Happy Halloween

After an entire day of pretty much non-stop rain we were prepared with coats and umbrellas to go trick-or-treating. Imagine our surprise when the sky suddenly cleared and we had decent weather! The kids didn't even need jackets! We went to the same neighborhood we've been doing for the past five or six years. The kids all did great. They didn't fight over who got to ring the doorbell, they were super thankful and ran/skipped/giggled between the houses. We've always had a pretty big group going out, then Jon and Betsy moved away, and now Bethany and Ben are moving as well. Next Halloween is going to be sad/weird.

James' - Black Angry Bird, Briella's - Molly from Bubble Guppies, Avery's - owl

Of course Briella did nothing but make faces

Not so Fun Run

I know that when I moved to Oregon I would be dealing with A LOT of rain. Normally I like it, except when I have to stand in it for extended periods of time. We've been a little bit water logged these last few days. I shouldn't complain after what the East coast is experiencing, but it's been pretty non-stop. We've had rain free Halloweens for a couple years now and I was kind of hoping for the same. The kid's Fun Run was scheduled for Halloween and the forecast called for nothing but rain. I was considering just opting out of it but James had won the T-shirt design contest (yay!!) so the kids both wanted to participate.

Isn't it a cute shirt?! He was just a little grumpy.

She had fun running with the kids and just being silly.

First day of school - finally

I'm slowly getting caught up on all our crazy times! This kids are back in school, hooray!! James has been super excited to have Avery in school all day with him. I would ovehear them talking about sitting together at lunch and seeing each other at recess. The younger grades always get paired up with "buddies" from an older grade and first grade happened to be paired up with third grade this year. James had been assigned someone else to be a buddy to but he went to the teacher and asked if he could be Avery's buddy. He was really hoping that they would just assume that they would want to be together, and then took it upon himself to change it. After a summer with them at each other's throats I was so touched by this. They may just be best of friends after all! Fingers crossed.

Third Grade

First Grade

 

Briella's 4th Birthday!!

Jon and Betsy (and naturally the boys) were in town the weekend before Briella's actual birthday so we decided to celebrate early! We went to our favorite kid friendly pizza place. No food to make (besides the cupcakes), no mess to clean up and no planning entertainment for the kids. It was perfect!!

I promise that Briella was super happy that night, she's just a goof ball sometimes. I also didn't get a picture of everyone there, I was a little out of it :) She was so cute opening up her presents. She loved every single thing she got. Everyone knows her too well. 

  

The night before her actual birthday she came down with a fever. I had this same fever a couple days earlier and had been out, completely miserable, for three days. I thought for sure we would be spending her birthday home in bed. That night she said our family prayer and asked that she not be sick on her birthday. When she woke up the next morning she was her happy, cheerful self and completely fever free. It was a birthday miracle. It also happened to be the first day of school for the older kids so everyone was up super early. She opened presents from us, ate the cinnamon rolls she had requested for breakfast, helped get the kids out the door for school and then we cuddled on the couch for a bit.

We met Sam and Hunter at an amusement park a little later that morning. The kids pretty much had the park to themselves and had a blast. It was so cute. These two boys love Briella so much and she loves them right back. They went on just about every ride. The roller coaster was their favorite and I lost count of how many times they went. They all fit on one bench so it worked out perfectly for them. I love, love, love roller coasters and so far, Briella is my only child who feels the same. She was giggling like crazy and it made me so very happy. She laughs every single day and makes my life that much brighter.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Briella!! We sure do love you! And since I do it every year - here's Briella's birthday interview:

How old are you?

4

What did you do for your birthday?

I was cleaning our room. I cleaned James’ room. I cleaned all of the rooms. This is the good, good, good news. I just took one toy and when I was done with it I put it away, so our room can be always clean. I even went on the slide and the tiny scooters at Out of this World Pizza. There were even two purple ones.

What is your favorite color?

Purple and black and white

What is your favorite toy right now?

Hippopotamus

What is your most favorite thing to do?

Play at Out of this World Pizza

What are your friends names?

Gabe, Andrew, Hanna, Sam, Hunter, Mackayla, Pippa, Beck, Daphne, Avery, James, Sean, Matthew, Kira

What do you like to do with them?

Play with them

What are you learning about in school?

Cleaning my room. You know the important thing to do with your toys? I told you it was a secret for everyone, but I wanted you to tell Dad because he was at work – You take one toy out and put it away when you are done. That’s what I learned in preschool.

What is your favorite food?

Cheddar cheese and ham

What is your favorite drink?

Sprite

What is your favorite animal?
Hippotamuses and Zebras and hearts

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A mom

What is your favorite song?

The Ella song (Umbrella by Rihanna)

What is your favorite book?

Meet the Lalaloopsy Girls

What do you like to eat for breakfast?

Cheerios

What do you like to eat for lunch?

Usually black grapes

What do you like to eat for dinner?

Chicken nuggets

What is you most favorite thing that Daddy does?
Play games

What is your most favorite thing that Mommy does?

Play, actually sleep

What is your most favorite thing that James does?

Clean my room

What is your most favorite thing that Avery does?

Clean my room