Halloween

Halloween was a little crazy this year.  I just felt like I ran out of time and things were a little hectic.  But we all had a ton of fun as usual.  Since Halloween was on Friday and that's short day at school we carved our pumpkins after school.  Normally I like to have pumpkins carved before Halloween day, but we just didn't get to it this year.  So even though I felt rushed and didn't get to carve my own the way I wanted we still had a great time slicing into it.  Grandma Anne came to visit over the weekend so it was fun to have that great addition to our fun.  She helped us carve and get all ready to go.  She even dressed up with the kids.

Here's Dalin with his pumpkin.  Yes, he opted to be pirate for the third time in a row.  I made him a tractor costume out of boxes, but at the last minute he just wouldn't do it.  So much for that one.

Landon insisted he be a ninja for Halloween, so on a trip to DI to find an old shirt I could tear apart and use for the costume he found this batman costume and immediately fell in love.  At $3 and no work it was the perfect find.  He's worn it almost every day since then and we're two months out. 

Braden didn't really care what he was for Halloween he just wanted red hair.  So he got red hair.  I made him a Lego costume that I will admit wasn't great and by the time we got to leave the house with it, it had been beat up pretty good.

But, his pumpkin turned out really cute.

Grandma dressed up as a ghost.  Go Grandma!

At the rec center there were some guys dressed up in these amazing costumes and stood there with a huge line of kids waiting to see them and take pictures.  I talked to one of them for a brief moment and he said he and his buddy just decided to go for it and dress up for their kids.  They had no idea everyone in Vernal would want a picture with them.  They were so awesome and patient with all the kids.  Landon was completely mesmerized as he is really into super heroes right now.  He thought they were the real deal, but I couldn't get him close enough to take a picture.  He was a little worried that The Hulk would "smash" him.  Hulk is one of his favorite characters from the Avengers movie. 

What a cute little alien.

This other guy dressed up in this great costume and just stood as still as could be by the sidewalk.  When some kid would reach out to touch him he would move and freak them out.  I thought it was hilarious.  Dalin and Braden watched it happen a few times and then wandered on over to take a peek for themselves.  You can tell Dalin is really checking it out.  "Is that real mom?"

After the rec center we went on over to the trunk-or-treat and got some more treats.  Then, Braden, Landon, and I went back to the rec center for the carnival.  They had so much fun and even though I was ill prepared this year I had fun too.

We're Losing All Our Teeth

Braden has waited and waited and waited for another loose tooth.  Finally he got two within a few days of each other.  They wiggled and wiggled and he just wouldn't leave them be because he just had to lose a tooth or two.  So finally after many tears one evening because he claimed it was hurting so bad I yanked it.  I will be honest, I told him I just wanted to see how wiggly it was and that I wouldn't pull it unless he wanted me to, but I reached in and yanked it out.  Let's just say I was quickly tiring of all the drama.  Once it was out all was well again in the universe.  But the Tooth Fairy forgot to come two nights in a row and we came to the conclusion that lots of kids must have lost a tooth that night and she just couldn't make it to everyone.  So when the Tooth Fairy finally did come he got hooked up with a whole dollar and a king size candy bar.  Sigh, parenting fail.  Good thing kids don't hold on to things.  

Happy Birthday to Me!

I had a really good birthday this year.  The kids sang to me all day and I made myself a cheesecake, nomnomnom.  Once Dan came home from work the kids came and got me and had me close my eyes. Then they led me into the living room, turned me around, and told me to sit down.  I will have to say that I didn't really trust them and hesitated for a minute before Dan had to tell me it was safe.  So I sat....in my new camping chair.  I've wanted one for a while now since my dear sweet husband broke mine (it was a cheep $6.00 one).  This is the Cadillac of camping chairs so it will be perfect when the weather gets nice again.  

They also surprised me with one more gift, wrapped in plastic sacks.  

Dan also got me the dumbbells I've been wanted for a while.  Next time you see me I'll be a buff momma. Hey, a girl can dream right?

Braden also brought home a special note with something in a little box.  His note said, "Happy berfday, I luv you!"  I opened it and found myself smiling ear to ear.  He had given me his three very special rocks that he's kept for over a year.  He loved those little rocks, or crystals as he calls them and gave them to me for my birthday.  I love my kids and how thoughtful they can be.  So I've got my crystals now displayed on my dresser and now every morning as I'm getting ready I can see them and my heart feels happy.  

A big thanks to my sweet hubby who took the pictures and gave me such great gifts!  Love that guy.

Climbing Wall

I've posted before about the awesome rec center here in Vernal on a couple of other occasions.  My boys have wanted to climb the rock wall for ages, but we've never done it until now.  What an adventure!  They climbed and climbed until their muscles couldn't climb anymore.  What a great way to burn off all that energy they carry around. 

