Halloween Trick or Treating 2013

After spending the entire month of October doing Halloween crafts, visiting the pumpkin patch, carving and decorating pumpkins, making Halloween sweets and treats, reading Halloween books, watching Halloween movies, and even making jack o'lantern pepperoni pizza, it was finally time for the big day!  The boys were having a Halloween fair and trick or treating at school, so they had to go in costume.  They decided to wear backup costumes, so we pulled out their super hero outfits from last year.  Surprisingly, they still fit and were just a smidge snug.  Batman and Robin (an upgrade from last Halloween's title of RobberMan) had lots of fun at school.  They had scooter races, bowled with a pumpkin at ghost toilet paper rolls, painted pumpkins, and trick or treated the offices.  It was so much fun! 

The super heroes were quick to change into little monsters when it was time to trick or treat in the neighborhood.  Mike and Sully have been practicing their scary sounds and even set up their own Scare School to master their craft.  (That means it's been really loud at our house lately!)  These two sweeties couldn't wait to get started trick or treating!

The Robison's came over to trick or treat with us, and Jackson was the cutest Jake (of the Neverland Pirates) ever!  Lincoln was happy to hang with him and talk about the fun they would have, but Beau was having a shy moment off camera.  

Group pic!  What a happy bunch of trick or treaters!   

Apparently we began before several people on our street got home from work because the first few houses were empty.  That didn't slow down these monsters one bit.  They charged up to each house with gusto!  When the door opened, the belted out "Trick or Treat!"  After receiving candy, they were happy to say thank you and had to give a monster ROAR!   

Seriously with the roaring!  It was crazy!  They took their jobs as part of the Scare Staff very seriously on our street tonight, and the people answering their doors were laughing at the cutest scary monsters ever.  We had to trick or treat at Marte and Scooters before the night was done, and they boys were so excited on the way there.  After getting a few sweet treats, we got to see Jason, Shannon, Matt and Courtney too!  What a bonus!  This has definitely been the most fun Halloween season yet, and they have really had a blast with each activity.  Beau's bucket got pretty heavy by the end of the night, and his legs got a little weak.  He fell a few times, but he was not going to miss one second of trick or treating at the door with Linc.  Their spirit is contagious, and it makes holidays so special.  Happy Halloween 2013 - it was a great one!

Hot Chocolate with Lincoln

This is one of my favorite pictures EVER!  Lincoln and I woke up before Daddy and Beau on Saturday and snuck outside to enjoy his first cup of hot chocolate in the cool morning air.  He loved the hot chocolate, of course.  I loved watching him experience a simple joy.  Lincoln really does find the good in everything, and it would do us all good to think like he does.  Not a day goes by that he doesn't tell me how beautiful I am, how much he loves me, how I'm the best Mom in the world, and so many other sweet things.  I really appreciate his loving heart . . .  especially when I'm not actually being the best Mom in the world!  He even includes me in his bedtime prayer, and I know he's teaching me so much.  I hope we get to sneak outside for a million more hot chocolates, and we may even invite Beau to join us one day!  (A warm mug doesn't seem like a good fit for Beau's "bull in a china shop" manners!)  We could bankrupt ourselves on this Keurig machine drinking so many of these sweet treats, but it will be worth every cent.  So glad we shared that sweet moment together!

Finally the Weekend!

Finally, the weekend arrived!  We were so ready for Saturday . . . to sleep in, relax a bit, and have lots of fun!  Lincoln was invited to his best girls' birthday party, and he was so excited.  Lindsey and Erin have been great friends to him for several years, and he couldn't wait to celebrate their 5th birthday at the new Richardson Gymnastics Center.  He told me in the car that Lindsey and Erin would be so excited when they saw that he was there!  They bounced on the trampolines, hopped on the balance beams, tumbled into the foam pit, and climbed through the obstacle course.  When their school teacher arrived, it was like a rock star came to the gym.  Every kid immediately ran to give tons of hugs to Ms. Dorletha!!  She was sweet to participate in the parachute game with them.  When it was time for snacks, Linc and his best girl had to sit together.  We had so much fun at Lindsey and Erin's birthday party!  Thanks for inviting us!

 

 

The best part of Saturday was that Minnie and Allyson were coming to visit!  We were sad that Bubbles had to stay in Arkansas to work, but we'll see him soon.  Minnie read tons of stories to the boys, and they were thrilled to cuddle up. 

