Kaden's Throne

How in heaven's name do you keep a little climber off the table? This is where I constantly find him. He spills the water in the cups, dumps the cereal bowls, eats the crayons and colors with marker on the table. We've tried to push all the chairs in but really, he just laughs at our pathetic attempts. So this is his new throne. At least we've learned to keep the table clear. How long does this phase last? Arrrg.

A Winter Wonderland

Yep, winter came. It is with great sorrow that I finally accept that I can't just wish the snow away. It's coming and will continue to come until like April. Everyone around here says that we need to have a winter sport like skiing, or snowshoeing or else we'll go crazy. We've even had offers of ski lessons and going snowmobiling. Maybe this winter won't be so bad after all...I'll let you know how it's coming along mid March.

I guess other than me, everyone else seems to be enjoying themselves. The boys are in heaven. They came home from school and immediately put on their snow gear and went out to enjoy all the white stuff. And I guess I really do have to admit that watching the big flakes falling from the window sure is pretty. (Can you tell I'm trying to be positive?)

My 9 Year Old

Yesterday at 7:47 am, my oldest turned 9 years old. Last night I pulled him up onto my lap, which is getting much harder now, and told him about the day he was born. Where did the time go? It just seemed like yesterday that he was just a tiny little baby. Now he's growing up, making friends, going to school and has his own special personality. But the change has been good. We sure love our Josh!

Josh and Ethan playing his new game. Connect 4 X 4. Or something like that!

This year Josh wanted cupcakes for dessert. So we got 9 cupcakes, shaped them like the number nine and let him make a wish! Over all I think he had a pretty great day. Here are 9 things that I love about Josh:

1. He's always willing to share
2. He's super smart
3. He's got a tender heart
4. He's a great big brother
5. He's doing great in school
6. He still will give me hugs and kisses
7. He's very creative
8. He's helpful
9. He's funny

Our Halloween Activites

This year, our Halloween was sort of hit and miss. We had a great time with the school party. The kids dressed up in the costumes after lunch last Wednesday and paraded through the town. Businesses were handing out candy and then they came back to the school for their class parties. I went over to the school to snag a picture of their parade and only got blurry shots. No good. Bummer. Maybe one day I'll get a great camera that will only produce fabulous pictures?

That night was the ward trunk or treat. It was a carnival set up with face painting, fishing, a cake walk, and many other fun games. The kids had a great time and stocked up on more candy. Here are the kids at the carnival.The pretty princess. Snow White.

The doggie that refused to wear the doggie hood.

Ethan the vampire walking the cake walk.

And Harry Potter

Then came the miss part. Halloween night. We didn't go out at all. I was wondering how we were going to go about trick or treating. We don't live in a typical neighborhood with kids. We're in the forest and houses are far and in between. I didn't even know if people trick or treat around here. So, I offered the boys a deal. Since they already had plenty of candy from the first two activities mentioned above, I thought we could have a Halloween party at home. We played games and I had them trick or treat to our door and I handed them out a few pieces of candy. They went for it, but I still feel a little guilty about not taking them out somewhere. But it worked...And my suspicions were right. We didn't have one trick or treater. (I guess since we don't technically have a front door that might have been a reason for the lack of kids coming to our house that night.) Either way, I think the kids had an enjoyable Halloween season. Oh and guess what? I got to keep all the candy that I bought to hand out. I didn't buy a lot because I didn't figure that anyone would come, but I did buy the good stuff (aka chocolate) so that I could eat the left overs! Yum! I love being in charge of what candy that is bought! Isn't that the greatest part about being an adult?