Happy Halloween

So I meant to do a post last weekend, but that never happened.  So this one will cover two weeks.  The Monday after I got back into town, Jackson had a dentist appointment after school and our good luck finally ran out.  He ended up with three cavities.  Ugh.  But I didn’t have much time to dwell on that because I had to get Ellie to dance and Andrew stopped by the dentist office to pick up Jackson and take him to his first flag football practice.  Ellie had Parent Watch Night at dance and since Andrew was helping coach the football team and it was their first practice, he thought he couldn’t make it.  But my mom did come by and watch Ellie.  I didn’t get great pictures, but I did get a few.  And we made a mistake and sat by one of the side doors to the outside that was open, so Lincoln was quickly distracted by the playground equipment outside.

Tuesday night we had a free night, so Andrew bought some pumpkins and went to work on carving them out.  Ellie and Jackson gave him some ideas of what they wanted and Andrew also worked on a “surprise” for me.  It was a carving of the Browning deer emblem that is in the shape of a heart and has a doe on the opposite side-so sweet :-).

Wednesday was supposed to be the big game-Game 6 of the World Series and my parents were going.  The kids were all decked out in their Cardinals gear, but Lincoln was not excited to take a picture.  He must have known that we needed to save their outfits for the next day since the game got postponed because of the rain.

And I forgot to mention, Jackson lost another tooth.  And that sneaky tooth fairy got the tooth and left him a dollar even though he was awake most of the night. 

Ellie had her Halloween party at school on Thursday.  We were in charge of providing cupcakes for the kids to decorate and she was very proud to be able to bring them in.  She was sure her class would love them.  And no, Jackson hasn't started drinking coffe like his cousin.  I made them some hot tea that morning because he said his throat was hurting.  

Thursday night I stayed up late watching "The Greatest Baseball Game Ever"... Game 6. It was so awesome that my parents and Andy got to experience it. It was definitely an exciting game and a great Christmas gift.

Thursday night I also took apart the crib to get it ready to be painted. Since we are using two different cribs of my parents, we are having them painted the same color of white so they match in some way. We should get them back soon and get the nursery all put together.

Jackson had his Halloween party at school Friday.  I helped out with the party and brought along Ellie and Jackson.  Ellie loved being involved with Jackson’s class and getting to participate in the party activities.   And Lincoln found his favorite toy in the classroom-the library book cart.

And that night we hung out at my parents to watch the final game of the World Series.  Andrew ended up taking the kids home before the game was over, but I stuck it out and my dad had a little impromptu celebration when the Cardinals won.  He and Andy took turns showering each other with champagne and my dad shot off some fireworks.  It was a good time.

Saturday was a pretty busy day for us and I was beat by the time it was over.  We started the day with Jackson's first flag football game.  I have never seen Andrew get that much into one of the kids' sports.  He is helping Joe coach the team and he even came up with a play book for them.  He and Joe both have a copy. 

Jackson loves having his dad as a coach.

Taking after his dad.

 Ellie and Kate using the boundary lines as a balance beam.

Right after the game, we ran home so Jackson could change and then headed out to Leah's family farm for Alex's 2nd birthday party.  We took a little hayride down to a spot they had set up for a little fire so we could roast hot dogs and s'mores.  It was a beautiful day and a fun party.  We got home for that, cleaned up the kids, laid Lincoln down for a nap.  I took Jackson and Ellie over to my parents to help get ready for their Halloween party but they had most of it ready to go.  Preparing the kids for the party wasn't as easy.  None of them were happy with their costumes/what I had for them to wear under their costumes and Lincoln didn't want to wear his at all.  I was worn out, so I didn't even fight him.  But Jackson and Ellie were better once the party got started and we all had a great time with great food.

Ellie and Grandma got the party started with a little dancing.

Lissy helping Owen try to sit up in his super cute outfit.  He was Max.



And of course the kids loved pinata time.



Comparing our bellies.  Tiff was induced the next morning and had a beautiful little girl.  What a trooper.

Spiderman, Frankenstein, Batman and a pirate by the pool=trouble

Monday brought Halloween I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with the kids and getting them into their outfits.  I spent most of the day making freezer meals to put away for after the twins come.  I made spaghetti sauce, meat for French dip sandwiches, baked spaghetti and another baked pasta dish.  Then it was off to my parents for some dinner and trick-or-treating.  Ellie still had dance that night, but we skipped.  And thankfully Jackson’s football coaches were nice enough to reschedule practice for the next day.  The kids started getting ready after dinner and were much happier about it this time.  My dad got Lincoln into his outfit, without the mask of course, with the promise of candy.  I really didn’t get many good pictures of the kids but Lissy has some great ones of Jackson on her blog.  I guess he was pretty serious about the Batman gig. 

