Visitors from Idaho

Thanks to a medical conference, my parents came to stay for a few days.  My dad only spent one day at the conference and the rest of the time we were able to play.  The boys LOVED having them here.  The moment they walked through the door my poor parents were attacked!

 Grandma was a great little piano coach and even played a few duets with Dillon -- sweet!

 Caleb wanted in on the fun too!

 One night we got a sitter and went with my parents to a Bulls basketball game.

We made a quick stop at the Jordan statue on our way in.

 We had pretty good seats, so we were able to really see how giant those guys are!

 It was so fun to share the experience with my awesome parents...

 ...and my hubby.

 Close games are fun to watch -- unfortunately we lost in the end, but it was still awesome to be there.

Back at home, my dad was the greatest sport, letting the boys "dress him up", etc.  And my mom always takes the time to read with the boys.  I love it!  Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of it.

 Caleb loved Grandpa's squeezes!

 The night before they left we ate at All Aboard Diner.

 Fun to show off our favorite places.

Thanks for coming Mom and Dad.  We always love having you and hope you'll come back soon!

Sorry we sent you home with sickness :(

Halloween Festivities

Once again, lots of fun Halloween festivities this year.

The boys first put on their costumes to go to a Fall festival.

 Costumes look familiar?  Dillon and Wesley both wanted to repeat their costumes from last year.  And Caleb is wearing the same costume Wesley did at that age.  Not too creative, but a really easy costume year for this mommy!

 The horse rides made the whole event worth it.  Wesley was in heaven!!

 I didn't plan on letting Caleb ride, but he was reaching for the horses and they said he could, so off he went.

So cute!

 The other highlight was the balloons.  We stood in quite the line to get a horse and two doggies.

 Next stop, Halloween party at the church.

 Wesley changed costumes, also a costume used last Halloween.

 The parking lot is under construction, so instead of going trunk to trunk to collect candy, the kids just walked through the halls of the church collecting.  It was a little hectic, but still lots of fun.

 Next festivity -- Carving and Dinner in a Pumpkin

 ...with great friends!

 The finished Chandler pumpkin.

 Then onto the cooked pumpkin -- yum!

 Yummy Pumpkin dinner, rolls, salad and pumpkin bars.  Mmmm!

Up next, school parties.

 We got to go to Wesley's preschool for the last bit of the party.

 Caleb enjoyed the sprinkles for the ice cream :)

 I put Caleb down for a nap (while my neighbor listened for him) and took Wesley with me to cheer Dillon on in the school parade.

 The culmination of the festivities -- Trick or Treating!

We have way too much sugar in this house now.  I'm trying to ration it so my kiddos don't get too sick.

But we sure had a great Halloween.  Children make it fun!  Love my boys!

A Strange Happening

Has anyone seen this girl?

She seems to have been replaced today with a highly productive housewife.  This woman cleaned 4 toilets, endless floorboards, several walls and doors, mopped the entire main floor and 3 bathrooms, washed and put away the dishes and vacuumed 4 rooms.  All this while somehow still being able to read to, dance with, help with homework, and bathe 3 beautiful children.

How is this possible???  The 4-year-old had a friend over for a couple hours, keeping him entertained in the basement, the 1-year-old took a nice long nap, the 7-year-old did his homework without complaining and played nicely with his brothers, and the mommy stayed home all day and kept the computer off (until now, so I could gloat!)

Most days I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water.  I needed a day like today!