Halloween 2008 Slideshow

Because I just couldn't narrow it down to 5 pictures.

Halloween 2008

Can I just reiterate how much I love living in a small town? We first went to our church's 'Trunk or Treat' (which was very crowded), and then enjoyed trick-or-treating on our amazing street. Tons of kids, almost every house with a porch light on, many adults even in costume handing out goodies, neighbors being so neighborly... Our neighbor on our south even brought the boys huge Halloween cookies since he was not going to be home to hand out treats. It was tons of fun, and if you live in CA, you probably can't even imagine the quaintness.

Ethan was the star of the night. He LOVED trick-or-treating! He was SO enthusiastic, and wanted to walk by himself, and climb all the stairs alone, and he did great. Kellan, on the other hand, was having a bit of an attitude problem. Although, to his credit, he might have been overheating, because once we took off his hood, he did much better. Caleb was pretty tired (because he was so excited he didn't nap that afternoon, and he really needed it), but he was super polite and still had a great time. Aidan was pretty enthusiastic and charming as well.

Enjoy the pics of our Star Wars Halloween! Kellan as an Ewok
Ethan as Yoda
Aidan as Darth Vader Caleb as Jengo-Fett (I realize that if you are not into SW you probably won't even realize who this is!)


Okay, I will have to add a slide show. I have just too many cute pictures to post.

Pumpkin Carving!

This was extra fun this year because Grandma Joy was here! Caleb and Aidan had a blast helping in all aspects of the process. Caleb even showed himself to be braver than last year, and actually touched the pumpkin goop. Although at one point he did start gagging.

Painting Pumpkins

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Yikes. I've got a lot of catching up to do. And I know you're dying to see the boys in their costumes (and yes, they were adorable), but I can't do this too out of order, I'm too OCD. Just let me say, in my defense, there has been a lot going on! (Including having workers in my house from 7AM-3AM for the past two weekdays, with several more coming up. They are blowing in insulation, which is good, but the process, is not so good. Just what do I do with 4 small children when we are banished to certain rooms for long periods of time? And the upstairs is not very 'twin-friendly'. I pretty much lost it today, and probably will again tomorrow.)

Anyway, the boys painted their pumpkins last Tuesday evening, and it was really fun, especially because the twins were old enough to participate this year. Enjoy the pics.




"Hey, a squirrel nibbled on mine!"

Aidan

Aidan was such an ornery little bugger today, that I just had to post a super-sweet picture of him to remind myself of why I'm so crazy about him.

slippers

It is rather cold in our house today (no heat yet, but working on it, ahem...), and I felt bad for Kellan and Ethan's little feet. So, I dug out some slippers that had come from some hand-me-downs (from different sources, but they match and are the exact same size- crazy I know). They are still a little big for the twins, but oh my, they thought they were the coolest things since sliced bread. They clomped around here so proudly all afternoon/evening.
Kellan is in the red.

The leaves are turning...

I think the pictures say it all.

Walnut Grove Farm

We enjoyed several different stops on the Scenic Drive, but this was the boys' favorite. They got to feed goats, pet rabbits, give milk to a calf in a big bottle, watch chickens, and actually milk a cow! Very, very cool!








I enjoyed watching Kellan find a discarded milk bottle and immediately proceed to feed it to a "moo", but it was not as enjoyable when he next decided to stick it into his own mouth. Gross.

Lincoln

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates, which is especially cool since the last remaining site of one of these debates is here in Galesburg. There is a statewide Lincoln focus this year, and part of the celebration included Lincoln himself visiting some of the Knox Scenic Drive sites last weekend. We got to meet him at the Scarecrow Festival. We'd taught Caleb a few things about him, and he was very impressed. We also got to visit a really neat travelling museum decicated to Lincoln. Of course I loved every minute, as I've always loved everything about Lincoln. I can't wait until the boys are older and we can study even more. I've heard the museum in Springfield is pretty awesome.

today's terrific twin moments

As I tiptoed by their closed bedroom door this morning, I heard excited squeals followed by this, "Mama? Mommy? Hi! Hiyeee!" So cute!

I turned on their favorite DVD (Praise Baby) at one point today, and Ethan ran over and sat on his knees on the rug, then patted the space next to him for Kellan to come sit. Kellan did, but sat on his bottom with legs out in front. Ethan leaned over and studied him, then adjusted to the exact same pose.

Oxley Ear Infection #2 and Bloody Nose #2 both go to...

Aidan! Two weeks ago he randomly complained of ear pain in the middle of one morning. He wouldn't let me put him down for about 20 minutes (the time it took for the tylenol to kick in, I'm sure). Got him in at the doc that afternoon. She said it was flaming red! She couldn't believe he'd had no fever and hadn't complained more. She warned me he would surely be cranky and have difficulty sleeping. Nope. Not at all. What a trooper!

Then, a few nights later, he woke up crying with a bloody nose! Best we could figure out was that he'd bonked it on the wall while drowsily searching for his blankie, which had fallen out of his bed! Poor guy! It was everywhere!

Oh yeah, Kellan got one on Sunday (though not really a gusher) when he pulled a chair over on himself... And Ethan fell off the couch and bonked his head leaving a nice bump today! What am I going to do with these hoodlums?

Times have changed...

Remember these?

This is the toy phone I remember as a kid. I don't know if my kids would even recognize this as a "phone". Here's their toy phone.

And what really cracks me up is that the twins have not only picked up play talking on a cell phone, which Caleb and Aidan naturally did too, but also play texting! Because just in the last 18 months or so, their lifetime, have we really been doing it a lot! Crazy! This is Kellan, by the way. Does it drive any of you crazy that I often don't label which twin is which? Just want to keep you guessing. (Actually, I usually don't think about it, because they are such different people in my mind, I forget they look the same to everyone else!)

Even more fun!

Just in case one day of fun wasn't enough, we also went on a big outing the following day as well. Last year, a friend invited me out to Tanner's Orchard with her and her 4 children. This year, we decided to go back, with husbands in tow. It was much easier that way! What a fun day! Her kids are older, and were so incredible about helping out with our boys. Everyone had a blast. We picked apples and pumpkins, fed goats, ate apple donuts, drank apple cider, and played in one of the neatest play areas ever. It even included tractor barrel rides and pony rides! It is such a fantastic place! I continue to be amazed at the number of locals who have never been!










Kellan and Ethan on their first pony ride. They loved it!