Halloween Costumes

Webby

We had a visitor in our house this past week. Webby, the Chilean Rose Tarantula was welcomed into the family. The kids really took to her. They watched her cage endlessly. Levi even put a piece of his Hubba Bubba bumblegum in her cage to "share" with the spider. Luke was very affectionate towards Webby and would wave and blow kisses while continually saying, "Hi! Hi!" Candace and Levi kept their distance most of the time. 

Becky and James each took Webby out once for the kids to get some hands on experience. Joshua is very comfortable with the spider, while the rest of us are not so comfortable. 

For more pictures, please visit Candace's Creations.

The Living Cuteness

Luke and Levi have moved up into the next clothing sizes. They fit these shirts that I used to dress Joshua and Levi in. Matching boys! They are also both wearing their "Newsie" hats I made last summer. 

Carving Pumpkins

Tonight we carved pumpkins as a family. They were pumpkins grown in our very own garden!!!!! That is very exciting to me. 

Brothers

This is the boys yesterday. They had a great time playing in the empty boxes as Candace and I organized the clothes in the storage room. 

Someone Else Got Glasses

Becky and I found the best Smee glasses for Luke at Build-A-Bear. 

Update on the Sign Situation

I thought Bryan would particularly appreciate this slogan. 

Someone's Learned How To Give Kisses

...if it has love.

Candace wrote a poem and wanted to share it.

A days a rhyme

A times a line

A heart is great

if it has love.

Black Eye Documentation

Poor Levi ran into a wall. A black eye was the result and here are the first few days after the accident. 

Lego Temple

Legos continue to be a big hit at our house. This is one of Joshua's recent creations. He brought it out from the room and was very excited to tell me that he'd built the temple. Sweet boy. Oh I wish I had written this post right after it happened, because he said something really cute. It was something like, "Can you guess what this is, mom? A building with beautiful flowers outside it? - The temple!"

Conference Weekend

In between conference sessions on Saturday Marie took us to a fun park to have the kids burn off some energy. What ended up happening was the parents doing all the energy burning and the kids were left with more than ever. 

Luke had a great time. He didn't even take it too personally when his mother dropped him out of the swing onto his head. 

The kids really loved this old-fashioned merry-go-round. Joshua took great pride in his ability to push it.

Guess Who With Bonus Recipe

The other night we had Pacific Rim Stir-fry for dinner. It is a family favorite around here and we have it often. I'm posting the recipe at the end for those who want to try it. 

At the end of the meal, I looked at the kids' plates and I had to laugh. 

Now comes the pop quiz.

Which plate belongs to which child?

Please post guesses at comments.

The winner will be revealed this Sunday.

The first specimen features chicken and rice with every single vegetable gone. Some rice was eaten, but very little chicken. 

The second picture shows all rice and chicken eaten with the vegetables left over. Now to be fair, this particular child did eat a few of the vegetables, just not all of them, by any means.

This third sample features all three: rice, chicken and vegetables. This child did eat a little of dinner, but obviously not very much.

Now the fourth picture shows a virtually empty plate. This child ate almost all of their portion.

Which is which?

Pacific Rim Stir-fry

5 carrots, peeled and sliced into strips

1 red pepper, diced

2 heads of broccoli, cut into bite size pieces

2 breasts of chicken, cut into bite size pieces

1 cup chicken broth (I use water)

4 Tbsp soy sauce

4 tsp cornstarch

4 tsp basil

1 tsp crushed red peppers

Sautee the vegetables in oil on medium high starting with the carrots for 2 minutes. Then add the broccoli for 2 minutes and finally the red pepper for two minutes. When soft remove vegetables to a bowl on the side.

Cook chicken till there is no pink (about 10 minutes).

Push chicken to side of pan and pour in mixture of broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, basil and crushed red peppers. Simmer and stir until slightly thickened.

Turn heat to low and add vegetables back in.

Warm and serve over rice. 

Peter Pan

Levi's Last Day of Soccer

Look at Levi! He is so darn cute. 

I love this picture.

What a beautiful girl.

Candace is a big help during Levi's practices. She watches Luke and Joshua on the playground.

This whole soccer season Levi has been practicing practicing practicing. On his last day he got to play a scrimmage for a few minutes. They put on flags and let the kids loose on the field.

Yes, Levi is sticking out his tongue in this picture.  

And in this next one, too! 

The game was quite entertaining to watch. The kids spent more time chasing the ball outside of the field than inside it. It was actually quite frustrating for the referee. When someone would kick the ball out of bounds, the referee would try to get the kids to give him the ball for the throw-in. Instead of complying, they would run around kicking the ball and the ref had to chase them down EVERY time to get control of the ball. 

Lining up to get his medal ... his favorite part of the experience.

Cheesy, cheesy grin.