Monday, October 31, 2011

me-1 holidays-0

Today was crazy busy and a lot of fun for me. 

Both kids went to school. Ethan brought his costume for his party later in the day, and Elliott decided wearing his to school was a "no go". *Sigh. He's definitely a stubborn 3 year old.

But, me being the genius mom that I am, took my two hours by myself to figure out a more comfortable way for Elliott to wear his costume. So, I got some face paint and cut a face hole in it for him. He still looks pretty great, and a happy 3 year old makes a very happy Mommy.
We met up with our friends "Gnome Jude" and "Princess Rapunzel (Harlo)" for some toddler friendly trick-or-treating. They had their baskets loaded with candy, and they had fun. :) Success. 
After picking up Ethan from school we headed directly to the Fort for some more inside, kid friendly, trick-or-treating. They had great decorations and lots of candy there. We will be back next year. 

On the way home, our scary ghost passed out. Ethan and I drove around and let him sleep for a bit (you don't stop the car with this kid or the nap is over). 
I decided to take the kids out for a treat. Buffalo Wild Wings for a little something to eat before the candy. 
Then it was time. We joined Andrea, Chris, Harlo and Everly, and went through their neighborhood. The wind was blowing like crazy and it was pretty cold, but they toughed it out for a while and got a ton more candy.  
We made one quick stop to see our friend, Erin, on the way home and she topped off their buckets. They definitely have plenty of candy and we got a lot of complements on their costumes. 

I'm not letting the holidays get the best of me!
I won this round.
Bring on Thanksgiving. 

a little peek

Both boys have Halloween parties at school today, and they get to wear their costumes! I'm pretty happy with their costumes this year, and I was very lucky with their choices. They made it so easy on me. :) 

Ethan wanted to be a rock star. Go figure. So with some clip on "earrings" (this is his favorite part)...........
Some tattoo sleeves, and a $1 fake leather vest, he's set. That's right. Entire costume........$3!  
Elliott wanted to be a "Dhost". He decided this a long time ago and never changed his mind. Easy enough, but it gets better. I went to the 2nd hand store to get a white sheet and found a "painters sheet". Well when I asked how much it was, she said .25 cents. WHAT?!?! Yes! Plus it was 1/2 off day! That's right, I spent .13 cents on his costume. Haha. Best bargain EVER! 
More pics from trick-or-treating later. :) 

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Is this thing on?

I'm not sure if this is safe, letting me blog from my beloved iPhone. Just a warning.

Yesterday the boys and I got to work on the treat bags for Ethan's class party on Monday. I'm so glad he picked Halloween to bring treats. We had a blast making these.

The bags are witch brooms and inside are finger and mummy cookies, as well as gummy body parts and chocolate eyeballs and sucker spiders. Yeah, I'm cool like that. :)





Now to get their costumes finished up today. I can't wait for trick-or-treating!

(ps-I need to do this more, so I can figure out how to put the pictures in the order I want them. hmm)

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

it's a party

A couple days before his party, he got a present from Jaymee in the mail. He was so funny about it. He opened the Hex Bug first and he said "Look mom, it's one of those things!" 
She also sent him something more practical (not for him, more for me), new jammies. He was just as excited about them as he was the bug! "OH MOM! DO YOU WANNA SEE WHAT'S IN HERE?" Haha. 
I had to throw these in, they crack me up. They put Jason's mustache to shame. 
Elliott hated it. 
Saturday, Elliott's actual birthday, we had another birthday to go to, but Ethan did help me mix up the cake so I could frost it Sunday. 
Sunday was party day. Erica, Carson, Laura and Shayna all came up from Billings to come see us. It was so fun having them here.
I made this pirate out of felt with removable pieces. It looked like a pirate Boy George. Luckily, the kids don't know who that is.  
Here's the "booty".  
And here's the cake. I'm pretty dang impressed with myself. Here's the link to the place I found it and the instructions. It doesn't have the pattern for cutting it out, so I just faked it. 
Happy birthday to Elliott.  
Time for cake and ice cream. We have met so many great people here, and including our friends from Billings, we had near 20 people in our house. It was incredible! 
All the kids got bandannas, pirate hats, eye patches and hooks and knives (toys). They had a great time being pirates. 
Elliott wasn't so jazzed about Laura and the camera (thanks again!). 
Time for gifts. TONS of great stuff. What a lucky kid. 
Ethan was the "hype-man". He was excited about every gift.  
Harlo had her party the day before, and couldn't understand why these presents were not hers too. It was funny to watch her. She was just as excited as Elliott. 
Tech Decks! Look at Ethan's face.  
This card is STILL his favorite part of this gift. The money inside was nothing compared to the "Cars" card that sings.  
After the party, we were exhausted, but who can say, no, to some swimming? Erica invited us over to the hotel for some pizza and swimming. All the kids had so much fun. It really made me miss our Billings "family".  
Boys.......... *sigh*
When it was time to go, Ethan and Elliott dog piled on Laura (they love her), and Carson climbed on too. They were all laughing so hard. 
Monday morning Ethan and Elliott came downstairs and broke into the new games before school. Then as soon as I got home with Elliott after pre-school, he dug them back out and we played games together for a long time. We put together some scary monsters. 
Then we did some "Go Fish".  
We also played with the hex bugs, tech decks and had a nerf fight. Seriously, the kid made out!
It's so hard to believe he is 3 years old. I don't know why, 3 does come after 2, but it is just slipping by. He's definitely becoming a big kid, and is so much fun. I am excited to see who he becomes over the next year, but I hope it goes a little slower. :) 
Thanks again to everyone who came to his party and sent gifts. He is a lucky kid to have you all in his life.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