The boys wanted to play in their Halloween costumes and show them off.  They were so surprised when Allyson had a costume too!  Little Mike and Sully (from Monsters Inc and Monsters University) loved Ally's Minion costume (from Despicable Me)!  They played forever in their costumes and did lots of monster scaring.  They even decided to go to "share school".  It should have been "scare school", but the sharing part sounded way nicer! 

Of course, they had to try on the Minion costume!  They loved it and looked to cute in the giant costume. 

The final T-Ball game was rained out on Sunday, so Minnie and Allyson didn't get to see Lincoln play.  But we had tons of fun, played lots of games, read so many books, and had too many giggles and hugs.  Beau said this evening, "It sure was a fun weekend."  That it was!

Throwback Thursday . . . to 1992!

Throwback Thursday!  This cute little thing is my first baby love, my sister Allyson.  We are so glad she is coming to visit this weekend.   

Lincoln's Light Bulb Burn

Saddest and funniest picture ever!!  The boys had fun in the tub during bath time, as usual.  Lots of playing with rubber duckies and splashing around.  I managed to get Lincoln clean and dressed then started on Beau.  Linc went to Beau's room to pick the bedtime story that they would enjoy together and turn on the lamp.  As I'm drying Beau off, Linc runs in screaming about his finger hurting.  I examine it and ask lots of questions, and we determine that he touched the light bulb after the lamp had been on for a while.  Ouch!!!  He was so upset and hurting!  We ran his finger under cold water to take away the heat, put Neosporin and a band aid on next, but those things were of no comfort to him.  A cold compress was the only thing that made Lincoln feel like his wound wasn't hurting.  Of course Beau was so interested in the drama, and he made up a fake hurting finger too!  He demanded a cold compress for his fake wound and giggled through the bedtime story while Linc was in pain!  Poor Lincoln learned his lesson about touching light bulbs, and he had to suffer the painful consequences.  He even went to sleep with his finger on the cold bag.  Luckily he woke up all healed, and there was no left over damage to his finger.  It's tough on everyone to learn a lesson like that, but we are all thankful that it was a small burn and healed quickly.  At one point, Linc told me that it would NEVER stop burning . . . I'm so glad that didn't come true.  Hopefully, Beau will remember this little lesson and not allow his curiosity to lead him to touch a hot light bulb.  I'm sure Lincoln will be happy to warn him!

Pumpkin Carving

When we picked out our pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, Lincoln gave me strict instructions that they were only to be painted later.  I agreed, even though I would definitely prefer to carve them into jack o'lanterns.  I'm not sure what changed his mind (I didn't say a word!), but he told me on Saturday afternoon that we needed to carve them.  Hooray!  We went outside with our tools and got busy cleaning out the pumpkins.  The boys chose two of the silliest (and most worthless) spoons to help me!  Ready for action . . .

When I cut the top off the first pumpkin, they came in close to check out the guts.  Eeewwww, said Beau!  Most of the cleaning out was left to Mommy, but I had lots of entertainment as I gutted the pumpkins.  For some reason, they brought all of their musical instruments outside to sing and dance while I worked!   

Lincoln was very direct about telling me how his pumpkin face should look.  Happy, not mean!  Beau had lost interest by then, so Linc told me the same for Beau's pumpkin.  Beau was happy with the result, and he happily posed by his friendly pumpkin with a light inside.   

Luckily, Lincoln thought my handiwork was great as well.   What a relief!  It's super important to have a great jack o'lantern look perfect!  We texted our pumpkin pictures to Bubbles for his approval.  He's the best pumpkin carver I know, and he was proud!  

It's pretty hard to make a face on a small pumpkin, so I'm glad they were happy with the results.  They really like to check on the pumpkins and see it the lights inside are working.  One more fun thing about fall that I love to pass on to them is the joy of carving pumpkins.  They are definitely not ready to wield a knife yet, but maybe next year I can get them to help me clean them out.  Either way, I'm just glad to have some fun helpers who are excited about fun fall activities. 

Pumpkin Patch 2013

No fall season is complete without a visit to the local pumpkin patch, and this year was the best one ever!  On Friday morning we drove to the Owens Big Orange Pumpkin Patch, and the boys couldn't wait to see the pumpkins.  They didn't even know about all of the other fun stuff they were about to do!  There were already several school buses of field trip kids there, but we beat most of the crowd by going early.  First stop was to pose in the pumpkins, of course!  The climbed over and around them to find just the right spot for a picture.  Happy boys, for sure!

A sweet scarecrow was too cute not to check out, and we managed not to knock her over.  That was a miracle!! 

