Happy Halloween!

Can I just say that Halloween should always be on a Saturday?! And it should always be dry and relatively warmish. (Warmish, by the way, is all relative.) That's how I think it should be. Even in the PacNW. Because this past Halloween? So. much. fun. Truly. Thank you to the Gibson family for inviting us to spend the evening with them. It was a bit of a break from our usual Halloween routine. In previous years we had spent a lot more time in the car driving from one house to another. Homes of our friends who wanted us to stop by or who we knew our kids would enjoy seeing. And we've also always gone to the Trunk-or-Treat event that is held each year at the church we used to attend. And each year the kids always have a blast. But this year, I must say that it was nice to just park the car and let the kids canvas an entire neighborhood together. As buddies. Then a nice warm dinner with friends...perfect. And don't forget the candy! Candy galore.

Before our night got started, this little friend paid us a visit:

Such an adorable Pebbles!


And then it was time for the annual photo shoot. This year--Ariel Ballerina (??? I know, since when is Ariel not a mermaid?) and Commander Cody (Think Star Wars the Clone Wars).

Got to love this pair!

"Trick-or-treat, Uncle Joel!"

The Gibson/Ryan combo shot: 2009 edition.

These boys thought they had died and gone to heaven--getting to battle IN costume WITH weapons!

Monkey in the Middle, anyone? Ha! Ha! I couldn't resist.

Our little friend Aiden really is happy! I promise.

Yay! More friends! Terrible pictures, but we were so happy to run into the Eitzen family!

I *heart* them.

This was the scene once we got back to the Gibson's. I tell you what, there were 5 happy kids in that living room!

Day of the Dead

Sorry, I don't mean it to be a creepy title. It would be much more eloquent and much more appropriate to use in conjunction with the word 'celebration' if I actually knew how to write it in Spanish. Because it is, after all, a sacred holiday in Mexican culture--one that I, admittedly, don't know much about. But because G is in a dual language Spanish immersion program, Halloween-type festivities took a back seat this year, and instead his class honored Mexican culture and had a Day of the Dead celebration. And I think that Grayson really enjoyed it...after I convinced him that it was not "inappropriate" to have such a day at school.

But what type of celebration it was aside, it was, in fact, the first time EVER that I was able to attend one of G's school celebrations of any kind. (Contract issues...blah, blah, blah. I ended up with the day off! Half-time employee perk, in my opinion.) So fun. And Molly and Abby got to join in, too.


Day of the Dead masks.


First a ham...


Then a pouter.

Still pouting. Awesome masks though!

Parading thru the halls...

Rice shakers (a.k.a. noise makers) in hand.

This is her new camera smile as of late. Lovely.

I couldn't not go check on these boys in the next room over. So happy they all were.

(blankety-blank blurry iphone pictures...ggrrr.)

Miss Molly was really cute sitting at the back of the group while G's teacher read a story. So cute that the teacher asked me afterward how many years it will be 'til she can have Molly in class. Oh boy. If only she knew! Ha! Ha! Let's just say that I don't think Grayson and Molly will be ANYTHING alike in the classroom. And that does not work in M's favor. :) Get ready! 2011--she's coming at ya!

This is why God gave me a girl!

I will admit that after Grayson's first 2 years of life, I concluded that I was meant to be a mother of boys. One could say that I was merely trying to convince myself that it would be okay to have just boys and never a girl. But really, it wasn't like that. I really thought that my destiny was to raise boys. I guess maybe it was because it just felt so natural to have Grayson. I felt like I knew what I was doing (boy was I a naive first-time parent, eh?!) and, after all, I even mastered the art of dressing a boy (a.k.a. the art of making jeans, khakis, and too many rugby's to count look good over and over again!).

