Rocktober!

Hello!  We are gearing up for our trip into Houston for Thanksgiving break - and our midgets are soooo excited - we can't wait to see everybody!  :oD

Okay, here are all our best pics and moments from October, and the first week in November.  :o)  I'm supposed to be packing (oof!) so pardon me for the lack of comments.  :o)   (PS - if you're on Facebook, you've probably seen a lot of these pictures, oh well.)  ;o)

Also, sorry to have so many pics crammed into one post.  :oP

First things first - Report Cards.

The kids have survived their first quarter of school and check them out:

Joshua's GPA: 97.6

Evelyn's GPA: 98.0

Matthew's GPA: 96.4

Yeah, they're still kickin' booty!  Woohoohoo!!!  :oD

Storytime is the bomb.

Ahahahahaha!

On October 4th, Evelyn and I had a wonderful Girls Day Out.

And she got her hair "trimmed"!

Aaaah!!

Our favorite place ever.  :o)

Meanwhile, Daddy took Emily to Craft Time at the library and helped her make this.

And after putting Matthew's Minecraft costume head together, Daddy celebrated.

Lol!

Our little chefs were back in the kitchen, baking up some awesome-ness.

Go Cowboys!!

Wow, her braid is so much shorter!

But she's so happy with it.  :oD

Emily had her last class of toddler gymnastics on October 6th.  Later that evening, she had her first day of Big Girl gymnastics at the same place Evelyn goes.

Yay!

Ivy tried to help Chris build Matthew's costume.

But she only managed to steal and eat his pencil. :oP

And then there was the day Emily put quarters between each of her toes and thought it was the greatest thing ever.

Alrighty then.  ;o)

Dressing down for good behavior, again.

:oD

J got all fancy for a dance that evening.

That bow tie is just epic.  :o)

The next day he turned Evelyn's apron into a cape.

:oD

On the edge of their seats watching new episodes of Doctor Who.  :o)

Emily loves her new gymnastics class.

The cold couldn't keep this girl from smiling!  :o)

Target is such a fun place.  ;o)

That girl talked me into getting this for her and the kids.

I think she really just wanted the accessories that came with it!

Ahahaha!

Yep, we're working on our scissor skills.

And she made her first little book! :o)

On the 17th, the girls got to dress up and go to a Haunted Maze.

The boys preferred to stay home with Dad. ;oP

Our Elsa-s are the best!!

"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi... you're my only hope."

Our Little Elsa went to a Spooky Storytime at the library on the 18th.

She had the best time!

And dude - she won First Place for Best Costume!

Go Emily!!  :oD

Oh yeah - GO COWBOYS!!!

The first week she wanted nothing to do with this balance beam.

Getting braver!

The kids were all very aware of what was happening with Peeta... One of them even wrote a short statement about him and left it outside my bedroom door (I believe it was Matthew).

"Our Peeta: Dying Kitten

He's dying from a disease that makes fluid in his stomach.  He doesn't eat because the fluid fills his belly.  We want him to survive as a good kitten.  And if he dies, we want him to go to a better place."

I would say they had a pretty good understanding of the situation, and were so awesome handling it all.  :o1

Matthew and his Weird Books - Part 21

"Birth Defects"

;o)

She wanted a sidewalk for her Hello Kitty sticker to ride on.  So I drew the picture and she colored it.

:o)

Wear Your Camo to School Day!  :o)

She didn't understand why I kept calling her Madonna.

Evelyn has discovered the art and tranquility of doodling.

Isn't it great?!  :o)

Took the boys for eye doctor appointments.

Yes, that's Matthew reading a Frozen book and Joshua with a Halloween bag on his head.

And I'm happy to report no major changes.  Joshua still has perfect vision and Matthew is still as blind as a bat.

;o)

She was really excited about this new Halloween dress.

Oh - and when we were at the Spooky Storytime, I made a guess on "How many candy corns are in this jar?" and we won!!  And we got to take home the whole jar!  And eat it!

I guessed that there were 350 in the jar... there were 358.  :oD

And yes, the entire jar was gone within a couple of days.

We visited Matthew at school for a special research project/video the kids made about Space.  :o)

The neighborhood better watch out with these 2 fools running around out there.  ;o)

Matthew was grounded, so he made a TV.

Ha!  :o)

On October 25th, we went to the Haunted Hayride on base.

It was so awesome and so scary!  :o)

October 26th, Joshua colored a wooden cross that we had in our craft supplies so Daddy could bury Peeta with it...

Later that day, the kids dressed up to help the Navy Wives Club host Bingo at the nursing home.

