Our 2009 Halloween

I say this every year and I will say it again......I am not a fan of Halloween. I am not creative. I can't think of cute, creative ideas for my kids to dress up as. Unlike my sister Hollie who always has cute costumes for her kids, I resort to Party City's cheap, crappy, way overpriced costumes. Halloween stresses me out. It's too much prep work. And the candy.....who needs all that candy. I'm gonna be honest here, I throw half of it away. So there.

The Doctor. This is as creative as I get. Logan made a last minute decision to go trick or treating in our neighborhood with some friends from school. I grabbed my lab coat from Microbiology and VOILA.....a doctor. Notice the extra touch I threw in there....the rubber gloves and blood pressure cuff.

Another last minute trick or treater. Karli was a Fairy Princess, compliments of my friend Ashley. Ashley loaned Karli the wings and the tiara and she even came over and did Karli's hair and makeup. Karli loved it. Thanks Ashley!!!

The She Devil. This costume might be a little fitting considering the fiasco that took place on Halloween. Ashley told Karli she had an extra devil costume that Karli could borrow. Madison was having none of it. Madison said it would be embarrassing to walk around in the same costume as her sister. After a lot of drama Ashley convinced Karli to be a fairy princess. Sheesh!!! I guess Karli's own words came back to bite her in the butt. She is always harping on Madison about not wanting to match her sister.

Willie Parker. Yes, Tommy does have a nicer Steeler jersey than this, but he insisted on being Willie Parker. No amount of coaxing would change his mind. Landon and I wanted him to be Troy Palomalu. I was even gonna get him an afro wig that would hang out the back. That's creative, right?

Logan with his cronies-Ashley and the girls-
Our lovely carved pumpkins-

Family Pictures

So. Cal. October 2009

In October we were fortunate enough to take advantage of cheap flights through Southwest. We took the kids to Southern California.

On the agenda: Disneyland, Sea World, Visit the Warners, Eat, Eat, and Eat.

We flew into LAX and then took a shuttle to get our rental car. While at National we ran into this guy:
Dave Chappelle was seemingly agitated as he walked in and out of the rental car place trying to find a car that would suit his needs. At one point frustrated and at the counter he was standing next to Landon and turned to ask "How are you folks doing?" Landon responded "We're doing well Dave." At that he went about his buisness. Just moments before Landon and I had exchanged texts he trying to convince me that the patron was indeed Dave Chappelle. I couldn't buy in to the fact that a celebrity of his level would be renting a car in LA. I guess I was wrong honey!

Grandma and Grandpa Skinner were able to meet us at Disneyland. It was so much fun spending time with them. Grandpa had to get back for work so they weren't able to go to Sea World with us.

Can you tell how pale Logan is? He just got off the roller coaster, California Screamin'. That ride didn't sit so well with him. We got him a little Sprite and the boy was back in business.

Madison was our little daredevil. She wasn't afraid to go on any of the rides. Her and Grandpa Skinner are getting ready to go on the big swing.

Goofy did something goofy with each of the kids as I was taking the pictures. Grandma Skinner decided to dance with Goofy. Hurry up Grandma your holding up the line.

Goofy tried to hide Tommy's face.

He put Karli's hat on crooked.Oh Snap!!!

We ended up leaving Disneyland early because it got so crowded. As soon as California Adventure closed, Disneyland became a zoo and I was afraid of loosing a child. We headed over to California Pizza Kitchen for some dinner. All the kids, except Logan, fell asleep at the table.

SEA WORLD PICTURES

It was our kids' first time at Sea World. They seemed to enjoy it. Landon on the other hand, not so much. Landon was a trooper though. I had been wanting to take the kids to Sea World for a long time and Landon finally agreed. My friend Sarah and her two kids, Kate and Trevor, met us at Sea World. Aside from over priced crappy food, it was a lot of fun.

Tommy at the entrance to Sea World

Do you see Karli down there? We sat in the splash zone at the Shamu show. Karli is down there trying to keep dry. The funny thing is none of us got wet. The Shamu show is a lot cheesier then I remember it as a kid. Do the Sham Slam!?!

Our family waiting for the seal show to start.

While on our trip, we also saw Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3-D.

First Day of School

I realize school started almost 2 months ago, but I am just now getting around to posting about it. (My Dad would be so disappointed that I ended a sentence with a preposition.

I'm just going to be honest here, all my posts from here on out (or maybe just for a few months) will be things that happened months ago. So there. Like I tell my kids, You get what you get and you don't throw a fit.

Tommy-1st grade

Madison-3rd grade

Karli-7th grade

Logan-8th grade