Happy Halloween

Trick or treating did not disappoint. Jake & Kyle were brave & determined to get to those doors. After each door Jake would yell, "I got more candy!!" and Kyle, "I got more chocolate!!"

I'd say it was a success.

Georgie was intent on doing it herself. She wanted to carry her own pumpkin, walk by herself, and go to the door alone. She was a very happy little girl.

~~~~

Earlier this evening we took family pictures with Heather. I sure hope at least one of them turns out. Georgia Ann was grumpy, grumpy, grumpy. And John was swatting at bugs the whole time. They could just be a disaster.

**Here's the sneak peek's Heather just sent... obviously not the best family picture, but the kids sure are cute.

Today is my best day ever...

Today was our turn to host Lunch Bunch*. Jacob has been looking forward to having it at his house for a long, long time and today was finally the day. During breakfast this morning I overheard him talking to John and he said, "Today is my best day ever... it's Lunch Bunch!"

Since it's the day before Halloween we decided it would be fun to have a little party and invite the boys to wear their costumes. Some showed up in them, others didn't. But by the time the first one had to go to the bathroom, thus requiring a costume strip down, the rest of them had to go potty too and most the costumes came off.

The two hours flew by as we made ghosts with our handprints {thanks Ali for the idea, adorable! although I forgot to get a picture}, had lunch, ran around the yard chasing each other, played "Pin the Smile on the Pumpkin {again, no pictures}, ate alien cupcakes, and ran around some more.

{funny story about these three pictures. in the first one they are patiently waiting to start pinning their smile on the pumpkin. once we finished the game it was time for alien cupcakes -see the red tongues sticking out at you?- they were very excited about the cupcakes. what they were not so excited about was having georgie near them. the final picture is when they all decided to turn around a face the wall so she couldn't see them. she didn't care, she could still see them... and she got her own cupcake so...}

I hope the other boys had a good time, I know Jake did. Although, I forgot to ask him before he went to bed if today really was his best day ever....

*Lunch Bunch= several boys, all the same age {3}, from our church who will start school together in 2011. there are 7 of them currently {the 8th is in boston until early december} and the mom's take turns hosting on friday mornings from 10:30 to 12:30. it's nice... for the last 6 weeks {actually my first hosting was after some moms have hosted more than once} georgie & i get two hours to ourselves to play, run errands, get yogurt, do whatever we want while jacob plays with his friends. it's totally worth it and the kids love it!

Pre-School Party

Jake had a Halloween party at pre-school today. He was pretty darn excited about it. Georgie & I made our way over just in time to hand out candy while the kids trick-or-treated. The kids in his class are so cute... and hilarious. Some of the things those kids say.... too funny!!

After the outside adventures they headed inside for more Halloween candy & treats than anyone should ever consume. I was a little nervous about what would end up on Jacob's plate and how much of it.

Don't worry, my kid did not disappoint... look at that plate!
a cupcake, pretzels, strawberries, pumpkin muffin...
thankfully it wasn't all sweets.
I mean, really, at least he included fruit. :)

Georgie was in heaven during the treats too. Not only did she get to sit down at the table with her big brother, but she got a plate of goodies too!

That girl cannot wait until she gets to go to school and wear a name tag -- just like her big brother.

**and for those of you who know Norah...
check out the little girl in the Batgirl costume.
The first day of school, from behind, we totally thought it was her!

Halloween Girls

{Georgie, Madeleine, Noelle, & Norah}

As I sewed each of these little Halloween skirts together, I imagined what they'd look like together on these four little adorable girls. This isn't exactly what I had in mind... they were all happy & smiling in my imagination, but they are sure are cute Halloween girls anyway. It's too bad you can't really see the skirts either... dang!! Oh well. I sure love these girls.... and their momma's.

Trunk or Treat

