Happy Halloween

Here are Spencer (Star Wars - Clone Trooper), Gemma (Renaissance princess) and Gianna (Curious George/monkey) at our friends house. The "K" family had treats for the kids - (and even a little something for me!) - the children were more than happy to show off their costumes. I wasn't able to get many photos of Gianna wearing the hood of her costume, but it was so cute when she would wear it.

Gianna really liked using Gemma's umbrella. I love the banana in Gianna's pocket. I think that's why she chose this costume over the butterfly!

After visiting the "K's", we headed over to John (David's brother) and Judy's house. This is my crew with Joshua (Ninja) and Amanda (Teen Wolf) before heading out for a fun night of trick-or-treating.

Early on, Spencer decided to ditch the mask and just wear his hat. Can't say I blame him. I remember how annoying those things were as a kid.

Gianna dropped some candy and Gemma was making sure it ended up back in her pumpkin. The kids had so much fun - especially since they were with their cousins.

Here are the kids waiting (patiently) at another door. If you look behind Spencer, you'll see Joshua covering his face with his pillow case. Joshua kept telling me he had to hide his identity....

Once Amanda offered to pull the wagon, Gianna didn't want me near it! The little girl was riding in style!

The children are admiring a neighbors yard decorations. On a side note, the weather was so nice. It was a crisp, fall evening. I had the kids dressed in layers and they never complained they were cold. Perfect!

After this photo, Spencer decided to call it a night. So he, Gianna and I went back to John and Judy's while Gemma, Joshua and Amanda stayed out a little longer. Over all, the kids had a great time being together and having fun.

Out Of The House!

Spencer was finally feeling well enough to go back to school today - so since I had been home all week, I decided this would be the day Gianna and I would spend OUT!

After dropping the children at school, we ran a few errands and then went to TJ Maxx. I'm not a big shopper of this store, I never really find anything there. Plus, it's not really the kind of place to bring a young child - they don't enjoy just looking around at stuff. However, I think Gianna was happy to be out of the house because she let me "window shop" for 45 minutes!

For lunch, we met a friend for lunch at a Chinese buffet. Gianna was such a good diner and a good eater. On the drive home from lunch she fell asleep - so I carried her to bed and she slept 2 hours!

I decided to be daring and take them out to dinner all by myself. I've done the McDonald's thing, but never a sit-down restaurant. Granted it was just Pizza Hut, but I was impressed that I could do it with out causing a scene! We also made it to the restaurant at 4:30 - we were the first customers! The kids enjoyed their dinner and I enjoyed the company.
After dinner we went and visited Grandpa and Nona. We had a nice visit and then made it home in time for everyone to be in bed by 8:30. I was exhausted, but it was worth it! It's so nice to have all of my children healthy again!!!

Pumpkin Carving

We have taken a new approach to pumpkin carving in our household....we don't! Here are what the children worked on this evening after dinner.
Gemma at work.

Spencer's pumpkin.

Gianna's pumpkin.

Here are the children posing with their friends!

Really?

This is what we saw in the yard after school this afternoon.


Look closer.

Crazy! It didn't look to pretty when he "flew" away - it looked more like dropping to the ground!

Spoke Too Soon

Well, so much for Spencer going to school today. Yesterday afternoon he, um, well, tossed his cookies (not that he's eaten anything recently) and then his fever returned in the early evening. But he woke up this morning fever free....we'll keep our fingers crossed!

Best Husband Ever

Recovery

Thank you for the prayers...Spencer's fever broke!!!!

I still took him to the doctor today. My poor boy ha(s)d the flu (Influenza, not the "Oink-Oink")If Spencer is able to keep his temp under 100 without Tylenol, the doctor said he'll be able to return to school tomorrow.

When he woke up this morning, I could tell he was feeling better. He just looked like himself - the sad eyes were almost gone.

As for the littlest princess....she has a double ear infection. We had a rough night last night, but I'm so thankful it's something that is relatively minor. I just pray Gemma is able to avoid catching any of this!

Feel Better, Spencer

Please send happy thoughts and prayers to my baby boy. Spencer has been having "flu-like" symptoms since Saturday. The only relief from his fever is with Tylenol or Motrin, he has eaten 6 pieces of toast in the past 48 hours and is only drinking Ginger-Ale.

He is generally a healthy kid, but seeing him just lay on the couch with such sad eyes breaks my heart (and his daddy's too).

Accomplishment

Warning - this post is for my benefit more than anything else.

Before...

After...

This took me a little over one hour to finish (and 8 trips with the wheel barrel)! It feels good to see it done. However, there are still more leaves on the tree...

Fall Fun

After our fun day at the pumpkin patch and Gianna's nap in the car, we decided to spend more time outside at home. Gianna is watching as Gemma and Spencer play leap frog.

Our neighbor was raking and the kids decided to take advantage of the leaves. It wasn't a huge pile, but it was enough to be fun.

Then they decided to roll around in the leaves.

Another great day!

Pumpkin Patch

Today we ventured out to our favorite pumpkin patch...and we couldn't have asked for better weather!!!! Here are my three favorite pumpkins before we left the house. Here is Gemma being silly.

Gianna loved sitting in the wagon with all the pumpkins. She was very upset when I took her out!

Spencer was pretending to be bitten by a vampire!!!!

Bamma enjoyed the beautiful day with us. Here is the crew just before we departed for our hay ride. Gianna really enjoyed it - this was her first time!

I was able to sneak a picture of me in...just for proof that I was here too.

Two of my cuties....

After all of our fun outside, we headed over to pick our perfect pumpkins. If I had allowed Gemma to take as much time as needed to find the "perfect pumpkin", we could have easily been there an hour. I told her she had 5 minutes!

She is growing too quickly...turning into a young lady right before my eyes!

After all of our fresh-air and fun, Gianna decided to end the afternoon outing with a nap. Can't say I blame her - I could have used one too! Notice the little pumpkin on her car seat - this was the only time I saw it out of her hands!

Children's Museum

Since we didn't have school today, we decided to go to the museum with Hoa and the boys. (I totally failed to get any photos of Hoa's boys - or a group shot...I know, I suck)

We started our visit with story time (while we waited for our friends to arrive). I thought it was cute that Gianna was resting on Spencer. She really likes her brother! After a little squirming, Gianna decided to sit with Gemma. She likes her big sister a lot too!

While running through the various rooms with the different activities, Gemma decided to hold a class and explain how a ramp works. Notice her diagrams...she also had a teacher's aide assisting!

I lied! Here is Spencer with our friends Ben, on the left and Chase on the right! (I'm not a failure!) Either way, we were at the museum for 2 1/2 hours and then went across the street to McDonald's for lunch. In the eyes of a child - this was the perfect day. But wait...more was to come. Hoa offered to take the big kids bowling while I took Gianna home to nap.

Look who couldn't wait to get home for her nap!!! It was a great day and we can't wait for our next adventure with our great friends!

Art Class

Gianna and I have been going to her art class for 3 or 4 weeks (I've lost count). Either way, she enjoys it. Today there were three different painting stations. One was finger painting, another was stamping and finally the easel. The moment we walked into class she headed straight for the easel.
And stayed there.

Gianna must have painted 10 pictures (I'm ashamed to admit I threw them all out). She used so much paint that it was seeping through to the back side! They would NEVER have dried.

Another master piece created!