Happy Halloween

We had a very busy Halloween!

It all started Sat. Oct. 25th. I got the kids dressed and we went to "Boo at the Zoo". We stood in line for almost an hour to go through the the unscary haunted basement of the one building at the the zoo. The kids made out with about 6 pieces of candy and 3 cans of soda. I couldn't bring the stroller down, so I lugged Backpack in the carrier, carried Dynomite (because she kept tripping on her dress) and dragged Trouble (because it still freaked him out). Finally we get through and two things happen: 1)Travis calls to tell me he's at the zoo (earlier would've been nice, but he did rush in from work) 2)Trouble declares that he wants to go again!! So we walked around the zoo and saw what animals were still around. As we came to the wolf den we saw one of the keepers throw meat over the fence and I casually mentioned that we've lived here x number of years and have never seen that wolf. He drove around and roused her from her den to prove that THERE REALLY IS A WOLF. This is ridiculous, but I was estatic. This made my whole day!!

Okay, later that night we went to the Girl Scout Haunted Cabin. It wasn't really haunted. But the kiddos had fun doing a craft, decorating cookies, fishing for prizes, getting thier faces painted. Except for one the Girl Scouts scared Dynomite :-( So they turned on the lights and gave us extra candy and apples :-)

On Wed. Oct. 29th, we had our church's Halloween party. Miss Kelly and Raina joined us. It was a blast. They had carnival games set up for the kids and a spooky maze that you had to crawl though (Travis went through with Trouble, then made Kelly and I go through). People brought food. In the end the kids went Trunk-or-Treating. It was the biggest we've ever seen!

On Fri. Oct. 31st, the kids and I did the downtown walk were you go up and down Main Street to all the stores and Trick-or-Treat. This year I put Backpack in the Snuggli and Trouble and Dynomite walked. It was slower, but it was so much better than having to push a stroller in and out of all those stores. Since we came the last hour everyone was just trying to get rid of their candy. Plus whenever they got to get thier own candy of the bowl Trouble would grab one piece and Dynomite would grab a handful, but she's so cute that she got away with it.

5pm that night we went to the University dome for more Trick-or-Treating, then rushed over to the mall to do the same. Travis then met up with us and we went to dinner at Subway. It was already 8pm by then. We stopped by Miss Kelly's on the way home. By the time we got home the kids were exhausted, but we had fun. Now we have more candy then we know what to do with. Honestly, the kids probably eat 1 or 2 pieces a day. As for me, I can feel my lovehandles growing!!

This is our last Halloween here, so we thought we'd make the most of it!

Here is Trouble's 'Bones Dance':

And Dynomite's 'Princess Dance'

