Halloween fun!!!

So we have been having a SUPER October. Last update was after the pumpkin farm. Since then we carved our pumpkins, drywalled the garage, put up shelving units, cleaned out the shed and garage, came up with Halloween costumes (at least for the kids), cleaned the house, finished up Cam's football session, gained another walker (yep, Kenzie is on the move), attended the spooky trail, and threw a little party.

We decided to stay home this Halloween. We usually go up north but for many reasons decided to stay home and because our neighborhood ROCKS for Trick or Treat we threw together a little Halloween party around trick or treating.

So as busy as all of this stuff was it was GREAT. We are just loving all of it!!!! As we roll into November we are looking forward to more craziness around this house. To tired tonight to fill in all the details but I will try for updates soon. It is late and my turkey in the oven is almost done then off to bed.
Woo Hoo. Happy November ALL!!!!

Clay, Cal & Cameron getting ready to carve!

Kenzie is also ready!

Calvin is liking it but would not touch the inside!

Cameron 'The Trooper' dug right in!


Cameron was also a great big brother and did Kenzie's for her too.

Kenzie thought it was COOL!

Calvin was very proud of his pumpkin!

All four of the kids with their pumpkins.

Nice face Clayton!

Calvin and Clayton trying on their costumes!

Cal on the right, Clay on the left.

Kenzie

So glad I took practice pictures of them in their costumes because the party was so busy I totally missed taking any cute pics of the kids in their costumes. This is the best I could do!

Kenzie getting wrapped up during the MUMMY game!

They won!

Cameron in part of his costume during the MUMMY game. He was the grime reaper complete with bloody mask that he wore all of 5 mins and then it was too hot!

Clay (thing 1) Cal (thing 2), Cousin Kaylee (dinosaur), Cousin Lauren (Witch) - Man did they love it!

Ben (also getting mummy wrapped) in his inflatable fat suit thing. Yeah - I found it 50% off at Kmart on Friday night.

Nothing like last minute costumes!

Did not have to many great pictures of the pie eating contest but that was the biggest hit for both the kids and adults.

Hope that we can have a repeat party in the future!!!

The best October ever!

Yep - This is Kenzie and this one is just for fun!

Kenzie in the pumpkins.

Clayton, Cameron, Kenzie, and Calvin - Holy pumpkins!

Kenzie feeding the goat.

Calvin hugging a goat. This after he asked dad if he could ride on one!

Kenzie thinks the goats are funny.

Calvin really liked the goats.

Cameron feeding one goat.

Kenzie trying to pick out her pumpkin.

Family Photo opportunity!

Dad, Cal, Clay, Cam, Mom, Kenzie!

Clayton did not like the sun in his eyes. He did find his own pumpkin!

Calvin wanted to try out his pumpkin!

Cameron and his new Best Friend - Molly

The dog rode along on the hayride and seemed to like Cam.

Calvin, Clayton, Kenzie & Cameron

Clayton did not want to take his eyes off the tractor long enough to look.

We had a super super weekend! It was 80 degrees in October! Friday we played outside of course and then went out for some dinner, just the 6 of us. Then Ben and I taught Cameron how to play some Texas Hold em. Now that is a good Friday evening. Saturday Cameron played a great game of football, even through they lost. We worked in the yard for a while and then I went to a work event and the kids hung out with Daddy. Cam got to go for an 8 mile bike ride with Uncle Wes, Xavier & Isiah and had a blast. Sunday was the BEST. Church then Meadowbrook Pumpkin Farm (not sure why but I love pumpkin farms and watching kids feed animals). Then the best part of the weekend!!! SWIMMING AT GIGI & PAPA'S, in their outdoor pool. Yes, they had the heater cranked up all day Saturday and had the pool up to 80 by the time we got there and about 86 by the time we left. Once I got in I did not want to get out. It was just fun!!!! All the kids swam and love it too. Too busy swimming to take many pictures but I did throw one in for fun!

Ben holding the tree.

Swimming outside in October!!

Where is time?

Calvin hanging in the leaves!

Clayton loving the leaves!!!

A rare moment of love between Clayton and Calvin.

Even the big boy Cameron is enjoying the leave pile!

Kenzie princess showing mommy some attitude!

Kenzie enjoying FALL!

I just have not made the time to get on and update the Blog! Even this update will be brief. I do need to sleep sometime. Things are great around here. Very busy of course.

Cameron is doing well in school but is has been a bit of a struggle to get his homework done and make him remember to bring his things home and keeping things organized. He is also in flag football and doing excellent. At last weeks game he scored two touchdowns!

The twins are loving 3K now and I love it too. They are excited to go and it is sooooo fun to listen to them talk about friends at school and things they do. They are already learning a ton! I will have to make some time to just blog about the funny things I hear from them everyday.

Kenzie is also doing great. She is very close to walking now and I think that means it is going to even get crazier around here. She is still very easy going but also can show a bit of her temper when she wants to. Her little 'princess' personality is starting to show. I think she already knows she has everyone wrapped around her fingers.

I will try to keep up better in the upcoming months. Hope fall is being good to all of you too.

3K is Exhausting!

