Happy Halloween!!

Halloween has finally come and gone (almost technically we still have four hours left today). Today has been the day we have told the kids for months "after Halloween we will move". Now they realize its close. For the first time, Jacob said today "I want to stay here longer". It did not help that Ian put an ad on Craigslist for his fish and a guy came and took all but two of them. Nathan was in tears. Thankfully trick or treating perked him up. Change is never easy but I think they will adapt quickly. Nathan does not remember moving at all last time so I think he is going to be quite weirded out by people coming in and boxing up our life and taking it away. We just keep telling them we get to go on the best road trip with hotels with pools. So far they are excited.

We had a busy day of purging, giving away and organizing. We only have one more Saturday until the movers come. Yikes! We hope to have everything organized and out of the attic by the end of next Saturday. I think we will accomplish it. Ian being on days FINALLY should help.

Here are some pictures from the past couple of days. There are quite a few so bare with me.

This first set is from a little Halloween party a friend of ours from church had for the preschool aged kiddos. Nathan had a blast and Owen kept me running trying to escape.

Nathan and Grant

Nathan showing off his spider he made

Playing "pumpkin pumpkin GHOST!" (duck duck goose)

Wrapping the "mommy mummy"

This next set is of Jacob's party. It was pouring rain so they had their "parade" inside and then had a school wide (1st and 2nd grade) sing along in the gym before going back to their class and waiting parents for their Halloween party. Jacob did not think I was coming and even came in and did not notice me until I said "WOW look at that Anakin Sywalker!" He was so happy I was there and ran and gave me a huge hug. It felt great to make his day. We were lucky Ian was home to go get Nathan from school and keep Owen.



Helping Jake unwrap the mummy. It was cute a mom made it with toys wrapped so the kids got to unwrap him until a toy fell out.

Showing off his scarey eye balls he got from unwrapping the mummy


Self portrait. Looking lovely that day since I had been drenched with rain getting from the parking to his class...

Jacob and his WONDERFUL teacher Mrs. Peterson. I LOVE her!

LAST Set! Trick or Treating tonight. It was cold about 40 degrees but with the wind "felt like 36". Lets just say Nathan had jeans on under his jeans and I believe four shirts if you count his costume shirt and he still wanted to come home early. Our neighborhood was fairly quiet but they had a lot of fun.






They boys really wanted nothing to do with pictures. But of course mean mom forced them. Nathan LOVES his BLUE teeth. I told him now his teeth match his eyes. He just thought that was great. Owen was a cute pumpkin so thank you to Valerie for sharing Kayden's old costume. Owen enjoyed chewing on the tip of a sucker for quite a while before I think the cold just got to him. All in all a good day. We look forward to next year, trick or treating with the De Leon's again and hopefully 70 degree weather!

My Clowns

When I was little, for my first Halloween at 11 months I was a clown. My mom made the cutest costume. When Jacob was a baby for his first Halloween I thought it would be fun to dress him as a clown as well. I packed up the costume and when it was Nathan's turn for his first Halloween he, too, wore the costume. So, it is only fitting that Owen have his turn. I have a couple of costumes that have been passed to me and so I think he will be wearing a couple different ones this year (Jacob and Nathan have it all planned out). Yesterday I took Nathan and Owen to a little Halloween party that friends from church had for the preschool aged kids. Nathan decided that yesterday was the day for Owen to be a clown. So here are some pictures of all my clowns on their first Halloweens!

Jacob's First Halloween - October 2003 (8 months)
Yes this IS Jacob NOT Owen!





Nathan's first Halloween, October 2005 (9 1/2 months and yes he was walking already)






And last but not least Owen's first Halloween! October 2009 (11 months)
I just realized in uploading these pictures that Ian was either gone or had duty for both Jacob and Nathan's first Halloween's. Lucky Owen gets to have daddy home this year and be in some pictures!





You all can judge for yourselves but I am amazed sometimes at how much Jacob and Owen look alike. Stay tuned for the rest of the Halloween picture festivities. Both Jacob and Nathan have their school parties today and then of course, trick or treating tomorrow!

Last update post! (until Halloween pictures start coming!) This was a couple of days ago. Our friend Paige was raking her leaves and told me to come over for a photo op. It was right when Jacob was getting home on the bus so when he got home his friend Tyler and his older brother joined in and the boys raked the leaves for her. That would NEVER happen if it was in our yard! They had a blast and quickly ran out of bag to put them in. Owen was a muddy mess but loved every minute of it.

If you give your children the camera.....

You might get pictures like these. Jacob LOVES taking pictures and I have to see a couple of these are pretty darn good. I had to crop a few kind of strangely due to naked body parts but they are still cute enough to share even if they are a bit grainy from being condensed so much. Every one of these were taken by Jacob.





He of course wanted to take one of me..ugh. Here I am in all my glory, covered with food from Owen and folding/putting away their laundry. Such an exciting life!


This picture is very special to him because he has never really cared about coloring/drawing but peer pressure has changed that a lot this year. He worked very hard on this picture and then hung it above his bed.

