Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pumpkin Carving

So we carved our pumpkins tonight (after football, dinner, and homework, we got a late start...) I am telling you it is so nice doing it now that the kids are older because they really dig in and do all the dirty work...getting all the mushy stuff out!
I am really having a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that it's Halloween tomorrow. Wasn't it just Labor Day???


If your wondering what Jackson has on...he raided the Halloween Costume box and was trying all kinds of costumes on. Who knows what he will decide to be.

Everyone had a job they did....Hunter took the tops off, Coop and Jackson pulled out all the guts and cleaned them out, Conwey carved the pictures, and I cleaned the seeds out and made what is our favorite pumpkin carving night treat....roasted pumpkin seeds.....

The Finished Products...


And in case any of you want a little Halloween Sneak Peek here is Sienna in her costume when we went to a party last week.....



Can't wait until tomorrow!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

A good cry.....

I just finished watching the movie Steel Magnolias. I just can't stop crying.
It gets me every time. Sometimes I just need a really good cry. (and I don't want it to be about something in my own life) so movies are great for me to get it all out!
I still remember the first time I watched it with my BFF in High School. We sobbed and sobbed.
I think now having a daughter I watch it with new eyes....
Just so you all know it was in that movie I first heard the name Jackson and loved it ever since.
I now have a son named Jackson. 



If you want to watch this clip you can just pause the music on the side bar.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Auction for the Nielson's

I am sure most of you have heard the sad sad story of the couple in Arizona who were in the terrible plane crash in August and are still in Critical Care. They have four small children.
I went to High School with her brother and sister and they have the greatest family ever.
I just wanted to put this out there in case any of you are interested in getting some really great stuff and helping this sweet family out too.
Just go to this website and check out all the great stuff.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Pumpkin Party Weekend

So my sister Rachel has a really great relationship with all my kids.
She has been planning for a really long time now to have a pumpkin party weekend with them.
They had it all planned out.
So she came up on Saturday and stayed through Monday night.
Saturday we went shopping for what we might need....well it was a little bit more stressful than we had hoped for. Cooper and Jackson tend to get very excited when she is here which ends up with them pretty much bouncing off the walls. And throwing footballs in stores.....
We headed over to the video store to get a scary Halloween video and they came out with Ghostbusters 2... What? I didn't really even like the first one.
Rachel was trying to not get anything too scary.... but.... well..... we didn't even watch it.





So Sunday morning we woke up and Rachel made yummy pumpkin pancakes and I made pumpkin spread to put on them. It was very delicious. Then we went on a long family walk/football throwing completion. Rach can hold her own with the boys!

Sienna's pancake.....


Then we went to church, came home, made dinner, all the while the kids are seriously bouncing off the walls...then we made carmel apples...we were suppose to carve pumpkins but honestly Rach and I were so exhausted from everything we never even got to it.

So Monday morning I made her come to the gym with me....then we all piled in the car and went to the pumpkin farm for the day. It was a gorgeous day out.
Photo by Rach



JacksonCooper and his cousin Nicolas

Amy and Sienna

Sienna was all about painting the pumpkins...I think she painted about 15.....

Hunter trying to convince Sienna to stop painting and go on the hayride.....



Very Tired!
By the time we got back in the car to go home after looking for somewhere to eat for a hour we were so fried. I think Rachel was racing to her nice quiet car, to go to her nice quiet house the second we pulled into the garage.
To be honest I wanted to race there with her.
So then I left too.....

Thanks Remi for getting me to go hang out with our friends in from out of town for a few hours. Boy did I need that girl time!
So all in all I am sure the kids had fun. Something they will remember forever, I think Rach and I will too....next time we plan something it might have to be a sister's weekend away. :)

Thursday, October 9, 2008

It's the Simple things......

So a few months ago our garage door came down on the bumper of the car and well.. we no longer had a working garage door.
In my neighborhood you have to go through the HOA if you want to change anything on the outside of your house. Which I guess prevents purple shudders and such, so in that way I am glad.
I had to approve my garage door though because it was different from what I had.
It took a few months to get approval, then I had to special order my door and today I am so so happy to say they came and installed it. (Even though I had to miss my classes at the gym for it..arggg)
I am so happy and grateful to be able to park in my garage again. We had some crazy rain storms we had to run through while parked outside....and I really really appreciate having a garage.
And I love my new garage door too!
I'm a pretty simple girl I think, and I am grateful for the simple things!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

BOO'ing

So when we moved into our neighborhood about 2 years ago, October came and with it was a new and exciting game for the kids. I hadn't ever heard of this but it's called BOO'ing.

The doorbell rings....we answer but there is no one there. We look down and there is a container of Halloween candy/goodies. A cute note which is different every year...one year a phantom, one year a witch, this year it's the Great Pumpkin. Tonight came the first Boo and lots of excitement trying to figure out who it was...here is a picture of what we found on our doorstep (minus a few things the kids already dug out before I could take the picture)


So there is always a clever little poem that goes with it and a picture of that years picture. (The great pumpkin this year)

So here is the poem in case any of you would like it. This year it's a bit long, but still very cute.

Happy Halloween Friend!

Good.....Eve...a...ning
The "Great Pumpkin" has come to town, to leave you some goodies, I see you have found.

If you do not wish to disappoint all, continue this greeting, This "Great Pumpkin" call.

First post this "Great Pumpkin" where it can be s-e-e-n, and leave it there till Halloween.

This will scare other Great Pumpkin, who may want to visit. Be sure to participate, don't be a "FIS-BIDGET"!

Second make two treats, two Great Pumpkin, and two notes like this. Deliver them to two neighbors who may have been missed.

Don't let them see you, be sneaky, don't doubt....and make sure they put their Great Pumpkin out!

Next you have only one day to act, so be quick! Leave it at doors where the Great Pumpkin has not hit.

Deliver at Dark, when there is no Light. Hurry, Run, to stay out of sight!!!!

And last but not least, come join the season. Don't worry, be happy, you need have no good reason.
Be Cool... Have Fun, and try not to be seen....come share in the secrets of this Happy Halloween!


I think this is such a fun and cute tradition and I am so glad my neighborhood does this fun little game. My kids love getting BOO'ed, but they love going BOO"ing even more. The fun and excitement of putting the goodies together and then leaving it and trying not to get caught. Oh man they just giggle! So tomorrow night we will be putting our buckets of candy together and trying not to get caught. Wish us luck......

Friday, October 3, 2008

I have been neglecting my blog since I have been doing facebook...time to get my priorities straight!

So today after the kids got home from school and I just had gotten Sienna down for a nap I hear all these little giggles outside my office window...then the doorbell starts ringing...more giggling...pitterpatter of their feet running by my window....I don't answer because my boys are up the street at a friends house....so again giggling....running....doorbell ringing....running.....
Sienna wakes up...argggg.......so the third time it happens I go out walk around the side of the house where there are about 6 girls trying to hide. Tell them the boys aren't actually home and to please stop ringing the door bell because it's waking up Sienna....they run away pretty fast.
(I was very nice about it though)

Fast forward...the boys come home.....I hear a lot of giggling outside....the boys go out....and that's where spy mom comes in. I sit and listen to their little funny conversations. Of course to make sure they aren't talking about anything inappropriate. :)

I tried to get video but I need to work on my spy methods....just got some pictures through the window. I thought it was pretty entertaining.




Cooper has always been the one not so interested in girls...it's all about sports with him.
Hmmmm I think times are a changing!