Sugar Sugar....

I am so exhausted. We had an extremely busy week chock-full of all things Halloween! I am seriously in a 'fun-sized-candy-bar' induced coma. Let's just say that the 7:00am alarm this morning came WAY too early. I had a love/hate relationship with my snooze button this morning. I'll spare you all the details of the week, but just know that there were a few too many parties, and WAY too much candy involved. I think my kids will be on a sugar high til next Thursday.

The cast of Super Mario Brothers!

Jack as Luigi - Olivia as Princess Peach - KJ as Mario

no re-takes this year...

When I try to take pictures of my kids....I usually get something like this:

Where they are not paying attention.

And sometimes something like this:

Where they are trying to be silly.

When what I usually really want is something in between the two!

So when Jack and KJ had school pictures last month, I was a little bit worried that they would sport their infamous 'cheesy' smiles. Well, we got the pictures back last week and I was pleasantly surprised! They actually turned out just fine! Pheww...no re-takes this year! Yay for OTHER people taking my kids' pics!

Jack - Kindergarten

Keaton - 2nd Grade

So Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles....look for these to be arriving in your mailboxes soon!

Fall has found us....

The Fall weather has officially hit Colorado Springs, and I'm not sure what to think about it. My favorite season of all is Summer, by a long shot! I am so sad to say good-bye to it. We are back to wearing shoes and socks, bundling up with warmer blankets on our beds, undershirts and jackets in the morning, shorter days, leaves in the yard, and no more outside swimming. But....along with the Fall and Winter comes the Holidays and I LOVE Holidays! Our house has been decorated with all things scary for about a month now, the kids have all their costumes ready to go, we've made a new playlist of Spooky music, and we're sipping on lots of hot Apple Cider! I'm a little bit nervous to experience winter in Colorado, it's all new to me! But I'm told it's not much different than Bend and we get lots and lots of sunshine here(over 300 days a year), so that's good!

Now...on to a HAPPY note:

My parents and my 'little' brother Jess came to visit this past weekend! They were all actually in Chicago for the week and had a long, extended layover in Denver and so we were lucky enough to snatch them up for the weekend. It's always a great time when they come. And of course, it always slips by much too fast. We were able to make it to the pumpkin patch and we also went on a little hike. The mountains here are right at our fingertips and there are so many beautiful places to explore! Here are some shots of our weekend with them-

And of course, we had to share our love of this 'real' BBQ joint with our family. Mmm...Mmm...finger lickin' good!

Then....

Now....

So much has changed. Jack was barely one and just learned how to walk in the first picture and now he's running around like a monkey all day! One thing that has stayed the same is that I love those 3 boys like crazy!

Since we have swimming lessons Monday nights, we have been doing FHE on Tuesdays...so tonight was the perfect night to carve our pumpkins! It's always a stinky, gooey, messy, fun time! The end result is unique jack-o-lanterns and delicious pumpkin seeds!

Have a Spooky good week everyone!

A little bit of this...a little bit of that

I've been waiting and waiting for something big and exciting to happen in our lives so that I could make a great post....but alas, our lives have been completely 'normal' lately now that we are in school. Today someone asked me what my hobbies were, and I had to think about it....I don't know! (except for the little bit of time I squeeze in for playing my piano) Isn't that sad? I guess I don't really have time for hobbies, my family is my hobby. Does that count?? I will have all the time in the world for hobbies once the kids leave, right?!? I think my mom would have to disagree as she assures me that life really never slows down!

I'll do a quick run-down of our week (besides school and church stuff):

KJ has swimming 2x a week, running, & cub scouts, Jack has swimming lessons 2x a week, therapy & play group Friday's after school, and Olivia has Tap and Ballet lessons, and play group on Wednesday mornings. Between swimming, my morning exercise classes, and ballet and tap....I think we should ask the athletic club if we can just add bunk-beds in the locker rooms for the Howard clan. It would save a lot of time in the car that's for sure!

Do I really have time for hobbies?? I barely have time to keep my toenails painted!

My little prima-ballerina!

2nd place in this race! He didn't get his running skills from me!

But I guess something BIG did happen this past weekend....it was the 10 year Anniversary of Dan and I meeting! Holy Cow...time flies! (nancy...do you remember that weekend?) And to think of all that has happened since then.

This is the car ride and dinner that started it all.

(left to right- my uncle Jim & Aunt Sherene, ME, David, Tawni, DAN, dan's best friend, my pops and nana Ball)

He's just so cute!

