Trick-Or-Treat

At first glance this may appear to be just a mediocre photo of Morgan and Isaac ready to hit the streets with their empty candy buckets. There is, however, a lot more to this photo than meets the eye. Take a closer look, Ethan (Yoda), is in the background. He wanted to take pictures with his friend, Alena, and was mad when I asked him to come take pictures with his siblings. So, in true 2-year-old form he refused to join the photo and ran away. This is why you see him in the background--looking straight at me with his menacing "I dare you to come after me" face. Morgan, you may notice isn't smiling. This is not because I forgot to say, "cheese" before flashing away. No, she refused to smile for any of the photos. She claimed to be too upset to smile. Why you ask? She was mad at me for telling her she'd have to come in early from trick-or-treating because she didn't get her homework done after school (she quietly slipped out the door to play when I wasn't looking, then later claimed she didn't sneak out, she just forgot she had homework to do). So, with the above mentioned factors working against me this picture is the closest thing I got to a photo of all three kids together in their costumes. Ah, the joys of holiday photo ops with children...especially children who are already hopped up on too much candy and too little sleep...and we look forward to this holiday!?! Thank goodness they look so cute in their costumes, it makes it worthwhile (I think).

The neighborhood gang...all ready to head out for CANDY!

Ready for Halloween

My super safe candy hiding spot over the refrigerator is no longer safe. I find this especially comical given that this cabinet has been inaccessible to Isaac and Morgan for years, but along comes Ethan and all the rules change. He can climb up anything. He really has no fear!

Our pumpkins turned out great (if I do say so myself). We've kept them inside so the squirrels don't enjoy them for lunch--they love the carved pumpkins. The kids are excited to get them outside tonight (okay, and Brent and I are pretty excited to get them outside too...we both love Halloween).

Velma and Shaggy Out on the Town

The whole Mystery Inc. gang...Daphne (Heather Sterling), Fred (Dave Sterling), Velma (me) and Shaggy (Brent)

Yesterday's Photos

Star Wars Obsession

Two weeks ago Brent stumbled upon Star Wars Episode 3 on TV. Isaac, who'd never seen a Star Wars movie, had already decided to be Darth Vader for Halloween and Ethan had agreed to be Yoda. So naturally we thought the boys would get a kick out of watching the show. Little did we know this would ignite a Star Wars marathon during which our family would watch four of the six movies (thanks to our neighbors next door who let us borrow the original trilogy). Ethan now asks to watch Star Wars as often as he asks to watch Caillou. Brent has been recruited to play the part of Luke Skywalker for Halloween. Morgan, much to Isaac's disappointment, has NOT been convinced to abandon her witch costume for Princess Leia (although I think she would have crossed-over if she hadn't already planned to do matching witches with her friend). As Brent and I were reminiscing about Star Wars in our youth, I made the connection that I was Princess Leia in kindergarten(my favorite costume of all time) . Now, my own son, a kindergartener, is going as Darth Vader. Who would have guessed that Star Wars would retain it's popularity 30 years later?!?

Cute Quotes

Morgan: "Those little trolls really are good luck." I smile. "Really mom, it says 'Good Luck Troll' on the package I bought from the book fair. I had the best day ever at gymnastics. Coach Kelly told me I did the best beam routine she's ever seen me do!"

Isaac: While watching Return of the Jedi "Mom, just tell me, does Luke Skywalker die?". "No" I say. "What about Darth Vader and the Emperor?" "Do you really want me to tell you?" I ask. "Um, no, don't tell me". ...he's going to be Darth Vader for Halloween.

Ethan: "I love you home mom! I love you home mommy! I love you home!" Said many times a day along with a great big hug upon my return from being out of town for the weekend. His other latest is "FAVORITE". Everything is said with an emphatic, "That's my favorite!" For instance, "Ethan, do you want peanut butter for lunch?", "Peanut Butter is my FAVORITE". "Do you want to wear your baseball jammies?", "Baseball jammies are my favorite!" Ahhh, you gotta love 2-year olds!