I was so convinced that only boys were in my future that it shocked the 'you know what' out of me to hear the ultrasound tech announce that, in fact, we were having a girl. A girl. Who would probably like pink, princesses, and pony tails. Pony tails. Right. What if I couldn't do pony tails? Or remember that the tights were supposed to go on over the onesie? (I think.) Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I am a girl, and I had tons of girly toys growing up, but in my adulthood I've kind of gotten away from my girly-ness. Maybe it could just be called laziness, but I'll take a pair of jeans over a skirt any day. And heels? What heels? Fancy jewelry? Don't have any. Lipstick? Rarely. Eek! All I could do was pray that some how, some way I'd figure how to do pony tails and where to put all those hair "pretties" that match the tights that match the shirt, that match the skirt...

Oh who am I kidding?!? I was most definitely meant to be the mom of a girl! Molly Girl. And to see her in that adorable little tutu with her tiny little ballet shoes....oh, be still my heart. I don't think it gets much better than that. And will I always cry when she prances across the stage? Seriously my heart just wanted to burst open the whole time, it was so dang cute!






Aren't they the most adorable little pair? Yes, they really are only 4 months apart. 4 months.

Sweet Abby is the whole reason that Molly got to experience her first dance class. It was 'Bring a Friend Week', so Molly got to go along. And Molly LOVED it. The countdown is now definitely on 'til she turns 4 and can actually enroll in the class. Guess I better get my tissues ready!

Pumpkin Carving: the 2009 installment

So we had exactly 1 night during the week with nothing to do. No soccer, no meetings, nothing. It was the perfect night to carve our pumpkins. Molly didn't care so much about the actual carving, but she was a big fan of the goo. Grayson, on the other hand, maintained his pumpkin carving focus for, well, the first time. ever. And, as always, Daddy was the main carver extraordinaire. Case in point: Molly's Cinderella castle. It really was awesome...the 1 night that it lasted. Sigh.

See mine with the colored pegs poked into it? Yep, I am a pumpkin carving cheater every year. And I always, ALWAYS, use a pattern. It's true. I have no wild side to me. Not even when it comes to carving pumpkins.

Ta-dah! Presenting the very limited edition (as in 1 was ruined the very next day) Ryan pumpkin trio!

Surprise! Disney On Ice

Truth be told, I am the planner in the family. Shocking, I know. Dave is a super fun dad, he just doesn't plan the fun. That, apparently, is my job. And even though I do love to plan, I would be happy to, from time to time, turn over my position to someone else. Enter Dave. A.) not so much of a planner (especially a social planner) and B.) someone who shakes his head each time I even mention returning (again) to the Happiest Place on Earth. So imagine my surprise when he brought home a flyer and suggested that we buy tickets for the traveling Disney on Ice show. Knock me over with a feather! Of course that's where his "planning" ended. I actually had to purchase the tickets. And I felt the need to plan the rest of our day out in Portland, too. (I know, I never learn my lesson. I should have guessed that half of my party would be grumpy most of the day. Ggrrr. But Molly and I? We had a fabulous time!)

First up was the kids' first ride on the MAX train.

Don't let his smile fool you. He was NOT a fan of my train idea. Bah humbug.

At this point, the kids still didn't know why we were in Portland. Surprises are the best!

Happy.

I wish I could have captured the exact moment that Grayson's grin gave way to the most sour of expressions. Hmmm, let's see...it was right about when Lighting McQueen and Mater skated off the ice, and out came...Ariel. In his words, "Ugh." Too funny! But at least you know that Molly Girl was happy! Thrilled, actually. Mermaids are her thing these days.

Now part of my husband's arguement for not riding the train was/is his belief that "seedy" people use public transportation. Oh brother. But, well, let's just say that on our return trip there were a few "colorful" characters. All part of the experience though, right?

While the day did have its ups and downs, it was all worth it, if just to see the look on M's face as all of her favorite characters took to the ice. Makes me just want to bottle up 3 years old and save it forever. But I guess my shelves would start to get pretty full because who am I kidding?! I would have bottled up 1, 2, and Grayson's 6.5 years, too!

Lord, let me never forget these moments.