Trick-or-Treating on Halloween

Yay! It's finally Halloween. Time to gather the candy! To start out our trick-or-treating, my mom met Brayden and me at South Towne mall.

Almost every store had someone out front that was dressed up and handing out candy to the kids. Brayden had a blast collecting as many Dum-Dum suckers and Tootsie Rolls as he could get his hands on.

Once we all get tired of that, we went home to meet up with Craig, Deana and Lucky. After a quick dinner, we bundled up and went trick-or-treating in our neighborhood. I was surprised at the quality of candy that these neighbors passed out. I've never seen one little kid with so many full-size candy bars.

As it got later, we drove over to the Matiyasic's (where Deana stayed) and the Shane's to show off Brayden's costume. Our final stop of the night was my friend, Carissa's, in-laws. They live in a beautiful neighborhood that goes all out for Halloween. There were so many visitors, so we had to park out of the main road and walk to the house. Their entire yard was decorated and Carissa's husband and brother-in-law were in costumes on stilts. It was awesome. It was ridiculous how many people there were though. So many houses had already run out of candy before we got there. Looks like this will have to be out first stop next year.

Even though the last neighborhood was almost a complete bust, Brayden still made out like crazy. We have enough candy to keep our little family very happy for a while.

Happy Halloween!

Craig's Bowling League

At the end of August, Craig's bowling league started up their 2011-2012 season. He joined the Matiyasic's team again since Deana still isn't interested in bowling. They get together every Sunday evening (minus Christmas and New Year's) until May when they'll finish up the season in Vegas. Last year, Craig learned a lot about bowling, but this year he has really gotten comfortable with it. He loves the game! Someday, I hope to be able to do this as a family.

Furse's Halloween Party

This evening was my mom's Halloween Party. It was fun to see how much thought and planning she put in to this to make it a success. This first thing we did when we got there was coloring on pumpkins grown from my mom's garden. Brayden isn't one to enjoy a mess, so he really enjoyed decorating pumpkins like this.

After, we played pin the nose on the jack-o-lantern. I was way off, but Brayden's was almost right on. Next we had a pumpkin walk (similar to musical chairs, but the number of pumpkins doesn't decrease). I guess I forgot to take pictures of that event.

Then it was time for pumpkin bowling. I think this may have been Brayden's favorite activity. He got so excited evey time he knocked a cup over.

Dean was the pumpkin bowling king! I think he got three strikes in a row. Quite impressive!

     

Then, while my mom finished prepping the Navajo Tacos for dinner, the rest of us went bobbing for apples. Most got pretty wet, but I managed to keep my hair dry. 

To finish off the evening, the kids sat down for a game of Monopoly. This party was so much fun. I'm so glad Brayden was able to be apart of his own Halloween Party.

Pumpkin Carving at the Shane's

Today, Jan invited all of us over to carve pumpkins and have lunch. When we got there, everything was already set up in the backyard. Thankfully the weather cooperated with us. It was a beautiful day!

After carving on our own last night, I wondered if Craig would be a little burnt out. Nope. Again, he cleaned out my pumpkin for me and then chose a rather complex design for his own pumpkin.

Brayden enjoyed playing around in the shade under the tables, helping wherever it was needed.

This is the final result of the afternoon. My pattern was originally a lot more complicated, but rather than carving out Mickey's face, I just gave him a silhouette. I love it! And Craig's mummy was awesome. It took him quite awhile.

The lasagna lunch that Jan had ready for us afterwards was delicious. Holidays really are so much better with family.

5 1/2 Months Pregnant

I've really wanted to take more pregnant pictures, but the times when I feel pretty and we have the camera out are few and far between. Today we have lots of fun plans with family, so I figured I'd take advantage of the chance to capture a picture with just Ella and me. I'm so excited to hold her. Only about 3 1/2 months left to go.

