HALLOWEEN

After many programs, parades, parties and trunk or treats... The Scariest Day of the Year finally arrived.  Whew.  I love Halloween so I don't mind that it was a little drawn out this year- but at the same time I 'm kind of glad we can now move onto Thanksgiving.  

Anyway- here are my little trick or treaters before they hit the streets...  Two gorillas and a witch!

 And their mom...

 Hee Hee and Jeremiah went out trick or treating with us, while Shaun and Grandma stayed home to hand out candy.  Actually- grandma was all for turning out the lights and going to bed- but we talked her into staying up for a little bit.

 As the night came to a close- I could NOT figure out why Kate's bag was so heavy!  She's only one and didn't really trick or treat all that much.  She mostly chased the boys and ran circles around Melissa.  I dumped out her bag when we got home and found it half full of ROCKS!!!  I guess she missed the memo saying you were supposed to put CANDY in your bag...

Hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween!!!  Now- quick!  Send me your hiding places so I can steal my kids candy without them finding it!!

Halloween Program

We had a busy week this week.  Both Ty's parade and Ryan's program fell on the same day within and hour of each other.  Again- thanks to help from my family- I was able to make it to both!  

Ryan's preschool had a costume day and a program last Thursday and my mom, Kate and I got there a little early so that we could get good seats!  When Ryan came out though- he flat refused to look at us.  When his teacher finally physically turned him toward us- he gave us the most dead-pan look I have ever received from a 3 year old.  NO smiles.  And hardly an acknowledgement!  What a goober!!  And yes- if you are wondering- Ryan was ALSO a gorilla for Halloween this year.  Though- Ryan had the impression that if he was a gorilla then he would be strong enough to squeeze someones head off...  Violent?!  Yes.  And I'm not really sure who he has been talking to...  

 Ryan did a VERY good job singing his songs and I was very proud of him!  We have come a long way in having a happy pre-schooler.

Halloween Parade

Ty is in Kindergarten this year and as such, was able to participate in the Halloween Parade at his school.  He was pretty excited- he watched the BIG kids do this at his dad's school for years and he was so stoked that it was finally his turn to be one of the BIG kids.  I really can't believe how BIG he is getting.  He loves school- and asks me each morning around 9 if it is time for school yet.  And every day I tell him that it's not time until we've had lunch.  It never changes- but he keeps checking just in case.  I love that he loves school- there are too many years ahead for him to hate it so early!  

 If you can't tell from the picture- he wanted to be a gorilla this year.  Odd?  Yes.  I have always believed that if you don't buy the stupid stuff for your kids then they can't wear them (you know the trashy looking cartoon T-shirts and crazy shoes)- but I figured Halloween only comes once a year and if he wants to be a gorilla then I guess he can be a gorilla.

He loved his party at school too and was pretty sad that it was done on an early day so they were only there for a couple of hours instead of the full time.

A Break-In

Let me tell you... There is NOTHING better than starting your day with the words, "My car has been broken into- Can I take yours today?"  

Yeah...  Shaun woke me the other day at 5:30 to tell me that someone had smashed his back window and that he needed the Kia.  I guess we weren't going anywhere...  Oh wait!  We go EVERYWHERE!  Thank goodness my mom was here to help me get kids to school.  

I called the police later that morning and reported it- the detective asked me if anything had been stolen and the only thing I could report was that a couple of empty CD cases had been taken out of the middle console.  EMPTY CD CASES!!!  If you are going to break into my car and steal from me at least make me feel like the theft was justified!!  Maybe I was irritated for the wrong reasons- but it still ticked me off.  

Field Trip

We went on a field trip last weekend to central Utah.  Sounds exciting right?  It was.  And we had a purpose which made it even better.  

My grandma Newren wanted to make sure that both my mom and I knew where some of our ancestors were buried so that when she leaves us, the knowledge doesn't go with her.  We spent most of last Saturday in Mt. Pleasant, Nephi and Mona gathering information and taking pictures.  

 Here is our very cool 4 generation photo that we took while standing behind my 4th and 5th great-grandmas.  With perhaps myself as the exception- there are a lot of powerful women both in and represented in this photo.

 Kate was quite the trooper- being stuck in the car all day was NOT her idea of fun- but she held up pretty well when Grandma pulled out the snacks!

Cafe Kidd

We do a LOT of cooking around here most days.  My little family has been growing... and I LOVE it!  Not only do I have my little family of 5 that I cook for each night, but we have since added my grandma.  And we are lucky enough to have Melissa and her husband, Jeremiah join us most nights. And a few nights a week, we also are joined by Kennedy and Lincoln (some new friends that I watch during the week).  Whew!  That's a lot of people in and out of the kitchen each evening- but Shaun and I are getting the hang of it.  My uncle compared me to a "short order cook", but I'm thinking that title doesn't really fit.  We're more like a soup kitchen.  Dinner is served hot at the same time each night and there is always a lot of it- with an open invitation to anyone that may drop by.  

 Here's Kate, Kennedy, Ty, Lincoln and Ryan waiting for their dinner the other night...

There's a nip in the air...

For the last several years I have hated fall.  I dreaded the end of the summer- I would get stomachaches and I could feel my muscles tensing...  I hated the advent of fall because it meant winter was coming.  Winter in Montpelier is 9 months long and the snow is nose deep.  I hate it.  I could never enjoy the few weeks of fall because of what was just ahead.  

But now...  There is a nip in the air, and I was smiling as I pulled out jeans and a sweatshirt for my boys this morning.  The fall air here in Salt Lake is crisp.  I want to wear a sweater.  I want to make a pie.  I want to rake leaves.  Okay- maybe not the raking part- but for a change- this October- I am excited for what's in front of me.  

I pulled out Halloween decorations yesterday and the kids helped me decorate...

 This little village was actually my grandma newren's.  She used to make and sell ceramics and I ended up with this little Halloween village.  She had painted it gray and white and had glued spiderwebs and spiders all over the houses.  It was cute- but I ripped it all off and painted it black...  What do you think??  Is it spooky?  My boys love it!  I keep catching them trying to play with the pieces- I think they'll be excited for the Dicken's Village this winter too.

 And because it's October, it's time for... HALLOWEEN SHIRTS!  Woohoo!

 I want the record to show that I know Kate's boots don't match.  They are hot pink and her shirt is orange- but they are squeaky boots and she loves them so I didn't make her take them off.  She's kind of a girl when she has them on- she struts around and tries to show them off.  It's pretty darn cute.

Ty came home from school the other day and was kind of sad, so I asked him what was wrong and he told me that he had been embarrassed in school today.  I kind of giggled and told him that EVERYONE gets embarrassed at school.  I told him about the time I tooted in Mrs. Braithwaite's 1st grade class.  It was in the middle of story time and the whole room was silent.  I was mortified.  Ty thought it was pretty funny though. Shaun told him about the time he talked in class and his teacher duct-taped his mouth shut.  Ty thought that was funny too.  Melissa told him about the time she threw up in class and Grandma told him that she once wet her pants in class.  Ty was rolling on the floor by the time dinner was done- I think we made him feel a little bit better about his bad day.  It happens to everyone- though I think it's really funny how these moments really stick with us.

Tickle Those Ivories

Kate LOVES having the piano in the house!  If it is open- she is on it!  Check out that cheezy little grin!