Trick or Treat!

A Seahawk and a 50's girl!

Makylie isn't overly into the Princesses, and she has already been several different animals.
She wanted to be something "pretty" but that was the extent of her needs for her costume.
So I threw out some ideas to her and she wasn't IN LOVE with any of them.
However, top of the list at the time, was a cowgirl and Dorothy from the Wizard Of Oz...and the only reason was because she wanted the basket with the dog in it.

Then I searched online...and found some pictures of a 50's girl.
Karman was a 50's girl from the last year she went trick-or-treating, to everytime she has needed a costume since...It was, in my opinion, the best costume ever...so I was excited to do it again.
I showed her...and that was the end of that.
She was SET and super excited.
I let her pick out whatever color skirt she wanted. She picked this one first...then changed her mind to pink and purple and even red...but finally, came back to the light blue!
My mom found the saddle shoes at a garage sale. This is the very piece of the outfit that inspired me to search for pictures and try to turn her on to being this rock and roll girlie.
We found the glasses in the dollar spot at Target. They were sunglasses, but we just popped out the lenses.
Everything just came together perfectly.
I put on some lipstick and blush and that alone, made her WHOLE NIGHT!!!!!
And my 50's Girl was born!

Try as I might to get my son to match my daughter...and be a 50's boy with slicked back hair and rolled up sleeves...
He was going to have nothing to do with that!
I even offered to get him a guitar.
Nope.
Tyler went through the gammit of boy things....
Darth Vader, a Ninja, any other Star Wars Guy, Mario.
As OK as those things are to me, I am SO not into buying those cheesy overpriced, but made super cheaply costumes. And as long as I can get away with not doing so, I will.
So we looked into some other things...
and low and behold....
FOUND THE PERFECT COSTUME!!!

Tyler LOVES football. Watching it, and playing it.
It is pretty much the first thing that he asks Kevin every single day when he gets home from work...
"Daddy, can we play football"
The costume idea was perfect...but expensive.
The only sets that were a decent price did not include the helmet.
He needed the helmet to make him feel like he was a real player. :)
So I searched and searched...
Finally online, I found a great sale with free shipping.
It was like they were speaking directly to me!
And my Seahawk was born.

Kevin took the kids out trick-or-treating, as he does every year.
I stayed home with Karman and roasted pumpkin seeds, and answered the door.

Here are our pumpkins all lit up....
Top to bottom...
Makylie's, Karman's, Mine, Tyler's

This year was a school night...so it all started a little early and ended pretty early as well.
But the kids made some big huge hauls, regardless!

This is the first year that Makylie really understands that all of this is HER candy...and that she actually gets to keep and eat it.
She was a happy girl.
They both immediately started putting things into organized piles...
Making sure to put the things they don't like in the "family" pile. :)
They sure learn quickly!

Happy Halloween, 2010

Dressing up for the Harvest Festival

Kevin and I have taken over the Harvest Festival at Ty's school

We have worked tirelessly over the last two years to completely make-over the very OLD event.

Over the course of the last couple of years...

We designed all new games. Kevin built them from scratch. I painted them.

This year I took over chairing for the event as well...that involves,

all scheduling, ordering, planning, budgeting etc etc...

Tons of fun.

Tons of work...

But now....WE ARE DRESSED UP AND READY!!! Well at least Makylie and I are!

Makylie just decided to go as a sassy little thing...

Oh wait, that isn't a costume! :)

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I had nothing....so at the last minute I went as a football player.

There are no pictures of my whole costume...just these...but

You get the idea.
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Maky is showing off her brand new halloween SILLY BANDZ!

It is very important that they match the outfit you know.
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Now I feel sassy! :)

Happy Halloween everyone!

Artists at work!...

One of our very favorite parts of this season....
THE PUMPKINS!

The kids each pick their own out, every year.
They plan how they are going to carve, and then do their best to make it happen.
I love to watch all of them draw it out...and then poke and prod trying to get that perfect face.

Makylie still needs help, of course, but she planned it all out, and then told me what to do step-by-step. Mainly she wanted a giant smile with two big teeth. All on its own...that makes me happy.

Karman decided to go for tradition this year. Last year she did a pretty elaborate stencil type face and it took a couple hours. So, this year she went simple.

Then his tooth broke...but she just decided to pretend like she did it on purpose.

It turned out great!

I helped Ty cut out his mouth...but for the most part, he did the rest.

He literally had his all drawn out on paper. He has a very analitical mind like that.

It turned out pretty close to his original...

Though, it is hard to put ears on a pumpkin. :)

I really like to see the different personalities come out from my kids.

Makylie is just getting to that point, where she remembers from one holiday to the next...but her little breath of fresh air attitude in everything we do...because to her it is all new and exciting, is wonderful. I love still having someone who needs and genuinely wants my help too....

There aren't too many times anymore where Karman just sits around with us for picture taking opportunities. She has her own things to do, and isn't too into the everyday "family things" anymore...which is normal. It is fun to sit and watch her carve a pumpkin, just like I have done with her every single year since she was little. It is fun because she just acts like a little kid, and giggles, and draws her face on, and for just a moment, I can forget all of the drama that goes with having a 17 year old.

