Halloween 2014

I've been getting to go into Lily's class on Fridays when someone can watch the baby to help with a short craft project.  How fun is that?!  I am also the Room Mom, which has been neat as well.  We are at a school this year that is much more culturally diverse than our school last year.  So I have to say I have really enjoyed getting to know the kids.  Going into the year, I thought that I didn't really know much about this culture (or honestly, feel like I had a heart for it, to love them).  So its been sweet to get to know the kids, learn to pronounce their names- they are really beautiful, and feel the love grow for the kids.  And I want to feel like I had a sense for what's going on with the kids since they are no longer with me for a large portion of the day.  

Yesterday, I got to go in for my usual help in Lily's class and then got to read in Peter's class, too.  :)

I am loving the 'kids in school' schedule!  Can I get an AMEN?!

(or maybe its that this week felt extra luxurious b/c we didn't go to OT & TKD)

Here is the sweet scene after school.  They are always so thrilled to see the baby.

 And can't get enough of him.  :)

 Lily likes to run home lately.  Peter half likes to run too and half the time I can convince him to walk with me and hold my hand. ;)

 We carved pumpkins after school.  We've never been early at things like this.  Add in homework, and Friday afternoon it was.  Peter had the great idea of making his into a "jail" and I quickly jumped on carving some straight lines. :)  Lily mentioned hearts so we did hearts and a cross.  It doesn't annoy me as much as it has in the past but I don't love (at all) how we can celebrate "Halloween" at school with witches, mummies, etc but there is only a "winter" celebration.  I was sure to make a point that ours was a "Fall" party.  So we thought we'd go with a 'cross and love' to be light instead of darkness to our friends and neighbors.  I love the dress up and community aspect of Halloween.

 For trick or treating, we had a pirate, a princess (she hoped to be Elsa, but settled for Cinderella), and a lion.  I found Benny's lion costume at a thrift store for $4 and then made the mane.  I found a hoodie in a box of handmedowns and sewed flannel to it and then cut it into strips.  It was nice to have just a small little crafty part for their costumes. 

Meanwhile, at the river house...

I can't believe this was two years ago!

Saturday we had a little re-do and it was just as awesome.  It was sunny and pretty on Saturday, probably a high in the mid-60s.  The sand toys came out first, then the kids thought it was warm enough to get in the water.  So they did!  Of course, we didn't have swim suits with us.  Underpants work great!  If you could hear the sounds from these pics... GIGGLES and JOY and SQUEALING (lots of squealing this weekend)!

 Peter insisted right away in bringing over the slide.  Warning: lost of pictures! :)

 They weren't excited or anything- Lily's feet off the ground.

 That face is so gorgeous.

Mom and I went to our favorite consignment shop, looking for a dresser for the baby boy.  I saw this one and it was the perfect size but old so the drawers weren't on runners.  We we will keep looking- or go back again.

 Love this gorgeous face too.

 Had to get an updated teeth picture... they are coming in... 

 This girl had a nice loooong afternoon beauty rest.  Love a sleeping pic.

 We celebrated Paw's birthday.  Although, I accidentally deleted the pic of Paw and Maw together.

 The required cupcake eating pics.

And some snuggles from this sweet, sweet girl.

For a few weeks, I've been telling Mike that the kids are having a hard time playing and pretending together.  There is lots of bickering instead.  The best part of the weekend (maybe tied with selling our house!) is that the kids pretended and played and had fun together all weekend.  Maybe it did them good to step away from our normal setting and just be together.  It was wonderful to see.

Spring Break!

We spent the first half of spring break with a fever.  Poor boy had hand foot and mouth virus again.  He and Lily both had it the summer they were one and three.  I sorta thought it was a one time thing but apparently not, according to the doctor.  We were especially sad b/c Peter LOVES his cousin, Liam.  Liam was coming to visit for his spring break.  We had plans.  (Famous last words!)  Peter was super excited and kept anticipating his time with Liam.  About a week before his arrival, he said "Mommy, why is it taking soooo long for Liam to get here on the airplane from Minneapolis?!"  So it was heartbreaking for him to have to be quarantined. We just sorta didn't tell him.  And Mike and Lily or Lily and I would sneak off for secret visits (heartbreaking).  But finally, we decided that on Wed, Liam's last day, that we HAD to let them see each other.  So we met at a park.  Sweet boy was still trying to regain his strength (and starting to get bumps around his mouth).  His doctor really impressed me with her diagnosis (I already love her) but he only got the spots around his mouth 5 days after his fever started (and never any on his hands or feet.  Thank God.).

We forgot sunglasses and Peter has the most sensitive eyes so we borrowed some from Goo.  Cute, huh?!

Goo also brought all of us a picnic birthday lunch and cupcakes!  Thanks, Goo!

We wanted to be especially careful b/c this sweet baby was in town.  We all got to meet Baby Anna for the first time.  Such a sweet, sweet, hoped for gift from God.  

 The three big kids had fun together!

On Thursday eve, we headed to the river.  (And Peter got more bumps.  He sorta reminds me a cute teenage boy here!)  He was happy to just be able to pretend drive the boat.  Its the little things.

 Handsome, sweet man.

Our other BIG reason for going to the river was to celebrate PAW'S BIRTHDAY!

He had plenty of help with his candles!

 We all took a nice, refreshing walk on Saturday and stopped to see the horses.

 The horse wanted to eat Paw's watch.

 Lily practiced her slack line walking!

 We walked down to the neighborhood dock.  So pretty!

The kids saw the dock, looked it over,

and knew immediately that it had to be the bridge for the Billy Goats Gruff.

The littlest billy milly goat is trit-trotting over the bridge.

Here comes the biggest billy goat.

 And he throws frows the troll in the water!

(They pretended this over and over and over.  I love it.)

 Oh my kids.  I didn't notice til I uploaded these that they are holding hands.  My heart.

 Then they had a BALL painting with the water and could have kept on for hours!

They love some Daddy.  I do too.

 We finished off the weekend with a bike ride through one of our favorite parks!

We are so happy that spring weather has finally arrived!