Halloween

On Halloween I took the day off work so that I could go and see Cairo's Halloween program at her preschool.  Jonah and Cairo dressed up in their costumes- Cairo was Mulan and Jonah was a cowboy- and we headed out.  We got to see Cairo's class parade around the courtyard and sing songs.  After the program, Erik and I headed home with Jonah while Cairo finished her school day.  Jonah and I spent some serious time building and playing with his train set.  Then, it was off to pick Cairo up, a quick nap, pumpkin carving, trick-or-treating on Myrtle, doing a little drive by tick-or-treating, and then we roamed our neighborhood.  The kids had a great time.  Those candy bags are a very coveted item!

Speed Racer

Go speed racer!  The kids have been enjoying taking their bikes for a ride on the bike trail.  Cairo vacillates between riding as fast as she can and being too scared to pedal faster than an inch per minute.  We're working our way through it, though.  Jonah, on the other hand, just pedals away on his little push bike.  He liked to collect "'tuff" in the little bucket on the back.

Hello, October!

October is here.  The days are getting shorter.  The weather is getting a little cooler (let me stress a little).  The leaves are starting to change colors and fall to the ground.  To get in the spirit of fall we went on a trip to Apple Valley and the pumpkin patch.

The kids getting ready-

At the pumpkin patch the kids wandered around and chose a few small pumpkins and gords.  They were excited to share all treasures they found.  After we paid for our loot, we found a nice shady tree, ate some lunch, and capped it off with some apple pie.

Now that we had some of our fall decorations, we needed to start getting into the Halloween spirit.  With the help of the kids we decorated with some scary decorations- little ghosts, spider webs, and spiders.  Plus, the kids used some finger paints to spruce up their pumpkins.  Jonah's first choice of color to paint on the pumpkin with was orange, but it didn't take too much convincing to get him to use a color with a little more contrast.

We tried to get Jonah to pose for a picture with his pumpkin, but he apparently didn't want his picture taken.  Erik tried to bring him over, but Jonah tired to squirm away...

but, we kept at it...

... and he was able to squirm away...

...not a happy camper...

... but I couldn't help clicking a few more pictures.  No Mommy!

Alas, our scary house!

Helpin' Out

Lately, the kids have been difficult.  Getting up at five in the morning EVERY morning difficult.  Yelling and screaming at five in the morning difficult.  Refusing to take naps, but really needing it difficult.  Getting out of bed fifty times at bedtime difficult.  (Come on guys, our life isn't that fun.  You don't need to be up at all hours.) Always fighting over who gets to go first, fighting about who sits next to who at the table, who gets to brush their teeth first, who gets to have the first book, who gets to sit on Mommy's lap D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T!  

Look, it's Mr.Happy.

 On the upside, though, they have been eager to help us out on various projects.  Like putting together the new bunk bed-

Cleaning up around the house.  Yup, Cairo wore her evening gown, pearls, and heels to vacuum. One must always look their best.

Helping fix chairs-

With all that work and no sleep- it makes a little guy awfully tired...