Halloween Fun!

We had so much fun Trick or Treating this year. Creed and I were both under the weather, so we took a quick family pic (below) and headed to the first few houses. I then headed home with my tired, stuffed-up little Superman and let him sleep in his fun little costume. The boys had a blast!

Family Photo

We T or T with our neighbors each year. Emily prepared Mummy Hotdogs while I made Kitty Litter Cake and a Witch's Brew. Fun!

Boys annual photo by the carved pumpkins! ;)

Here's Creed's attempt at Trick or Treating. I don't know if you can tell, but that's his little red cape. I persuaded him to finally walk up to the first house (the boys were already ringing the doorbell), and he just plowed right through the boys and kept on walking - right into the lady's house! Down the hall into the living room...made himself right at home!

Here he is being retrieved by Jonah (hand with the blue sleeve). Poor guy, he had no idea what was going on!

Fun with Mycah and Cali

We were able to visit the McClendons (Cory and Michelle) and their two little ones Mycah (11 days younger than Jonah) and Cali (a year younger than Creed). Rusty and Cory were at work, and Carson was at school, so it was just Michelle and I and the little ones. I wish I could report to you that Cali is the sweetest thing to hold - but I wouldn't know! Creed was in high gear the entire time we were there. I never got my hands on sweet Cali! I will next time though...

Here's a pic of Mycah and Jonah together. They played so well - it didn't matter if they were playing with princesses or pirates, they were happy to be together! Two peas in a pod!

Surprise!

I surprised the boys this evening by turning down the wrong street when we left Jonah's practice. We typically rush to AWANA at church straight from practice. Instead, I turned back towards our house. They were so confused! Our friends Brian and Tammy Smith invited us to FBCAllen's Fall Festival. It was a special treat for the boys as our church's fall festival is always on Halloween night, and we like to Trick or Treat in lieu of going to it. Here are some pics from the fun filled night!

Here's our attempt to get a pic of all 3 boys as we arrived. It was like pulling teeth to get Carson and Jonah to stand still for a pic. They were so ready to hit the bounce houses!

Jonah, Caden G., Carson, Laken, Ian, Caden S. and Landon Too cute!

Batman had a blast!

Inside the church they had toddler games set up. I finally let Creed out of his stroller. He's going to be a little athlete as well I think! Here he is at 14 months dribbling the soccer ball down to the goal and scoring!

If only he were 3 feet taller...

Creed-O on the go!

As soon as the back door opens, Creed puts it into high gear. Usually he heads straight for the playset where he climbs up into the club house and slides down the slide (feet first) on his tummy. It keeps him entertained for hours, but it's dangerous (and very scary for Mom), so you have to follow him around as he climbs and slides, climbs and slides, etc.

Yesterday when the door opened he tried to take off the opposite direction of the playset. I was busy in the kitchen and couldn't stay outside, so I grabbed him and brought him in with me. After dinner, I let him go outside and took the camera to document what he's been up to. Let's just say we should have named him Monkey. What 14 month old does this?!?!

Hi Mom!

Follow me...


We'll just give this the 'ole college try...

almost there...

try again...

Yes! Now if I could just get my leg out from between the springs!

Yea!

Wanna jump Mom?

The best part? The finale - the famous crooked grin. Sometimes he slides it to the right, sometimes the left. Depends on what mood he's in. We love him! Thank you God for our sweet baby boy.

Note the puke on his shirt. I guess all of that pressure from the trampoline was hard on his little tummy. :(

Dad's Home!

Rusty flew in Sunday afternoon from Vancouver. Poor guy, he worked 85 hours last week alone! I sent him with the camera and when he came home and I looked through the camera, there were only pics from his office window. :( The view wasn't bad, but I know he would have enjoyed sight seeing a bit while he was there.

When he got in Sunday we enjoyed a few minutes with Granny and Aunt Debbie before they left (a big THANK YOU to Granny and Deb for helping Saturday and Sunday!) and then we had a fun game of soccer in the backyard, swing time on the playground and a walk around the neighborhood. We returned to find our pumpkins ready to be carved...so the boys got right to work!

Rusty heads back to Vancouver Tuesday morning. He's going to try and be home for Halloween though!

View from the E&Y office in Vancouver, BC, Canada

Pumpkin Carving with Dad!

Slumber Parties!

Thanks to our dear friends JD and Christy Smitherman, Carson and Jonah were able to play at their home Friday afternoon so that I could spend some time with Creed and conquer the weekly grocery shopping. Rusty found out that he will fly home Sunday, and return to Vancouver Tuesday morning.

As night grew near on Friday, Christy suggested we let Carson spend the night over there, and Eli at our house (Eli is 3). What a treat! I know this may sound funny, but it was sooooo much easier being able to mix things up a bit! Eli and Jonah are good buddies and no one was scared or in need of Mommy late at night, so all was well! Here are some pics...

Eli and Jonah enjoying some Arthur before bed time.

Eli S. at the game Saturday morning - just taking it all in.

Carson dressing up in his buddy Cade Smitherman's football gear!

Full Speed Ahead

I've learned not to bother taking a chair to the boys' practices and games. It's just not worth it! As soon as Creed's feet hit the ground he takes off running. I have to face him in the direction that I want to travel, because wherever he is facing is the direction he goes! He uses his belly button as a sort of headlight, leading the way infront of him. He sticks his belly so far out when he walks - it's gotta hurt his back! He's getting a little more hair - which is fun. He loves to bark like a dog and roar like a lion.

