Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween My kids had a great time and got lots of candy. After getting done with trick or treating, we were approaching our house and it started to sprinkle rain. We were so glad it held out until we were done. It's finally starting to feel like Fall. My favorite time of the year. Yeah!!!!
Aren't they cute? Larissa and Kenzi came over so we could see them in their costumes and we took their pictures with my kids. They were so cute! Kenzi wanted Annie to have a picture with the kids too because she was scared of Dillon's costume, even without the mask, she was still scared. Poor thing. So she stayed far away from him in the picture.
Fashion Disaster Kaitlyn

The Bones
Princess Alexis

She really enjoyed being a princess. She made such a pretty princess too. Her birthday is coming up and she wants a princess party. What a surprise.

Kaitlyn got Honor Roll!!!

Congratulations on your 3.4 GPA!!!

Kate at her Honor Roll assembly.

5 Little Pumpkins Sitting On The Porch!!

We all had a really fun time carving our pumpkins. We had been looking forward to it, ever since we got them. We made some fun memories! After we were done, we made pumpkin seeds. We all look really tired, as it was almost bed time, but we are so glad we took this family time together.

Lexie drawing her pumpkin face before she cuts it.
Me, In deep conscentration.
Lexie carving her pumpkin!

Such a boy!
Got you Kate! You are such a girl!

Silly boy making faces back at the pumpkin

She was so proud of what she drew. She did a good job!

Lexie loved playing in the "pumpkin guts". She was pretending to make pumpkin pie and then it was spaghetti. She would stir it up and cut it. It was so funny. It keep her busy since she was the 1st one done with her pumpkin.

Gooey Mess!!!

Busy at work! This was the 1st year, I think, that they both did their pumpkins themselves. It was nice that we didn't have to help them. They were proud of what they did.
Scary!!!!!

Our pumpkins kind of look like us.

Our Famous Pumpkins

First Dillon named his pumpkin and I got it on video. Then I had the idea that all of us should name our pumpkins and make a little video of them.

So here they are!!!

Jason's Pumpkin- AKA Grumpykin

Mindie's Pumpkin- AKA Momma Pumpkin

Kaitlyn's Pumpkin- AKA Hannah Heartana

Dillon's Pumpkin- Knowledgeable Buck Tooth Beaver

Lexie's Pumpkin- AKA Pinkie

Harvest Day at Preschool

Lexie dressed up as a little harvest girl. I thought she looked cute and she really enjoyed dressing up. I helped in her class for the party. The kids did crafts, played games, had a candy hunt, played on the playground and ate. She had the best time! It was fun seeing her and all her friends having fun.

Oh Ya, and through all this, I turned 32 on Oct. 10... Oh YEAH:(

No pictures to share, but yes I am now 32. :(

With two years into my 30's, so far the 30's stink! This is the time where I look at yourself and think WOW, where did the 20's go and what am I going to do with myself now that I am in my 30's.

I did have a good birthday though. My mom took me shopping and she bought me a new shirt and a pair of pants. Then we went to Red Lobster (my favorite) for lunch. After all that, we went to her house and had cake with my husband, my kids and my brother and his girls. It was so much fun. Her and I don't really spend that much time doing anything together because I always have my kids with me, so it was really nice for me to get away and have some fun with her. We do talk every day on the phone though, sometimes more than once a day. But it was nice to just have some mom and daughter time. It was relaxing and I really needed it. Her and I need to do that more often. Thanks mom, I love you!

Dillon's End Of The Season Soccer Pizza Party

Handsome Soccer Boy!
The Team! Yes he is the only white boy.

Dillon with Coach Jaime and his dad Coach Jason! (Shh... Coach Jaime is on his tippy toes. He didn't want to look as tall as Dillon in the picture. Funny!)
Two handsome boys!

Dillon really enjoyed having his dad as his assistant coach. Jason enjoyed it too.
The team listening to Coach Jaime. The boys won all their games. They have a very talented team. Way To Go Boys!!

Kate Was In The Newspaper This Morning!!!

Last week in the newspaper I saw an article asking for parents to write in about what we as parents are doing to save money for costumes for our kids during these hard economic times.

The night before, Kate had gone to a church Halloween party and this is what she wore.

I was so excited that it didn't cost anything either. Kate and I had been thinking and thinking all week about what she could be and we dug into our left over Halloween costume tub and came across my mom's faux fur she wore for some high school dance or something. We thought that the fur would be great for her to wear. First we thought about her being a rock star but didn't know what else she could wear. Then I had the idea that she should just put a lot of mismatch clothes together and go as a "Fashion Disaster!" She went into her closet and created a master piece.

