Halloween.

Wednesday, October 30th

We woke to POURING rain and it continued to just downpour all day long. Our back yard had two full rivers running down on either side of the house and two geysers that were shooting water into the air from the water running into rocks. It was crazy!

Des had been really upset about our family costume idea for awhile. He realllllly wanted to be Mario and well, it just didn't fit into our theme. Once he found out that he could dress up as Mario on Wednesday and do trick or treating at the library, he was totally fine. So, he was Mario and G. was a little pumpkin, princessy, cute halloween outfit girl. (That's a thing right?)

Grady and Graham came over, braving the rain, to borrow some last minute costumes and we headed to Storytime.

The library did a great job. One of my high school friends read the stories and did a great job keeping the kids entertained. They handed out plastic pumpkins already 1/2 full of goodies and then we "trick or treated" a few stops around the library until our pumpkins were full! Then there were cupcakes and balloons. It was perfect.

Here's Des and G. getting ready to go. They were so excited!

Graham picked out a football player costume in his continued efforts to court G.

Our trick-or-treaters!

Then it continued to rain all day long so Des just sat inside and ate that candy non-stop. Ben was a little jealous when he heard we got to go without him but his siblings happily shared their goodies with him. 

Thursday, October 31st

The most perfect Halloween ever. We woke up to Ben in our bed telling us that his bottom tooth was loose...and it was! AAH! Then I made everyone pumpkin and ghost shaped french toast and eggs and milk with orange sprinkles.

We are a group of misfits in the morning...

Then after dropping Ben off in his Buzz lightyear costume at school, we went to teach yoga. Des was dressed up in his favorite OSU football player gear and G. was back in that adorable pumpkin outfit. Ms. Gene (the childcare watch lady) had planned a special party for the babes and they celebrated with cookies and punch and bags of treats! We headed home happy and sweet and got ready for the party at Ben's school. They had a parade of costumes at 8:30 which we missed, but we were able to make it to their 12:30 party. We brought a little veggie tray to balance out all that sugar. (Needless to say, it wasn't the most popular item at the party! But at least it looked cute.)

The party mainly consisted of a bunch of parents distributing treats to all the kids and seeing them get excited! They did play pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern...and all raced to see who could finish their bottle of water first when Mrs. Moreno offered an extra sticker. :)

There were enough cupcakes for these two. Please notice the icing...

 Ben looking studly...

There were lots of chairs for G. to sit in...and lots of open cups of paint for her to find!

The kids were about to play some more games but I checked Ben out so that we could get home and get ready for Trick or Treat on Main Street! 

Mom and Dad left this morning for Las Vegas, so I promised Dad I would help hand out candy at his office. I had made our costumes from a bunch of thrift store sweatshirts and hot glue. I think I spent about $30 total and most of that was the 2 feather boas I had to order for the chicken. I love making our costumes and I love dressing up as a group. It's so much fun for me. So, here we are...

Farmer Brad and his Barnyard Crew.

We didn't have anyone take a group photo! AACK! And this is the only one I have so far with me in it. :)

 Aren't they adorable!?!?

No one is smiling here, but they loved their costumes! It was so fun getting ready and they were fighting over who got to get dressed first! Everything is just glued together so by the end of the night we were literally falling apart leaving traces of cotton and feathers and stuffing all over downtown. 

We got to Papa's office like an hour early because we were so excited. We made a short lap, getting tons of more candy and cut across the street because Ben saw Collin. We handed out TONS and TONS of candy to some awesome costumed kids. There were so many people there and Ben kept track of how many kids he saw that he knew. :) Brad handed out candy next to us with his SSC Business Club and then went inside when they ran out to corral his crew. 

At 5:30 we crossed the street to compete in the costume contest and WE WON FIRST PLACE! 

During the judging, Ben was so, so nervous and Des kept asking, "Did we lose?" so I kept them distracted by making them make their animal's sound. It was hilarious. They were all so excited when we one. And G. just kept that piggy nose on almost all afternoon. She loved the attention she was getting!!!

(They took a picture of us as the winning group so maybe I can get a copy of that!)

We came home to hot beans and garlic bread, put G. to bed and carved pumpkins with the boys on the back porch. During dinner Ben said, "Mama. Thank you for coming up with those costumes. That was so fun." Then this morning, Des said, "Mama! That was the best halloween! I had so much fun!"

I DID TOO.

Trip to Washington - Day 12 & 13

Monday, July 4th

We woke up shouting "Happy Birthday America!" Not really, but we should have. :) Ben and Des were happy to meet Jeff as soon as they woke up since they were asleep the night before. He jumped right in as another FUN uncle for them to torment and even managed to play us a few tunes on the ukelele!

We all headed downtown that morning for the Longview parade and Emily, Leah and Eden had saved us the perfect front row seats.