We fed the goats, looked at the pigs and rabbits and horses, sang "Nah Nah Nah Boo Boo" to the turkeys, and clucked at the chickens for a while.  Lincoln remembered that they had been to this place for a birthday party in the spring (minus the pumpkins), so he quickly took charge and led the way!  Next up was the hay ride, and we waited with our group full of excitement.  The man leading our ride told us to look for ponies, ducks and geese along the ride.  He also told the kids to look for clues to help find Farmer Terry.  My guys really listed and discussed the instructions.  When I asked if they were ready to find all of the things, they both gave me a thumbs up!

We had a quick picture before the hay ride began - thanks to my cuties!  They acted like they've been going on hay rides for life and weren't scared or anything.  I just watched them take it all in.  They really did shout out each time they saw one of the animals or clues.  At the end, they spied Farmer Terry (the back of a mannequin in overalls) with his head stuffed in a bale of hay!  They couldn't believe he would do that and squealed about it for so long! 

As we walked back over to the pumpkins, the boys spotted two kids from our hay ride group sitting on a little John Deere tractor.  Lincoln and Beau waited until they got off and hopped on for a turn.  Beau scared us all to death when he hit the horn, and Lincoln shifted the gear to reverse and beeps rang out!  A worker came running to turn it off, and we figured out that this wasn't one of the attractions to play on!  Whoops! 

The boys couldn't wait to run through the maze at lightning speed . . . over and over!!  Lincoln was super fast, and Beau kept up so well.  They did it so many times, and I was tired just watching them! 

After the maze, Lincoln climbed up on the hay and announced he was king!  Ok . . . .  

Another fun obstacle to climb on - this place is too fun! 

We made one more stop at the posing place and got a typical brother picture.  Lincoln with a sweet smile but not looking at the camera, and Beau with a crazy scream smile.   

Our last activity was to pick a pumpkin to take home.  I swear they looked at every single pumpkin there!  It was a difficult decision, but Beau was first to make his selection.   

Lincoln picked the biggest one he could carry!  He regretted that when he had to carry it to the car (because Mommy was carrying hers and Beau's)!   

The view of the pumpkin patch was beautiful, and we had cool fall weather on this Friday morning.   

This pumpkin patch visit is not likely to be forgotten!  There were so many fun things to do and see, and the boys were so good about staying together and having fun!  They are super proud of their pumpkins and have instructed me that we are not carving them but painting them instead!  A few fun notes:  (1) As we threw the grain to the goats, one of them sneezed!  The boys thought that was hilarious!!  (2) A football was in the water trough in the pig sty, and they just couldn't figure that one out.  It really created a lot of discussion. (3) All moms at a pumpkin patch wear skinny jeans tucked into boots - seriously!  Including me!  (4) The ice cream sandwich cooler was empty, and that was the most shocking part of the trip!  How could they have an ice cream sandwich cooler if you couldn't buy an ice cream sandwich???? 

It was such a fun morning, and I'm so glad we went.  The boys have looked through the pictures a million times already and discussed every one in great detail.  I think $18 for 3 pumpkins and numerous pictures and memories is a real bargain!   

Lincoln's New Bedtime Game

 

Lincoln has tons of fun in his bed after we turn out the lights!  I still listen to him on the monitor, and it is quite a party in his room.  At 10:00 last night, he was up and teaching is friends (Baby Bear, Franklin, George, and George II) how to play his favorite new game.  Technically, the new game is I Spy.  I never called it that as a kid, and I taught him the way I learned it by my Great Aunt Patsy.  Rhythma Rhythma Rhythma Re, I See Something That You Don't See . . . and the color is xxx!  Lincoln is obsessed with this new game.  Since Mommy, Daddy, and Beau weren't available to play anymore, he decided to teach his bedtime friends to play.  I listed in awe as he made separate voices for them to choose colors and guess what the spied item was.  I couldn't stand it any longer and had to peek in and take a picture.  Oh, how amazing Lincoln is each and every day!  He has the sweetest heart, smartest brain, and most affectionate personality ever!  I can't bear to ask him to turn off his flashlight at night because he's just having innocent fun in bed.  It is sweet to check on him after he's drifted off to sleep and shut down the flashlight.  Sweet dreams are sure to come to a happy child completely comfortable in bed with his best buddies!

