Ah, the kid's tree (or is it Charlie Brown's?)

No pictures of assembling the tree this year, but if you really want to see what that chaos looks like, feel free to check out last year's post, or the year before that, or the year before that.  We put my tree up on Friday, and I began decorating it on Saturday.  We put the kid's tree up on Sunday, and then decorated it for FHE.

 This was the first year where neither Eric nor I helped the kids put their ornaments on the tree, which makes for a very unbalanced tree-their ornaments are all in the center third of the tree.  (I can't tell you how hard it is to refrain myself from rearranging their ornaments to balance them all out.)  Eric and I put up the family ornaments, closer to the top, of course.  This is the first year we haven't put up any of our childhood ornaments, our own children's ornaments filled the tree nicely.


this may be Davin's last year for putting up the star




look, no ornaments at the top!



 I love this FHE tradition.  Now, I know many of you with real trees feel sorry for us here in Arizona having to have fakes.  But don't worry, since this particular tree is 9 years old, I still get to experience the joy of vacuuming up fallen needles.  We had so many, in fact, that the kids were collecting them and throwing them, my carpet and my tile were covered in plastic needles.  The upside, plastic needles don't poke your feet when you step on them.



A Wish List

1) I would love it if all of my children were healthy at the same time. (not going to happen until the spring, I get it).
2) I would love a weekend away from said sick children w/ my husband. (again, not going to happen).
3) I would (have) love(d) to be at my brother's wedding in Tahoe 10 days ago. (again, sick children ruin everything).

Um, do we see a pattern here?  Eric and I had to cancel our plans to drive up to Tahoe for my brother's weekend wedding because Eme got sick.  Oh, not just a little sniffle, mind you.  We would have been happy to spread the normal cold virus amongst our nieces and nephews and Aunts and Uncles.  But this was something that ended up costing us 8 hours in the ER.  After a very, very long night, we were sent home with antibiotics for strep throat and the diagnosis that she had Torticollis (she couldn't move her head at more than one point, and since she had a high fever, we had to rule out meningitis).  It took her all weekend for her neck to finally relax, and she could move without pain.

And now, just three days after Eme finish her last dose of antibiotics, she's got a full blown cold.  Headache, teary eyes, stuffy/runny nose, and a cough.  Uh, on the bright side, she's taking naps again.

Happy Halloween

I think my kids would love for Halloween to be on a Sunday every year, since they got to get dressed up three nights in a row.  

Davin wanted to be a ghost



This was the first year our school did a carnival for Halloween, they held it Thursday night since our ward's Trunk-or-Treat was on Friday, and the other ward's was on Saturday.  So we donated ghostly cupcakes to the cake walk (but failed to win any), terrified Davin in the spook alley, stood in lines that were too long to throw darts at balloons, and ate yummy treats with homemade rootbeer.  All of which was free, except the treats, and all the games had candy and prizes for the kids.  It was wonderful, even if it was packed, the kids loved to get dressed up (they aren't allowed to dress up in school, bummer).



Eme the princess

Friday night was our ward's Trunk-or-Treat.  Since we are a scant 1/3 mile from our building (really just around two corners from our house), we walk over with our gobblins and goodies and a camp chair.  This year, our ward went a bit bigger than last year and had a bounce house (which actually lost power at one point, unfortunatly 3 of my kids were in there at the time), and games, and balloons (Maddie's highlight).  Followed by some great Trunk-or-Treating.  The kids loved it.

Aidan the Ninja



Saturday night, Eric's parent's ward held their annual street carnival.  It's been a while since we've been, since it usually is held on Halloween.  The kids had fun getting dressed up once again, and playing games, eating hot dogs, and seeing all the great costumes.



By Sunday, I was ready for it to be all over.  I even threatened to throw away the candy if the whining didn't stop.  Thankfully, they didn't go trick-or-treating and pick up more candy.  But they did have a great time.

I did have to spend the day Thursday embroidering Aidan's shirt and Maddie's trick-or-treating bag, and then sewing her bag together and Davin's ghost costume.  I'm glad they all turned out, but I'm also glad I'm done with that.  Now, if only the temps would drop and it felt like fall.

More Pics of the Event

Dan usually looks like this in a picture



Nice looking family guys.



What's a fountain w/o a baby playing in it?





Dad and Mom's grand entrance.

Mom presenting Dad his pin and plaque.

The dessert party

It's 11:30, and we're all fading fast.

