Halloween 2010

Traditional Halloween didn’t really happen this year for lots of reasons.  It was celebrated on Sat the 30th.  It started hailing at prime trick-or-treating time, so there weren’t many that came. It was just plain miserable outside. We didn’t even get our traditional fire set up out front. AND we forgot to get a picture in all their costumes.  Oh well.

One notable thing was that James bought his costume this year with his own money!  It was $21.34 and was a Star Wars character – like Jango Fett, but something else.   This  year Samuel wore a different costume each day of the week.  Ben finally settled on wearing the orange jumpsuit prisioner costume and a blue wizard-looking hat.  So he was the “Prisoner from Azkaban”.  Yeah. Nobody realized it until we told them, then they smiled.  Pretty ingenious for a 6 1/2 year old (who just finished having the book read to him). Anthony was himself, which made costuming easy.  And Jacob just stayed inside with mom while she made homemade tomato soup, grilled cheese and fresh apple cider.  LaReita’s cousin (well, 1st cousin, once removed) Jonathan Mitchell* was the door handler. Dave drove in the car being the back-up for  the boys and  friends Carlos and Cesar as they ran through the cold drizzling rain.

*Jonathan works for Dave and LaMont in the Find-A-Code business. He and his wife moved to Washington this summer. He came back here this week to do some conferencing with Dave.

Who's that toddler in the funny blue hat?
Who's that toddler in the funny blue hat?
It's Jacob!
It's Jacob!
Jacob gets some hat-wearing tips from Benjamin
Jacob gets some hat-wearing tips from Benjamin
Sam and his sucker
Sam and his sucker
Benjamin's Booty
Benjamin's Booty
Anthony's candy eyes
Anthony's candy eyes
Anthony's candy mask
Anthony's candy mask
James' candy face
James' candy face
Post-candy crash
Post-candy crash

Anthony’s 9th Birthday

Anthony has to write a 5 sentence journal entry each day.  His birthday (and party) was on Monday the 25th.  On Wednesday the journal question was, “What is the nicest things that someone has done for you?”  He wrote:  “The nicest thing someone has done for me is my mom. She made me a cake for my birthday. It was chocolate and had a new transformer on top of it.”  Not quite 5 sentences, but it was the nicest 3 sentences he has written!

Lynette of course asked if this was a ‘normal’ cake.  And it was… for the most part. 🙂  Brynn even had 2 helpings and she usually doesn’t like chocolate cake at all!  So that was fun to see.  I also made a applesauce spice cake for those that didn’t want to have so much chocolate.  Since it was snowing that day I refused to buy ice cream, but made hot cocoa instead. Which was why I had to have the applesauce spice cake – to dip into the hot cocoa.  The hot cocoa was also made from 50%  powdered milk from Grandma’s Country Kitchen.  That is the BEST powdered milk I’ve tried thus far.  (Having grown up with a lot of powdered milk, I’ve developed a kind of ‘taste’ for the stuff. And I’ve had some pretty awful stuff.)  My boys will even get excited when I get Grandma’s Country powdered milk.

Grandma Leavitt was there and even gave the traditional recycle card!  (A long-standing family joke and tradition.  Grandpa was there and I’m sure was smiling.)

It was a wonderful party and family council afterward.

Excited Anthony
Excited Anthony
Lighting the candles.
Lighting the candles.
Lighting the candles (angle 2).
Lighting the candles (angle 2).
Just about ready...
Just about ready...
Signing "Happy Birthday"
Signing "Happy Birthday"
Cutting the Cake
Cutting the Cake
The kids can't wait for cake!
The kids can't wait for cake!
Grandma Grace and Aunt Kris
Grandma Grace and Aunt Kris

Boys in Caves & Chickens in Trees

James and Kooper (neighbor boy) were working on their Tracking merit badge and needed to take some pictures of animals in the wild.  On the walk in the canyon they came upon a cave.  Anthony took these pictures of Benjamin and Sam in the cave.

Cavemen
Cavemen

James also took some pictures of our chickens “nesting” in the tree in the back yard at night.  Every night, one-by-one, the chicks fly up into the tree to roost for the night.  Chickens in trees, who would’ve thought.

... and some chickens in a tree.  On the eighth day of Christmas...
... and some chickens in a tree. On the eighth day of Christmas...

Lagoon in the Fall

We’d been promising the boys that we would go to the Lagoon amusement park all summer long and we finally found a free weekend.  Mom took Jacob and Sam on the kid rides while dad had to endure the roller-coasters with James, Anthony and Benjamin.

Sam and Jacob on the car ride (like they didn't get enough of the car on the hour long drive to get there!)
Sam and Jacob on the car ride (like they didn't get enough of the car on the hour long drive to get there!)
Jacob and Sam on the Rocket Ship ride.
Jacob and Sam on the Rocket Ship ride.
Sam on the Swing ride.
Sam on the Swing ride.
Anthony, James (how cute) and Benjamin posing.
Anthony, James (how cute) and Benjamin posing.