Halloween 2014

This year's Halloween extravaganza began on Thursday night, when we had the fam over to carve pumpkins.  It's days like this that I feel simultaneously grown up and completely overwhelmed.  Connor wanted to do all of his carving independently, Alaina was excited about it for about 30 seconds before she was distracted by something (squirrel!), and Harrison did his best to locate all of the carving blades whenever I took my eyes off him.


Daynarae is most definitely still the queen of photobombs, while Alaina maintains the title of messiest eater!


Last year, I was a little embarrassed when a golf cart showed up unexpectedly at our house.  Anthony had told me stories of how his Dad used to rent one when they lived in Texas and the houses were too far apart to effectively trick or treat.  I didn't understand why, in this neighborhood where you can reach your arms out and touch three neighbors, we would need such a thing.  By the end of that night, I was sold on the golf cart idea, if only to serve as a shuttle to the house and back for potty breaks and such.  Consider me surprised when TWO golf carts showed up this year!  The more, the merrier!


Picking the kids up from the bus stop was such a thrill for them.  They felt like total celebrities.




Driving home from the bus stop.  Seriously might top Christmas for Connor.


After a quick wardrobe change, we headed over to a neighbor's house to make sure her Vader-obsessed 4 year old could see him in the flesh.  When I first met this neighbor, the subject of Halloween came up in discussion, and she said, "There was some guy roaming around the neighborhood as Darth Vader last year!"  I said, "Yeah, that's my husband."  She breathed a huge sigh of relief, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Oh, thank goodness.  I thought he was just some pervert!"  Apparently Anthony needs to hang with the group a little more when out and about! :)


Simon, the neighbor, was pretty excited to see Vader, and after offering a "May the Force Be With You" as we pulled away, ran inside to change costumes.


My spooky crew (minus the Yoda costume that Harrison hated).




There's our Yoda!  The reviews of this costume said the hat ran small, so to buy a size up.  We knew we definitely wanted to do that, since Harrison's got a big noggin.  I think we overshot it...




I ditched the healthy-eating idea from last year and instead served the kids these disgusting severed finger hot dogs.  I knew all those years in art classes would come in handy for something!


After everyone arrived, we started trick or treating.  We were pleased to be joined by the Nakanos (Mady's family), the Jones' (friends that Ray, Ryan, and Anthony met randomly at a music festival years ago in Steamboat Springs , then randomly ran into Ray a year and a half ago and the rest is history), and the Duces (neighbors and Alaina's best-friend-du-jour, McCall).




Riding in style!


Even Darth Vader has Daddy duties.


I love this picture that McCall's dad took.  Three good friends, and not a single front tooth between them.


Checking out the loot!  (I love how Emi is sneaking Alaina's candy while her back is turned!)


Passing out candy is almost as fun as getting it!


Connor was thrilled that he got a soda in his bag.  Somehow that soda ended up in the trash, I guess because I'm a mean mom and nobody likes grape soda anyway.  I have no regrets, though, because somehow I missed an orange soda that was poured into a sippy cup before I got up the next morning, and without the valve that keeps it from leaking, and was spilled all down the hallway.  Keep your dang sodas to yourself, people!


The downside of the golf cart is getting so much candy that our holiday routine has gone out the window.  In the past, we've just let the kids binge for a day or two and it was always gone in that time span.  Three gallons of candy per kid is another story...  (Look at the number that Alaina's tiger hood did on her hair!!)


You know the kids have had a good day when they're asking to go to bed while their friends are still hanging out!  Connor passed out first, and Alaina wasn't long behind!




Anthony and I have always looked forward to Halloweens like this with "older" kids, and I think this was our most fun year yet!  The real party for Harrison started the next day, when we woke up to candy littering the floor - PARADISE!


He's literally squealing in delight here.


He gets so mad at me when I have to fish the Smarties or Milk Duds out of his mouth that he's spent all day looking for, that I gave in and gave him a sucker.  Of course he LOVED it.


Uh oh!  Sugar's kicking in!