Carter's in a candy coma











Weekend Fun, or Candy Galore!

Dad was inducted into the Candy Hall of Fame for more than 20 years (27+) of work in the industry, and because, quite frankly, he rocks when it comes to chocolate.  It was a great weekend for us all to come out and honor Dad and his amazing accomplishments, all 6 of us were able to be there, along with most of our better halves (Julie's and mine were missing, along with our broods).  Here are some highlights of our trip:

Family dinner at PF Chang's



The cake is as big as Shelby's head!



That cake didn't stand a chance against these two.

Still working on that cake, I don't think it's going to happen.



Clearwater Beach, and the Gulf of Mexico, we even got shells.



Aw, we sure clean up nice.  And we lined up by age too.

We're all here for this man.  Go Dad!

Julie's pet project: 34 peeps for Eric (who's 34).

And yes, only at the NCSA conference can you get real peeps in October!  Eric was thrilled.  I still can't believe how much loot we got in our goodie bags, nor the sheer amount of candy in bowls around the hotel's lobby-it's mind boggling!

I love you Daddy, and we are so proud of you.  By the way, your speech was by far the best one, very interesting and lots of fun.  And Mom, that was THE BEST intro, EVER!

My Birthday-It was Awsome

Please note: photos will be forthcoming, my dear, sweat husband didn't take a single one, so we'll get them from my mil.

Yes, I just turned 34. And, no, I don't like saying how old I am anymore.

I had a lovely birthday.  For breakfast, I made some wonderful french toast out of some cinnamon swirl bread (Eric made the kids' lunches while I made breakfast at my request).  Then the kids all headed back to school after a very long week off (it only felt long by Saturday-more on that later).  And then after watching an adorable 3 month old while Eme was in preschool, the girls and I headed out to lunch, followed by shopping w/ Nana (my mil).

And boy did we shop!  I don't know when I've had that much fun shopping.  I mean, I like to shop, and I always have a nice and enjoyable time, but this was a full on experience with my mother in law.  She made me try on some colors I wouldn't have picked on my own, and they worked great, and some styles I would NEVER have picked in a millon years (skinny jeans and ankle booties), and they worked too! (Eric is really liking the skinny jeans, and so am I).  We totally wore out my girls (who were fantastic, btw), and by the time we got home, I was just as tired.  Now, I have to figure out what of my new stuff I'm wearing to Florida.

We had one of my favorites for dinner, peach glazed pork tenderloin w/ roasted potatoes, veggies, and fruit.  And, yes, I made my own dinner too, Eric didn't get home until 6:30 (poor guy), so there's no way he could do it (that, and he really doesn't do the fancy cooking-he does make the most fantastic tapioca pudding).  And we finished off the night with family (and a few more gifts) and a flour-less chocolate almond torte (it has a cheesecake-like texture) topped w/whipped cream and a raspberry puree! (yes, I made my cake too).

My sil also cut my hair on Friday (on her day off too), so I'd be all set for Dad's big event this weekend, it's just what I wanted.  Thanks Rach!  And thanks to Ash and Heather, who are watching my children this weekend while I'm away :)

Verbage

Since mom is always asking for silly grandkid stories, here are a few from the past month.

We'll occationally have crickets in our house, especially after the rains (but not like our rental where they would fall out of the ceiling light fixtures onto my mom while she was washing dishes and nearly give her a hear attack).  And my children know that if I get to them first, they leave this house sqwished up in a bit of paper towel.  If they want to rescue them, it's fine with me, just get them out of the house.  They like to take turns catching and naming them.  A few weeks ago, Eme was taking her turn at the newest cricket (btw, the small ones are "jumpier"), and Maddie wanted to "help".  At which point we heard: "Maddie just stepped on my cricket, and now it's leaking."

Maddie loves the occational treat.  And when I need my children to sit quietly (for a movie, a haircut, ...) I'll bring out the dum-dum lolipops.  Maddie is very fond of them, she calls them "loli-hops" and jumps as she says "hops".

All boys love super heroes, and Davin is no exception.  He is also an avid reader, with an amazing vocabulary, and a crazy imagination.  The boys got some much needed haircuts this week, and then took a mid-day shower.  Davin took his in our bathroom (aka: the carbonite freezing chamber).  After his short shower, he donned his towel like a cape, proceeded to run around my bathroom, and announced that his new name was "Super-Inappropriate".  My response, "Yes, yes you are son."