Sunday and Monday Activities

After such a crazy and party-filled Saturday, we couldn't let Sunday be boring!  Lincoln was so happy to go to Sunday School and learn about David and Goliath, and Beau was happy to stay out in big church.  We had a delicious brunch at Deli News with omelets, bagels, pancakes, and bacon . . . everyone loves Deli News! 

There was a big Cowboys game to get ready for on Sunday night, and my boys were looking their best to cheer on their favorite football team!  When we announced that it was time for a picture, Beau ran to get his little plastic camera from the treat bowl at swimming lessons.  He was determined to take Mommy's picture while I took their picture.  We all had to "cheese" at the same time!   

When asked to put down the fake camera, Beau couldn't muster a smile.  He just does not like to be told what to do when he has his own ideas! 

Daddy went to the game with a client, so we watched and cheered from home.  Actually, we mostly didn't watch, but we had lots of fun.  We did have dessert and do a little cheering before baths and bedtime.   

Everyone loves Columbus Day at our house because we get to stay home from school and work.  We slept in on a rainy morning and enjoyed breakfast cooked by Daddy.  Who doesn't love to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on a free day home?  It has been a few months since the boys have had a hair cut, so we went to visit our favorite stylist.  Two cute little guys got all cleaned up at Cool Cuts!   

Our next stop in the rain was Target, and the boys were happy to help me find the things on my list.  We made Halloween cupcakes after lunch, and the boys were thrilled to be the official sprinklers.  And sprinkle they did . . . I'm not sure how they actually ate any cupcake under all of those sprinkles!   

We definitely made some yummy and super cute Halloween cupcakes that we can enjoy all week.  I predict that this isn't the last time we'll make Halloween cupcakes in the next two weeks.  Yum for all!

Still in the Halloween spirit, Lincoln wanted to decorate the mini pumpkins with Halloween stickers.  He carefully selected the stickers and placed them just right.  I love that he's really embracing the spirit of the upcoming holiday! 

Of course, we spent some time in our Halloween costumes as well.  It is back to school and work for a few days, and the boys have so much to tell to their friends and teachers.  Beau has been so great about telling when he needs to go to the potty, and I love that he's not having accidents.  While sitting on the potty trying to poop this evening, he made up a crazy story.  With his big blue eyes looking so innocent and amazing, he described to me about how the poop comes out.  The poop is sleeping in there, but the Father comes in and wakes up the poop.  The Mother is vacuuming and comes to help.  The poop finally is awake and ready to come out.  When the poop comes out, his brother comes too.  I listened with amazement as he crafted this story, and sure enough a big brother poop and a little brother poop splashed in the potty.  Beau was completely thrilled that his little story came true!!!  That is five minutes that I might never forget . . . so sweet and so weird!

Party Time!

Get ready for a busy Saturday update!  The weatherman had been telling us all week to watch for rain on Saturday, but we were hoping he would be wrong.  We had two fun parties to attend, and they both promised lots of outside fun!  We slept in and had a yummy brunch at home (eggs, bacon, fruit, and tater tots because they think hash browns are weird!) in the morning, and then played a bit before we headed out to party.  I got the boys dressed and forced them to smile for a quick picture because they looked too cute!  Daddy asked why Beau was dressed like a clown?!?!  Perhaps he doesn't like Beau's hipster Converse kicks!  I thought he looked adorable and not clown-like at all. 

Lincoln's buddy Jack invited us to his spooky 4th birthday party, and Linc just couldn't wait to get there!  He was telling us in the car that Jack would be so excited when we got there, how much fun they would have, and how special it was to go to his house!  Ms. Brooke did not disappoint with the spooky theme - it was such a cute party! There were pumpkins and ghosts and cute decorations every where!  Thankfully, Jack was excited when we arrived so Linc was right!  Beau zeroed right in on the hot dog "mummies" and had to have one (that's the one missing in the artful arrangement) immediately!  The boys also had the smokey green punch with gummy eyeballs floating in it!!  We also sampled veggies, chips and dip, bat-shaped sandwiches, Chick-fil-A nuggets and a delicious chocolate fountain.  The cake was so cool and almost too precious to cut into!  The kids were obsessed with the chocolate fountain and had fun dipping pretzels, marshmallows, and fruit in the chocolate.  Kids + chocolate fountain = messy but yummy fun!!  

The backyard was filled with more spooky stuff, and the kids loved running in the haunted house that had smoke swirling through.  There was a coffin piñata, a graveyard to play in, and a scary but friendly guy with a pumpkin head!  He didn't do much spooking, but instead offered to shake hands with the boys.  Lincoln wasn't having any of that . . . he nervously backed away then peered around another friend (Zane) to make sure the guy was going away!  I didn't get a picture of Beau's reaction to him, but mostly he told him "Boo!" from afar and said he had a weird pumpkin head.   

