Halloweens Past and Present

Happy Halloween!

We are excited for our full day of activities ahead of us- lets just hope that no naps + sugar doesn't = too many meltdowns today.

I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane, so here it is:

I think this is 2003- There were cool ones before that Wilma & Fred were one, but no digital camera.

Above and below are both 2004. He started out as a cat, but later that week, was too big for the costume, so we borrowed a bee costume, and were a spider and flower to match.

2005- Lumberjack, Jack-o-lantern belly, and sleeping doggy.

2006- DH was a "cereal killer" and the boys were rollie and lucky. I don't think I dressed up.

In 2007, we were different things- on real halloween M was a wizardAt the ward party, he was "Wags the dog" from The Wiggles, and we were Dwight Shrute, Squirt from Nemo, and Pippi Longstocking.

I was a witch for "real halloween" last year. The wig was SO itchy.


This year, the boys are Buzz & Woody, I am Jessie, and DH is Mr. Potato Head.

The things that come out of their faces, especially the mouth part of the face

I typed this up a while ago, it's funny things the kids said the last year. I had more for E that were recent, but can't find them. Anyway:

E:
“Um, Because” (to anything you ask him)
“I need more sugars” (referring to all spice, salt, pepper, sugar, etc.)
“Mommy Windows” (pointing to my glasses)
(Why are you crying, E?) “Spiderman take it me” (what did he take?) “Spiderman take mine Honey Cheerios”
“I want a chocolate cucumber, Daddy”
“Oh, come ON mommy, toast goes with mush”
“But it’s my cool trick” (Justification for climbing the toybox, jumping off counters, etc..- this is from “yo gabba gabba”)
“Butter, on it” (holding out a hersheys kiss)
“Water belt, mommy” (pointing to a picture of a garden hose)

M:
“I’m going on my mission to Target” (when in tithing settlement, to the Bishop)
“I’m making mashed potatoes in my mouth” (chewing hashbrowns)
“Mom, this family came from Jesus”
“Dad, you look awesome without a shirt on!” (he came in from mowing and ate dinner sans shirt)
“I dunno _(answer)____________” (when he was about 2 ½-3 ½ he answered EVERYTHING this way”
“Mom, did you know that Clorox wipes are now available in lilac scent?”
“Hey Dad! Can we go look at toys at the idea?” (pointing at the DI from the car)
“If a tree falls on Daddy’s car, we won’t have to pay to fix it.” (after viewing an insurance commercial)
“Mom! Turtle and Owls and crickets just waked me up from my nap!”
“______________ if it’s the last thing I do!”
“I want to grow up to be a smore”
(How do you know that?) “Because it’s in my brain!”
(Why did you do that?) “Jesus wanted me to”
“So if Jesus was a girl he would be my sister”
“I’m poopin’. I’ll be done in 27 minutes”
(Only certain animals hibernate, honey) “Oh, so we don’t hibernate because we’re not certain.”
“I’m not being naughty! This is a M costume and inside is a naughty E”
“I’m selfish, because when I go potty, I want to be by myself”
“Personally, I think the party was a great success” (speaking of his 4th birthday party)
“Building with LEGO’s is more fun than I deserve”

October

So, I've been crazy this month so I'll just have to do a big sum up. October has been busy, and crazy. I cut my thumb open on a can lid and had stitches for a while, so it was hard to type and thus the lack of blogging. We have had our Primary Program at Church, which went well. M still tells his part to people at the store, he's so proud of having memorized it so well. The kids sang really well, and I found out how DRY your mouth can get when you're just mouthing words, but not singing. Those fake singers (lip sync-ers, whatever) must take a lot of drinks! Anyway, here's some stuff we did: (sorry the formatting is weird)



Day of the Program


Ward Party




Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ward Party Pirate

Ride with a Witch at Gardner Village


Thumb 1 week after stitches

Choosing Pumpkins at J&J

Discovery Gateway

Riding Bikes

The Zoo

Carving Pumpkins for FHE


For a preschool field trip, we went to a farm, where we read pumpkin stories, painted pumpkins, ran in a hay maze, talked to "tumbleweed," and ate a dessert "pumpkin patch"

Disneyworld- Days 7 & 8

I think it's time I finished this thing- so here goes:

