Halloween

We, per the usual, had a lovely Halloween!

Started this morning with Eli and Roby in costume, headed off to school.

The parade, in two parts this year, kicked off the afternoon.  We had 3 super heroes and a bat.  Not a batman bat.  Just a bat.

Bat costume was inspired by Pinterest and sewed entirely by SJ and Emma.  Very impressive.  

At home post parade, we made three batches of chili and 8 boxes of mac n' cheese as we prepared for 60 guests for dinner.  We got ready to give out candy.

 We waited for the sun to go down.

 Dave was Captain America, I was Wonder Woman too.

 Annual favorite moment.

Corduroy was there too. 

Happy Halloween!

Just for fun, some Halloween Pasts

Halloween 2014

Halloween 2012

Halloween 2011

First day of school!

Successful first day of school today!  We started with eggs and toast by dad and new clothes by mom.

 Roby has Ms. Roho.  We LOVE Ms. Roho and are thrilled to be in her class.  She is 100% lovely.  Roby made sure his hair was brushed and all in place before school.

 Eli also has Ms. Roho.  We are thrilled (also.)

 Anna has Ms. B. who used to be Ms. D (pre-marriage, when SJ had her for 2nd.)   Anna has a tough cohort.  We're hoping for a good year this year.

Sarah Jane has Ms. Goyen.  Ms. Goyen reportedly gives a lot of homework and is very strict.  Fifth grade is for reals.

 

 We got goofy at the end of the photo shoot.

 Then we went to Grandma & Zeke's to walk to school

 Grandma walked with us.

 So did dad.

 Zeke and his camera were there too.

 We paused for a final picture.

 Anna went with Dave to find Ms. B.

 Sarah Jane found Ms. Goyen with me.

 And more importantly, Emma.

 Anna found Isabella.

Grandma & Zeke helped Eli & Roby find Ms. Roho.  Roby carefully told her that their mother would pick them up after school and then Eli carefully asked Grandma to inform their mother of said fact.

 Everyone ended school with smiles and reports of good moments.  After school we gathered up 10 children and walked to Grandmas.

There were some of our regulars and some newbies as well.  We looked at the fish pond on the way home, per tradition.

 We had cheese and crackers, lemonade, and fresh baked cookies, per tradition.

While the kids enjoyed their snacks, the mothers screwed 400+ light bulbs into the market lights for the upcoming wedding in the backyard.  Very efficient!  All in all a lovely first day of school. 

Eli & Roby turn 6

The boys turned 6 last Wednesday.  We celebrated with pancakes, cupcakes at school, lemon squares at Lemonade Wednesday at Grandma's house, "Brinner"  (French Toast for dinner), and finally chocolate cake.

By the time we got to the chocolate cake, both boys declined, opting to excuse themselves and play with their newly acquired toys (legos, more legos, and some more legos.)

On Saturday we had their party.  Seven guests (Isley, Toby C., Aarush, Grant, Tadeo, Avery, and very importantly, Mrs. Aki - teacher extraordinaire, first person on Roby's invite list, AND Avery's mom,) were there.  Along with several older siblings.

In the calm before the storm, Grandma read.

 There were lots of snacks, and pizza too.

We tie dyed shirts for everyone.  Anna was the ring master.  The shirts were a success.  In the background you can see our (broken) jumpy house.  The motor died in the heat.  Dave "MacGyver"Hoverman put the motor in the freezer and thankfully resurrected it for the last 30 min of the party.  Thankfully as I'd gotten off a plane from NY that morning, had been up since 2;30am and was ready to put myself in the freezer if it didn't start working.

Five was a pretty good year.  It was the year of lost teeth (three from Roby and three from Eli), the latest captured below:

 Five was still loving trains, and definitely loving playing together.

Five was graduating from pre-school and instantly moving on.

Five was Kindergarten at Cragmont and really, really loving Mrs. Aki. Five was learning to read and making new friends. 

Five was still morning snuggles, mostly from Roby but sometimes from Eli.  Five is songs at night - My Country Tis Of Thee for Roby (we're taking it back from the MAGAers) and Hodie for Eli.  They don't just listen, they sing now too.

Five was getting new bikes and not caring that they were pink.

Five was ski team and graduating to poles.

Five is soccer; Eli on offence and Roby on D.

Five is still being really good friends.

Five was Tahoe, NCY, Hamptons, and Florida to visit with GG.

Five is still pretty cute (school pictures below.)

We are excited to see what Six will bring.

Just for fun, here's where they were last year.

Easter 2017

We kicked off Easter with yet another painful stairway photo pause.  As you can see from the pained expressions below, these guys were working hard to cheerfully tolerate anything that stood between them and the loot from the Easter bunny.  Even making their beds, showering AND brushing their hair, and fancy clothes.  

 They finally got the go-ahead to attack the living room (we were inside due to our never ending rain this year.)

 After the successful completion of the hunt we had a lovely breakfast.

 And time with books and stuffies from the Easter bunny.

 We then headed off church and convened at Grandma & Zeke's.

 We dyed eggs.

 And FaceTimed with Evie.

 Post lunch we selected our future egg fight winners.

And then the fierce competition began.  Some would say Zeke won this year.  Others may say it was Roby.  We will have to reconvene next year to determine the true winner.

With the egg fight behind us, we lined up for the second hunt of the day.  Also indoors due to weather.

 The troops were enthusiastic.

 Fast.

 And thorough.

Happy Easter!