Happy, Happy Halloween

This was one of the best Halloween nights ever. I picked the children up from school and then we went to Brett's work. The children went from cubical to cubical and got way too much candy. After that we went to the mall and they all danced. Following the dancing at the mall, Brett and I sat in the center court while the children went around trick-or-treating. When we were done there, we took one of Caleb's friends with us and went and picked up another friend. We went to Arby's and got some sandwiches, came home, ate "dinner," and then gave the children a safety lecture, ie. stay together, don't go in anyone's house or car, don't eat any candy until you get home, don't run across the street, say thank you, etc.

Finally, we sent them out the door - all six of them, with a cell phone and a, "Have Fun!" wish. Brett and I were home alone!

They took Claire to about 10 houses and then brought her back so they could go to more houses and not worry about her. She sat on a stool in front of the door and watched for visitors.

When the children got home, they dumped their candy in the middle of the floor, and then we sorted it. Brett was the most excited. He was giddy. Halloween is his favorite holiday of the year.
After the sorting the children went upstairs and started throwing their glow bracelets off of the banister. Brett made a game of it and started giving away candy and then he even put a $5.00 bill out and told them if their bracelet landed on the money - it was theirs.

In the middle of the game, one of Caleb's friend's mom came to get her. The mom and little brother joined in the game and tried to win the money.

I think they were worn out. Everyone except Claire fell asleep in the living room. It was a great evening.

Caleb asleep with a bag on his head - I don't know why.

Eli asleep on the couch.

Emily fast asleep.

7th, 8th, 9th, & 10th

7th of 7...

Emily, taken April 2005.

8th of 8...

Claire - taken April 2006

9th of 9...

My granpa, aunt, cousin, and uncle.

10th of 10...

Picture of Claire while Brett and I were in Mexico. February 2007.

5th of 5 and 6th of 6

I can't do the 5th of 5 because it only has two items in there. So, her is the 6th of 6.

This picture was taken in April of 2004. This is Eli on his brand new bike. I have a hard time believing he was that little.

3rd of 3

This is Emily posing in her winter boots and her dance outfit - April 2006. Her boots were her shoes of choice because she could get them on and off very easily.

2nd of 2

This is one of Caleb's pictures. He went on a canoe trip this past summer and had a couple of pictures to burn ( I sent him with a disposable waterproof camera), so he took a picture of a building at the Nature Center.

1st of 1

Here I go. We'll see what we come up with, and how far I can go before I get called off.

This is Claire on her 4th birthday. I think I miss the long hair. I do, however, love the short hair.

4th of 4

My sister did this and I thought it was cute. Here's what you do...take the 4th picture from your 4th folder in your My Pictures and post it. I might even do the 1st of 1st and the 2nd of 2nd, etc. I wasn't sure what I would find. Anyone who wants to do this can do it!

These are our hermit crabs. Several summers ago the children really wanted a pet. I had them do a "research" project to find out the cost and maintenance of a bunch of different pets. We finally decided on hermit crabs for cost and convience. I don't remember all of their names. I just asked Caleb and he reminded me. They are Sand, Harry, and Marco. They were good pets.

Tweens

We had a wild evening on Friday. The junior high sponsored a dance at the local YMCA, and since Caleb isn't 14 yet, he is not allowed to go. This is actually the second dance that he has missed. When he came home and talked to me about the dances and whether or not he could go (I of course told him he couldn't go until he was 14), he asked how he should tell his friends. I told him that he could tell them I wouldn't let him go. It didn't end up being an issue since his friends asked if he was going while I was standing there. I jumped right in and told them it was a family rule and he couldn't go to dances until he was 14. I also took this opportunity to tell them, a bunch of girls, that he couldn't date until he was 16. They looked at me like I was crazy. I shrugged my shoulders and turned around.

Back to this last Friday. Caleb and I decided that since he couldn't go to the dances that we would do something here. He and his friend planned a party. They made invitation and decided who they would invite. They had a lot of fun.

The started outside. Then they came inside. Downstairs then upstairs. Inside, outside, upside down. They ate, played games, tried to watch a movie, "socialized," decorated pumpkins, ran inside and outside, played chess, listened to music, etc.

It was a great evening.

Socked Out

Yes, it is true. Brett socked out one of Emily's front teeth. Now here is the story...

One Saturday morning Emily was calling herself names. Brett first told her it wasn't true. She kept said it was true, so Brett tried the tactic of saying, "If it is true, don't tell anyone." She continued. He then told her if she didn't stop that he was going to put a SOCK in her MOUTH. Needless to say...she didn't stop.

Brett got up, grabbed a sock, and took off after her. He got the sock in her mouth, and then it got pulled out. Emily spit something she thought was part of the sock onto the floor. She felt in her mouth and realized that it was her tooth. She got excited and started thanking Brett for "socking" her tooth out.

On Sunday, she got the other one pulled out. Right now her favorite song is, "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth!"

Duct Tape

For Extreme Makeover, we found out that the boy of the family liked duct tape. During the first conference session on Sunday, Caleb decided to make a duct tape bag. It actually turned out pretty cool. I took it with me, and tried to give it to the people at the house, but they said the competition was the day before, and if I wanted to give it to the boy I could bring it back by when the family got home or mail it. We haven't done either. It is still sitting in Caleb's room.