Halloween 2010

This year Halloween fell on a Sunday (today).  For some reason, maybe because we wont trick-or-treat tonight,  I have not really been in the Halloween spirit.  I waited until last minute to find out what the kids wanted to be, and for the most part, told them to find something in the dress-up bins.
I learned a big lesson this year.  Let the kids be what they want to be, don't try to talk them into being what I want them to be or it will backfire.  At least it did this year for me.
We had two dress-up days.  One was school.  Although Megan really wanted to be a fairy, I talked her into being a cowgirl.  I have had the cutest pink boots that Julia (my niece) wore when she was little (16 years ago?).  I thought Megs would be so cute as a cowgirl so I bought a pink hat and a shirt.  On her Halloween party/carnival at school day, I came early to help her get dressed in her costume.  After getting her dressed, she came out of the bathroom and talked with her friends (I'm sure checking out each other's costumes).

Then they sat at their desks.  I just didn't like the look on Megan's face.  She had a look of concern.

I told her to smile so I could get a picture.  I thought she was the cutest cowgirl that I had ever seen!

Then I asked her if something was wrong.  She pulled me close and whispered, "I don't like my costume!"  Oh man, that made me feel so bad!  I talked her into it and now she wasn't feeling good.  I tried to make her feel better while her little princess and fairy friends danced around the room.    Some of the mom's commented on how cute she looked so I think that helped her feel a little better.
Here is her class...

She got over the cowgirl complex and had fun at the carnival with her friends and Jessica....

After the carnival, we went to LVDS to pick up the other kids.  Here are the four kids dressed up.  Tommy was a basketball player (he wanted to be a vampire) and Sam was a cowboy (he wanted to be a Star Wars Sith).

I thought they looked great, but last night, for Trunk or Treat, Megan told me that she really didn't want to be a cowgirl...she wanted to be a fairy!  So she was.  

Thank goodness Jessica still wanted to be a cat.  Tommy was a vampire.  

And Sam came up with the idea of being Harry Potter 30 mins before the Trunk or Treat.  So, Mark stayed behind with Sam and Tommy to try to come up with a Harry Potter costume.  I had my doubts, but even though they were 30 mins late to the Trunk or Treat, Sam was a great Harry Potter!

Phew, everyone was happy!  They had a great time with their friends...

Homemade root beer and Trunk or Treating...

Handing out candy was fun too...

Oh, where was Rachel all night?  She was busy getting ready with her friends and came when most of the cars were gone.  At least we got a picture of her...

It was a fun night!

I was bummed about Halloween being on Sunday, but now I think it is kind of nice.  It was a good night last night and now it's nice to have it over and sit back and enjoy  Sunday together.  We are planning on eating a lot of pumpkin today to celebrate Halloween in our own little way!  :)

Car Wash

Yesterday we taught the kids how to wash the car.  I wanted to teach them not only how to wash the car, but how to clean it out really well.  We had tire cleaner, Armor all, tons of rags, window cleaner, leather cleaner for the seats, and even Qtips to clean out the little cracks.

The kids were excited and having fun....at first....

I think a lot of that had to do the all the water.  Water is just fun!

But when the real deep cleaning started, so did the complaining.  Actually, the older kids really stuck to it for a while.  It wasn't until the end, when I pulled out the Q-tips, that they gave me the "are you kidding" look!  But there was just too much grime in the cup holders in the back seat that I couldn't call the car clean until it was gone.  I am hoping they will take more pride in keeping the car clean now that they had to experience deep cleaning it themselves????  I can only hope, right?  :)

Arrow of Light and Cross-over

Tommy officially received his Arrow of Light in Cub Scouts the other night and had his crossover to Boys Scouts.  So tonight was his last night at pack meeting doing silly songs and skits...

 

He got so many awards, belt loops and pins tonight!  Mostly because a lot of his requirements were left till the last minute.  (Big mistake....won't do that with Sam!)

Sam was also there with his pack...

He also received some awards...

Then Tommy crossed over to Boys Scouts...

My little Tommy T is growing up!

But I sure like what he is becoming.....He is such a good boy!  And we sure love him!

A Great NIght....

Sometimes it's just nice to have nothing on the calendar to do.  Lately, our weekends have been so busy.  We have been out of town or had something to do every weekend.  Last night, we had nothing.  It was so nice.  Actually, Rachel was at a birthday party, but the boys just hung out together in our room.  I had to laugh when I walked into the room and saw this.....

Mark on his IPhone, Tommy on his Itouch, and Sam on his DS!  What you can't see is they are also watching a basketball game on TV.  :)
Me and the girls had a great time in the other room.  I was able to do something that I have been wanting to find time to do for months!.....Clean out and organize my pantry.  It was not an easy job...there was stuff everywhere!

While I worked, Megan was on the little table making crafts and love notes for me.   She LOVES crafts and she is very creative!

Jessie was in her own world.  She played dress-up and would occasionally come in and show us her little dance moves.

Organizing a closet on a Friday night might not sound that exciting, but I'll tell you what.  To be home with the kids and Mark, just hanging out together, while also accomplishing something....life is good, and I am pretty blessed.  Oh the simple things of life that are so sweet!  :)

Rain

It has been raining here in Vegas all week.  We really haven't had much rain all year, so it has been nice and refreshing!  When I was gone the other night, Rachel went outside with the girls to play in the rain and take pictures.  These are the pictures that I found on my camera.  

Thanks for the rain pictures, Rach!

Megan's field trip

I was able to go on Megan's field trip yesterday.  I love going on field trips with my kids.  It's so fun to watch them interact with their friends and it's fun to get to know their friends.
We went to Gilcrese Orchard.  It is the closest thing you will get to a real garden here in Las Vegas.

They have a big orchard, and they also have a place where they use the apples and make apple cider...

They also have a garden.  The kids got to pick their own pumpkin.  This is Mrs. Coon helping them cut the stems.

Megan and her friend with their pumpkins....

Mrs. Coon said that they could pick out whatever size pumpkin that they wanted, but they would have to carry it the whole time...none of the mom's could carry it for them!  Megan kept telling me that her arms were hurting and asked if I could carry her pumpkin.  I had to follow Mrs. Coon's instructions....you never want to get on Mrs. Coon's bad side!  :)

After the Orchard, we went to the park to eat lunch and play.

Megan was so cute.  I know she loved having me there and I loved being there.  She told me multiple times after school that this was her best day ever!  Please can I freeze her at this age right now????  :)