Happy Halloween!!

Here's the highlights from our great Halloween. We were a bit worried if Patrick would make it, he has been fighting a nasty cold. But, with some Tylennol and a good nap we were all ready for a great night. And it was a great night!Elizabeth was cheering up a storm as we were getting ready to leave for Halloween. Too bad all her cheering excitement didn't do SU any good today!

Isn't she just adorable!!

Miss Elizabeth the Cheerleader......she has been practicing for weeks.We went to the Gooden's for our first stop......one of the two houses we go to around our own house.After trick-or-treating at the two houses by our house we went to Uncle Dan and Aunt Di's. It is a great spot to trick-or-treat, there were cousins all around, and activities for the grown-ups too. We had a ton of fun. Right away Elizabeth sat down for a special treat from Linda and Grandpa.Here is our masked super hero......he finally put it on. Not for Mom, for Aunt Di!

Batman and his agent.

Elizabeth is scouting out all the goodies that Aunt Di had for all us trick-or-treaters. The kids were spoiled with all teh special stuff Aunt Di had for tham.
Look at those cute cousins. They were so excited to see each other all dressed up........just like the hours of dress up we had this summer.

Batman "protecting" the citizens of Gotham City.

As soon as it got dark we headed out for some trick-or-treating. Patrick was feeling better so he got to participate this year. He was over the mask though. We wore it all week all around the house but then the one day we are supposed to wear it we have it on for 30 seconds. Figures.
We went around Aunt Di and Uncle Dan's neighborhood. It was great....families sit outside on their steps waiting for the kids. Some houses had fun scenes set up, complete with human props.
Patrick had an interesting way of carrying his treat bag. Keep the hands free for eating candy??
Elizabeth was very eager to go from house to house. She was super excited by all the other kids in costumes that she encountered. She would yell out every interesting costume that she saw. It was super cute.
I think by the end of the night we got "Trick-or-treat" and "Thank you" down.
Sissy and Sarah Jane.....cousin buddies!
The crazy girls.....Snow White, Tinker Bell, a Cheetah girl, and SU cheerleader. Don't they just look all sugared up and crazy!
At one point all the kids at the Halloween gathering were on the stoop handing out candy with Brian. He did pretty well at managing it all.

Patrick was a candy handing out machine! Well, second to Brian. He brought the "banter". Like father like son, I guess.

The candy squad waiting for more trick-or-treaters! They did a great job clearing out all Uncle Dan and Aunt Di's candy.

Halloween Eve

To get ready for Halloween we made sure we had a pumpkins carved. Only two of the four we bought to carved survived, so of course Elizabeth and Patrick got to pick what they wanted Mommy to carve.Elizabeth picked a Bug-a-boo.......of course she did, it is a character from Dora!
Patrick picked the Mummy. It was the last one in the pattern book and therefore the hardest. Thanks for picking the 4 pumpkin one Pat......my back still hurts from leaning over the darn thing for so long.
At least we are ready to ward off the evil spirits tomorrow night!

What's Been Going On?

It seems like every night after work is so busy....trying to get ready for the next day of work and school. I did manage to snap some pictures though of some of the random things going on in between getting everyone prepped for the next day :)The Toys-r-us holiday circular came in the mail this week. I tried to hide it on the kitchen counter, but it was discovered. This is the calm before the storm, and it doesn't look to calm. By the end of the night Elizabeth handed me 4 pieces of the circular and said, "Mommy I ripped it. Patrick try take it."
Tuesday was a beautiful night, so Daddy was working hard to get the leaves off the lawn. Patrick was a great helper.......or is that Batman cleaning up Gotham City??
Tuesday I thought it would be a great idea for the kids to have "Build Your Own Turkey Tacos". It was until the mess happened and the fight over eating just cheese, all the cheese, happened. That meal might be put off a few years. Ugh.

Let's Go Orange!

Today there was an SU exhibition game against Cal. State......we were given tickets so we headed up. It was a great excuse to take the kids to a game and since they don't last past the first quarter we weren't too bummed about having to leave before the game was over. Plus, it was a beautiful fall day.....great for running through the quad.
We came packed with snacks.....carefully snuck in in Mommy's purse. Patrick picked Air Heads and Elizabeth had M&M's. What a great treat.
Before the game Daddy took both kids to walk around the court. They did really well. They were pretty good during the game. Patrick was getting the lowdown about man to man vs. zone defense from Daddy and Elizabeth and I spent our time counting cheerleaders and scouting Otto the Orange.

Family Fun

Tonight we went over to Aunt Pam and Uncle Rich's house to have dinner and so the grown-ups could play cards. Patrick, Elizabeth and Megan had fun playing and trying to get into trouble :)
Elizabeth was giving Uncle Danny some advice on what he should do......the visor makes her official.
I took the kids for a walk in between rain drops. On our adventure we ran lots of races - this is Pat and Megan posing after they won......poor Elizabeth spent every race trying to catch up, we met a friendly old dog, saw a giant sunflower, and found a little river.
The kids were very into the dogs Layla, Petey, Cheyenne, and especially Rufus, the puppy. It was a fun night.

Spooky

Patrick is obsessed with Halloween......can you tell??

Playing with Penguins

The weather was beautiful today, so while Dad was golfing, Patrick, Elizabeth and Mom went to the zoo.
We didn't make all around outside, but spent a lot of time by the penguins.
Patrick was very interested in the decorations that we up for Zoo Boo. His favorite was knocking on the Vampires coffins......until they knocked back!
The penguins were super active today........diving all around their pool. They were interacting with the kids at the window. Must have thought our Goldfish snack was the real thing :)
We quickly figured out that if you dragged your finger along the glass one, or more, of the penguins would follow it. It was a fun game.

Midnight Madness

Tonight we went up to the Dome for Midnight Madness........SU basketball's first practice. The tickets were free, the kids got to experience the Dome, and it wouldn't be a waste if we only last a 1/2 hour.......we lasted a whole lot more.
The kids did a pretty good job waiting in line to get in, despite a lot of people, cold, and a lot of standing around time.
The girls all seated and ready for all the festivities and their treats......popcorn and M&M's.

Davis is practicing his SU chants!

The band played lots of songs and the dance team was dancin' away right in front of us. They danced to the radio songs also. Elizabeth was up on her chair trying to dance just like the "cheerleaders". She was especially excited when she recognized the songs like "Party in the U.S.A" and "Poker Face".

Daddy and Elizabeth are great cheerers!

So are Uncle John and Leah!!

"Let's Go Orange!"

We left the Dome about 9:30. Both kids were excited and talking up the experience. About two blocks away Patrick's excitement put him out.....night night.

Ms. Cutie-Patootie

Here's a couple of our sweetie.....Elizabeth was excited to wear another one of her Halloween outfits.....this is my favorite.
And here is our little lady putting on her "wipstick". After giving herself 50 coats she managed to get Patrick, who promptly and loudly screamed, "Ahhhh, now I look like a girl!"

Snuggle Bugs

Two snuggle beds ready for one quick show before crawling under the covers and dreaming of wonderful things.

The Pirate and the Princess

This afternoon we made some Potato-Head-Pumpkins.........an acceptable alternative to carving jack-o-lanterns.Arrrggghhh, matey. Patrick made a fun looking Pirate. Both kids needed help pushing the pieces in all the way but Pat planned out all the placement of the pieces. And he made his pirate look normal.......no feet for ears like the other potato heads get.
Daddy helped Elizabeth make a pretty princess out of her pumpkin.
When their masterpieces were finished, the Pirate and the Princess were playing. I think they may have even gotten married, right there on the kitchen counter!