Halloween Weekend '09

Halloween on a Saturday makes for a lot of opportunities for fun.

We carved pumpkins earlier this month and Lucas' was voted best jack-o-lantern. He designed and carved it all by himself!
Brooklyn had a Boise Rock School gig at a local record shop on Friday - it was a MONSTER MASH, so we all got dressed up and went to support our favorite band.
Brooklyn's best fans!

Just as Brooklyn's band got on stage, Ian let me know his tooth was falling out.
GREAT TIMING!
We have been working on this tooth for at least 3 weeks, and NOW it is falling out?!? We excused ourselves for a moment, found a Halloween napkin from the treat table and POP! Back to the show...

Brooklyn's band ROCKED THE HOUSE!

Then we headed to the Halloween party at the Church.
And then did it all again the next day - HALLOWEEN!

Our first stop was Grandma Susie & Grandpa Stoy's house. They had "blood soup" ready for the crew. (aka tomato soup in bread bowls) This was our kick off to the Trick-or-Treat Marathon!

After visiting 4 sets of grandparents and an "as good as grandparents" stop at the DeFoggi's. We headed to a "healthy potluck" with some friends (our poor attempt at providing food for our kids rather than candy) the kids spent almost 4 more hours out Trick-or-Treating.

Sorting the loot!

Feel free to stop by for some treats...I think we have enough to share!

Tell me how cute I was.

So it turns out I don't have a perfect memory. And it also turns out that people are right when they say, "Before you know it your kids will be all grown up!" (said with a little old lady voice).

By NO MEANS are my kids all grown up. I'm still wiping other rears on a regular basis. However, I don't have anyone in diapers anymore, and I don't have any cute tiny toddlers around, just cute kids. I noticed the other day that my house isn't even all that toddler proof.

The kids, Ian in particular, have been asking me lately to tell about all the cute things they used to say "when they were little". My first thoughts were, you are little. What are you talking about? But then I realized that we have officially moved into CHILDHOOD and out of the toddler years. That is a significant change when your whole life consists of 7 years.


So I attempted to recall fun little phrases that he used to say. And I was stumped. I could only think of a few. I felt so guilty. Poor middle child, your mom can't remember anything about you. BUT I REDEEMED MYSELF. I kept a spotty journal during Ian's toddler years. I dedicated the back side of the spiral bound pages to jotting down funny, cute or clever things the kids were saying those days. That was one of the best things I ever did. We read through them together with all three kids this week and laughed and had a great time. I had already forgotten many of the experiences and moments that I luckily made record of. Now I wonder what else did I forget? For heaven's sake, it hasn't been that long? How will I ever have bribery material when they are teenagers if I am already forgetting.

And on another depressing note: I realized that Brooklyn is half way to 18. Who calls that an adult anyway?

So in an effort to not forget, I will share with you the cute phrase of the day:
A fire fighter visited Lucas' preschool class today. He taught them about knowing the difference between tools and toys, put on his uniform and oxygen mask and then the whole class had a fire drill. Tonight when I was getting Lucas ready for bed I asked him what he thought of the fire drill. With tears in his eyes and his voice cracking he said, "I didn't get to do the fire drill."
I new that to be false, since I was holding his hand the whole time during the drill, so I needed to ask a few questions before I realized that he didn't know what part of the day was the actual fire drill. He said, "I never got to drill it." That's when I realized he thought a fire drill was a tool and was disappointed that he didn't get to see or use the drill.

So word to the wise, write it down and pull out the video camera, you are getting old whether you think so or not. And as soon as you notice, it will be too late.

Perspective

Why can't I lose 10 pounds? or Why am I so lucky to have dessert so often?

Why do I have to work so much, when some moms get to stay at home? or Why am I so blessed to have a job I love, where my kids can come with me, in a weak economy when many don't have work at all.

Why do I have so many bills? or How is it that I have so many nice things?

Why does my dog chew up our things? or ...hmmmm. Is there a good side to this?... Let's see- Having a dog encourages my family to keep things tidy and in it's proper place away from the dog. Or suffer the consequences.

I'm feeling pretty lucky these days. I really don't have anything to complain about, yet anger and anxiety still creep into my days regularly. How does one fend off negativity when things seem overwhelming? I would say, get back to basics and "Keep on the sunny side".

Adios to the Trial Dog

Bella was a lovely dog. She fetched much better than our real dog Jetta.

But alas, I still found a bike seat chewed up in the back yard. The only reason to get Jetta a dog was to keep her busy, so she wouldn't be destructive. I don't know which of the pups chewed up the bike seat but Bella was returned to her rightful owner on Monday.

Lesson learned: Getting your dog a dog will not keep it from acting like a dog.

Chew on that for a while.

Some reasons I'm a bad blogger, and an update...

My pictures take FOREVER to load. It makes me not like to post. But aside from that blogging is fun, and I enjoy spying on the lives of others through blogs too.

News from the WilliamsFam5...
* We went on vacation. We totaled up all our lemonade sales and took our $360 to So. CA. (And a bunch of other $ too, but the kids feel pretty good about the $360. That's a lot of lemonade at .25 a cup!) We invested in the Costco City Pass and went to 6, yes SIX DAYS of theme parks. (3 Disney, San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and Universal Studios.) I wouldn't say we had a favorite, but it was more than fun! On "off days" we went to the beach and boogie boarded and body surfed, and of course, buried our children in the sand. Thank you to my step sis GIA and her hubby BRIAN for letting us stay, as well as the PROCTORS in Pasadena, and KIRSTEN & CHRIS in Newport. The only way the trip was feasible was due to the fact we didn't sleep in 1 hotel. (We did follow Williams tradition and car camp for 3 nights.) I hope our kids remember this trip forever! And if they seem to be forgetting they will receive an obligatory photo tour of the trip for the rest of their lives.

* We found out about the government's "Cash for Clunkers" program on July 30th in CA. We got home to Boise on August 1 and bought me a NEEEEEEEWWWWW CAAAAAAARRRRRR on August 3!! I traded my official clunker Ford Windstar (no A/C, almost 200K miles, and bad tires, not to mention all the small problems) for the cutest HONDA FIT in Orange Revolution. It matches Lucas' hair and eyes perfectly. Hooray for a reliable vehicle with gas milage out of the teens.

* Ian turned 7. He is AWESOME, smart, fun, cute, nice, cool, thoughtful and my favorite 7 year old in the world.

* Brooklyn turned 9. She is BEAUTIFUL, kind, fun, silly, exceptionally considerate, a good friend and fun to be around. She is LOVED!

* I went to take my new car back to the dealer today to get my floor mats and protective coating sprayed in it, and ended up getting a puppy. We are waiting for her to arrive right now. The owner is bringing her any minute and we are running a trial basis visit to see if she gets along with Jetta. We thought dogs might be like kids. It's easier to raise more than one because playmates are good. We'll see.

Lemonade Stand sales have paid off

Fun things about vacation in Southern California...

In case you needed a laugh...

Ode to Lucas

I like having someone who dresses like this in my house. Yes, ski boots, a size L Brazilian Jersey, and a helmet are standard attire. I like that he says "No I amn't". I like that he has a squeeky voice and tip toes everywhere he goes, even while running. I like that he works up a sweat playing Lego Indiana Jones on the Wii. I like that he eats cottage cheese even though his big brother and sister won't. I like that he is still small.