Month: October 2013

What a Halloween night – rain, rain, rain. All the neighbors got together for pizza and a picture beforehand. The pizza part went great. The group picture part did not.

Then we set out to trick or treat in the rain. Alex and I brought umbrellas and for the first 30 minutes there was just a slight drizzle. Then it began to pour! We raced to make one last stop at our neighbor’s and then we ran home.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the night. Riley and Alex look so sad and the picture is actually taken as we just started the candy gathering.

We had a quick outing to the zoo with the Strouds today. The zoo was almost completely empty of people so the boys got to run and play to their hearts’ content.

I rarely take pictures of animals, but I have never seen so many bears out and they are never active. Today they were actually putting on a show.

Alex woke up from his nap with a plan – football. He was going to be the “yellow jackets” and Teague would be the “green jackets.” I was impressed that Teague grasped the game at all. There was a lot of running, some tackling, and lots of laughs.

Teague has recently learned all of his shapes and was so excited when Daddy showed him how to make them with his fingers. He constantly walks around making “triangle” and “diamond”.

The latest favorite game in our house? Camping out.

Today we had our ninth annual pumpkin carving party. This is the first year I had the house clean and 75% of the food done by Friday evening. It made prepping on Saturday much more relaxed! I switched the food up this year and went with less sweets, but more meat items and treats. We definitely had fewer left overs – of course the kids are also a year older and theoretically eating more..

Most of the kids were too busy playing to carve pumpkins, but the adults enjoyed the carving! We also and games this year – Wade built a few and a neighbor gave us a ghost piñata. We turned on Bobby to welcome everyone and the kids stayed outside playing with him for quite a while.

We tried for several group photos this year – a kids only, an everyone, and a silly group shot.

Wade’s work always puts on a Halloween party for the kids. Today’s party was the best yet! In addition to tick-or-treating, crafts, games, and food, there was a bouncy house! Then there was a costume contest. The Robots came in second (Alex still thinks he was first) and the prize was a race track.

I kind of love library days. The boys woke up from their naps and just wanted to read their new books with a little popcorn.

Wade has wanted to take Alex rock climbing for almost a year. There is an indoor facility near his work and he asked for passes last year for Christmas – which he got. Then a friend from work heard about it and wanted to go. Wade and his friend have been going during lunch a few times a week for months. At some point Wade mentioned the adventure to Alex and we’ve heard nothing else since. Tonight we finally went and Alex loved it. By the end of the evening he was almost climbing to the top. This definitely makes me want to get my gear out of the basement and join them. Maybe next time!

I am fairly organized and usually very good with what activities (especially kid-related) are happening on which day. I messed up big time when it came to Alex’s school picture day. I had it on my calendar but didn’t even look at the calendar before we left for school. We get to the playground and I saw a few kids in ties and the girls in dresses. Then it dawned on me that it was picture day. So here is my son in his Pirate Alex t-shrit – all dressed up for picture day. I was that Mom that forgot.

Alex’s agenda for the day included soccer, but this time he wanted the big goals. We drove down the Menomonee Parkway to the soccer fields and played a little soccer.

This is what the Burch boys looked like as we went for a walk tonight (in the dark). Alex got his headlamp at a birthday party yesterday and was excited to try it out.

Shockingly the boys’ Halloween costumes are done early. That opens up a whole new world of Halloween parties. Tonight we decided to check out the Hullabaloo at the YMCA. The boys loved the games, bouncy house, and treats.

Alex came home from school today with a book. He chose “drawing center” for his activity and decided to create a book. (This is all on his own – no assignment, no adult direction.) He brought home four drawn pages glued together and a story in his head. He asked me to put the words on the page. The description of the story is, “A kangaroo who doesn’t want to go to school.”

We numbered the pages to avoid confusion. The story is left-handed and starts in the back.

Alex has been begging to carve a pumpkin for days and we finally had time tonight.

Madison and I went for a run and didn’t quite beat the rain.

Alex was pretty adamant on his Halloween costume from the start – a robot. (Picked very soon after seeing pictures from previous years.) I tried to convince Teague to be an astronaut (since we had all the items and Alex had never been one for Halloween), but he was insistent that he be the same as Alex. Wade has been hard at work on two robot costumes and is almost done.

Teague’s latest favorite toy is “food.” He will get our tray of vegetables and the little knife. Then he will happily sit and cut the food (with breaks to pretend eat).