Happy Halloween!

The kids are tucked in bed and the {uneaten} candy is stored in a Ziploc bag and we are closing the chapter on another Halloween.  The rule in our house tonight - you can basically eat as much candy as you want on Halloween night - after that, it's rationed (or sent to Dad's office - but they don't know that yet!)  The kids enjoyed trick or treating for all of about 20 minutes and then they decided it would be more fun to eat their candy and pass it out to the trick or treaters coming to our house.  As of right now, we have had just over 100 trick or treaters, still short of last year's count.  Regardless, it was a busy night in our household!

Nice 'do Kyle!!!!!

Carter, Lukas, Ryan, and Zach:

Just for comparison sake, Halloweens Past:

Ryan in 2005:

Ryan and Kyle in 2006:

Ryan and Carter in 2007:

Ryan and Carter in 2008:

Carter and Ryan in 2009:

Kyle in 2009:

Anoka Gray Ghost 5k Run

Today I ran my very first 5k race ever - the Anoka Gray Ghost 5k Run.  It was a gorgeous day - sunshine and relatively low winds.  I ran it with my neighbor, Di - she is the one I run with in the evenings - she pushes me, even when it is 60 mph winds and I'd rather be inside!  She is the kick in the pants I needed to start running again - thanks, Di!  Kudos to Evan - while Di and I ran, he was the event photographer and also had all 5 kids, racing from the start line to the finish line with them.  Thanks for everything you do - it means a lot to me! :)

Di and I ready to line up at the starting line:

And we're off!

I didn't see Evan, but Di heard our kids yelling for us and told me to look:

Di and I at the finish line:

After the race, we went to Evan's salon where he has gotten his haircut for over 20 years.  Here is his stylist, Erin, and her husband.  Hmmmm...and I thought it was the cut he liked!!!  She assured me she didn't dress like that for work every day...Sure!

Little Things (literally)

If you know Carter at all, you know that he is always carrying something little in his hands, be it a superhero guy, his bear, or a pumpkin eraser from last year's Halloween party, you know the every day kind of things that you'd see in a kid's hand! :)  Anyway, we passed these pumpkin erasers at Target this week and I had to buy them for him.  And it was $3 well spent.  They have played with those erasers for hours the past few days.  Sometimes the funnest things to play with aren't toys at all!

Ryan's Halloween Party

Today I volunteered to help at Ryan's Halloween Party at school.  It was so cute and the kids had so much fun dressing up in their costumes.  I was the Bingo caller in his class - the kids loved it at my table - liklely because they all got prizes! :)  On days like today, I do a lot of reflecting on the fact that I am so thankful for my flex schedule so I can be at events like this for my boys.  I also volunteered at school yesterday in Ryan's classroom.  I spend almost every Thursday in one of their classrooms and I wouldn't have it any other way.  That was the reason I chose a flex schedule and I am going to enjoy every minute...until they are old enough that they don't want me in their classsrooms anymore!!!!  Until then... I'm there!

My Bingo table:

Mrs. Busch's Halloween party:

Ryan and one of his best buddies, Alexis:

Ryan sits with the girls at lunch - they love him and give him 'girl attacks' all the time!  Aren't they at the age when it is all about 'boy germs' and 'girl germs'?

Trick or Treat Special

Ryan and Carter were featured on a local TV station tonight in their Halloween costumes.  It is not the best quality video as I took it with my camcorder while watching TV, but I thought it was cute, so I wanted to share...enjoy! :)

Note:  you may want to turn off my background music while watching the video.  To do that, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the 'pause' button. 

Jersey

My boss recently returned from India with a jersey for his son, only to realize his son already had the same jersey.  He gave it to me for my boys.  They'll need to do a little growing before they fit into it, but they had fun trying it on!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins tonight.  All of the kids drew their own faces on the pumpkins and we cleaned them out and Evan carved them.  Then we took the same photos as last year.  It always amazes me how much the boys change from year to year!

First year Ryan has dug out the seeds on the inside of the pumpkin:

"Whaddya mean I have to stick my hands in there?"

Gross! 

Proud of their own creations:

Crazy faces after a good smile:

Spooky pumpkins - check out Carter's on the right!  He drew it all by himself - it makes me smile...how about you?!  :) 

Winter Home

You thought by the title that we bought a winter home?  Nope, just moved the fish into theirs (a 55 gallon aquarium in my laundry room).  Sigh - now the work begins.  In the summer, I don't even have to feed the fish.  Put them outside in May and literally don't worry about them until October.  Now I've got feedings, aquarium changes, water tests and chemicals to think about.  Godspeed spring!!!!! :)

My koi changed colors over summer - he was beautiful orange and white and now he is completely white save a tiny speck of color on his tail - I wonder why that happens?

Disney Live - Mickey's Magic Show

We took the boys to Disney Live at Xcel Center.  After avoiding eye contact with all of the vendors charging ridiculous fees for toys that last about 10 minutes, we made our way into the stadium, with only one stop for mini-donuts.  The kids and I really enjoyed the performance - Evan was along for the ride! :)

"Can I please make a goofy face after I smile nice?"

Evan had Mickey Mouse ear-envy with the guy ahead of us.  I guess I know what Santa can bring Evan this year!

Jewelry

I made a few more pieces this weekend - making Christmas gifts again - I love my early shoppers!

Repeat

We had a repeat of last week's hayride and bonfire at Majestic Oaks golf course.  Once again, the weather couldn't be beat.  66* as we headed out on the course!  The boys loved the bonfire, complete with untoasted marshmallows in their s'mores!  Only my kids would prefer to eat each item individually instead of together!!!!

Waiting for the wagon to arrive for the hayride:

Blazing bonfire:

Ryan running ahead of us on the lit path back to the clubhouse:

Adventure Park

Today the boys and I went to Adventure Park to play after Carter's swimming lessons.  Even more running and jumping than yesterday's Pump It Up.  The great thing for me is that I can now sit and watch them play instead of crawling through every obstacle course and going down every slide with them.  I was able to read an entire magazine this morning - that never would have happened even a year ago!  Also, I have gotten great naps the past two days - SCORE!  What a fun place!

Ryan on the zipline:

Building a 'snowman' in the ball pit:

People are telling me all the time that they look more and more alike - what do you think?