Halloween's Over!!!

ARE THEY REALLY ALL OURS?

So I don't know why I'm not a huge Halloween fan--my least favorite holiday. I don't remember loving it as a kid either...any thoughts on that, Mom & Dad? I'm trying not to spoil it for my kids but I came pretty close this year!

What kind of mom doesn't carve pumpkins with the kids? I see all these cute pics of friends and family with their latest and greatest pumpkins, toasting seeds, etc. What kind of mom am I anyway!!!??!! We always did it growing up and even roasted the seeds. My mom was so good about all that stuff and making sure we kept those fun holiday kid-traditions in our home. What happened to me with Halloween?

I didn't want to spend upwards of $30 on pumpkins for everyone--it's insanely expensive here. With the evacuation and the craziness this week with all of Vivie's appointments and running around, we just didn't do pumpkin carving! Plain & simple! My poor deprived children! I even put off Brayden & Monson's costumes until today and then hit the motherload at Marshalls. Everything Halloween was 50% off, then another 75% off that today. So literally, I bought 20 costumes for under $30...pretty amazing for someone who doesn't love the whole Halloween thing! I figured the kids always love to play dress-ups. So why can I spend $30 on costumes, but not on pumpkins??!! Maybe because I knew I was getting a spankin' bargain? Oh well...maybe I'll have to get my Halloween -lover friends to help me get on that bandwagon next year!

The kids did have a great time though and the little girls went all over town in their princess costumes receiving compliments wherever they went--how cute are they??!!!

Bray was pretty proud of his old lady costume. A couple of weeks ago he asked Ama (Grandma) if she had any old lady clothes/shoes he could wear. I think Bray thinks I'm an old lady too--don't be offended, mom! His wig and his boobs were a hit--Curt couldn't quite handle the cross-dressing thing though. He made sure Bray threw a football around before we left tonight!

McKenzie decided to be a cell phone...right up her alley! It is one of the costumes Marshalls practically paid me to take out the door...

And Monson is a little ham as we all know. He was excited to be a fighter pilot--probably since we saw the airshow a few weeks ago. No, actually Monson could have gone as himself...he was just excited to carry around a huge bag and load up on candy. I caught him tonight with it under his covers after they'd gone to bed--BUSTED! It's hard to stay mad at Mons--just look that twinkle in his eye! Poser!

And of course, Viviana. I didn't buy her little Snow White bunting costume that I meant to--those dang fires! I'll blame my Halloween mishap this year on that! So she was a little purple pansy. All my girls have been that since I made it for McKenzie 8 long years ago! It was about 14 sizes too big on Vivs, but really it was only for pictures anyway!

Curt was answering the door with the girls and they were getting a kick out of having the responsibility of handing out the candy. Basically we went to about a dozen homes with the younger three and then let them trick-or-treat in our stash at home...works out great!

One little boy rang the doorbell and upon seeing Curt and the girls he quickly exclaimed, "You're the ones who are risky people!"
Curt said, "What do you mean risky?!"
And he said, "you just let your kids come outside and play. They could get lost or something and that's not safe!"
Curt replied, "No, we're the FUN house with all the kids!"
NICE to know we have 'neighborhood police' that are using us as an example of how NOT to play! I guess when it's the hang out spot of the neighborhood it can look pretty crazy and any parent might think it's a zoo here. Or maybe it really is a zoo!
Happy November!!!!

Home Again Home Again Jiggidy-Jig

We made it back home late Friday night after Vivie got sick and I felt like she needed to be seen by her Dr on Saturday morning. Her lungs are fine--she just sounds gurgly and congested in her upper respiratory area.

A BIG shout out to The Collyers for their amazing hospitality and for putting up with SIX monkeys for a few days...well, five--Vivie hasn't reached 'monkey' status yet!

Upon returning, our home did smell of smoke--so the fans went on and we lit the scented candles. I have to order an air filter/ionizer for our home to help with those particulates in the air which should help get the kids healthy and keep them that way!

Sleepless in Seattle...R E A L L Y

So what could be more insane than two moms (Tallie & me) taking FIVE active kids ages three and under, two of which are nursing babies, through an airport, luggage, baby 'stuff' and car seats in tow from San Diego to Seattle? How about the return trip trying to carry very sleepy and sick Lexie and Izzie off the plane solo at 10 pm with Vivs in the front pack....large carry-on bag on shoulder through the terminal to meet Curt at the curb! Actually, it wasn't all as bad as it sounds. The kids all did really well on the flight and things went more smoothly than one could hope...thanks to Tallie being a veteran with this flying thing! (at least on the trip from SAN to SEA-TAC).

Isabella had a fever in the airport on our outbound trip and it quickly developed into a croupy cough and she just felt yucky much of the time while in Seattle. It's no fun to be up in the middle of the night making a 'steam room' in the bathroom because Izzie couldn't breathe then feeding Vivs two hours later and trying to keep Lexie quiet when she woke up at 5:30 am so that she wouldn't disturb Luke & Hank, Izzie & Vivie! I sure missed Curt's helping hands in the middle of the night! Who needs sleep anyway when you're supposed to be 'on vacation!'???? What really is 'vacation' when you have six kids?

We actually managed to have a good time thanks to fun Aunt Tallie & Uncle Mark! We drove all over Tacoma and Seattle and I've decided that I COULD move there and like it. Maybe it's because the sun poked through the clouds at some point everyday we were there (just to tease me?!) and it just didn't seem as dreary as they say. Tallie was excited to hear that and quickly pulled up listings so we could get an idea of affordability. Who knows what the future holds!

The kids all had tons of fun running around the Puget Sound at Fort Nisqually touching dead jelly fish on the shore, sloshing around in a very muddy pumpkin patch, walking around and around the Seattle Temple, driving by The Needle and Pike's Place (kids were snoozing & not feeling well). Looking back, I was either pumping or feeding Viviana in the shelter of the car during most of these fun things! Hooray for fun Aunt Tallie- my kids LOVE her! Luke had his fair share of teasing little girls and pushing their buttons. I think our kids act more like brothers and sisters than cousins because they're so familiar with each other and love one another so much! Of course Lexie is ultra sensitive and Izzie is a screamer so it as a lot to handle teaching 2 and 3-year-olds how to love one another nicely! We got home and Lexie said she misses Luke already so
I guess the hair-pulling and 3-year-old stuff wasn't as bad as it seemed! It's fun to have family to visit and it's also good to come home to a routine....like visiting the Doctor! That's been pretty routine in our family for MONTHS. The good news is that Izzie doesn't have pneumonia. It's just croup so now we'll just pray that Vivs can stay healthy!