Pumpkin Carving

Tonight we carved our pumpkins and made caramel apples for dessert! I think that Addison's face expresses how I am truly interrupting her caramel apple experience :)
As you can see from this picture Addison was ready to dive in and get her hands dirty. She would take the seeds out of the pumpkin and then add more in from the seed bowl to do it over and over again... Lil Adam was a little shy though. He let Dad and Mom dig out the yucky stuff and he just drew the face on and carved it out. This was his first year of carving his pumpkin. Way to go Adam :)











Alex was really the pro this year! He liked holding all of the sharp instruments and tasting the insides of the pumpkins!!

Class Pictures

Adam and Addison brought home their class pictures today and we just thought you would enjoy them too! Addison had to take her personal pictures twice due to not smiling, but I am happy to see that she was really smiling when it came time for the class picture!
Adam has all of his teeth in his picture! He went to the dentist today. I was really proud of him. He didn't take any x-rays because the film was hurting, but he let the dentist count, examine and clean his teeth! Way to go Adam :)

Show-and-Tell

Saturday while I was at the emergency room (in anaphylaxis shock from a bite or sting) Big Adam stayed at home with the kids. Addison and Alex went down for naps and Lil Adam built a car with his dad. The car was a snap and build car. I guess that the car took under two hours to build but I think the memory will last a lifetime. I was almost positive that Lil Adam would take his Hot air Balloon pins, hat and cards to school today for Show-and-Tell, instead last night he told me he was taking the car he built. We put it into his backpack and that was that.
Today when I picked Adam up from school I asked if the kids enjoyed seeing the car he built. He was fast to correct me. "This is the car my Dad and I built." My heart melted what a treasured memory!! I think that special time with Dad and the kids is important in making them each feel special. Hopefully they create "Snap together Barbie’s"!!

Happy Fall to All

Each year Dad's creative juices flow!! This year
was no exception. He went for a bloody boo! Mom on the other had went for a surprised punk pumpkin with pink and green hair!
























Our front yard is starting to look Halloween ready! The ghosts and painted pumpkins are keeping the scarecrows busy. We really wish they would scare the pigeons and doves away, but no such luck yet! Happy Fall Everyone.

The Kids Pumpkin Painting

Pumpkin Painting is a tradition in our home! Weeks before we carve...we paint. The kids went on-line and picked the faces they wanted to recreate this year. Alex was happy to share in this experience for the first time. As you can see a good portion of paint was tasted! YUM
















Adam was very serious this year. He stared with his hair and moved to his facial features. Not only colorful, but we can actually see the face still. Way to go Adam :)




Addison took the modern approach. Daddy was so happy he took the time to put a face on the pumpkin for Addison to paint! She chose her colors of pink, dark pink and blue! As you can see she truly created a one of a kind masterpiece.

Our Educational Trip to the Zoo!

For the last day of Fall Break we headed into Phoenix to visit the Zoo and pick out our pumpkins for Halloween. Our trip to the Zoo ended up being very educational.

Stingray Bay is opening back up at our zoo. Today was a test run for members of the zoo. You have to pay a dollar to get in, but I thought it would be worth it, all the kids sounded excited to see it. As we got into the exhibit and walked around the the shallow end to touch them all the kids started freaking out. A lady from the zoo asked if they wanted to feed the sting rays. Addison said yes of course and the lady placed the shrimp into her hands. She had to keep her palm down and let the rays swim over her hand and suck up the shrimp. Addison quickly decided that wasn't for her! I fed the ray and I must say that it was a very interesting experience. You could feel the ray's suction and I will be honest I jumped!!
This was the first of many visits that I can remember all of the giraffes being so close to the front of the African exhibit. The kids climbed the stairs in the hut to get a better look. I stood below and as they were eating their breakfast their crumbs were flying onto my shirt and into my hair. Talk about a close encounter!!