Update on the second day of 3K for the twins which was just this past Wednesday. Since last week we have been telling the boys that they would be going back to school and that mommy would be leaving. Clayton was insistent that we were not leaving him there alone. Wednesday he actually seemed better with the idea that I would be leaving. So I took Kenzie along to drop them off. The went in to the class and put their backpacks away and went right to the rug to play. I went over to tell them I would be leaving and Clay got very teary and asked me not to leave so I as any good parent would LIED to my three year old that I would just go wait outside until they were done and he seemed OK with that. Calvin on the other hand said bye mom and waved and gave me a kiss. I did leave and go home but not before a stop to the office to assure them that I would only be 3 mins away if he needed me just to call. I got home and Kenzie was already asleep. It felt great to just get things done around the house for 1 1/2 hours!!!! I even made stuffed peppers for dinner! And no phone call. When I went back to pick them up Mrs. Arendt said they did good and that Clay only cried once on the way up from gym but once she reassured him that I was just in the van with Kenzie he was fine. I did feel a little bad that we lied to him but what he doesn't know will not hurt him (until he is older and finds out)!!! We will see what next week brings. As you can see from the photo's 3K is very exhausting.

Clayton ready for day number 2 of 3K (Brown was the color of the day)

Calvin is SOOOO ready and excited!

We got there a little early and they liked watching the big kids on the playground!

Calvin had to go 'poop' after class and then it got very quiet so I went to check out what he was doing. This is what I found!


Clay made it almost through dinner but just could not keep the eyes open anymore!

Other then the fun of 3K we had a busy weekend. Last friday we took all the kids to the Slinger High School football game and they were all really good and it was actually a lot of fun. Slinger lost but still a good time. Saturday Ben and I went to a wedding in the evening and the kids spent the night by Gigi and Papa. The wedding was a blast and Thanks to the grandparents for a night off!!! Sunday we went to church then headed off to the Zoo. Had a great time there, as usual, and then Monday we painted our bedroom! What a fun and productive Labor Day weekend. Sure did miss going Up North but being home was not all bad either!!!! Looking forward to another busy weekend.

4th Grade & 3K

So today was a BIG day for us. Cameron started 4th grade!!!! And the twins started 3K!!!! I was THRILLED! I think I was actually sad about Cameron going back to school but not about the twins starting 3K. Part of that is that Cameron goes to school all day and then I do miss him and our time together. The twins are only going to 3K two days a week for 2 hours a day . It is in the afternoon when they normally would have napped so I don't feel like I will be losing much time with them. AND I feel that they are ready for this and need it for the socialization. I am also looking forward to 2 hours 2 days a week to spend time with little princesses or to get things done if she is napping!

As for how things actually went today - It was better then I expected!!!

We have been preparing the twins for the starting 3K since they went on their "practice day" in June. That day Ben and I both took them and brought Kenzie too. Clayton was extremely teary and we never even left the room. Since then we kept explaining to both Cal and Clay that when they went to school we would not be staying with them. Clayton was not thrilled with this plan. He kept saying that we could not leave him there. Clay is also the shy and VERY emotional one so I was not sure how this was going to work. Clay and Cal's teacher Mrs. Arendt suggested to all parents that they stay on the first day until their kids have calmed down, got involved in the activities, and were o.k. with them leaving. I had fears that this could take Clayton the whole year...

So on to today!!! In the morning Clay woke up early (6:00) and helped get Cameron up and ready for school. When Cam got picked up Clayton was very upset because he wanted to go to his school too. He even stood by the door with his PJ's on and his backpack! Try explaining 5 hours of waiting to an excited 3 year old. Anyway when Cal woke up he was so excited and kept talking about going to school. The morning flew by and soon it was time to go. They were both excited. We dropped Kenzie off by Grandma and Grandpa so that mom could focus on the boys and we were off. We got to school and all went smooth. They got into the classroom and found their hooks right away and followed the directions (not a word from either one!). The other kids were coming in as well and as their parents were saying goodbyes and leaving I stood in the back to see what would happen. Clayton only got teary once and asked where mommy was and his teacher reassured him that I was right in the room and then he did fine. Cal was all smiles! Their teacher and I decided it would be a good idea for me to hang out for a while and another mom had to do the same thing. I stuck around for the first hour and just hung in the back and watched. I loved to see the interactions of all the new kids and the teacher. She is amazing!!! Cal and Clay both followed directions well but did not make a sound. When the kids got up for some free play time I stepped out and went to the office for a while. I peaked in later and they were doing well still. Mrs. Arendt told me Clay did ask for me and got teary but when she told him I was just in the office he went back to playing and was reassured when he saw me in the hall. Then it was 2:30 and it was time to go home. I went outside and waited with the rest of the parents and the boys came out with their class and their Big Brother, Cameron. It was so cool. No meltdowns!! You could tell they were wiped out but still talked about the things they did and their new friends. I LOVE IT! I am hoping that when they go back next week I will actually get to leave the building for a while!!!!! Overall much better then I expected and even more exciting. Now sitting here typing all of this I think the sad part may come. I can not believe they are three and they just started SCHOOL. OH MY...

And not to forget my amazing 9 year old who had a great first day as a big fourth grader! He could not believe he had homework the first day though!

I also don't want to leave out an update on the little princess in our family. Who I am sure is going to love the peace and quiet of the house with no boys for a couple hours. Kenzie is just starting to stand on her own and climbs on everything she can get to. Next will come the walking. How is it that they are growing up sooooooooooooo fast.

Cameron's ready for 4th grade!

Calvin took his 'beary' along!

Clayton took his 'lima bean'

Calvin and Clayton ready to go!

Calvin and Clayton walking up to school.




Clayton, Cameron & Calvin coming out of school!

BROTHERS!!!

I think 3K wore Clayton out!



OK - And just for my mommy! Here are our princess pictures. Poor girl is going to be so mad at me when she grows up and we show her boyfriends all the outfits we dressed her up in.



Waving to her Royal subjects!