2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving

Our 2nd Annual Pumpkin Carving went off beautifully tonight. Tyler, Tori and Jen joined us for a Taco Soup dinner. When we started carving the pumpkins Jen left for another party. I was really impressed with Craig's speed. He gutted all three of our pumpkins and carved his angry bird and Brayden's Phineas in the time it took Tori and Tyler to finish their pumpkins. While Craig was gutting pumpkins, I was gathering pumpkins seeds to roast for the movie later. By the way, the pumpkin seeds were absolutely delicious!

Charles joined us towards the end of pumpkin carving.

Brayden found his own way to entertain himself while we carved. Hopefully next year he'll be able to actually help out.

At this point, Brayden was supposed to go to a sitter's while we watched "Paranormal Activity II", but they ended up being sick. This is where Craig and I kind of screwed up. We turned on a movie for him in our bedroom, which was fine except that the movie was "Monster House". I had never seen it before and it was a cartoon, so I didn't think it would be that big of a deal. I was wrong. Within thirty minutes or so, Brayden walked out of our room saying it was too scary. Craig and I instantly realized our blunder and turned on "Aladdin" for him. I'll make sure to watch "Monster House" with him later.

Halloween Party

Just is case you were wondering, it is really hard to find a cute Halloween costume when you are 5 1/2 months pregnant. Luckily, Deana had a black dress that fit, so I turned myself into a witch. On the other hand, Craig has wanted to be Batman. He was so excited to find one that looked good. Now all we needed was a party to show our costumes off.

Our friends, Tori and Tyler were kind enough to let us use their home to throw a party. It was a ton of fun. All of my favorite friends were there. We played games, ate delicious snacks and laughed a lot.

At one point, Craig and Charles had a slight identity crisis.

And just in case you were wondering what would happen if Batman went up against the Queen of Hearts, it looks like Batman loses.

Halloween Parade

This morning, my friend, Tori, invited Brayden and I to her sister's school to join in on their Halloween Parade. Brayden loves any excuse to get dressed up in his costume, so we went.

As soon as we got their, Brayden became instant friends with Tori's little brother. They were so cute to watch as they played together. The boys loved watching the kids walk around in their costumes and when Tori's sister finally came around, the boys went with her. I guess that Brayden was fine for a while, but then he lost sight of me and thought we were leaving him. That's when he lost it. Once we met up again, he was distraught. Poor kid!

In an attempt to make it up to him, we went to IHOP for breakfast afterwards. I think the pancake helped cheer him up.

My Birthday Weekend

Wow! I am turning 25-years-old today. That's a quarter of a century. I'm getting old. And the best part is, our car insurance goes down this December because of it. I love saving money!

Well, I've never been very good at celebrating birthdays in only one day. It tends to turn into a weekend affair. So, Friday we threw a party at our place. I originally wanted to have just a few friends over for cake ad ice cream and games, but it kept growing. By the time Friday evening rolled around, I had 14 people (Tori, Tyler, Deana, Charles, Jen, Andi, Calli, Dean, Chelsea, Robin, Blake, Joe, Craig, and I) crowded around two card tables in our front room laughing, eating and playing. I felt so loved. It was so much fun that I completely forgot to take pictures.

Yesterday, Craig took me to see one of my favorite plays at Hale Theatre, "My Fair Lady". Last Christmas Craig bought us season tickets and this was our last show. As always, the play was incredible. Craig had never seen it before and I loved that we have shared that now. After, Craig took me out for a romantic dinner at 7-Eleven. No really! This came from one of our favorite dates from back before we were married. Believe me, it really was great.

Today is my actual birthday. This morning, Craig and I cooked a wonderful breakfast together. Then we headed up to his dad's place for a Happy Birthday, Kelsi and Krystal/Halloween/Thanksgiving/Good-bye, McFadden Family Party.

The party started with the family meeting at a park to play some baseball. They (Craig included) were all on a baseball team together and their league just ended a week ago. Jill doesn't seem quite ready to let go yet. Craig and I are looking forward to joining her team again next April. (By the way, in the picture above, Craig is the one closest to the camera wearing a blue shirt and silver gym shorts.)