We all loved watching Lincoln with trick-or-treating this year.  He loved the idea of people putting candy in his little pumpkin and would run off to the next house with it hanging off his arm saying, “Candy, candy, candy.”  He would say “trick-or-treat”  and “thank you” in his sweet, little voice.  We weren’t too hard core-just around the block and we were done.  The kids were pleased though and I was happy for the night to be over because I wasn’t feeling that great. 

And by the next afternoon all of our Halloween decorations were put away and I was making my last two freezer meals-honey lime chicken enchiladas and chicken taquitos.  And we discovered that morning that Ellie's light stick had somehow leaked on her bed and it was on the comforter and soaked through her blanket and sheets too.  I had just washed everything a couple days before-ugh. 

Thursday I had another OB appointment and everything seems to be going well besides my aches and pains and general feeling of being uncomfortable.  I’m around 29 ½ weeks and will get another ultrasound next week to make sure they are growing at the same rate.  The kids are getting excited and love to be able to feel them move.  And I made another trip to Columbia to get a few more things before they come.  Lissy was nice enough to stay home with Ellie and Lincoln while my mom and I made a quick trip to Columbia.  We only hit up three stores-Sam's, Hobby Lobby (their Christmas wrapping paper was 50% off so we got some for us and some rolls for a few other people that asked us to pick some up for a total of 34 rolls) and Target and then we were back home before 2 since Lissy had some shoots to do.  Ellie decided she wanted to go with Lissy and help with her shoots while I picked up Jackson from school and took him to a little dodgeball practice his team was having to prep for their tournament the next day.  Jackson has had a very busy schedule this week.  Monday was Halloween, Tuesday he had football practice in the evening, Wednesday was the church afterschool program and then small group, Thursday was Little K and then dodgeball practice on Friday followed by shooting practice with Andrew.  Yes that is right, Jackson is learning to shoot a gun.  Then on Saturday he had hunting early in the morning, football at 10, and then the dodgeball tournament later in the afternoon.  I would be pretty tired if I were him.  Friday night we printed off Jackson and Andrew's hunting tags and Jackson had to sign his-it was a proud moment for Andrew :-)

On Saturday morning they actually didn't have to go out quite as early since the time change hadn't occured.  So they didn't leave until closer to six.  Jackson was very excited to try to get his first deer.  I was just praying that everyone was safe. 

They got back into town around 9:30 without getting anything and it was time for a change of clothes then off to the football game.  The game was pretty cold and windy.  Jackson and Andrew didn't notice it as much as the rest of us did.  We packed up with about a quarter left and headed to the car because Lincoln was crying and had had enough of the cold.  Leah, Alex and Kate ended up in the car too.  I wish I could have watched the game a little closer though because the boys did a good job.  Andrew thought it was great.  I did see Jackson almost run it in for a touchdown but the other team got a flag with just a couple yards to go.  Andrew's parents came to watch them and Mary got some good pictures.  I on the other hand didn't have a chance to get my camera out.

After the game, we went to La Fuente to celebrate and then it was home to relax a bit and warm up.  Andrew also had an appointment that afternoon that he tried to get in since he is going to be out of the office this week.  And then he met us at the dodgeball tournament.  There only ended up being 3 teams in Jackson's bracket with one of them being a 10 and under girls group.  We only won one game, but the boys had a good time and it was fun to watch them. 


The Tiger Ninjas

 

Brian was nice enough to coach them





Here they are playing Addi's team

 We were at the tournament from about 2:30 to 5 and as soon as we got home, Andrew and Jackson headed out to get in a little hunting before the sun went down.  And Jackson ended up getting his first doe.  I think it took a few shots, but he got it.  He was very excited and had a huge smile on his face when he got home.  One funny thing he said when he was practice shooting with Andrew was that he knew he had to slow his heart rate down before he shot to get the best shot.  I guess it worked :-).  Mary took a picture of Jackson and his proud dad. 

The great hunters didn't go out this morning since Jackson had a full day yesterday and Andrew needed to get some stuff done at the office this morning.  After church I hope to convince Andrew to put away our patio furniture-something I definitely can't do this year.  The cold weather is definitely starting to set in.  My mom just called yesterday morning and said, "It's fruitcake weather."  A line from one of her favorite books, "A Christmas Memory" by Truman Capote.