the corn maze

We are so lucky to have met this family. They are such great people, and their kids are pretty awesome too. A. has been a great friend to me, and we like to do stuff together with our kids, so of course we had to go to the corn maze. :)

Ready to get lost? Apparently that was their goal when we started. 
Elliott didn't want to have his picture with the big kids, but was fine taking one with me. 
A. thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of me taking a picture of me. Ha.  
The big kids ran ahead as fast as they could. Before we were done, Elliott was right with them. 
We found the bridge! Yay us! 
I think Elliott preferred the mini maze.  
Then there was the hay. Oh my. The kids could have played in the hay and on the bales all night long. 
Elliott liked just running and jumping into it. 
Ethan liked jumping from bale to bale.  
Then the big boys got to do the sky jumper thing. Ethan was a little more brave this time, but didn't get all crazy with flips or anything. 
Little A., decided it would be funny to throw hay at me.
Little did she know, I don't mind a little hay in my hair (on my sweater, down my bra, in my pants, etc).
It was war! Me vs 4 kids in a big pile of hay.
So much fun. 
My sweater collected at least a half of a bale of hay.  
Totally worth it though. And don't worry A. I got most of it out.  
Ready for our hay ride behind the tractor.  
I'm so glad we all went together. It was a great time. 

Thursday, October 13, 2011

a little more hockey

This will be short and sweet.
First, a short video of Ethan skating.


And of course a couple Instagrams (assuming that is a word, and if it's not, I'm using it anyway). 
Ethan can't be bothered for pictures while he's practicing. I'm sad to think we might be getting to that age where I get told "MOM. Ugh! Stop!".
Unfortunately for him, I would laugh and continue being my annoying "mom" self. :) 
This kid, on the other hand, is a HAM!
We were rolling a ball back and forth on the bleachers, and I said " Elliott, smile" and this is what I got.
Damn! He's cute! Don't tell him I said so though. :)  
Ok, that's all. Happy Friday (in a couple hours). 

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

my new love and hockey

Introducing, Instagram.
It's my favorite app on my iPhone.
For whatever reason, it makes every single picture look amazing, and of course my kids look adorable as ever too. :) 
Elliott loves taking pictures with me.  

This is one of the best. Elliott walking to school. Isn't he cute?!?! 
Ethan at soccer. Reminds me of The Wonder Years. :) 
Even "spaceships" look so cool. 
Ok enough with my fun pictures (there's more!). This was our view on the drive home a couple days ago. SNOW! Fall is here! I'm so happy. I love the cool days and cooler nights, the gorgeous trees, and the crisp air in the mornings. It's my favorite time of year. Plus, with a view like this, who could be angry? 
Yesterday we spent with our friends, carving pumpkins (thank you Jen). Elliott had a great time and even decided what his pumpkin was going to look like. (I told you there were more Instagram pics)
Ethan got to use the drill with the "pumpkin gutter" on it. He thought that was pretty awesome. 
And.......ta-da!
From left to right, Ethan's Spider, my crazy face and Elliott's goofy face. :)
We need another one for Jason.  
Tonight was hockey! I'm not kidding, I was excited. 
Ethan basically gets himself ready (makes me kind of sad to see how big he's getting). 
He's so cute (pretty sure he wouldn't want me to use that word). 
Ethan told me tonight he is glad it's his last year of Mites. He said it feels like he's been a Mite for FOREVER! I guess 5 seasons is a long time when you're 7 years old. :)
I cannot wait to see what kind of leader he can be this season. He's a "big kid" now.  
Elliott got to bring his ball and stick of course. It didn't keep him as occupied as I would have liked, but I can definitely tell he's more mature. He didn't cause me any trouble at all. 
Ethan worked his butt off, and it was fun watching him skate. 
Elliott is such a goof lately. He can always make me laugh. I hope Chris is proud of this picture. 
Elliott fell then came to sit with me, after a few minutes of cuddling, he was out. It's so not like him to cuddle or fall asleep when there is fun to be had, but I enjoyed it.  
We are definitely missing Jason, and I have to hear about it daily, but we are doing good. Time is flying by, and I really hope it continues to. Thanks to everyone for all of your love and support.