Easter

Where do I begin? Lets say last week when we found out Travis would be 'down in the hole' (working) Easter weekend. First, tears (so I skipped the whole denial part) then acceptance. So here comes Easter week. Thursday, I took the kiddos to the Bunny Walk downtown. Which, as I predicted, lasted a whole 30 mins. But enough time to get lots of candy! Thursday was also the day that Travis decided to install new thermostats (pict is of where the thermostat should be) on our heaters (we have two, one for upstairs and one for downstairs). That night Dynomite slept with us because she was freezing. I woke up Friday morning from a call from Travis (and snow). "The heaters never kicked on, can you find the DVD instructions or figure it out". So we went to MOPS that morning and I spent nap time trying to figure out the thermostats (Instead of cleaning and other things). I get another call, "Hey, I'll be home early so I can get the heaters working before I leave tomorrow." He forgot to add the part "...before I leave tomorrow for THREE DAYS". So I take the kiddos to the MOPS Easter egg hunt, so we'll be out the way. The kids had a BLAST. It was well organized and the kids came home with lots of good stuff. I wish I'd had my camera because they hunted for eggs in the snow, but had smiles the whole time. So I'm arriving home to discover no husband, which means no heat. But I wanted to make a nice Easter dinner before he left. Dinner was a disaster!! Travis is racking is brain, calling my dad, running around, trying to get heat in the house, while I'm trying to get dinner cooked, keep kids occupied, and clean. After an overcooked Ham (who overcooks a ham!!), way too creamy mashed potatoes, soggy stuffing (I'll NEVER do it in the microwave again), bread (no wait, I never turned on the bread maker), green bean casserole (which actually turned out to be really good), two burnt carrot cakes, a frustrated husband, a stressed mom, a disaster of a house, and two crying children...after all that we sat down to dinner...8pm. Oh yes, that was fun. So now I'm in a really bad mood for Easter. He did get the upstairs one working. I knew Saturday was going to be busy. I knew I was going to have the kids (the icing on the cake, right?!?). So Saturday, I got up early (snowed again). Packed the van with everything I needed that day, knowing I didn't have much time between activities (the two main ones were throwing a co-planned baby shower on base and having our Dinner and Auction Camp Fundraiser for YM and YW) . Miraculously, the day was a breeze! The kids where angels, we made it on time to everywhere I needed to be, did unplanned errands (including buying some frozen dinner thing for Sunday because I wasn't going back in THAT kitchen!), and even went to bed with a decent house. Sunday! Easter! I got up early again (weird, don't tell Travis!). Got Easter clothes on, even did Dynomites hair, and made it on time. I walk in and Elizabeth tells me she saved us a seat. She sat with us, and the kids were great! I subed in nursery and took Dynomite with me (she isn't technically old enough to go yet). She was so cute, just swinging around, looking so pretty in her Easter dress from Yaya. I left for YW and left her there! (and upon arriving home we shed Easter clothes before any messes!!) Anyway, we got home from a great day at church and Kelly and Pat called. They brought us dinner ( in the pict is the cute easter baskets she brought) because we were pathetically doing nothing at home and we can't go to them because Trouble is allergic to their house. So I told them of my heater sob story and they rushed home to bring me back a space heater. How cool of friends could you possibly have!! So we sat in front of our 'fire' and played games Yaya sent for Easter and with the kid laptop Papa sent. We had Kelly and Pat's leftovers and our frozen dinner. Then just before bedtime Travis called and talked to Trouble. What Trouble said totally made my Easter. So despite a horrible dinner, snow, no husband, and a disaster house we had a wonderful Easter. I'm thankful for wonderful friends like Elizabeth, Kelly and Pat. I'm thankful for the gospel that has brought so much into our lives, and for the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ so we can return to live with our Heavenly Father. I'm also very thankful for Trouble's awesome primary teachers who have taught him so much. To conclude, this is what Trouble told Travis about what he learned in church today:
"...and Jesus had owies in his hands and feet because they put nails there and they put him on that thing. Yeah, the bad guys did that. They also hurt him here (pointing to his side). Then he was killed. He had to sleep so his owies would go away. But he needed bandaids instead. But he slept for three day. Then he woke up. But he still had his owies, because he needed bandaids. But he was okay."

What did he say?

Scene: Bedtime. Dynomite, finally sitting quiet on mom's lap, ready to read. Mom, just wanting bedtime to quickly come. Trouble, defiant and sitting on bed. Routine (when followed correctly), everyone sits quietly on chair while adults reads.
Mom: Please sit on chair so I can read.
Trouble: I want to sit here.
Mom: (reasonably) Baby is sitting on my lap, I cannot move so you can see the book too. Please just sit by me, on the chair, so we can read.
Trouble: Mom, you're not listening to me!

Scene: Mom carrying Dynomite to bathroom, while trying to urge Trouble to use the potty.
Trouble: Mom, I am mean to you because you are mean to me. And you are mean to me because I am mean to you.
Mom: We're not mean.
Trouble: See, you're not pay attention to me!!! (Then storms off)

Corn

Corn has a strange effect on our children. Both of thier first words were over corn.

Sitting at dinner, Trouble was 18 months, and Travis served him a huge spoonful of corn on the table right in front of him. He looked down, his eyes got wide, his hands went up and he said, "WOW!" Honest, first word!

Sitting at dinner, Dynomite was 14 months, and eatting corn like a mad woman. I said, "Do you want more corn? Corn yes, Corn no." She looked right at me, "Corn!" Honest, first word!

What ever happend to Mama or Dada?

So this is Christmas! A deranged santa, Trouble looking mischevious, and Dynomite is thinking "I just came for the candy cane!" Yaya knitted Trouble's sweater. I love Christmas!