All day Jake has asked if it's time to go trick or treating yet. It's been hard to keep him busy & distracted, but the moment finally arrived and he was more than ready to get his costume on and get to the church.

Our little witch & "fighter fighter"



After all the trunk or treating, eating more candy than any child ever should, and hitting each other with whatever sword/weapon they each had... Ben {Keil} decided to join in the fun. Those boys beat the tar outta him & they all loved it!!


{The friends: Kyle- Darth Vadar, Norah- Belle, Thomas- skeleton, Ian- Ninja Turtle, Scott- pirate, Henry- Buzzlightyear, Brett- Spiderman, CJ- Woody, Coby- army guy}

Thoughtful Surprises: Georgie girls 18 months

This morning it was my turn to work in Jacob's class so Georgie went & spent a few hours with Heather and Andrew. It sounds like we all had a good time. As Heather and I sat chatting before we headed home she casually mentioned that she had taken a few pictures of Georgia while I was away.

Fast-forward 8 hours...

While checking through my email I notice there's an email, from Heather, titled "18 months". I open it and.... oh. my. goodness. .... a few pictures... she is way too good to me! How will I ever narrow it down to just one?

I seriously have the most talented and thoughtful friends.
I am blessed in more ways than I deserve.
Thank you Heather.

All photos taken by HKPhotography

Lombardi's Pumpkin Patch

Today we finally made it to Lombardi's for our annual pumpkin patch trip. We were supposed to go last Tuesday but woke up to pouring rain & none of the mommies were willing to get soaking wet and spend the day in mud puddles. Instead we met for lunch & frozen yogurt and delayed Lombardi's for a week.

I must say, today was - hands down - my favorite trip to Lombardi's to date. Not sure if it was the perfect weather, the great friends, relaxed atmosphere, the fact that it was nearly empty, the age of my kids, or all of it combined... but it was a perfect day.

We're so glad we were able to go. I thought having to wait a week was going to kill Jacob. He was so ready to go last Tuesday, but the wait was worth it. We had a great time!!


{photos without a date, courtesy of Heather Keil Photography}

A Day of Homemade

Yesterday as I was reading my friend Eden's blog I thought that the crock pot recipe she posted sounded sooooo good. So at noon I decided to get it started.

Later in the afternoon I was reading my friend Sara's blog and she posted about making homemade donuts... and included the recipe. And I thought they sounded good for dessert.

So tonight we had Eden's Crock Pot Chicken & Black Beans for dinner and Sara's Cottage Cheese Donuts for dessert. And we were all very happy!

Thanks for the recipes, girls!

And here they are for the rest of ya...

here's Eden's Chicken & Black Bean:
1 lb. frozen chicken breast
2 cans black beans (undrained)
1- 16oz. jar of salsa
1/2 cup rice (uncooked. we used white, the recipe called for brown)
1 package taco seasoning

throw it all in the crock pot for 6- 8 hours.
stir it up & enjoy!!

Sara's Cottage Cheese Donut recipe:
16oz. Cottage Cheese
4 eggs
1 & 1/2 cup flour
3 tsp. baking powder

mix it all together, then place in hot oil until golden brown.
set (on brown paper bag) to drain oil, then roll in a mix of cinnamon & sugar.

then ENJOY!
By the way: I am NOT a fan of cottage cheese, but you can't taste it at all!

Welcome to Nursery

The day has finally arrived!

Georgie is now in the nursery. We couldn't be happier.
No longer do we need to bring extra toys and snacks to church to keep her entertained for two additional hours. Now her nursery leaders get to do that! {Thanks Amy, James & Melanie.}

She was a little nervous when both John and I took her in & introduced her.
She wanted Daddy to stay & read her a book.
I left while he obliged.

Once the story was over he left too.

We hear she did really well... until about 20 minutes before church was over.
Then I heard screaming in the hall... and I knew it was her.
Sure enough Melanie pokes her head in with a sobbing Georgie.

I went out & got her, tried to calm her down enough that I could return to Relief Society to close the meeting {I was conducting}.

She "lamb cried" through the last few minutes.
Poor baby girl.

********

Apparently there's a little boy in the nursery who's taken it upon himself to tease and kick Georgia.
{I'm surprised she let him get away with it. At home she's the one who usually hits first.}