We've all heard that sugar is addictive, but I guess I didn't realize just how quickly he'd turn into a junkie!  Look at his hair, unwashed and full of saccharin, the dilated pupils, the wringing hands, the smirk at the idea of getting his next fix!  What have I done?!


Despite fulfilling Mike's prophecy of losing one of three children to drugs, we had a wonderful Halloween.  It was the perfect kickoff to the 2014 holiday season!

Last week, we had to take Harrison down to the Children's Hospital in Aurora for a surgery to fix what didn't heal correctly from his last surgery.   Taking your baby in for surgery (hydrocelectomy) is never ever fun, so we tried to focus on the positive.  I took some pretty pictures of the sunrise turning the Rocky Mountains pink, but editing out phone poles and such just wasn't worth it, so you'll just have to use your imagination.  The hospital is only a stone's throw away from our old apartment, so I was looking forward to a trip down memory lane, but all I got was shock and dismay!  Being a server in the suburbs, I never drove in Denver rush hour traffic.  Ew.


I remembered parts of Aurora being ugly, but dang.  Bulletholes through the street signs, refineries everywhere, crane yards and cargo trains.  Not my cup of tea!


We got all checked in and waited for literal hours in this tiny room before surgery, not easy with a baby who hasn't eaten or had anything to drink in 14 hours and is due for a nap!


Popping bubble distracted him for about 15 seconds.  Long enough to get a picture of that middle finger doing all the work!


The surgery itself only took about 30 minutes, Harrison woke up quickly and demanded food now.  After chugging one bottle of pedialite, the nurse hesitantly gave him another.  After chugging that one and still demanding more, the nurse thought he would vomit, but we know this baby can eat, so he downed a third.  I loved feeding them to him, because they're the last bottles he'll ever have. :*(  Being somewhat satisfied after the third, he took a long nap while being monitored.


We got home around three, and Harrison was acting like nothing had happened.  We went outside to play in the yard, and after he and I plunked down in the grass, I noticed that the entire lawn was COVERED in spiderwebs.  There's been a ton of spider activity because of all the construction.  It's both creepy and festive to have all the trees in the neighborhood covered in webs.


Of course, the only things Harrison wanted to do were throw rocks and climb up and down the concrete steps.  Perfect activities for babies who have just been under general anesthesia!  I've always said that this baby is impervious to pain, and while he was a little grumpy the next day, his recovery went smoothly and we were able to take out his drain yesterday.  Hopefully no more surgeries for a loooong time for this sweet little guy!

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

We were thrilled to have a surprise visit from Grandma and Grandpa last weekend!  We didn't tell the kids that they were coming, so they were mighty surprised and excited when the doorbell rang!  Friday night, we had dinner and the kids showcased their improving reading skills.


We had planned to drive up into Rocky Mountain National Park on Saturday, so we were a little nervous when we woke up to dense fog.  Normally you'd see a bank of houses in this photo, and it made me a little excited for how  beautiful it will be here when the snow falls!


Luckily, the weather cleared up nicely by the time we were ready to go, so we loaded up the van and started our drive into Estes Park, a beautiful mountain town just before the park.  We saw some long-horned sheep on the way!




Dropping into Estes Park is always beautiful, but even more so with the fall foliage!


Estes Park is nearly always busy, but there was a festival in town and it was the last really warm, beautiful weekend to get up and see the leaves, so traffic was CRAZY.


We had a picnic lunch, then went on a little hike to an old stone lookout, from which you can see the whole town.










I am seriously not okay with how old my baby girl is looking.


Pretty view of Lake Estes!




For this color junkie, it doesn't get much  better than October!




On Sunday, we holed up inside to escape the wind and rain, but did venture out to go snooping in the row of nearly-completed homes.  They're beautiful, but their views of solid houses don't hold a candle to the open space behind us!  Grandma baked cookies with the kids, which they loved!


We think Alaina confused the cookie dough with playdough.  Nothing flattens it out better than being pounded with an elbow!


Before hitting the road on Monday morning, Grandma and Grandpa walked the kids to the bus stop.


 Our visit was wonderful!  Thanks for spending the time, money, and energy to come, Mom and Dad!  The time for you to go home always comes too quickly!