This was the first time at the Zoo that I allowed Alex to roam freely. I am sure that the other parents around me wished I strapped him in, but he was really enjoying seeing the animals close up. He would climb on the fences and up the stairs when available to get a better look. He was very disappointed when the glass was getting in the way of him touching the baboon. He was screaming at him trying to get his attention and banging on the glass pretty hard. I am sure the baboon was happy for him to move on!


Please tell me what your answer would be...not only was it very visual, but there were sound effects too! Luckily Alex wasn't in the stroller and we had to quickly move to the next exhibit!!




For the first time at the Zoo I took the kids out of their stroller and into the Monkey exhibit. We were told as we entered that the monkeys pee on everything and we would need to wash our hands at the end of the exhibit. Leave it to our Alex to touch each rope, pole, and inch of sand he could get his hands on. After I washed his hands and started to help Addison he again started touching the sand and ropes and had to go through the process again!













Here we are standing next to the elephants. Addison noticed one of the elephants going potty and how it made a river!

Scootin with Nanẽe

When we were in Albuquerque our little ones enjoyed riding on the scooter with their Nanẽe. Addison was the first to hop on with no reservations of course. Alex rode next and then after watching his siblings Adam decided to give it a try. They had a great time, what an adventure for the three of them!!

Our Cousins Reunion

We traveled to Albuquerque this past weekend to enjoy family, friends and the International Balloon Festival. The family and friends were great, the Balloon Festival was a bummer though. We tried Saturday and Sunday to see the balloons fly through the skies, but rain and wind made it impossible. We found other ways to have fun though!
Friday night we had Dion's Pizza and took the cousins to play at the play land in the mall. They rode the carousel and reconnected as friends. I really enjoyed watching all of the cousins bond. They all seemed to play well together and I loved it. Saturday was rainy so we helped Jon and Mac in their new home and then headed to the Albuquerque Aquarium and Botanical Gardens. Alex loved seeing the fish and sharks in the Aquarium. The Botanical Gardens have added a Chinese Garden with a waterfall and that was my favorite part!
Sunday we woke up nice and early and tried once again to see balloons. The mass ascension was a bust, but as you can see the Allstate Balloon blew up for the kids to enjoy. We were so grateful to those people. Our kids had been waiting to see balloons for weeks.
































Sunday afternoon was spent with family. We enjoyed getting to visit and spend time with our loved ones.
Monday we shopped till we dropped and then played til we passed out. I miss having a Hobby Lobby here in Arizona so I walked through the store for an hour!! I have a few new projects that I will start on after Halloween Costumes are finished! Monday night was our last night in town and we went to a family buffet and game room. Everyone enjoyed pizza and games.
Before we left on Tuesday we took the kids to an indoor bounce house area called Hoots. We all had a blast. It was a good way to burn energy before a road trip. We had such a great time. It was so nice to see everyone and remember why we are eternal families! Thanks for all the fun everyone, I hope we don't wait as long before we get together again :)

Keeping the Tooth Fairy Busy!

This afternoon when Adam returned home from school he lost his second tooth during snack time! He ran to the bathroom and when he returned he showed me that he had lost another tooth. To be completely honest I thought he lost it at school and was just getting around to telling me. ( I am very observant you know!) But he pointed out the tooth laying on the table! The Tooth Fairy is single this week...I sure hope she can come up with something good without anyone catching on to her!! Congrats Adam. Hopefully all you will get for Christmas is your two front teeth!!

Happy Conference Day!

Every six months we celebrate "Conference Day". We begin our Sunday with waffles and ice cream for breakfast. The kids always enjoy breakfast when it involves ice cream :) This morning we had waffles with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and Halloween sprinkles. We hope that each of you have a Happy Conference Day and enjoy traditions of your own! As you can see we enjoy every bite of ours.

Our Phantom Ghosts

Boo! Friday night our family enjoyed doing our yearly tradition of drop and run Halloween treats. Addison, Adam and Mom took the plate of treats to the door, knocked and ran. Adam and Addison were so cute. They loved getting to participate. Dad and Alex came along for the ride and helped in our get away. We are hoping that there will be lots of Phantom Ghosts running around our town in these next few weeks. Happy Haunting!