Day 7 started with a little sleeping in- then we let the kids finish off some uneaten desserts from the fridge for breakfast. E made such a mess on the floor with Chocolate Cake (don't worry, we didn't forget a tip) Then we had to pack up and check out then get our stuff to the storage area, so that took some doing, then we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for our last day. This was the day we'd chosen to have the "family" birthday celebration for M, so he was wearing a shirt I'd made him that said he was 4 and he wore a birthday button. It was a more relaxing day, since we'd done most of the rides in Magic Kingdom already, so we told him he got to do what he wanted. So, of course, we were off to ride Buzz Lightyear first. We had kind of saved this for this day because we knew he'd love it so much. We rode it a few times in a row then headed over to the teacups, another we hadn't done yet. It was a hit! We all did Peter Pan again then E begged for Winnie the Pooh, so he and I did that while M and DH experienced Haunted Mansion again, one of M's favorites, which E has no intention of ever doing again. E got to check out the deserted Winnie the Pooh playground before we all met up in Toontown. Goofy's Barnstormer, a rollercoaster that is small and even E can ride, was a hit, so we did it at least twice (maybe 3x?) before exploring Mickey and Minnie's house. The below picture is E getting off then RUNNING through the line to get on again. I feel bad he wasn't tall enough for any more "thrill" rides because he LOVES them!Then it was our first ride on the train. We got off at Splash Mountain and took M on that, then DH took M to Thunder Mtn. and I went to find E at Pirates. This is when I got a Dole Whip float. Oh, so good! After that a bunch of other people went and got them. We all rode Pirates, then I think we went back to Tomorrowland at this point. DH and I did Space Mtn. and I was reminded of why I hate it. The rest did Buzz again then we all met at the Mike Wizowski Comedy Club thing, where my dad was picked on the whole show, it was hilarious! DH and I shopped with E while the rest went on Stichs Great Escape, which I read was stupid. They said it was the worst ride ever. After getting some final souvineers, we were ready for M's Birthday lunch at Crystal Palace. This was a buffet, sort of Mediterranean, really GOOD food. The Characters from Winnie the Pooh were there. They brought him a game and a cupcake with a candle and we all sang. Aunt Whit gave him an Astro Blaster. It was a good time! We still had a few snack credits so we got some fudge and stuff at the candy store and were on our way. We had to go to the airport, then get a shuttle to another hotel, closer to the airport. The kids slept through all this transferring, it was crazy! We swam, walked to a Wendy's for dinner, the brothers gave M some birthday gifts.


Day 8-
The next day we were up super early for our flight home, which was pretty smooth. The first leg was fine, then we had a 2 hr. layover, where we got lunch, and the boys "ran on the lines" on the floor. We got to use the Crown Room in Orlando, which was nice. The second leg E slept the WHOLE 3 hrs. and M at least 2. Then we were home.

Aren't you glad this is over and I can get back to my usual boring posts?

Disneyworld- Day 6

It's back to Epcot, but for once, not so early. It was a "sleep in" day. I put this in quotes for those of you who understand having a 2 and a 3 year old. Our family got a little of a head start and got there shortly after 9, which was nice. We had breakfast at our resort, the boys loved the mickey waffles. We headed for the character picture place, since we really hadn't made time for anything like that yet. They got to meet some of the characters, get some photos, and then explore some of the buildings that had fun displays and such. E loved the frog he got to make at the velcro exhibit. We met up with the rest at Spaceship Earth, which is the ride that's in the "Ball" at Epcot. They recently redid it and it was really fun. I'm glad we went. Then we headed to Journey Into the Imagination with Figment. My kids liked it, but the brothers deemed it the "worst ride you could possibly imagine." The next stop was way more popular: Club Cool. This is the place (much like the coke place in Vegas) where you can taste different kids of Coke from around the world. Very air-conditioned as well, we almost didn't want to leave. I think that's the last thing we did before starting around the World Showcase.

World Showcase is representations of several different countries, some with rides, some films, lots of shops, restaurants, etc... I believe the countries themselves designed and decided what would be there. They have representatives from those countries to work there. I didn't include these, but my dad took a picture of every single one that stamped and signed his passport that he got. Anyway, we started with Mexico, on to Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Morocco, America, Japan, France, England, and Canada. Mom got a cool cuckoo clock in Germany, and a lot of small souvineers were bought all around. The boys made masks which they collected "charms" for at each country and got a stamp on it as well. This, along with the pressed pennies, is what the boys did to remain entertained much of the time.




We had lunch and snacks at various places and ended up in Canada, where we ate at Le Cellier, which was an amazing steakhouse that was probably a favorite of the trip. It had better be, I had to make those reservations more than six months ahead, and was hard pressed to get them even then.

After the dinner, it was late and we headed over to a spot to watch the fireworks show, Illuminations. I didn't pick a great spot, and it was hard to see the globe in the middle where they were projecting images. My siblings went to shop some more but we watched with mom and dad, then made our way, very exhausted, back to the resort.

This day was a favorite for almost everyone, I believe. I would LOVE to go again without kids, which sounds mean, but it was hard trying to get them to nap in their strollers, no break from the heat and walking, and I had to carry/hold E for quite a while because he didn't feel well. I still loved it though, even though it's not real traveling, and so cheesy, it was fun. I think the relaxed pace, catching the entertainment when we could, getting to shop a lot, was a nice change from the rides.

If I could reccomend which attractions to see there, it would be Norway's ride, France's Film, and some of the street performers (Off Kilter in Canada, comedy acts in Italy and France) I was less than impressed with the show in America, Canada's film, and the drums in Japan weren't my favorite. Fun place, but definately you need to get there at 11 when it opens and stay until 9 when it closes. We still missed a lot and rushed through some. I can't imagine trying to do it faster.

PS- Sorry there's so many pictures, I just had to narrow it down from a few hundred of this day and it was hard.