So this morning when I woke up and I looked in the newspaper there was Kaitlyn's article. I had emailed the lady last week but never heard back from her, so I didn't really think that she would use my story. But she did. Kate had no idea that I had emailed the newspaper. So you can say, she was pretty surprised to see herself in the paper. I thought she was so cute and she had such a fun time being a fashion disaster. It just brought out the fun side to her. Every year she is always a princess and has to have her hair and make up just perfect. So this was a big leap for her. I was proud of her!

Below is the article of Kate that I got off the internet. The newspaper article looked better but it was to big for me to copy it.

Halloween Costume Couture for Hard Times

http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2008/10/25/lodi_living/1_halloween_081025.txt

Finding the perfect costume in Lodi with an empty wallet may be as easy as looking in the closet
By Lauren Nelson
Lodi Living Editor
Updated: Saturday, October 25, 2008 5:53 AM PDT

What's scarier than, say, ooze-drooling goblins, flesh-eating serial killers and possessed, head-spinning teenagers?

How about a creepy economy, drained bank account and wide-eyed children nagging you to buy them the grandest and most expensive costumes of this Halloween season?

Your budget may seem buried six feet under a pile of IOUs, the kids' early Christmas wishlists and, oh yeah, bills — but there are ways to get the best costumes in Lodi without digging yourself deep into a grave of debt. Across Lodi, people are creating their own costumes, and they say all you need is a pinch of creativity, a spree through your closet or thrift store and a handful of safety pins.

Just ask 12-year-old Maggie Anderson, who has never had a store-bought costume.

"We prefer the quality, originality and value of homemade costumes," said her sister, Molly Anderson, who helped make this year's costume.

The local sisters got to work on creating the perfect costume early. Their first step was finding the inspiration, which they got at the Halloween Superstore. It was important to keep their goal in mind — without making a purchase.

"Our mission: To find a costume that was interesting, age-appropriate — not an easy task for the 'tween crowd — and easy to replicate," Molly Anderson said.

Maggie Anderson used a dress she bought at Goodwill and things around the house to create Mummy My Dear. After wading through a sea of pre-made costumes, accessories and plastic masks, they found the perfect disguise: Mummy My Dear, a Goth-inspired outfit made of a white rag dress, bandages and a mummified teddy bear.

With their image in mind, they headed to Goodwill, where they found the main ingredient: a white cotton babydoll dress for $3.50. The rest of the costume came from items they already owned. After each person in the family contributed to the costume, they ended up with shredded white fabric (the burial rags for Maggie and her teddy bear) even her dad's tall, black hunting boots.

"Paired with teased pigtails, white face powder, black eye shadow, studded cuffs and pirate-striped socks, Maggie looked like she'd come straight from the punk rock preschool of the undead," Molly Anderson said. "She even beat out a cross-dressing bride to earn first place in her school's costume contest."

Kaitlyn Hooley, also 12, created her own costume using clothing items from old costumes and her own clothes. When she found a faux fur in the Halloween tub, she got the idea to pair it with a pink scarf, green shirt, orange skirt, different colored nylons and mismatch socks to create a fashion disaster. Hooley put her hair in sloppy pony tails and applied her own makeup.

"She was so excited with her creation. I just let her do her own thing," said Mindie Hooley, Kaitlyn Hooley's mother, who was also excited that she got away with a free costume during hard times.

Kaitlyn goes to her 2nd dance Red, White and Blue Theme

This is Kate's 2nd dance. I didn't get pictures of her first dance. (sniff, sniff) but that's o.k. The theme was Red, White and Blue. She had a lot of fun. I am not ready for all these dances. Can't believe she is dancing with boys. Jason really didn't like the thought of her going to dances because he said he remembers how boys are at that age. But she went and danced with a boy and she had a really fun time. Many more to come!

Dillon's Soccer Game

Hi Dillon! Dillon's team has won every game so far, with only 3 more to go. Way to go boys!!!
Dillon having some pre-game talk with his friends!
Jason out there with the boys getting them warmed up before the game.
The boys waiting for game instructions from Coach Jason.


Isn't he cute?
Lexie waiting for the game to start.
My girls!

Lexie's Preschool Pictures

Lexie had her pictures taken at preschool. It has been a really long time since she has had her picture professional taken. I guess that is what happens with the more kids that you have. Because I have so many pictures of Kate when she was younger. I thought Lexie's pictures turned out pretty good though. You can see her 2 new bottom teeth coming in. They are coming in so fast. What a ham!