HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

My kids were all excited about trick-or-treating...they've been counting down the days. I was getting them ready and Brock was begging to be Hulk, (that's what he was last year) and Boston wanted to be a pirate (that's what he was 2 years ago.)

So I got the costume for Brock out and doing so I found Alyssa's old cow costume. I haven't seen Boston so excited about a costume yet! So the vampire costumes I made weren't a hit with my kids. Oh well, what's new.

Brock is flexing so hard that his mask covered his eyes. This picture made me laugh cause he insisted on wearing his cowboy boots with his costume.

I think we can all tell how happy Boston is to be wearing this cow costume. Note the flip flops...he wouldn't budge to change, he insisted on them.

I had to include this pic so you could see the flip flops. I'm not sure where Brock is.


Alyssa went trick-or-treating with her friends this year. She thinks she is getting so old:)




Me and Alyssa with our matching costumes.

Gentry took the boys, and I stayed home to pass out candy.

This picture is my boys exactly!

How the years have paid off:)

I can't believe how much I love having twins. Back in the "crappy" days..literally :), I couldn't imagine loving it so much. They play really good together...well, most of the time.
This is what I looked out the window today to find. And they are having the time of their lives. Why would you even need snow? Sledding on concrete is so easy when you have a brother to pull you along.


Brock is pulling Boston along, because just before this picture Boston was pulling Brock and fell and faked an injury so Brock felt bad and traded spots.

One more quick conversation:

Brock: Mom, why does dad always say 'What's the scoop?'
Me: I don't know, he just wants to know what is going on.
Boston: (laughing at himself) Uh, like do you want a vanilla scoop?
Now I'm laughing because they think they are so funny...which at the moment it was funny.

One more story about Disneyland...

We were talking about Disneyland last night...so I thought before I forget it..write it down.

I love the Ferris Wheel ride in California Adventures because they have the option of swinging carts. They give your stomach butterflies, and I think it's super fun. Gentry and Cyndy feel differently though...they hate it and it makes them sick. So I was going to go on the ride with just me and my kids, but Gentry and Cyndy felt brave and decided to come along. As soon as the swing started doing its thing, I looked at Cyndy and her body went all limp (she was trying to relax so she wouldn't puke.) Then I look over at Alyssa and Brock and they are on the floor freaking out. I'm dying laughing at this point, and Boston (who was scared of every ride) decides to be brave and help everyone out. So he stands up and says "OK everyone, just pretend like you are in a cage, and can't get out"...(how ironic because that is exactly where we were, in a cage and 200 ft in the air...no pretending needed.) At this point I am laughing hysterically, Boston is pretending to fly like he is a bird, Brock is trying to hide under the bench, Alyssa is crying on the floor and asking to get off the ride. Cyndy is doing everything she can not to puke, and Gentry is following suit. Oh man...I can't wait til next time:)

DISNEYLAND

About a month ago, my friend Katie told me about this Swine Flu study they were doing and that if you got the vaccination as part of the study, you could earn $415, per person, you do the math. So I was all for it. If you know me, you know I'm a germ-aphobic (to put it lightly) and I hate getting sick. Not that anyone really likes to get sick, but I start sweating and panicking if I even hear about someone I have been in recent contact with that was sick. So needless to say I couldn't get in quick enough to get the vaccine...and ahem, GET PAID for doing it! I called the study and they said they were booked. I was so bummed so I told the girl if anyone no-shows that I could be there anytime. (I was pretty desperate and pathetic, I think she felt bad for me.) So the next day she called and said we could do the study. I told her I would be right there, and I made Gentry leave work early so he could be part of the study.

My whole family ended up being part of the study, and I told my kids I would make them get the shot anyway, but if they got it at the study we could go to Disneyland. So they all agreed to get the shot. (The only problem was I had to convince them to all come back on 5 different occasions for follow up blood draws.) Gentry was the most upset, in fact I do remember a few choice words he used to describe his misery, and let me know how bad he didn't want to come back...but he was a sport and did it anyway.

Alyssa took this picture and was quite proud of it:)

So on to our Disneyland trip. I booked the trip sort of last minute because we decided to go while Alyssa was still off track. We also had so much fun last year at this time that we decided to do it again at Halloween.

We stayed at the Disneyland hotel for the first time. It was really fun because they have Goofy in the entrance to greet the kids. So we got to get some pictures with him.

I forgot Alyssa's swimsuit so I had to buy this little number at Downtown Disney. It will be the most expensive, and smallest swimsuit she will ever own.
NOTE: Don't forget swimsuits...they are ridiculously priced and teeny tiny, if you get my drift.

I have to say the sad part of this trip was realizing that my kids are getting older. This year they didn't care to get the character autographs like they did in the past. Which, well ended up being a good thing because we didn't have to wait in line to see all of the characters. It seemed like we got to go on more rides. So take your kids to Disneyland...they're only little for a little while:)

My mother in law Cyndy came with us, I don't think Disneyland would be the same without her. She's been with us for every trip, and she likes The Tower of Terror as much as I do. We talked all of my kids into going on the Tower of Terror. Brock was the first to agree. Cyndy bought him a shirt saying "I survived the Tower of Terror" and I think Boston was a little envious and that is the only reason he agreed to go. Alyssa however already had a shirt, so Cyndy bribed her with cash...and it worked. Hey anything to get the kids on the rides that we like.

We dressed up for the Halloween Trick or Treat with Mickey. I thought our costumes turned out pretty cute. I stole my idea from my friend Heather for the skirts. It was fun making them and I started trying to get creative with my hat and tie. I don't know why I put so much effort into it, but it was fun. I made the boys capes, and tried to reuse the other stuff from previous costumes. Gentry was quite the artist, he did his and the boys makeup. I was busy trying to get our tickets printed and the guy in the customer service area of the hotel was about as helpful as a toenail clipping. Let's just say, he shouldn't be working in "customer service". I finally had to go somewhere else and start crying to get someone to help me. (Actually the tears were real, I was so frustrated that I started crying.)

We were a few minutes late to the trick or treat thing, but we still got lots of candy. We were exhausted by the time we got back to the hotel. Gentry brought the boys back early. Brock was having a hard time keeping up because he was so excited he got carrots at one of the spots, so he insisted on eating them while trick or treating. (They did not get their appetites from me, I was on the hunt for some good ol' chocolate while my kids were eating apples and carrots.)

We bought little airbeds for the boys to sleep on. They loved them, and asked if they could still use them at home.

Happy Days!

My friend Adrienne came to Riverton to visit. She brought her two kids. My kids loved every minute. We went to the park, lunch...and of course found some time to do a little shopping. The last night she was here we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese. They loved it all. My boys were so excited to trade in their tickets for a prize. Alyssa was a super good helper with Tenli. They all had a blast, and I was sad she Adrienne had to go back home. I guess her husband missed her...darn.

Oh and we even had a celebrity moment. Boozer was at Chuck E Cheese too!

Pumpkin Pictures

Every year my parents have all the grandkids come pick pumpkins from their garden. The kids love it and they score lots of pumpkins. We did it while Gentry was at work, and I was sad he couldn't be in the pics...and I missed his help when I had to load the pumpkins in the car.













































I love the pics of Boston trying to carry as many pumpkins as his little arms could hold. As if the pumpkins are going to disappear if he's not fast enough.