Everyone that sees him comments on his big blue eyes. They are strangely large! He gets that from his Aunt T.

Crazy Hat Day

Today was Crazy Hat Day at school. Carson said, "Since Jonah's head is bigger, can he wear this hat?" He switched, only to find that the other hat was too big for him also. The first of many realizations that Carson will have that his "little" brother is actually going to be a lot "bigger" than him! My dad always jokes that Carson is going to threaten bullies in school that he will sick his Big Little Brother on them! ;) Funny thing is, at the rate that Creed is growing, he may be bigger than both of them!

Weekend Chaos!

Our Weekend - Just the 4 of Us!

Well, it was a weekend full of fun activities! I had a lot of people asking me what I had going on this weekend with Rusty out of town. Well, let me recap:

Sat
9:00 AM Carson's Game (for some odd reason, it was "rained out". I found this out after I had everyone dressed ON TIME and at the field. So instead...)
9:45 AM Haircuts and Grocery Store (see pics, we desperately needed these!)
10:30 AM Birthday party - ELLA!
3:00 PM Pictures - Jonah
3:00 PM Game - Carson
4:00 PM Game - Jonah
6:00 PM Fall Party

Well, we survived. T came in to help with the 3PM overlap and I was able to watch some of Carson's game and some of Jonah's. I was driving all over Allen/Plano. Jonah and Creed were able to take a nap, although a little short. I was also able to catch a little of the OU/Texas game. Great game!

We didn't make it to the Fall Party. Carson had a meltdown at Jonah's game, so we skipped the party and went on a walk to the movie store where we rented...drumroll please...HANNAH MONTANA! I loved this movie! Dare I say the boys did too? We snuggled up on the couch and watched it together. It was the perfect end to a busy Saturday.

I'm proud of the boys - they did very well this weekend. I'm happy to say that Jonah scored 2 goals and Carson scored 2 touchdowns. They both LOVE sports! It's so fun to go and support them.

Sunday
9:30 Church (I teach Carson's class, bring breakfast for my class)
1:00 Meet T (She left her things at our house the day before, so we drove to Dallas to return them)
4:00 Birthday Party @ Chuck E Cheese
5:00 Special Family Night Worship at Church
6:00 Bible Study
7:00 HOME!

OK, so I know this was tedious, it's just humorous for me to see what we were able to accomplish in 2 short days! ;) I loved having time with the boys, but for the record, I MISS MY HUSBAND! I didn't realize how much he does to help out, until he's gone! So Rusty - hurry home! We are surviving, but we really miss you. The Family Night Worship was amazing - but not the same without the leader of OUR family there.

I love my family and my friends. Thanks so much for your support while Rusty is away!

Before haircut - and false start on the soccer game!

Post Haircut

Carson going in for a Touchdown!

Jonah after a goal - notice his hands, what can I say, we're working on it!

Red faced Jonah. Both of the older boys inherited this trait from the Grider side of the family. We'll see if Creed gets it too!

Happy Friday!

We decided to take a pic of the boys for Daddy (still in Vancouver). A cold front blew through last night, so we were finally able to break out some of the long sleeved shirts. Jonah had school today so Carson, Creed and I did a little shopping and then went up to Ford Middle School where I used to teach in Allen. It was so good to see some of my old friends. Everyone seemed happy and hard at work! It reminded me how much I miss teaching!

Close

Closer

Closest

Side note: As cute as Creed looked, he did not wear this outfit all day. After we dropped Jonah off at school, we stopped back by the house where Creed decided to turn the water on in my bathtub and just jump right in! Turning the water on is his favorite thing to do. Jumping in is new...he is a monkey just like Carson. Thankfully he doesn't know how to use the stopper.

Camping with Paw

After many failed attempts at the "perfect" Christmas gift for my Dad, Trisha and I decided to take him camping with the boys as his gift this year. He had a blast! We headed to Broken Bow, OK and stayed right next to Beaver's Bend state park. It was cold all weekend - which made it perfect weather for a campfire! This was probably the favorite part of the trip for the boys. Wait, actually the favorite part was the product of those campfires - the SMORES! Duh. I should have said that in the first place. ;)

Here we are, just arrived, about to head out for a scavenger hunt!

How blessed am I to have such a wonderful Dad?!?! He loves my children more than life itself. I worry about him because he lives alone in the middle of nowhere, but he's happy and he loves it. So, I let him be. His home is a shrine to his grandsons! Poor me, poor Trisha and poor Lance. We are definitley overshadowed by these 4 handsome little boys. It's funny, he bought a color picture printer the middle of this year. When it was too hot for him to work outside, he went to work printing out 8x10 of the boys, and hanging them all over his house! I'll have to take a pic next time I'm over there. It's hilarious - but sooooo sweet.

I'm so thankful that we've started this family tradition with Dad. Trisha and I decided that only Dad, his kids and grandkids are allowed. NO husbands! Rhonda can come, but no smelly men trying to tell Daddy how to stir the fire! ;) Nothing like special time with my Daddy...

Creed after a hike, I think we wore him out!