Fall Festivities

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!

Here's the lineup: Spiderman, a Wizard, and Witch

What a cute witch!

Mason was insistent on being a Wizard for Halloween, with specific details too. Ideally, it needed to be blue, have a wand and of course needed stars.  I was having a really hard time finding a costume that met these specifications. Luckily, I found this at a store in Seattle and only had to make a few adjustments.  We added stars to the hat and turned a broom into the wand (thanks to my Mom for taking it as her carry-on on her plane ride home).  It turned out to be a really fun costume and most importantly, met Mason's approval!

Jalen loves anything Spiderman right now, so of course that's what he chose to be.  For the last year, Jalen has worn Mason's old spiderman costume very regularly.  It has been worn and loved and it showed it! There were several holes and it just didn't look very nice anymore. So I borrowed another Spiderman costume from a friend.  This costume was the real deal...had muscles, better mask, etc.  So two days before Halloween, Jalen got to wear a costume to his preschool class Halloween party.  As soon as we put on the costume, he started crying and freaking out.  Here's how our conversation went:

Jalen: "I don't want to wear this!"

Me: "But I thought you wanted to be Spiderman."

Jalen: "I do!"

Me: "Well, this is a spiderman costume. Look, it's a really neat Spiderman costume!"

Jalen: "No! I'm not wearing it!"

Me: "But it's Spiderman. Why don't you want to wear it?"

Jalen crying: "It has Boobies!!"

Me: "Oh, no...these are muscles! See how cool. There's muscles for your arms and legs. It makes you strong just like Spiderman."

Jalen: "No! It has boobies. I'm not wearing it!"

So Jalen did not wear the costume. He went to preschool dressed up like Batman (A very quickly thrown together costume, which completely looked it!)  Then for Halloween, I sewed the holes and he wore the Spiderman costume he's worn practically everyday for the last year. But you know what....he was happy!! And that's all that matters.

TrIcK or TrEaT!

We love Halloween and especially enjoy it in Arizona. The weather is absolutey beautiful, which encourages much socialization and fun in the neighborhoods.  People really go all out with decorations, activities, and haunted houses...which makes trick or treating very entertaining.

The adults have just as much fun as the kids!

Two spooky witches..Madelyn and her friend Chase

Mason just chillen with a neighbor friend McKenzie

Our neighbors went all out and put together an awesome Haunted House, which attracted many people to our block.  Jalen was so fascinated with it.  He watched from our balcony at night for weeks as they prepared and got it ready.  However, he was also terrified. There was no way he was going to go inside!   Other neighbors dressed up like zombies with masks and all the get-up. Jalen didn't know which was worse...listening to the chain saw and screams coming from the haunted house, or trying to keep away from the wandering Zombies in the streets!  He decided that under a table was best. You'ld think he would have wanted to go home, but no! He insisted on sticking around, not wanting to miss the action.

A few weeks ago, we were lucky enough to go with some friends to their family cabin in Alpine. It was such a much needed break!  It was so beatiful and a treat to see the beautiful fall colors, something we missed out on last year. Here are a few pictures.

The boys were in heaven...dirt, sticks, pocket knives, binochulers, hiking, and tree climbing. What more could little boys ask for!

Becca with her sweet Mom and Dad. 

 It was so fun getting to know them.

So this is what happens when two silly girls get ahold of a camera....

What funny girls! They are so lucky to have each other.

Their family has built a really neat tree house.  The kids had so much fun and spent hours putting together the kitchen, family room and bedroom for the babies. They really have so much fun together.  Thanks Jeff and Becca for a wonderful weekend!

"Sparkle Student"

I recently went to parent teacher conference where I was informed from Mason's kindergarten teacher that Mason was the "Sparkle Student" for the week.  His teacher couldn't compliment Mason enough on being kind hearted, obedient, a good friend and leader, and an excellent student. I am so proud of him!

I have thoroughly enjoyed watching Mason these past few months. Kindergarten has changed him...mostly in good ways!  For example, he is so eager to get all ready in the morning, make his bed, brush teeth, wash his face, and ask what his "job" is for the day.  I never have to ask him twice to get things done.  I think he is discovering being independent and the satifisfaction that comes with it!