The boys posed in the graveyard after running around like crazy for a while.  Lincoln had fun with his school friends, and they were all really sweet to Beau too.  We gave Jack a birthday hug before we had to leave.  We had so much fun at Jack's birthday party! 

On to our next birthday party . . . Jackson is turning one!!!  Lincoln and Beau were definitely ready to celebrate with Baby Jackson.  We had a conversation in the car about still calling him Baby Jackson because he's not a baby anymore, but we haven't come up with a new name yet.  Toddler Jackson just doesn't have a nice ring to it!!  Samantha did an amazing job of planning a carnival themed party, and everything was perfect!  Beau posed by the sign by the door but couldn't wait to get in to the party!  The food was spot on for a carnival, and we dined on corn dogs (just Beau), popcorn (just Linc), nachos (Mommy and Daddy), Chick-fil-A nuggets, and fruit.  The decorations were so cute, and the smash cake and cupcakes decorated like popcorn on top were great! 

There were fun carnival games to play outside, and we tried everything!  First up was the bag toss, and the boys and Brooks really got into throwing.  Ring toss was next, followed by fishing for duckies.  That was definitely a favorite for everyone:  Linc and Beau loved it, Jackson liked splashing the water, and even Daddy had fun fishing!  A little rain storm brought us all inside for a while, so Jackson got to open his birthday presents.  Well, Samantha got to open the gifts because Jackson was too busy playing with the toys and kiddos.  (Been there!!)

Luckily, cake time was up next.  Jackson was happy to dig into his cake after just a slight trepidation, and he really loved it!  My boys loved their cake too!  We had to convince Beau that just because Jackson got to eat the cake with his fingers, it was only because he was a baby.  Big boys use forks!!  Yummy stuff!!!  Thanks to the Robisons for a great party!

As if we hadn't had enough yummy food for the day, when dinner rolled around we went to Blue Goose!  It was Beau suggestion (read: order) so we had to do it!  Lincoln told us he wanted a burrito on the way there, which was a little weird.  We decided to embrace his interest in a new food, and he loved it!!  So proud that he was brave to try a new thing.  He told me as he was eating it that it was kind of like a wrap that I send in his lunchbox but had a cheeseburger in it instead of turkey.  Hey, whatever works!!!  Beau wasn't interested in the burrito so he had a cheese quesadilla.  They both also gobbled up the broccoli and strawberries I brought to hopefully round out a day of party foods!! 

Whew!  I'm exhausted just writing about all the fun we had.  The boys really were on their best behavior all day, and we all had such a great day.  We are blessed to have sweet friends to celebrate with, and I'm so glad our Saturday was filled with fun.  Hopefully, everyone sleeps well tonight!!

Wednesday Night Fun

A great mid-week activity is Wednesday evening T-Ball practice.  The boys really look forward to going to the ball field!  Beau does lots of playing and occasionally stops to watch the action on the field.  He and sweet Campbell are getting to be such good friends.  They do lots of playing in the dirt and cheer for their big brothers . . . both named Lincoln.  They tend to have the same conversation over and over.  "I have a big brother named Lincoln."  "My big brother is named Lincoln."  "No, my big brother is named Lincoln."  "And my big brother is named Lincoln, too!"  So confusing! 

Really loving the dirt!  Sometimes we make shapes in the dirt with a stick, and sometimes we stir up the dirt to make sauce.  At least we are happy! 

I laugh sometimes that the boys live in the Stone Age without having iPads or other electronic devices.  They play on our iPhones occasionally but don't have any electronics of their own.  Beau has named this stone monument his iPad!  He tells me when he's done with the dirt and it's time to play on the iPad.  He punches on the letters and pretends to type.  So funny! 

We were actually there for practice, so Lincoln was pretty busy too!  He was excited about batting and got a few good hits.  He does a great little leg kick thing as he begins his swing, and I'm sure that make the ball go really far!   

Linc got to play in the pitcher position at this practice.  I caught him diving hard for a ball hit near him.  He still has plenty of hustle and chases down any ball on the field.  The coaches are working with him about staying near his position, but he can't resist chasing after the ball! 

It's good to get outside and play in this cooler weather, and we love to take a fun break in the middle of the week.  We definitely need to work on throwing, but sometimes enthusiasm makes up for lack of skill, right?