After, we headed back to Phil's house for a delicious turkey dinner and lots of socializing with family.

Before the night ended, Sharon took all the kids on a Halloween Scavenger Hunt around the house. It was so cute, but then it was time to say our good-byes. It was hard to give Megan a final hug. They are driving to Texas tomorrow morning and we probably won't see them again until the end of April. At least Megan got to feel Baby Ella kicking before she left.

Happy Birthday to me!

The Girls at Garden Village

Brayden and I were invited to lunch with Sharon, her mother and her three girls at Gardener Village today. Megan also brought her kids along. Once we finished a delicious lunch at Archibald's, we wandered around the different stores looking for the witches.

Whenever I go to Gardener Village I have to stop by Sweet Afton's to sample their fudge and look at the various kinds of candy inside. Sharon's mom was sweet enough to buy each of us a caramel apple and Sharon found glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth for the grandkids. I love caramel apples and these ones were delicious. Brayden loved playing with his new teeth.

This is my favorite picture from the day! Megan is easily one of my favorite people. I'm so glad that she is my sister-in-law.

Here is Brayden posing with his sucker. He's such a cutie! This morning, I was a little worried about how he would handle wandering around the shops since this is the first time I have taken him to a place like this without a stroller. I needn't have worried. He was awesome! I guess he really is growing up.

We both had a really great day! I'm so glad we were invited to tag-along with Sharon's family. I hope we can do this again next year.

Building with Imagination

First, I feel like I should give you some background. I have never been able to build anything without plans to follow. The idea of having these random pieces that can go anywhere is quite intimidating. Call me crazy, but that's how I am.

Today, while I was playing with Brayden, he brought his Trios in the front room. I asked him if he wanted to use the guide book or his imagination. He smiles and replies, "My imagination." I inwardly grimace and then we get to work. I'm really impressed with what came out. If you can't tell, it's a house with a loft and garage. I loved listening to Brayden as he put pieces inside the house labeling them as a couch, a TV, etc. I love watching him use his imagination! And I love how excited he was to show his daddy what we had created.

Blast from the Past

As I was going through our hard drive last weekend, I realized that there were a bunch of files from Craig's old computer at which we've never really looked. That really bothered me. What is the point of saving something if you don't know what it is that you are saving? It might as well have been lost. Today, I made time to correct this problem. Now everything is filed and saved where it belongs so we will be able to find it and enjoy it in the future. In the meantime, I found some fun pictures that I wanted to share. The problem is, I have no idea when these pictures were taken. My guess is sometime in 2006 or shortly before that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Kira's Farewell

First off, we have had a really hard time finding out what Brayden wants to be for Halloween this year. Earlier this week, as we were walking through Harmon's, Brayden spotted an Army costume. He got so excited by it. He said that he could be a soldier just like Aunt Kira. As soon as Craig got home from work, we walked back over and bought it.

Well, today is Kira's last day to really spend with the family before we drop her off. Tomorrow she flies off to Fort Sill, Oklahoma to begin Basic Training. I couldn't help bringing Brayden over in his new costume to get a few pictures with Kira. They look so good!

I couldn't imagine leaving my husband for ten weeks. Travis has been so incredible to support and love her over the past two years that they have been married.

Everyone was pretty emotional, but my mom really seemed to have a hard time holding back tears.

Unfortunately, I was going through some really rough morning sickness today. I would have loved to be more supported and focused on her, but I was struggling today. Kira was so sweet to me. I can't wait to see her again at Christmas.

Kira was great to make sure she got a picture with everyone.

It was fun to have Grandma Furse there. I wonder how many family members she has kissed good-bye as they head off to the military. I know that my Grandpa was a war veteran for both WWII and Vietnam so my Grandma knows what it's like to wait for your soldier to come home.

All too soon it was time for Kira to leave. Most of the family went with to spend some time with her at the hotel, but Baby Ella wasn't cooperating, so we went home. I can't wait to hear from her so I can start sending her letters. Good luck, Kira! We love you.