Jon finished his dissertation!!

Jonathan says that his new first name is Doctor. Be aware. He also says he's been in college for 12 years working toward this so he's earned it. I agree!! He turned in his dissertation today!! We are so proud and excited for him!

Trick-or-Treat

I love Halloween so much! Always have. I have tried really hard this year to make it as festive as I can for the kids. They get so excited and appreciate anything that you do for them. They are so much fun. I feel really lucky to get to stay home with them and play all day. 

Today Ezra and I decorated our front window for a contest PVIL is having while Annika was napping. I really wanted to do something scary but thought I better not. I didn't want to scare the kids. I'm sure they will love that sort of thing when there are older, so I can wait. 

We watched the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown today and thought that would be a perfect theme for the window. I think it turned out pretty cute. I only used construction paper and a black marker. See, I still use my art degree! Who said that was a waste of time?? :)

After dinner we went trick-or-treating at one of the dorms.  Ezra went as a mouse again and Annika went as a kitten. I really wanted them to match so after we were done with the window, I put together her costume. She is so adorable!

We ate dinner at the dining hall before we went. 

It was a perfect meal for a little mouse!

After dinner we went to a little Halloween party at the dorm. The girls there did such a good job making it fun for the kids. There were pumpkins to decorate, pictures to color, cookies to eat and games to play. The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. Ezra decorated this cookie all by himself.

Ezra tried his hand at musical chairs. He was the smallest kid there by far. Words cannot describe how cute he looked running around the chairs with the bigger kids. I wish I had a video of it! He made it through the first round, but was out in the second. He didn't care though, they gave him orange playdough so he was set.

 Annika loved trick or treating! She had a blast walking up the hallways and getting to choose a piece of candy from the rooms- or more like a whole handful! I had mixed feelings about letting her do that. I know she is way too little to eat candy, but she was so dang cute! 

BOO at the ZOO

Yesterday we took the kids to the Boo at the Zoo Halloween event here. It was so much fun. This was the first time we have gone and I was impressed with how much work they put into it. They had all kinds of Halloween games, a maze, pumpkin carving, a train ride (which we didn't get to go on because the line to go was way too long, so sad), and tons of other stuff. We didn't get to do everything because there were a million people there, but the kids still had a blast! I don't think Annika is too keen on crowds though because after awhile she started waving her hand and saying "Bye! Bye!" It was pretty funny. Ezra and I also got to pet a possum, so that was pretty cool (and kinda gross!)

We ran into Josh, Sarah, and Dylan in the parking lot so we were lucky to spend the night with them too! Ezra dressed up as a mouse, Dylan went as a ghost, and Annika went as Tinker Bell. Ezra even wiggled his nose for a nice "mouse" effect.

I had to take a picture of this guy because his costume was pretty great. 

The boys are checking out an enormous spider!

Before we left we got a package from Grandma which had Halloween treats and these pillow cases she made. They are so cute, what a great idea! Thanks Mom! I think she should make some for every holiday!! :)

On another note: Jonathan has one week to finish his dissertation and will defend it on December 9. Wish him luck!

Pumpkin Patch!

We took the kids to the pumpkin patch last weekend. It was really fun, but hot. I think it was close to 90 degrees! Ezra found his way through the straw maze. 

Can you find Ezra?

He also got to ride on a pony named Bill. He loved it! (As long as I walked right beside him.)

We went on a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch so we could pick out our own pumpkins.

Jon found a pumpkin as big as Annika!
Ezra thought it was pretty cool to get to pick out his own pumpkin in the field.

Happy day.

Tonight we went to the pine wood derby/chili cook-off activity at church. It didn't start off very well. Annika was holding Ezra's car and dropped it. The wheel broke off and the axle (is that what you call a little metal pin on a piece of wood??) broke. We never could find the piece that holds the wheel on (the hub cap??) although when we raced it later it was fine...just super slow. Then we sat down to eat and Annika threw up her dinner all over Jon who then had to take her home to change. That was soooo embarrassing, especially since none of the people sitting directly across from us had children and we're (I'm guessing) not used to that sort of thing. I think they were probably so grossed out! I doubt they ate much after that. So Jon and Annika went home while I scrubbed the floor and apologized profusely. 

Then, mercifully, the races started. You should have seen how much fun Ezra had racing his car! He was thrilled to have a car this year that he could show people and put on the track. He was so mad last year that he couldn't play with any of those cool cars. He had so much fun and didn't care at all that he came in dead last- out of everyone! (I didn't feel the need to mention that part to him, and I love that he doesn't even know what that means yet anyway.) Two is such a great age, I really love it! Ezra was so excited to be able to be like the big kids and put his car up on the track. And he even received an award! He was awarded "The most artistic car." I credit Jonathan and say "Bravo" since this is the first thing I have ever seen him make in the entire time I've known him. He is usually not into that type of stuff. I've been trying to get him to take up a hobby for quite some time now but he hasn't been able to think of anything he was interested in doing. When it came time for the derby though he decided to make a car because he knew how happy it would make Ezra. I am very proud of him and I think he has found his hobby too... whittling wood!

In other news, Ezra has made both Jonathan and I very happy this week. He decided it was time to be potty trained. He started three days ago and he just sort of got it. Only one accident in two days (not counting nighttime). We are so proud of him and so happy we can now save some money on diapers! Why did I ever stress about that?

We can't believe our kids. Ezra is potty trained and Annika is walking all around. Why are they growing up so fast??

Ezra's Race Car!

Last October, we attended the pinewood derby/chili cookout at church and had a great time. The pinewood derby was the event of the night--and Ezra was really excited to watch the cars race. After a bit, he really wanted to race the cars himself. Since, of course, we did not make a pinewood derby car, Ezra couldn't race. He was really, really sad--so I told him we would make a really cool pinewood derby car for the next year and race it at church. Ezra was excited. 

After a few ideas, Ezra and I decided we would make a banana car with a spot to put his monkey in as the driver. Christina got me some woodcarving tools for my birthday, and I spent a few days whittling the shape of a banana out of the block of wood. Ezra and I finished painting everything today. Since I usually don't like to build things, it was an accomplishment for me. I really enjoyed making it and plan to make bigger and better things in the future. 

Ezra is really excited to race his car. We're going to race it this Friday, and we can't wait. We added some pictures to this post so you can take a look. Wish us luck!

Happy Birthday Grandma!!

We hope you have a wonderful day!!