The parade was AWESOME! It was so long and with all the candy that was being thrown and fun floats, it kept the kids very entertained for almost 2 hours. With the HUGE sugar rush, Brad and I took our boys back to the house for a nap and everyone else stayed to wander the flea market and food stands.

Later that afternoon, Gramma Bubbles came home to take over watching the boys so Brad and I could go back into town and watch some of the logger competition. We strolled through the crazy flea market first and then found Grandpa and Brian. The logging competition was so cool. Being from Oklahoma, tall trees alone are foreign to me, but seeing men chop away at a huge log in literally seconds, or climb up a 100 tall tree with nothing but a rope and some spike shoes...and then slide down it in a flash? It was so fun.

{This is how they used to climb up tall trees to chop them down. Make their own step ladder! This was a race and they did it SO fast!}

{Not a joke. No harness. Also a race. It blew my mind. The guy that won is the World Champ of this event and is from Oregon. He's been on ESPN and stuff. So different than the sports I'm used to!}

We headed back home for dinner and then everyone went back to town for fireworks. They didn't start until 10 p.m. (did you know it stays light SO much later there?) and the boys were exhausted. Ben laid on the blanket, covered himself up and peeked his eyes out to watch saying things like, "Whoa. That's awesome. I love the red one! Will they have an orange one, mama?" in a slow, dramatic, tired boy voice. Des went from clapping and jumping and shouting, "whoa!" to plopping himself down in my lap, to falling asleep on his daddy's shoulder. It was spectacular.

Tuesday, July 5th

This was our last day and we packed it full of goodness. Emily and the girls arrived early and then we all headed down to a photography studio for family pictures. After the late night, I am proud to say that my kids were holy terrors. Trying to get 12 people to look at the camera at the same time is hard enough, but my boys threw champion fits. It was awful. They were happy as clams as soon as the camera was off though as they ran in the backyard looking for bunnies and deer. Emily and the girls came over for the rest of the day and we played, watched movies, napped and then headed outside for some fun water time!

The kids had a ball playing in the pool, running through the sprinklers and shooting the waterguns. This of course turned into a sibling fight too when Brad, Emily, and Brian tortured each other with the water guns. We ate donuts (and more strawberries) and enjoyed the sunshine until family started to arrive. Uncle Dennis, Grandpa Dean and Aunt Karen all came over for dinner to celebrate before Brian's Eagle Ceremony.

We all got spiffed up and headed to town to watch Brian get honored and named an Eagle Scout. It was so special to be a part of, and Brian got to have all of his siblings at his ceremony, his mom got to pin him, and his daddy is his troop leader so he got to lead the event. It was a family affair!

The kids were kept (semi) quiet with an Ipad...

Although, Emily and I eventually gave up and took them to the hallway to let them run.

We had cake and punch, visited with family and then headed home to pack. :(

Featured!

I couldn't be more excited! I just found out that I was selected as one of the guest bloggers over at the MetroFamily Magazine's website! This Oklahoma City magazine is one of my favorite places to find the best information and activities for our family locally.

Please, please, pretty please go check out the article and even leave a comment if you're so inclined!

----You can find it here!----

and then we CELEBRATED!

After Brad's graduation ceremony we gathered with many friends and family over at Rasp Ranch for a bit of a reception. Josh and Micca pulled out all the stops with adorable school-themed decorations, a newly built bar (that day!) by Josh, and an incredible feast of a celebratory dinner. They were too sweet!

Micca doing what she does best (hostessing while looking sexy AND having fun!)

One of the main reasons I wanted Brad to walk was to get some photos with him in his cap and gown. Doesn't he look grand!?

A grad with his two sons!

Showing off...

It was such a fun party. Like maybe the most fun party I've ever been to. I'm serious.

Papa sure was proud of his S-I-L.

There were even gifts!

And how fun is it when your family intermingles with your closest friends? It's a special occasion!

Gram made me take this photo 3 times until it passed her approval. I think it looks adorable!

There was a mass of little boys underfoot all night. Courtney and Shane do have a little girl (she turned one the next day!) but she was home with Grandma...so it was ALL BOY for the party. We had to get a pic. Of the 20+ I took, these were the best. Meet Cole, Jack, Austin, Ben, Grady, and Des. Otherwise known as a six-pack of trouble...

The cleverly inscribed chalkboard that Brad carried around all night.

Two of my very favorite people on the planet.

And their counterparts. Otherwise known as the LIVES OF THE PARTY!

Yep. We have fun together.

There's that chalkboard again. What can I say...he was pumped. As he should be.

The party lasted long past the family left. There may or may not have been a raucous dance party followed by a late night hot-tub dip. I shall not reveal. I will share just a few of those wee hours photos...

There also may have been an extensive amount of time spent by three grown men throwing out "album cover" poses. You know, NSync style. But those (along with the numerous dance party photos) are just not quite appropriate for the world wide web. Trust me, you don't really want to see a bunch of 30 something white folks dance....or album cover pose for that matter! :)

*Hey! I have a master's degree!*