.

Chad and I just finished cleaning the downstairs and putting away the groceries and I am so ready for sleep.

Gabe’s birthday party is this weekend, Lindsey is hosting cooking club at my house next (which means I have to actually clean my fridge), and sometime in there I need to start thinking about Halloween costumes.

Do I should whiny enough already?  I guess I just wanted to document a plain ol’ hectic-yet-not-exciting day. 

And in the meantime, I have THREE episodes of Downton Abbey waiting for me. That’s a good thing, right?  Add that to the fact that Monday is almost over and I am feeling pretty good.

Here’s to sleep, care packages, and Downton Abbey.

Colin’s Pokémon Shop

Colin has been wanting to sell his Pokémon cards for awhile now because he just never uses them anymore.   He tried ebay with no success, so the obvious crowd for him to target was the one here in the house – his little brothers.  He wanted to charge way more than I thought was fair (and they probably would have paid it), so he stewed over his dashed dreams of quick bucks for awhile.  Then a couple of Fridays ago, he had to stay home from school because he was sick the night before.  After just a few hours of Full House (I got him hooked over the summer), Colin was pacing around like a hungry lion.  He came up with a plan to keep busy and make everyone in the house happy.  When Gabe and Ollie came home from school, they found this sign outside their bedroom door:

The sale was a huge success and all of Colin’s cards where out of his possession (but still in our house and ready to be scattered on the floor again, hip hip hooray).  Everyone was happy.

Until this past Thursday, when all of Colin’s classmates suddenly started talking Pokémon and bringing their cards to school.  I believe Colin weaseled a few cards back from Gabe and has already managed to aquire several more from classmates. Now Colin can’t believe he just sold them all for a cent each.

Happy Birthday to my Mom

Last Sunday was my mom’s birthday.  Within about ten minutes of getting to church, Ollie drew a picture of him with Granny, holding hands.  He scooted through the aisle until he reached her, snuggled up and showed her.  She got a huge smile on her face and pointed at him and herself, knowing exactly what the picture was.  Ollie could tell that she loved it, so he spent the rest of the meeting drawing pictures and writing sweet messages to his Granny and sharing them with her.  It was so sweet and completely his idea, and both of them were beaming the whole time.

That evening we had a family dinner for her with Papa Murphy’s, which used to be my mom’s favorite whenever she visited us in Provo.  We just got a location near us this year. 

I secretly gave Colin and Santi some silly sting to spray at Granny right after she blew her candle out.  She was very surprised and LOVED it.  She loves pranks and practical jokes.

 

And, just because these two girls (Carina and her cousin Leslie) have been crazy about each other lately, and they are so cute…a couple of pictures of the two littlest party girls.

My mom was pretty tired after a couple of hours, but I think she had a good time and we were happy to show her how much we love her.

Bryce came home

My youngest brother Bryce completed basic training for the Marines last month.  Here is a picture I stole from my Dad’s facebook page:

 

He had a ten day leave before he moved on to his next training, so we threw him a little party. 

All my siblings should be able to look at the three pictures below and guess what I made for dinner -

 

-My mom’s very gringo Chicken Enchiladas.  I cannot remember the last time I had Chinchiladas (as Chaddy and I always call them) and let me tell you – yes, the sauce is an orangish, vomitey color, yes, it has condensed cream of mushroom soup, yes it has more dairy in it than you should consume in a month, but those suckers were sooooo tasty.  Lindsey and Bryce reminded me that Bryce always loved Chicken Enchiladas so much that he would eat them until he got sick.  I think I did the same thing that night.

This is Bryce, next to my brother-in-law Seth.

Bryce is doing great.  He is in incredible shape.  He seems so happy and fulfilled.  Towards the end of the night we had him sit down with his nieces and nephews who were there, for a Q&A session.  We are not exactly a military family, so we are really clueless about everything.  We all really enjoyed hearing more about Bryce’s experiences, especially Colin.  That kid had stars in his eyes the whole time.

Now Bryce is gone again for more training.  We miss him, but it is great to see him out there living his dream and doing it well.

