Happy Halloween 2010

Spooky? No. Sparkly? No. Mouth watering and finger lickin' good? YES! Have you ever seen such delectable grilling treats? Happy Halloween from our Hamburger and Hotdog!

This was a fun year...the boys are finally figuring out Halloween and I'm pretty sure it ranks as their favorite holiday. I mean really, all they know is that it is a holiday where they are encouraged to go out and collect candy and then be allowed to eat it (not all at once of course, I'm not that crazy).

The festivities actually started last Saturday with a party at Chloe's house. Blake chose to be a pirate again for the party and Luke donned the monkey costume of Halloween's past...though it was a tad bit snug (I seem to forget that he is a little bit bigger than B was at this age).

On Friday, the boys had trick or treating and parties at school. It was fun to go to their school and be a part of their parties. It was also the first time we got to meet some of their new friends' parents.

And finally tonight, the boys broke out their new costumes. Luke was going to be the monkey again, until Mama struck gold at Target this afternoon and found a 30% off 6-12 month hotdog bunting costume. We had a great time tonight and it was fun to see so many neighborhood kids out! Now, how to get two kids jacked up on sugar to bed....

Fast cars...

We had an interesting conversation in the car today. We are all in the car together A LOT. Usually to and from school/work which translates to rush hour traffic and not our best driving attitudes. :) Today as we were getting around some slow pokes on the freeway Blake piped in from the backseat "we need a race car to get around these slow cars so we can go fast." Then as any 4 year old would do he asked "why do we?" Touche.

Life as we know it...

is most often filled with the sounds of little voices and laughter these days. The boys have been reminding us how lucky we are over and over again lately. It's so hard to put into words (and remember) all the special moments we experience nearly every day. What I will have no problem remembering for many years to come is the sight of their precious smiles. We are doing our best to try and have as much fun as we can every day (or weekend) and we have actually had a Fall this year! It's been so nice to have a few extra weekends to be outside as we are usually hearing about snow in the forecast this time of year. :( We went to a playground yesterday and had fun letting Blake take some pictures...not too bad I must say. He must have a little Aunt Jill in him. :):

It's been a while since I wrote a few things about each boy...

My Blake - I love that you love it when I wear "easy pants" just like you. I love that sometimes when I ask you what you have said you say "I was talking to myself." I love that your teachers say you are a really good friend. I love that you love every kind of fruit, even if it means you won't touch red meat. I love that you love to lay by me in bed when I read my book so you can hold my bookmark (a magazine subscription card from a parents mag) because the two little girls pictured on it are "cute." I love watching you and Luke play hide and seek together and seeing you take him by the hand to help him find us. I love that you call the toy aisles in Target "islands." I love that you will sometimes say a bad word (like stupid or poop) and then ask me if it was an "ax-i-dent?" I love that you are such a bright, happy, good hearted, silly, imaginative little 4 year old. You are my sunshine and brighten each and every day.

My Luke - I love that you do a "somersault" (aka rolling like a log on the floor) and then get so excited and say "I did it!" I love that you wake up singing. I love that you sleep like a champ and actually wake up in your own bed. I love that you asked me for a solid week "all done running Mom?" after you saw me run in a race last weekend. I love that you make me read Big Red Barn to you twice every night just because we have 2 separate books of it. I love how you told me "I just can't remember" when I asked you to name something that was the color red one night. I love how you whisper when you get shy. I love that your jump and hop have finally gotten some air under them! I love that you can't keep from grinning when I mention your teachers...Ms. Sarah, Ms. Jamie and Ms. Erin. I love that you are such a good eater and will try most things. And I love that you are such a talkative, funny, energetic, spirited, cheerful, good mannered little 2 year old. You are the twinkle in my eye.

Hollywood! Blake will forever be known to us as that...when he was about 1 he wore some sunglasses on a walk and a man called him "hollywood" and it just stuck!

This kid loves to swing. I mean LOVES to swing. Luckily this playground has a castle and bouncy horses or else we would probably still be there swinging...a day later.

Horsey rides...our backs were getting tired so Blake was so sweet to offer to take Luke for a ride.

Finally a smile!

Showing off his new haircut...I feel like he aged about 5 years with the new cut.

the photographer's self portrait!

We will call this one..."view from the backseat"

I love this one - Luke through Blake's eyes.

Daddy and his boys

Mama and her wiggly boys!

Blake took this one...pretty good!

and this one...I love the abstract angle he used. :)

Tough Guys Wear Purple

Monday was a big day for my little Louie. He had to go to Children's West and get his ear tubes removed and some bloodwork done. The process was basically the same as getting them put in so he was only put under for 15 minutes tops. We are very hopeful and optimistic that this puts an end to his staph infection once and for all. Luke was such a little doll and was so happy and agreeable for the entire day. He only cried one time and that was in recovery when the nurse was taking out the needle from his IV and trying to put a bandaid on...he was saying "no bandaid." But as soon as Mama was there he was fine. Luke was not too thrilled to wear purple scrubs/pj's. He kept telling me "I not wear them, no like it." I think it was the color. :)

Orchard Trip 2010

This weekend we made our second annual trip to the Fall Harvest Orchard in Delano with some of our Step by Step friends. We had a super fun day with Jonny, Devon, Rylee and Abby! We pet the animals, picked apples and went on the wagon ride. Blake and Luke also helped Mommy pick out some pumpkins for our porch. Luke tried so hard to lift some, but they were "too heavy Mommy"!!

The Hadi Shrine Circus

Who knew 20 plus years later I would be sitting at a Hadi Shrine Circus with my son??? I was so happy that I got to go on my first "field trip" as a Mom last week! Now some of you might wonder why someone who has never found clowns and the smell of elephants particularly interesting would be so excited. Well, it's because of how neat it is to see something from a 4 year olds point of view. I remember going to the circus as a kid like it was yesterday...especially the year my parents told us we were going out for ice cream and after a longer than normal drive we ended up in Evansville at the circus! And I will never forget the year that my dear sweet sisters invited a clown to the upper level just to say hello to me. :) But more than anything, I remember how cool all those acts are! Even today as an adult it is amazing to me some of the talents these people possess. Or should I say amazing lack of fear they possess! Anyway, Blake literally sat on the edge of his seat the whole time and barely made a peep. He said the elephants were his favorite, but there was a really cool motorcycle act, a puppy dressed up as a toy elephant and some ponies that really got his attention too. Thank goodness his school had a rule that you can't buy anything while you are there (since not everyone's mom and dad are there) or else we probably would have spent $50 on light up swords. Whatever happened to the plain old glow stick??

Hail the Turkey Leg

Another year, another trip to the Renaissance Festival. No turkey legs for us, but it's kind of the "cheese curd" of the Renaissance Festival! We just love this festival. Where else can you go and see a tortoise pulling a wagon or see people walking around at 9 in the morning drinking mead from a medieval goblet wearing a Robin Hood-esque costume? We went with the Lamothe's including Grandpa Leonard and had such a lovely time. It was a crisp, but beautiful sunny day. The kids enjoyed making wands, riding an elephant (no Luke...he refused), riding rides (butterfly swings and the Piccolo Pony), petting snakes (don't worry I made myself scarce during that part), watching a jousting event, watching a magic show and riding a pony. Oh wait, Luke refused to ride a pony and Blake freaked out when the pony shook it's mane and had to get off. We almost got out of the place without a souvenir BUT near the exit there was a sword shop and 2 wooden swords, 2 leather sword holders and 1 wooden shield later...