Trick or Treat!

Halloween was really fun this year. First of all, the kids looked adorable. I mean, half of them looked adorable, the other half looked suitably cool. You decide which half falls into which category.

Luke and Nick decided that they were now far too old for such childish pursuits as Trick or Treating. Of course, then they were mad that they didn't have any candy and proceeded to plunder Chip's loot. Good thing Tyler and Chip made out like bandits.

Look at those people. They don't even look scared! An obviously benevolent ghost is hovering about as Darth Vader is just waiting for his chance to attack. What's wrong with this country?

Fall is a big time around here when it comes to birthdays. We celebrate mine, Nick's, Tyler's and Chip's in October and November. And that's just for people that actually live in our house! There are even more birthdays in our extended family! Lots of fun, for sure. Well, the last one we celebrated at home was Tyler's. He turned 9 on October 24. That's just amazing to me. He'll always be my baby no matter how that sets his teeth on edge.

He gave us a very nicely detailed birthday list of what he expected, I mean wanted, for his birthday. The very biggest, most important item on that list was this instrument to aid in the breaking of bones, the Rip-Stick. It's kind of like a skateboard, only with a little bit of skaterboy attitude thrown in. Just perfect for Ty! How he (and Nick, who got one as well) can zoom around on these things! I could never stand up on it, I'm sure, nor would I try. I was concerned that I might lose my balance just wrapping it! But he loves it. If you don't believe me, look at his face at the very moment he saw the as-requested silver Rip-Stick.

He is a real blessing to our family, and we're so very glad to have had him for the last 9 years!

WE LOVE YOU, TYLER! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Lucky 13...For All Of Us!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NICK!!!

It is hard to believe that Nick just turned 13. Wow! Just the other day he was 4 feet tall and "Nicky." Now he's a strapping 5'6" and growing 1/2 inch per day, seems like. Either way, he's been a joy to have around. We all feel very lucky that we're the proud family of Nick.

Nick has turned into quite the KU fan. As his devoted mother, I'm throwing myself full force into this interest. I'm still not square with Lawrence politics, but I suppose my kid can wear KU shirts if he wants to, even if it does gripe me.

He got lots of KU things! A pillow, 2 shirts, a jersey, shades, a hoodie. Wow! What a neat pile of loot!

He even got a KU cake that I paid $5 extra to have that rice paper Jayhawk slapped on there.

It wasn't all about KU however. He also got a guitar that he REALLY wanted. He's going to learn to play. He will be great at it. Happy Birthday, Nick! We love you SO much!!

Well, I finally got myself in gear and pulled off a fine trip to the pumpkin patch. Usually I wait til it's too close to Halloween, then the place is completely packed and we all know how I hate completely packed situations. Or I wait til the weather is nasty or...the list goes on and on. I'm convinced the kids could have a satisfactory pumpkin patch experience by watching a field trip on the internet, but this year I pulled out all the stops and away we went. It turned out to be a wonderful day! The weather was just perfect and there was a reasonable amount of people there. We took a hayrack ride, the kids played on the swingsets and the huge slides. Tyler flew down the zipline. They all took turns at the pumpkin cannon, firing pumpkins at the Democratic Party sign (that's my boys!). They fed goats, ran through a haunted house, rode the big tricycles. And we topped it off by choosing just the perfect pumpkin for each child. That's not an easy thing, you know. If it hadn't been for the lure of lunch at Subway, I bet we'd still be there now, studying each and every pumpkin.

Nick's Birthday Dinner- On The Town

The other night we went out for dinner to celebrate Nick's 13th birthday. As soon as we stepped into the restaurant, we went into super sly mode. Our mission: to alert the waitress that it was Nick's birthday dinner so she would gather up a bunch of people to come and embarrass him...I mean to come and wish him a very happy birthday and give him a free dessert. That's really what I meant. The second and most important part of our mission was to do all this without Nick finding out. We were successful on both counts and the results are just fantastic. I bet no one reading this will ever go out with us again if it's anywhere even remotely near his or her birthday. We're just not to be trusted and that's the truth.

Monkeying Around

A couple of weeks ago we went to a birthday party at Monkey Bizness. What a fun place! The kids really loved the huge inflatable slides and climbing things. The rock wall was a blast too and all three older boys are now ready to scale Pike's Peak...without the aid of the little train that hauls you up there. Things were going okay until the moms got a wild hair and started going down the slides too! Don't worry, ladies, your secrets are safe with me! Okay, I admit it. I went down one slide ONCE and it was a terrifying experience. I screamed really loud! The boys were so proud at my volume. :o) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures. It really was a super fun day!

Seldom do I have my camera or camcorder trained in just the right direction to capture a fabulous rogue interception or startling touchdown that came out of nowhere. But there are times when I'm on my A-Game. Tyler's last game must have been one of those nights. The stars and planets must have been in just the proper alignment for recording awesome moments for posterity. Maybe it's because it was COLD! Made me sharp. At any rate, here is footage of Tyler making a neat touchdown! I think he's got a future here. (He's #20...a.k.a. the kid with the ball.)

Ty also has some skill on the defensive side. Here we see him very gently knocking a child to the ground in the process of ripping his flag from his side. After lording over him for a few seconds, he then throws the flag at the downed boy. Watch and observe.