Joshua is dressed as an Assassin from the Assassin's Creed games.

Haha - I guess he was taking that job pretty seriously.

We had a great time and so did so many of the residents there.  :o)

:o)

Matthew and his Weird Books - Part 22

"Ancient Medicine"

Emily's new favorite movie is Hairspray - yes, the musical.

And she has decided that she is going to marry the male lead in the movie some day...

One day she asked me about our prom picture, "Mommy, was that when you and Daddy got married?"  I said, "No, that was when he was just my boyfriend."  She said, "Oh, okay.  I like that boy in Hairspray, you know, his name is Link.  And I think I'm gonna make him my boyfriend and marry him." 

:oO

I said, "Well, you have to wait until you get big to have a boyfriend."  She said, "I know, I'm gonna get big and go to the studio and find him and make him my boyfriend.  Mommy, can I borrow your wedding dress?"

Ahahahaha!

So yes, our 3 year old daughter is now in love with "Link".

She even asked me how to write his name and she made him this letter.

Yes, that's a heart between their 2 names.  :'oD

Oh my... we're gonna have to watch this girl. ;o)

Watch out Link!

Spooky lollipops are spooky!

On October 28th, the kids dressed up and celebrated All Saints Day with their church classes.

Evelyn was St. Pope John Paul II, Joshua was St. Longinus (Roman soldier), and Matthew was St. Matthew.

Oh - and we made Emily into St. George because she could slay a dragon with her sword.  ;o)

Halloween was finally here!!!

Mummy Dogs!

A reluctant Princess Leia!

And such an awesome night!

Yeah, we got in on the fun too.

;o)

Matthew with his best friend Spencer.  :o)

Emily was excited to see Jack Skellington.

(from the movie she watched about 50 times that month - The Nightmare Before Christmas)

She just wasn't too sure about standing so close to him.  ;o)

Who knew having a box for a head and body would make walking so hard to do?!?

Our injured Minecraft dude had to borrow Emily's stroller after one too many falls.  But no worries!  He was a trooper and held on to his candy.  ;o)

Ivy warmed up to being our Princess Leia.

And I think I really like this cat now.  :o)

There are those hidden blades!  Watch out!!  ;o)

We had a great visit with Booger.  :o)

Look - it's Olaf!

Those drive thru daiquiris really did a number on her!

;oP

And we still love our Cowboys, even when they lose.  ;o)

Check-up at the Orthodontist for Joshua on November 4th.

He's doing great and got new band colors - blue and black! 

(Go Cowboys!)

Lol!

Storytime - again!

Novmber 5th - just 2 weeks ago!  (I'm catching up!)  ;o)

Oh what fun!

And later that day, we took Matthew to pick out some new glasses.

Dress down for good behavior - cuz you know, they're just awesome. ;o)

The cold doesn't bother these fools!

And *sigh* this was a tough one for us me.  Joshua asked about Santa...

And luckily, I had found this letter a couple of years ago on Pinterest (of course) so I was able to write one for him and now, yeah, he knows. 

(like, I think he knew before, but now he knows for sure.)

Bleh, yeah, I cried quite a bit writing/copying it, and not just cuz I'm sappy or something, but because this is my baby.  This is our first monster midget.  And he's getting bigger, growing up.  And that is an awesome and just marvelous thing... it's just scary too. :oP  *sigh*  But no worries, God provides the strength and we deliver the message, so it's all good.  

I'll copy and paste it here, just so you can see how wonderfully this letter was worded - again, not my words!  Just something I found and added to so it would fit us.  :o)

Dear Joshua,

You have asked a very good question: Is Santa real?  Are Mom and Dad really Santa?

I know that you’ve wanted the answer to these questions for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.

The answer is no. We are not Santa. There is no one single Santa.

We are the people who fill your stocking with presents, and choose and wrap the presents under the tree – just as our parents did for us and their parents did for them.

I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights.

This could never make any of us Santa, though.

Santa is lots and lots of people who keep the Spirit of Christmas alive.  He lives in our hearts, not at the North Pole.  Santa is the magic and love and spirit of giving to others.  What he does is teach children to believe in something that they can’t see or touch.

Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your family, and in God.

You’ll need to be able to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hands.  Now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: He has help from all the people whose hearts he has filled with joy.

With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.  So, no.  We are not Santa.  Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness.  We are on his team, and now you are, too.

We love you and always will.

Mom and Dad  :o)

Unfortunately, Ivy is not impressed.  ;oP

Alrighty then - and with that - let's do this Thanksgiving thing! Or as Emily called it - Happy Chicken Day!  :oD  ;o)

See y'all soon.  Laters!