Tyler, brings his boyishness to everything he touches. If it isn't a Star Wars Darth Vader pumpkin, then it is a monster, or Frankenstein, or "something with fangs mommy"...Funny, some may see that as gross, or bad or violent or whatever....BUT...if you have a boy...you know...it is just how boys are. Because with that...Tyler brings such a warmth to everything. He is such a happy light in every persons life that he touches...I mean, who can see something wrong when Darth Vader is fighting a teddy bear under a rainbow. Seriously!

For me...It brings back childhood in a way that just can't be duplicated.

Where in the responsibilities of my everyday...

In the things that get hard or too real...

In the chaos of my mind because of all that needs to get done...

I can sit on the floor and stick my hand into a concave of goo, and pull out pumpkin seeds, and get excited because I get to roast them later while some of my favorite people in the world are out trick-or-treating.

It is just a happy place for me.

Look what I got Mommy

I made these....

For this....

A first Soccer trophy for an amazing little soccer player!

After a great VERY rainy season! The kids were thrilled to receive, what was for most of them, their very first trophy!

Their last game was WET AND MUDDY! So everyone was a little cold...and not really in the mood for a long party...

BUT

It didn't stop them from eating their fruit, soccer cookies, and cupcakes!

Here is a proud Maky with her coach, Stephanie.

Good job little girlie....can't wait for indoor to start!!!

Pumpkin Patch full of friends

Gorgeous day.

Great Friends! (Chloe, Tyler, Makylie, Rohnan)

Posing, smiling, making memories.

Being silly trying to be a part of the Harry Potter pumpkin scene behind them.

We love this pumpkin farm. Craven Farms.
We come here every year for pumpkins...

But on this BEAUTIFUL day in October

We just came to hang out with our friends!

Pirates Tyler and Rohnan keeping the pumpkins safe!

Ty and Maky going for a little ride.

These are the exact reason that we love it here.

Just plain old FREE family farm fun.

And these kids ran around for two hours...enjoying the cold but gorgeous day that it was outside.

Ty has been great friends with these two since kindergarten. Their moms and I are great friends as well. We chat outside of the school, sometimes, for over an hour, while the kids play.

Because of that...they have created a great bond.

A friendship that we hope will last throughout their school years...and beyond!!!

I know you can hardly see it, but Rohnan is driving, and miss Chloe and Makylie are in the passenger seat, while Ty is tailin' it in the back!

Can you tell they liked the truck???

This is my friend Maureen and her littlest one, Mariah.

These two little ninjas doing their slick moves...can only knock people down with cuteness.

I'm just sayin!

They wandered through the stalks and stalks of corn, to find this little field, and they NEEDED me to come and take this picture.

I really enjoy our friendships with these family's.

It is so nice, to take off on an impromptu playdate...and just be able to naturally have a good time!

I enjoy being with people, who make me feel better, just for knowing them!

Thanks for a great day guys!

A Little Girl and a Soccer Ball

This is Makylie's first year playing soccer.

Turns out, she has followed in Ty's footsteps, and she is GOOD!

She was the little star on her team. She dominated.
And that is NOT because most of the other kids were too busy playing in the mud, playing with their doll, or crying...it is because she is just GOOD!
And....SHE LOVES IT TOO!

Maky is number 3--(ironically, Ty was number 3 this year too, in a whole different league...and their color was the same too. Funny.)
Number 2 and 3 above are, Rileigh, and Taylor respectively.

Everytime you turn and look, Makylie is running with the ball.
I think because Ty has played for so long, and so she just understood the fundamentals already, and took right to it!
At their age, it is just about getting the ball and heading the right direction.
It was a blast to watch!

She would go up against these "big" kids, with no fear.
She is such a little thing...but she sure doesn't play like it!

It was an adorable team. They were all so cute. Their coach was really good with their age group too, so that helped make them all comfortable with the game.

They, obviously, play every position.
Goalie, wasn't so much her fortay....She isn't too into people running straight for her with a wet muddy ball.

One game...it was muddy, wet, and cold. Very early on in the game she took her first fall. She was covered in mud. That did NOT go over well! She ran to me crying and didn't want to go back out to play. It was, I believe the first, and only time, during the season that she ever cried or didn't want to play. If you have ever played with 4 year olds, you know, that is pretty good! I cleaned her off, and hugged her ego...and she did eventually go back out and play. :)
But it was super cute.

I don't think there was a single game, that someone didn't come up to us afterward, and tell us how good she was, or how fun she was to watch.

It really was a fun season. Wet and cold...and very muddy on this not-so-fabulous field.

We are definately a soccer family I believe.

I mean, the kids love almost every sport, including running and swimming, and have shown a lot of skill in all of them...

But I think soccer...

Will be here for the long haul!

Our last Harvest

Here is our LAST veggie harvest of the year!

So proud of how amazing the garden was for our first year!
We got MUCH more then we expected, considering the kind of season we had.
Plus we learned what works and what doesn't. What we will do more of next year, and what we won't bother with!
This was THE best thing for the kids! They LOVED going down and checking the garden...AND harvesting what they found!
We got so spoiled with carrots...there were SOOOOO many! and let me tell you, there is NOTHING like a fresh from the garden carrot...store bought carrots have nothing on one straight from the ground!

Can't wait to start the garden for next...and see what we get out of it!