I think this is one of my favorites. I know you can really only see Nathan's eye but it is too cute to me the two of them trying to get into the shot.

Jacob's First Grade School Picture

I think it turned out really cute. Although I think he is adorable even if I am biased. Of course there is an annoying glare on his glasses but what can you do? He is getting so big. I told him I bet next year for his 2nd grade picture he won't have any front teeth just like I did. He thought that idea was great. They are both loose so it is just a matter of time!

Nathan's Preschool Class and "The Pumpkin Story"

I just had to share this "story" with you all. First I have to sing Nathan's praises. I got home from work and Ian told me when he dropped N off at school they asked when his last day would be because they have things for him and they want to make sure it is all ready. They went on and on telling Ian how wonderful Nathan is. How he is such an asset to the class. That he is the first one to try to help the other children, especially the quiet ones that are in their shells. He said they just could not stop saying how much they love him. We run into Ms. Kathy a bit (last year's teacher) and she still sings him praises. Nathan was SO excited last week when she substituted for his teacher when she had to be out. We have been so blessed with this preschool and with the Village of Glenview's Youth Center which granted us part of the tuition for him to go. SO blessed.

So now to my story. First, last week in class the kids read a story about a skeleton who had the hiccups and I guess how he got rid of them. So each child made a skeleton using qtips as the bones. Very cute! Well they are on the big board by their door and each one has a little message saying how their skeleton got rid of its hiccups and what does my child's say? something to the tune of "he punched himself in the face"? Seriously?

So onto this story. I will let you read it for yourself as I scanned in the page the teachers gave us. They used Mr. Potato Head objects to decorate the pumpkin and then went around the class to tell a story each child giving a sentence or in Nathan's case two.....he is so strange? Then you have to love the picture of the kids none of them looking really at the camera. Just cracked me up! Oh, and the little girl in the black and white striped shirt? That is Kamilla, who Nathan proclaims he is going to "grow up, get married and kiss her because "duh mom" that is what married people do" (I guess this is the example Ian and I have given him. I think it could be a lot worse!?)

If you click on the picture it should get plenty big enough for you to read the "story".

We won't be homeless! (for too long)

We got a call yesterday for an offer of a house in San Diego military housing. (The picture above is of the front. It is a duplex. People are still living there so excuse their mess...) It is in the area we most wanted and a four bedroom 2 1/2 bath which when you have lived squeezed into a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath with three boys for a year that sounds like heaven! I am SO excited to have a designated "toy room" and not have the "toy room" in my living space (except for Owen...I guess we will let him have a few to play with until he is old enough to go up and play with his brothers). Oh and did I mention the BACK YARD. The FENCED ONE? Yes I can let the boys and the dog outside and not have to worry about them roaming off. Although, it is a mess. Ian's green thumb is going to have to kick into overdrive on this one. It is not as big as Ian was hoping for but it will do and its WAY better than what we have had for the past three years which is no fence! It does already have a garden it looks like though by the back patio. Ian is already dreaming up things to grow.
Here is a picture of it. My friend Valerie went through brush and got attacked by cactus to take the pictures for us. I love her!


The house won't be ready for a good week after we arrive so we will have to hold up in some sort of temporary lodging. Most likely an extended stay. I am hoping to get a military rate and we should get reimbursed for at least part of the lodging/food expense. Luckily schools are out that entire week of Thanksgiving so it looks as though Jacob will only miss the four days here and technically that is it! What a blessing. I am hoping we can drop him at school on the 30th and by the time he gets out be able to take him home to his new home. I am so leering of the school. I know its not nearly as good as his here but there is nothing I can do about it. I really would like to put him out into town more and they do have a choice option that I can but they have application periods and obviously for this year it is closed. If I end up being truly unhappy I can put in the application for both Jacob and Nathan next year. I can't believe Nathan will be in kindergarten next year!


We are blessed to be moving just about a mile away from our wonderful friends the De Leon Family. I don't know how we have been lucky enough to again have orders near them but it is such a constant and sense of security that even if we don't see each other all the time that if there is a need each other is there. I am so grateful for this. Just recently Valerie told me she talked to a mother of a girl in her daughter's kindergarten class and somehow it came about that this family was LDS and so Valerie told us about her. She said the lady was so excited to hear we are coming and that the ward and we will love it. I sure hope so. I am going to miss people here so much. On the 8th Ian and I both have to give talks during the "service". I sat and wrote out mine the other night and just writing it was crying. I am going to be a puddle of tears standing in front of so many people who have meant so much to us here and saying goodbye. The last Sunday we are here the children put on the service. Jacob is giving a little mini talk and Nathan is reciting a poem with his class. It is one of my favorite Sundays of the year to hear the children sing and listen to their words and feel their sweet spirits. Again, I will be a puddle for sure.

So, that is the update for now. Now we have our preinspection next week which I am a bit scared of. We are supposedly getting our move money on Monday. I am praying that comes and one less stress to worry about. Then just to hear when the packers and movers come will be nice. It is going to be a crazy couple of weeks trying to do Vet appointments, Dentist appointments, finish purging and organizing etc etc. I am so thankful I don't have to pack!!