Wildflowers

On Sunday, in “the mountains,” I took a walk down to the wildflower field in front of Levi’s house with Carina and my niece and nephew, Ruby and Silas.  Grabbing my camera, I decided to keep my portrait lens on and see what kind of images I could capture with it.  These pictures make me want to pack our house and move up there.

 

Dear Ollie,

You had your first day of kindergarten a week ago. Your dad, your big brothers, Carina, and I loaded the stroller up with all your school supplies and walked you and your hashbrown belly to class. Your brothers said goodbye at the school entrance and Colin gave you a big hug, telling you you were going to do great.

A Dad (with a capital D) was quizzing your teacher when we walked in the classroom, so we quietly waited for his questions to end.  Then the teacher turned her attention to you with a big smile and said, “Ah, another smart boy!”  She led you to your cubby to show you where to put your monster backpack, and then you sat down to color.  After a quick goodbye (feeling like veteran parents) , Daddy, Carina and I walked out, leaving our handsome little guy in the care of someone else for seven hours.

And I didn’t cry.

Then.

I had spent the previous evening reading my blog late into the night, letting the tears spill over onto my pillow as Chad slept beside me.  All five of your years are here, and each post about you is precious to me. 

Your smiling brown eyes.  Your strong will.  Your energy.  Your joy.  Most of all, your love. 

My heart ached with post after post and the thought that keep swimming in my head  - Did I do enough?

and

Why oh why can’t kindergarten be half-day here?

When we dropped you off, your teacher reminisced with us that on Colin’s first day of kindergarten I was pregnant with you (you were born hours later, as you know).  It was certainly a full-circle moment, watching you, my last baby boy, start the same adventure that my first baby boy began on the day of your birth. 

On the way to school you told me, “Mom, I am a little excited and a little nervous too, but I am just going to do the things I am supposed to do.  I am just going to be quiet and not talk, but then talk when teacher asks me stuff.” 

In that moment of walking away from you, I didn’t rush back to my car to let all my emotions spill over, like I had done with your brothers, despite the months of shorted home-time with you.  You were so ready.  You were so confident.  You had seen your brothers doing this your whole life.  You would see them (and your dear cousins) in the hall, on the playground, and in the cafeteria.  You would have feelings of home and security in little pieces all day long.  Maybe Colin and Gabe had more mom-time, but you had been showered with brotherly love since your birth.  You weren’t shorted at all.

Maybe I felt like I need more time home with you?  I will miss you dearly.  I will miss you calling me “Liam” on accident after you have been playing with him.  I will miss your funny phrases.  I will miss your any-time-of-the-day snuggles.  I may even miss you asking for food all day long.

I am excited for you, Ollie.  Your curious mind gets to work all day long now.  Your friendly face will find many new pals. Your boundless energy will serve you well as you navigate through Chinese, music, art, and PE with your never-ending enthusiasm.  I am so grateful now for those very traits that both exhausted us and entertained us as we tried to point you in the right direction.  I am so happy that you are there now – heading strong-willed and kind-hearted on a path of growth. Keep going, my brown-eyed, furrowed- brow sweetheart.

With love,

Mom

Back-to-School

We had our annual back-to-school dinner on Sunday.  Since it was Ollie’s birthday and he was starting kindergarten, I let him choose the Menu.

Dinner:

• Taco Bowls with:
• Quinoa and Black Beans
• Guacamole
• Fresh Salsa
• Tomatoes and Lettuce
• Blueberry Lemonade

Dessert:

Drumsticks

This was definitely one of those not-so-fancy years, but Ollie was happy and it is a meal that all the boys love.  I didn’t do anything for decorations this year (as you can see) – just printed off the 2013-14 family theme, stuck it in a frame and gathered a few things for the table.

I asked Chad to come up with our family theme this year and he chose:

We ye are in the service of your fellow beings, you are only in the service of your God.

We had a discussion about the theme, set some goals for the year, and then Chad gave all the boys a father’s blessing. 

The next morning went smoothly and we got out the door and to school with plenty of time to spare.

For kindergarten, they stagger the start days so each kid only goes once that week and there are only four or so kids each day.  That way the teacher can evaluate where they are, and get them acquainted with all the procedures without too much chaos.

Today was Ollie’s first day and I will have to write more about that in my traditional first-day-of-school  letter to him later.