I wasn't sure about how well Landon would do, but there was no need to worry.  He jumped right on up and got pretty high up there.  Then, he just happened to look down and got a little nervous so he came down.  But he went up several times so apparently he wasn't that nervous.  

Here's Braden all harnessed up and patiently waiting his turn. 

We played some ping pong while we waited for our turns.  Dalin got quite good at it after I played with him for a while.

Braden, on his way up.  At the top there's a bell they can ring before they descend and he was absolutely not coming down until he'd rung that bell.  He went up that wall and rang the bell at least ten times.  After that I stopped counting so I don't know how many times he actually went up.  Finally he got too tired and just couldn't do it any more.

At the bottom after his first climb.  He had the most fun of all.

Dalin was determined to climb the advanced side of wall and I could not get him over the "easy" side.  He kept getting frustrated because he couldn't ring the bell so on his last two climbs he finally moved over and got to ring the bell.  He was very proud once he'd done it.

We will definitely be doing this again.

Letters to Landon

Dalin came home from school and handed Landon an envelope.  I didn't really think much of it at the time, but later after they were all in bed I found the letter on Landon's floor.  It said:

"To Landon,

I love you! Sorry of all the meanness.  You are the best man ever.  I will make you something made out of Legos.  Sorry about the rip I've made.  

From Dalin."  

The picture is Dalin letting Landon play with him and his friend Jacob.  

These moments make being a mommy worth it.  Just melted my heart.

Lots and Lots of Leaves

I just love Autumn for a number of reasons.  First and foremost is the leaves.  The way they smell, sound, and look make fall a beautiful time of year.  My kids came home from school and played in the leaves everyday for about two weeks.  Often times the neighbor kids would join them.  We have a huge tree in our backyard so we get a lot of leaves.  The leaves in the pictures are only about half of all the leaves.  

Here is Braden, Landon, Gretel, and Joseph.  I wish I had gotten a picture of the fort and nests they built.  

They just had fun throwing leaves, jumping in leaves, and running through leaves.  Braden likes to "rain" them on people.

Dalin would get big armfuls and throw them over all the kids.  They thought this was great fun.

Then we had to have leaf fights.  

Next, they targeted me.  But I made them pose for a picture before they got me.

I kept trying to get a selfie but they just wouldn't let up.  Here I'm getting smash faced my Landon.

This was the best I could get.

And then there's the ever fun run and jump.  I love how they're all holding hands.

Now I just have to find a place to put all those leaves.

UEA Camping With the Rounds

We usually go camping every year with my side of the family.  This year we waited until October and went over the UEA weekend.  My mom's family went camping here at Camp Liberty in July and it was decided it was a great place to camp so that's where we went.  We stayed in a small lodge with showers, full function kitchen, and heating so it was a nice place to be.  My kids had a blast.  Unfortunately, Dan had to take off time for his grandpa's funeral and didn't have any time left for camping so he didn't get to come with us.  Sad.  He did, however get some fishing in so I don't feel quite so bad ditching him for the mountains.  

Every year we go camping all the littles just love to ride in the back of grandpa's truck.  They pester and pester until we finally take them.  

We got some good game time in as usual.  Braden asked me to help him with this puzzle and pretty soon Rachel, Leslee, and I had taken over.  I might be a little bit of a puzzle addict.  Once I start, I can't stop.

Fixing up some yummy food.  Put those men to work!

How cute are all these kiddos.  There's quite a few so it gets a little chaotic at times.

Landon and his cousins, Korbin and Leah.  He called Leah Aaliyah the whole time because he has a little friend here in Vernal named Aaliyah and they're basically the same person to him.  Korbin and Landon have a love/hate relationship.  Well, more like a hate relationship.  Definitely frienemies. At one point they were full on fist fighting over something.  If they spent more time together I'm sure they'd iron out their differences.

Adult time is always good too.  There was a small playground right outside the door that they spent most of their time on with a bunch of other kids from another camp.  It had a merry-go-round that they spun on the whole time and finally at the end of the second day Braden came in to me and said he was sick.  He had a headache and felt sick from spinning and spinning.  So he would sit and watch all the other kids do it for a while and then try to get on again.  Poor thing.

Linkin and Daxton sharing some popcorn.

Bailey and Landon always get along really well and played quietly together quite a bit.

This camp also had an archery range.  All my boys really got a kick out of this.  It was a lot of fun.  Even the small kids got to have a try with some help.

Searching for the arrows.

Even grandma gave it a try.

We also played a little bit of soccer and a little bit of frisbee.  We had a good trip.  It's good to get out and do some fun things every year.