Halloween 2009

We had a Halloween Party tonight at Michael's school.  The kids were soooo excited to dress up for it! (especially Aspen, because she really wanted to wear makeup)  In Des Moines the actual trick-or-treating happens the night before Halloween, and trunk-or-treats happen on the night of Halloween, and our kiddles got to go to a Halloween party tonight!  That is three nights of Halloween!  Not sure if we will recover from this weekend but..... Bring it on!

Here's to Remembering

Tonight I cleaned up junior Picasso's watercolors, a pirate's secret couch-cushion hideout, and the pirate's kitten's blanket fort, a marching band's instruments and music CDs, a SCARY ghost's clothes (daddy's t-shirts and socks), junior Babe Ruth's baseball and bat (and tee), a mother kitten's babies and blankets, and a fairy princess's gown.   As they all lie upstairs asleep, I pray to Heavenly Father that I will remember the incredibly grateful feeling I have right now, especially during the times when remembering is so hard.

(and yes, those are bobby-pins hanging from Aspen's ears :) )

Pumpkin Carving Time!

Dum... da da da Dum..... Dum.. Dum.. Dudum...

Even Superman needs to rest. :) Is the Superman theme song playing in your head too now? This is his costume for Halloween, and it is only off of him long enough to wash it. The other day Jacob asked me "What does Superman do, Mommy?" I told him Superman is pretend, but he saves people from being hurt and flies around. Jacob ponders on this for a moment then looks at Michael and says, [so]"Daddy, what do you do?"

Aspen's Teeth

Aspen is 4 years old and already loosing teeth. About a month ago she smiled and I noticed that behind one of her bottom teeth was a very large adult tooth! We then noticed her tooth in front of it was loose and a week later it was out and the new tooth was moving up in its place. A few days after that elated, Aspen came up and told me she had another loose tooth. Sure enough she had another loose tooth and a brand new one already out behind it, waiting to move forward! I thought this was crazy early, so I called the pediatric dentist. He said that because she had all her teeth at ten months old, that it was normal for her to loose them early. OK- I am really going to say it.... Wow they grow up FAST! (The pictures are out of order. The first is on the only one I could find that showed both her new bottom teeth (click on it for more detail ;) ). The second one is when she lost the first one. If you click on the picture you can see the adult tooth still needing to push forward where the old one was- sooo fun!)

Blueberries for Jacob

Mommy upstairs making her bed + Jacob in the kitchen looking for a snack = Blueberry DISASTER! His cuteness saved his life that day. ;)

Naki Maile

Last Friday our good freind Naki Maile passed away very unexpectedly. For us he left a legacy of service, genuine kindness, and a love for his family that radiated whereever he went. I will honor you, Naki by trying to live by the example you set.

Naki was 32 years old. He left a beautiful wife and 6 daughters between the ages of 9 and 1. Their family has set up a fund for donations, and if any of you would like to donate, please do. No amount is too small.

Abby, our prayers for you will not cease for a very long time, and we are only able to stop the sadness and tears with comfort in knowing you will be united with your sweet husband in heaven and be together for eternity.

Here is their family blog:

http://sixmailechix.blogspot.com/

Here is the fund:

http://www.nakifamily.com/

Pumpkin Patch Time

Its that time of year again! We went to a little farm just off the freeway to pick our pumpkins. It had a petting zoo, blow-up toys, a pumpkin patch, a pumpkin cannon, a hay ride, pony rides, a hay-bale maze, marshmallow roasting, hot chocolate etc etc. Needless to say- it was so great to be together as a family and enjoy this muddy but great time!

Hair cut

The tangles were getting out of control! So I decided to cut another 4 inches off Aspen's hair. Yes, I said I cut it! We would usually go to a stylist, but trying to stay in budget, I did it myself. Not too bad! I would also like to take a moment to thank Curious George, for without his distracting abilities this would not have been possible. :) Jacob got a little trim too, but I couldn't get a could picture at the time- He was a great sport though!

Sunday afternoon walk

One Sunday afternoon we went to one of the many state parks out here. Beautiful scenery, Michael with us (he is usually at school or studying), and Jacob with a stick in the "wilderness" makes for an AWESOME Sunday!

Howell's Family Farm

I LOVE that Iowa is full of farms! This is one that we went to that had so many things for the kids to do! I think I missed pictures on about half the little activities. We all loved the baby goats running around waiting for you to feed them. The rabbits were the size of a medium sized dog! They were very freindly too! There was also a massive "sand box" completely full of corn! The kids played in that the longest..Note to self for next year- That corn is REALLY messy!

The parks

The parks in Iowa are out of this world! This first one is a butterfly park, which was soo fun. I kept trying to get shots of the monarchs, but one never stayed still long enough for me to get the shot. :) This little garden was so peaceful, and I am excited to go there every year now. The kids and I went to a park where they were having a little city festival. It was a great time! It would be soooo fun to own one of those blow-up slides! Too bad it was only for the kiddles :(. The last set of pictures are from this sweet park with a HUGE antique carousel. My pictures do not do it justice. The colors and detail were breathtaking! and at a fifty cents a ride- it was cheap and fun! Gotta love that!

Sweet Moments

Although they fight, they really love eachother and it is sooo sweet. From the time they wake up until they fall asleep, Aspen and Jacob are playing together. In this picture Jacob has fallen asleep on the floor and Aspen (of her own accord) got a blanket for him and puts a pillow under his head. These are the moments where I think, "I could have ten kids if everyday was like this one!" In the second picture you can see the pure glee on the kids face as they found out the new grocery store we go to has kids sized carts!...AWESOME! Now I just have to figure out a way to get them to stop putting whatever they want in them and racing them down every isle... I still think it is worth it though!

A Trip To The Fair

What a crazy but great experience this was. This fair was HUGE! We were there for five hours and only saw a super small portion of it! We started off by taking the bus from downtown Des Moines to the Fair. The kids LOVED this- as taking buses is a novelty for them... what am I saying, I thought it was cool! When we got to the fair we went straight to the food. It was delicious and fattening! We even tried a fried twinkie (we shared one for our whole family)! Michael is holding it in the picture below. It really wasn't that good, but definitely worth trying once ;). There was a TON of farming equipment, and this was Jacob's favorite part of course. The farm animals were really great too- We saw the state champion SUPER BULL (picture below is bad, but oh was it huge!) it weighed 3404 pounds! Also, check out that pumpkin (again poor pic), but it was over 1000 pounds! These people take their fairs seriously! We are going to do a little better planning so we see more, but we will definitely be going again next year!