I can also see Mason's curiosity and mischevious side developing.  Not too long ago, Mason spent the afternoon at a friend's house.  That evening I asked what they did and if they had fun.  He got a cute little smirk on his face and smiled, saying "Yes, we had lots of fun. We got in trouble, too!"  Of course I needed more details at this point.  He went on to tell me that they threw rocks over his friend's fence and into the neighbor's backyard who happens to be a girl classmate of theirs.  He then said the dad was out in the back yard and so of course he saw and that's how they got in trouble.  However, Mason was not upset that they got caught, rather he had this very mischevious smile, like it was FUN doing something naughty and getting caught!  Of course I gave the whole, that wasn't a good choice talk, but really I was trying so hard not to smile myself.  I had never seen this side of Mason before! I kept thinking, this is only the beginning of little boys being boys.  It reminded me of the neighbor boys I grew up with.  All too often we found pranks at our house...gum and weeds on the door knob; a broken peach tree limb full of ripe peaches, bee bee guns firing at other neighbor boys, missing clothes pins from the clothes line, and rocks being thrown at the front door.  Although I would love having a very obedient, respectful, do-no-wrong kind of boy, the reality is that it's not going to happen! I simply must accept that boys will be boys, with a few "Sparkle" moments in between!

Happy Birthday Jalen

I can hardly believe that my baby boy is 4 years old. Time has gone by too fast. Although Jalen came at a very unexpected and extremely busy time in my life, I wouldn't change it for the world! More and more I am realizing that his placement in our family was at the right time, despite how crazy it seemed to have 3 little ones, all within 3 years.  Simply put, Jalen keeps are family smiling...something that we can always use more of!  He is the entertainer, the silly one, and he can change a stressful or tense moment into laughter.  He has a great relationship with his older siblings; they both adore him and in a way, he gels the three of them together.

He is such a joy to have in our family.  I love him so much and am so grateful for the sweet and good boy he is. I love you Jalen!

Jalen keeps us laughing at the funny things he is always saying.  Here are just a few that have come up in the last couple of days...

The day of his birthday, Jalen kept asking, "Am I 4 now?" After my nod yes, everytime he would say "YESSSSSS!"

I laughed to myself everytime.

While at another friend's birthday party, this was his conversation with his friends while coloring dinosaur pictures.  Jalen very seriously: "I love dinosaur dreams.  Dinosaur dreams are good for your body!"  All the other boys just nodded their heads in agreement like everything he said made total sense!

We recently took down our vertical blinds that went across sliding glass door.  Alan had it all in the big garbage can.  Jalen was so excited to show Madelyn and Mason.  While lifting up the big lid and showing them he said, "That's so damn awesome!"  Alan, quite shocked standing by, couldn't hardly scold him because he was trying too hard not to laugh out loud!

One day when quite upset with me, he said "I'm tired of you not following MY RULES! If you don't then I'm going to cut all your hair off with my clippers!" (meaning his fingernail clippers, which he is obsessed with...keeping his nails trimmed just right!)

He is too funny.

For several months Jalen has aniticipated his big day...turning 4 and getting a whole day to be the Birthday Boy!  The day after we delivered his invitations, Jalen walked downstairs first thing in the morning and with teary eyes, said "You forgot my birthday!"  At first I was a little confused until he stated, "You didn't decorate!" Traditionally the kids wake up to the kitchen decorated with streamers and balloons, which Jalen was expecting that morning.  I quickly explained that his birthday wasn't for a few more days and that we would never forget his birthday or to decorate! That quickly solved his concern!

Welcome to the Jungle

Jalen is very interested in snakes and other jungle animals, so we decided this would be a perfect year to throw a jungle party!

Here are the decorations Jalen woke up to on his birthday...he was thrilled, especially with the snakes hanging from the vines.

When the guests arrived, they each chose an animal (tiger, zebra or giraffe) hat to make.  We even attempted a little face painting.

But when Jalen looked in the mirror at his whiskers, he didn't like it at all! After scrubbing his face clean, he next went to clean his friends' faces too!

We played some fun games...Duck, Duck, Goose, only it was Lion, Lion ROAR! The kids then chased each other to try and grab the Lion's tail.  We also let the kids dance around a "mud pit" to some fun jungle music and try not to get stuck in the mud when the music turned off.  They were all so cute playing these games.

Probably the favorite game/activity (which I was very surprised about) was the "Snake Pit."  I had lots of little jungle animals, snakes, worms, and frogs buried in a big pot of spaghetti noodles.  The kids absolutely loved this! They all kept taking turns and coming back for more.

Gavin...the cutest little guy ever!!

Jalen loves all of his presents! Thanks so much to everyone.

A Snake Cake, of course!

Lovin his cheetos

Birthday hugs!

So So Sweet!

Here they are...

Braden Lunt, Cyrena Dean, Kade Ashton, Hannah Biancamano, Jalen, Cooper Napoles, Adrianne, Ryder Turner, Cameron Lloyd, Breckan Turner.

What an adorable and fun group of kids! Thanks so much for sharing Jalen's birthday with us!

And a special thanks to Shannon for snapping all the great pics!