Waiting...

I've been waiting since Friday for my little sis to have a baby. It's almost like torture, really. I'm super excited for this little one to come and the days have been dragging on and on and ON! She started contractions on Friday afternoon and she stayed home from work Saturday laboring at home. We thought for sure we'd have a baby by Sunday! Not the case. Arg! On Monday I spent the day babysitting her because everyone had to go to work and we didn't want to leave her alone in case her water broke. We thought that since she had been contracting for days that she could be dilated quite a bit and if her water broke the baby might not wait for the hospital! Elise had a doctor appointment at 4 and we were all sure that she would at least be at a 3 or 4 and they would admit her. Again...NOT the case! She was only almost to 2! She went to work today in the hopes that some regular activity would encourage some contracting. However, I've lost hope that the baby will make it's arrival by Thanksgiving.

Halloween Part 2

Halloween is difficult when it's on a school night...especially when you're doing your trick-or-treating 1/2 an hour away from home. The kids and I got an early start and got to my mom's house at around 4. The plan was to hang out for a while, get ready, have dinner, and trick-or-treat. Unfortunately, dinner was pork roast and it was taking forever to reach temperature. We didn't get to head out until after 6 or 6:30.

We went out to my sister's neighborhood this year. She lives on a new street with lots of new houses and it's about 2 minutes from my parents house. Mom and I took them. I felt bad that we couldn't drive around Warrenton visiting friends and family like we usually do, but there just wasn't enough time. With smaller children, it is imperative to get them to bed at a decent hour. We ended our trick-or-treat run on my parent's road and ended up seeing a coyote race right passed us!

Synnove wanted to be a witch this year. We improvised her costume with some cute witch-like pajama's with fun striped legging pants, a little velvet shawl-type sweater (not in the pics), a big feathery hat, and fun hair-pieces. The makeup part was the most fun. She was a pretty witch...not an ugly one :)

I was happy that Soren decided it was ok to wear his hat to complete the astronaut costume. His light-up shoes were the perfect addition to his attire.

While waiting for dinner to be done, some friends and family showed up. Little Avyrie was a welcome treat.

Brielle and Tay (the Little Mermaid)

Halloween Part 1

The kids had the opportunity to carve pumpkins twice this year. Grandma and Grandpa just couldn't resist buying a few pumpkins. They really got into it and enjoyed being able to use the carving knives by themselves.

Synnove's pumpkin patch pumpkin from school

I helped Soren carve two of his 3 or 4 pumpkins. He liked making crooked mouths on purpose :)

Halloween just wouldn't be complete without a preschool field trip! The kids got to go to the Jasper's farm this year. They fed the cows, chickens, and goats before heading to the patch to pick out their pumpkins. After snack we headed back to the school to do the annual pumpkin bowling and "bobbing" for doughnuts.

Soren and Kaden were both astronauts, although I couldn't get Soren to wear his hat. I think it's funny that they are both wearing crocs too :)

Many of the kids waited to put on their costumes until after the pumpkin patch. Of course, they all looked so cute!
Top: Kaden (land astronaut), Noah (a samurai of sorts?), Soren (space astronaut), Alondra (ladybug), (crouched is Annalise...Alondra's sister), Kendall (supergirl), JR (Bumblebee from Transformers),
Bottom: Rowan (dressed in orange and black), Jake (Woody), Hannah (Sleeping Beauty), Lily (Butterfly), Taylor (Rapunzel)

Some October

After an incredibly busy September, we were finally able to breathe a little bit in October. Although, Adam has been busier than ever at work. In late September his boss resigned and Adam was put in charge in the interim. So far, he's been doing two very important jobs at the mill for 6 full weeks...with no end in sight. He works 12-hour days and comes home to work on the computer after the kids go to bed. Too bad he's not getting paid for two jobs! We miss him, but he has still found moments here and there to spend quality time with the kids.

October is mushroom season, and Adam took the kids out three different times to search for chanterelles. We didn't hit the jackpot like last year, but we still found a bunch. Adam and the kids were even able to take Grandpa out to show him the secret spot!

Soren is an excellent mushroom finder. He found these under a log all by himself!

As usual, we had some gorgeous October days. I hosted my ladies bible study a couple of weeks in October, and it's always perfect when the sun is out because the loud children can go outside. Soren looks forward to his sister coming home from school (even though he denies it) so that he has a buddy to play with outside. I recall one afternoon, however, that Synnove played outside while Soren was engrossed in playing with his train set inside. This never happens. Synnove was determined to climb the maple tree higher than her brother can...I think she succeeded...

The kids also spent some good time with Grandpa in October. It's nice to have my parents in Warrenton because my kids like to spend time at their house while I grocery shop. One day, while I was shopping, Grandpa took the kids to the dollar store and then let them carve a couple of pumpkins. They were rotten by Halloween, so (of course) they carved more! Halloween pics to come.

These balloons were a dollar store find. Synnove had fun making her own clown creations!