I also got a fabulous package in the mail this past week.....my BLOG in Book form!! All 193 pages of it! It will be a great piece of our family history. It was so much fun reading thru all the posts over the past 2 years. And to tell you the truth, my favorite posts were the regular, every day type of posts. Those are the times I would have most likely forgotten about, and I'm so glad that I have a book that documents some of those little moments that so easily slip out of my mind.

So here's to the next two years of blogging! Let's see what time will gift us with!

Scouts and Birthdays

Well, I officially have a cub scout! Am I getting old or what? KJ had his first pack meeting and was so excited to be introduced to the pack and was awarded some of his first patches!! He was so excited. And I was also called up to have KJ put a pin on me. I have quickly learned why the mother also earns a pin....having a scout is a lot of work! I did find some great fabric glue so that I can glue the patches on instead of sewing them! I like to make life easier one little thing at a time! Is there a 'cutting corners' patch?

There is a new patch you can earn that came out this year.....video game patch. Are you kidding me? What is this world coming to??!!

Here are some of the cub scouts! KJ has a great time with all of these boys!

Here he is getting his new patches!

Getting my pin!

I did have to embarrass him just a tad, I gave him a little pat on his rear! He just blushed! It's so easy to make him turn red at this age :)

And last, but certainly not least....Today was my beautiful MOM's birthday!!! Happy Birthday mom! You have taught me more about life and love than anyone else ever has or ever will. I am so blessed to have you as my mom, but also as my best friend. I hope you had a fabulous day. Love you as BIG as the beach!

Make a wish!

This is the 2nd Birthday of my Blog (or blogiversary)! I was trying to think of something really deep and moving to write, but....nothing came! These early morning school days drain my brain! Or maybe it's the fact that I'm addicted to the Bravo TV channel that keeps me up MUCH too late at night. Two years later I'm wondering if anyone even reads this blog still?! I'm feeling a bit lazy when it comes to blogging, but maybe I'll get my 2nd wind now! So, thank you if you do read, I guess it makes it all worth it!

Two Lovebirds....

It is definitely wedding season....especially for my family! My closet is beginning to be a real life '27 dresses'! Both of my little sisters have gotten 'hitched' this year! I am about a month late for this post, but better late than never right?!? Coley and Jason were married in August and it was absolutely STUNNING!!! The colors, the ceremony, the location, the company....everything was just perfect! The reception was so much fun. They had dancing, snowcone machines, cotton candy machines, a candy bar, corn dogs and french fries, watermelon, sodas, and cupcakes! For my kids it was almost heaven on earth! It was so much fun to see so much family who traveled from so far, but the best part was that I got a brand new brother-in-law! Congratulations to Coley and Jason....two Lovebirds! We LOVE you guys!

Jack is a 'whole hand old' now!

Our little Jack right after he was born!

KJ couldn't wait to be a big brother!

Our little firecracker Jack turned 5 years old today!!! There is no other 5 year old boy in the whole world that could fill my heart as much as this little guy does. He is the cheese to my macaroni! We are so thankful that he is part of our family...he keeps us all laughing and keeps us all on our toes! Anyone who knows Jack, knows what a fun and special little guy he is. The thing I hear the most from family and friends who live far away is how much they miss little Jack Jack. He really has a great spirit about him and people just seem to be drawn to him and his energetic, bubbly personality. He has come a long way in his short 5 years and has had to overcome some tough stuff, but he is the strongest little boy I know. I hope he knows how much his dad, sister, brother and I love him.

Happy 5th Birthday Jack!

For his breakfast in bed he was very specific on what he wanted! Sausage links, egg with runny yolk, blueberries and strawberries! We had to get up bright and early for breakfast in bed since we had to make it to school on time!

Here we are leaving for school showing me that he is a 'whole hand old' now!

We got to surprise him at school and bring balloons and treats to class! He was so excited! Isn't he just the cutest??!?

For his birthday dinner he chose Red Robin...his favorite! I don't know if he really likes the food, he just likes that he gets a balloon when we leave. And tonight he was glad that the waiters sang to him and gave him an ice-cream sundae with a cherry on top! He LOVES cherries!

It's present time!

He's been wanting this bumble bee pillow pet for months now!

Here's the traditional picture with all his loot! I think he made out pretty good!

Make a wish!!

A great ending to a great day! This weekend we will have his little party. And the best present of all is that his Aunt and Uncle will be moving in to our house for a month or two!!! We are all so excited! They should be here in about an hour....YAY!!!

Sleep Tight my little birthday boy!