My Boos and Little Ghoul

Naturally, I'm slow on the uptake regarding my Halloween post...but then again I wouldn't want to break tradition and actually post on time, would I??

I had been trrrying to do Halloween crafts off and on during the month and was semi-successful. (i am in constant awe of the mommies that are crafty and all put-together with festive meals and crafts to fill the season...i only aspire to be like you) I was able to swing a few things, though and carving pumpkins was one of them. I have many a memory of carving pumpkins the Sunday afternoon before Halloween as a family and then eating the roasted pumpkin seeds. Good times, good times (well, at least for me...evidently the festive tradition left Liberty scarred) ;). I wanted to make sure that I continued the tradition with my family, so carving was a must.Here is a cute picture of Daddy and Cooper. We all contributed with the de-gunking and carving.My kids this year only got to go trick-or-treating on actual Halloween compared to the two to three times they normally do (tough, huh ;). We were out of town for the ward's Trunk-or-Treat and we have in the past also participated in the city's Halloween celebration when we lived in Stillwater. So, they were pretty excited the night of because of the lack of normal festivities. *disclaimer* I have always envisioned my children to have the "perfect" costume. It may or may not be handmade, but it would never, ever be the Wal-Mart type, polyester costumes that are plastic and flimsy. That being said (I hope I haven't offended anyone, because if there is anything motherhood has taught me is never, ever say "never") I obviously had something in mind for my kids and they generally had an entirely different one. *sigh* Greyson originally had chosen to be a pirate. "Great!", I thought. We have a fantastic costume already that complied to all of my "Halloween specifications". So, I wouldn't have to buy one and he would look oh-so-cute. Cooper had a bit harder time deciding on his costume, but finally decided that he wanted to be Anakin Skywalker. Now, it's quite ironic that Cooper wants to be Anakin because 1.) he really hasn't ever seen Star Wars 2.) the only real exposure he's had is on our Star Wars Lego Wii game and that hardly carries the story line and well, c'mon people, it's Legos and 3.) Cooper hates, hates, hates any type of villain or disgusting Halloween-y type character. I found it highly ironic that Anakin turns into Darth Vader one of the most notorious villains ever. I told Cooper who Anakin turns out to be and he flat out refused to believe me....c'est la vie. Oh well. He wouldn't be swayed. I had a hard time figuring out how I was going to make Anikan work and hadn't really figured it out until "the" garage sale happened. Phillip happened upon a garage sale on a Saturday morning with the boys (shocker, I know *insert eye roll * ;). And they just happened upon a Obi Wan Kenobi costume that looked amazingly like an Anikan Skywalker costume...complete with polyester and velcro. How could Phillip say no?? Well, he didn't AND he didn't say no to his other puppy-dog eyed son when he found a Batman costume complete with a plastic (albeit a thick plastic) cape, talking (you can imagine how thrilled I am with that) belt and a super-safe mask (insert sarcasm). Ahhh, the joy of motherhood when your picture-perfect idealism goes swimming down the drain. Oh well. I told myself to suck it up and said alright, it's their Halloween--not mine and if that's what makes them happy then deal with it, and I did.

We decided to take them around our neighborhood and it was great. The neighbors were kind and my kids made a haul. So much, in fact, that the next day the missionaries stopped by and we had them take a huge, bulging gallon ziplock bag home and we are still eating away on the loot.Here is Grey with his mask off...and with it on... Ironically, he had it off most of the night "because it made him all sweaty...even when it's not cold and when it is, too!"

Here's Cooper as Darth, ahem... Anakin, without his hood....and with.Annnnnddddd, this would be me dressing and taking a picture of my daughter w/o her costume on the correct way. That right folks, I put my daughter in her little witch's costume backwards. I'm an idiot. Oh well. I finally realized what I did about 3 houses into trick-or-treating and switched it around. Poor little girl. We weren't even sure we were going to take her because she was feeling so crummy... we finally realized it was probably with the Swine Flu. I guess we may have been giving away a little Swine Flu with our candy (oops!!).Here is the costume on the correct way. I couldn't get her to even humor me with a look at the camera. She had had it, but she thought she was well enough to eat candy {insert eye roll}.

My little boos and ghoul.

Here are the boys with their own custom carved pumpkins.

We hope you all had a Happy Halloween! We sure did and are anxiously looking forward to Thanksgiving day and Christmas season!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl!!

While there are sooo many posts that I need to catch up on right now, I didn't want this one to fall through the cracks. With Ella's birthday being so close to Halloween I could see it happen. So, first things first.
My baby girl turned two. Can you believe it?!! In some ways I can...seeing that she has two cousins, that she adores, that have already turned the "big 2" so, she wasn't too far behind, but then again it's odd because I feel like she is still my baby in some ways. I can still remember wanting her in our family for so long and then being blessed to carry her for 9 months. We were all so excited to welcome Ella into our family. We ached for her. There was so much anticipation for Ella's birth...not only because she was our first girl, and all the fun things that come with that, but she was another blessing to join our family. She has been a joy and a learning experience for all of us since she was born. She is naturally a nurturer, a mother. She loves her babies and will dote on them. She also loves the fun and frills of being a girl. It is fun to have a daughter who gets excited over shoes and bows as much as I do. Ella also is an opinionated little one. She knows what she wants. I am learning Ella also has a "strength of spirit". Hopefully, she will be a pillar of strength for the right. That being said, she is quite shy and will hang back to be with Momma. I usually don't mind too much, as we have become quite good pals. :) Once someone has gained Ella's trust she is generally pretty loyal...it just takes her a while to warm up. :)

I can't imagine my existence with out my sweet Ella-Bell. She makes my heart sing and I thank my Heavenly Father every day for my sweet daughter. Happy birthday my beautiful little one.Here is Ella before she opens all of her presents.Hmmm, could this be what I think it is??

Ella is feeding her baby doll in her brand new sling (thank you Auntie Libby and Auntie Whitty!!) while properly adorned in her tiara. Hmmm, maybe she has something there... If I walked around in a crown while parenting maybe I would get the proper respect I deserve...;) Tiara (check), tu-tu (check), favorite toys (check), cell phone (check)...one satisfied little girl. The boys on Ella's birthday...they wanted some TLC, too. ;)We were also surprised with snow on Ella's birthday. Crazy weather, I tell 'ya, crazy!! Per birthday tradition we went out to eat on Ella's birthday. We went "high class" and went to Burger King. She did enjoy the play gym and yummo...the mac n' cheese!!

Poor little girl hasn't been feeling well...so, she hasn't exactly been in the mood to smile at the camera. Thus, the pictures have suffered a bit. *sigh* Oh well. :)

Phillip helping Ella blow out her candles, as she hasn't quiet mastered her extinguishing skills.

Yummo...chocolate cake (no shame in that bite, either! ;)!

Happy birthday sweet girl...and here's to many more!!