My Trick or Treaters

Long time, no blog. I have been using all my spare time making costumes! Hopefully I will be able to share pumpkin carving and Grandfather Mountain pictures later this week. We have out of state guests coming in and out for the next couple weeks though, so we will see.

Onto Halloween.



I thought he wouldn't make it a block in this costume, but he was a trooper! He kept up with everyone. He loves his robot costume. When I was making it he kept coming in the garage as I added each element and saying, "Oh! Sanka you, mama!"


What? Haven't you ever seen a pirate in Crocs before? That was this pirates footwear of choice. :)


My best friend's dad made Sophie this harp to complete her costume. She loves it so much. He sent it all the way from California for her. Thanks Phil!



And her wings!






We start trick or treating at dusk here since it doesn't get dark until about 7 before daylight savings. Our cul-du-sac all sits up at the corner together, so this is where the kids started their adventure.











The kids were cold and ready to head home by 8. We warmed up by the fire and then decided we would head to the airport with Kevin's dad and brother to surprise Babushka (Kevin's mom). She was flying in just after 9 and didn't think she would be seeing us until the next day. She was so surprised and the kids made many weary travelers' day. They were like little celebrities and I couldn't believe how many people wanted to take their pictures. It was fun to put a smile on so many faces. The kids ended up talking to a young female pilot who they were convinced was dressed as a "policia." She thought that was great!


The pirate, the ladybug, and the robot all slept on the way to the airport.


This just made me laugh so I took a picture. It is not every day you see a man walking with a pirate on one arm and a robot on the other through an airport parking garage.

Greeting Babushka as she steeped off the escalator:

New Title Picture

This was taken a couple weeks ago when we drove up to Grandfather Mountain. What a change from our picture a year ago!


2007


2008

We are looking a little washed out, but this is about as good as it gets when you ask a stranger to take a picture of a family of 6 and their dog. :)

Life is Happening

I wanted to post a quick note to say that we are doing great, but are incredibly busy. I have so many calls to make, notes to write, emails to send, and projects going on around here that I haven't taken the time to blog in a while. I will try to update soon.

Last week my sweet Sophia went to the dentist to get her bottom row of teeth fixed. She had two white fillings put in her decaying permanent molars, two crowns put on two molars that she will have for a few more years, and two rotted baby teeth pulled. Poor thing! She still has to go back two more times to get the top done. Thankfully she won't have to get any more teeth "wiggled out." That might have been more traumatic for me than it was for her. I pretty much passed out. Imagine my horror as I was trying to comfort the recovering Sophia who just finished getting her teeth pulled and the hygienist had to take care of me instead of her. I won't go into detail but it ended with Kevin coming from work to get us. :( I do have to go back with Lily to get a tooth wiggled out and she is not as tough as Sophie is. God help us. The boys both have cavities to fill, but thankfully that is all. We have another appointment for shots this week. Our poor children probably think all we do here in America is poke and pull at them! Bless their hearts.

On a happy note their English is coming along beautifully! One of these days I will try to get my act together and post some video of them talking. Until then, I am off to do laundry, clean the kitchen, mop the floors, and all that good stuff!

Caramel Apple Time

When I got my braces off I think a caramel apple was the first thing I ate. Taking the whole family to Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory just didn't seem as fun as making them though, so we introduced the kids to caramel apples by dipping some! They had so much fun making them and they gobbled the whole things right up! Anyone who has ever seen an eastern European child eat an apple will tell you what I mean. They literally eat the whole thing!

Peeling the wrappers off the caramels.


Keaton hoping one will drop. He strategically placed himself at the feet of Sophie and Tate even though Julian and Lily were at the little table. That dog is no dummy!


Who says the youngest is never first?




Right as I snapped this picture Julian pretended to eat a bite. I think it is funny that the picture came out just that way.




Lily high-fives Uncle Kevin after she helps him out with his apple. Have I mentioned that my BIL's name is also Kevin? We like to keep it simple around here. My brother is also named Noah Kevin, after my dad's brother who is my Uncle Kevin. What can we say? We like our Kevins. :)







The fruits of their labor. (Oh, the cheesy pun was so intentional.) Sometimes I sit back and listen to the way they giggle and squeal at the life's simple pleasures (the love of a family, running in the rain, a cookie fresh from the oven) and I wonder what they were doing last year at this time and why they have adjusted so easily. I just know when I look into their eyes and see those teethy grins that this was the way that God intended it to be and that is why it comes so naturally to all six of us!

Cutest Pumpkins in the Patch

On Saturday we were going to visit Grandfather Mountain with my sister and brother-in-law but we realized we wouldn't all fit in my car. We have talked about how our next car should have seating for 8. Because of the gas shortage and length of the trip we decided against taking two cars and opted for lunch at Dean & Deluca and a trip to a nearby farm instead. It was a really warm day and I changed Tate out of his long sleeves at the last minute which put the kids in matching outfits.

We skipped the hay ride, tour of the farm, and petting zoo. We didn't get our pumpkins there either. We will probably visit another farm with a corn maze or something fun like that later in the month.

Baking Banana Bread

Maybe I should call this one, "Look We're Baking and No One is Sitting on the Island!" ;)

A couple Friday nights ago we had no plans. My sister's flight was supposed to come in that evening but her first flight was so delayed that she missed her second flight and had to spend the night in Vegas. :( We had several over-ripe bananas (a rare occasion with my four monkeys in the house) and so I decided we would make banana bread. The kids loved squishing the bananas with their forks!




I taught them to play Candyland while the bread baked and they kept saying, "Smells goo-ed!" It did. This was one of our first cool days. It really felt like autumn. We have had several warm ones since then though.

We used this recipe. I had used it before and it is really good! Be sure to half it if you do not want banana bread coming out of your ears though! We didn't this time and we ended up with 2 big loaves and 4 mini loaves.

We delivered the four minis to our neighbors the next morning.

Falling for fall!

Autumn is my favorite season. I especially love it now that we live on the east coast. I love the colors of fall, the decorations, and the smells! Pumpkin, apple, and cinnamon are three of my favorites! Fall is such a nice time for baking. I enjoy making dinner so much more when it doesn't overheat the house the way it does in the summer.

The kids are loving it too! The next several posts will be little snippets of the fall activities we have done and the memories we have made so far.

Here is a whimsical blog that I like to check out at the holidays for decorating inspiration. This lady has such sweet decorating ideas and is a real inspiration for making a house a home for your family. Warm Pie, Happy Home

Happy fall, y'all!