To Be or What to Be? Preparing for Halloween...

As the boys grow older, the holidays become more and more fun to share with them.  We have had such a ball just trying on costumes for Halloween and playing fun dress up.

For a while the boys were changing what they wanted to be for Halloween every week.  Elijah went from a pirate to a rock star, to a daddy, to a cowboy (which is our current pick).  Joaquin was all over the place.  First, he wanted to be a ghost, then a flashlight, then a car, then a refrigerator, then spiderman, then a pirate (which is our current pick).  I'm glad he didn't go with the fridge, cause that would have been a tough costume to create!

Here are a few pics of our fun times leading up to Halloween:

The boys loved trying on mommy and daddy's old costume wigs.  I was trying to get them to pose, but the fact that Elijah was wearing a sherif cowboy vest and Joaquin was just in his skivvies, there wasn't much I could do to make them look any more awesome. :)

Oh, I forgot to mention that there was a brief moment (in the costume store) that the boys both wanted to be Darth Vader.  Joaquin kept lowering his voice to a breathy tone and saying "Luke, I am your Father." (Since daddy has shown them numerous Star Wars Youtube videos.

So here is our current costume pick!

Believe it or not, that suede sherif vest was my brother John's when he was little.  My mom saved it and Elijah was soooooo excited to get to wear it.  Mommy made the chaps and gun holster and he is wearing my cowboy hat (which sadly enough, fits both our heads)

Joaquin is easy to please.  Give him a hat, a patch and a knife and he's the coolest pirate on the planet!  

This picture was taken before we told him that pirates don't smile for pictures.  They are supposed to look tough. :)

But, man, Elijah knew how to pose!

Here is the second shot with a more serious pirate.

Ready to head to their first Halloween party.

Joaquin's costume didn't last long when he got in the bounce house at the Halloween party.

Elijah was a total ham!

He went into automatic cowboy poses when dad brought out the camera.

They had a blast at the party!

And, of course, the pumpkin preparations!  

Joaquin wouldn't even touch the stuff, but Elijah thought it was freaking hillarous to pull out the slimy pumpkin guts!

Here is our family pumpkin this year.  The boys said they wanted a, and I quote, "Happy Robot Pumpkin", whatever that is.  This is the interpretation daddy came up with and they seemed happy, so I think we can call that one a success.

Here is Elijah's mini pumpkin.  I think he did a pretty good job!  He was soooooo proud of it and wanted to make sure that mommy took a picture of his pumpkin too!

And of course, this is the way I found the boys this morning...both asleep on the playroom floor.  They were so excited that "tomorrow is Halloween" that they couldn't keep in their bedrooms.

Fall has Arrived!

The boys have been so excited about fall and all the holidays that are on their way!  The first day we felt a chill in the breeze, they ran in the closet to grab their coats.  Last year Mimi and Papaw have them matching jean jackets with hoodies that they love.  They couldn't wait to wear them again!

We decided to do a little fall cleaning and started with the garage.  There were a lot of things to go and the boys 'helped' us pull things out and put them into the car to take to the salvation army.  That night be had hot-dogs on the porch and watched the beautiful Texas sun set.  

Fires are a new fall activity the boys have been enjoying!  The boys love to get out of the bath at night, put on their jammies and go cuddle by the fire for a few minutes before heading to bed.

But evenings are the only time the boys enjoy the fireplace.  It has become a quick family favorite to make lego creations by the fire on Saturday mornings while eating a slow breakfast. (Which usually consists of requests from the boys for either homemade pancakes, cinnamon rolls or waffles.) 

:)

This is a typical morning, with the boys running into our bed to cuddle up under the covies.

 I just threw this photo in there because it was cute.  Daddy threw Joaquin into the ball basket at Walmart because he was begging for it and honestly, he had a blast! :)

This fall weather has also brought us all out to enjoy the clear air...

here's daddy with Joaquin on one of our park picnics.

All my boys, having lunch.  Elijah and Joaquin love to wear their candy corn hats! 

(Thanks Tia Carolina!)

Mommy and her boys enjoying the weather.

And of course, as the boys realize the weather is getting colder, they know that Christmas is on it's way.  And, isn't Christmas the one day that the kid calendar revolves around?

Ian has a card maker ap on his phone and the boys wanted to design a card as soon as they realized Christmas was only a few months away.  This is the card they designed and the words they wanted on the card.  :)

I think we may pass on sending this one out as our yearly card, but it is fun to share it with you all!

Engrish Funnies

This is a kind of random post, but I was scanning through one of my favorite funny sites and I had to share.  Everyone needs a laugh now and again.

Engrish.com is a site that people send in photos they took of funny English translation mistakes in public notices, directions, signs, advertising and/or product designs.  

Since Adam and Chandra live in China and Ian is working with Chinese translations and packaging all the time, I think these mistranslations are hilarious.  I hope they put on your smile face too! :)

Pumpkin Patch

The boys had been counting down the days till the Pumpkin Patch at the church down the road from us opened its' gates.  Every day we drove by on our way to school and the boys would scream out some new addition they noticed had been set out in front of the church in an effort to get ready for the pumpkins.  The pallets were out last week.  They hay stacks were being set up the week before.  Finally, this week, the first of October, the pumpkins arrived and the 'open' sign was set out.

The boys were elated!  We weren't able to wait even one day after they opened to get our pumpkins.  Instead, we were decked out in orange and in the parking lot of the church on October 1st -- opening day.

I'm not sure what it is that makes rows and rows of pumpkins so appealing to kids, but they love it!  Of course they were willing to appease mommy and daddy for a few posed photographs, but other than that, they were off like the rows of pumpkins were orange cones lining a race track!

By the end of our time at the patch, the boys each chose a mini-pumpkin of their own and we picked our big family one for the front porch...it was a success.  Here are some photos from our trip.

This was our one posed photo in front of the hay stacks.

Elijah giving hugs to his favorite scarecrow.

Joaquin had a great idea to shake hands with the scarecrows for a photo op.

Mommy and her little Hawk

Joaquin's selection process to find his perfect personal pumpkin

The loved the mini pumpkins.  In fact, they have slept with them in their beds every night since we purchased them.

Elijah's run around the patch.

And, now Joaquin is off and running

Mommy and Joaquin -- Crazy Pumpkin Eyes

Rows and Rows

I made Ian take a photo of the church door because every time I drive by it I wish I had my camera...beautiful huh?

Well, that's it for now.  I hope everyone has a wonderful month of pumpkins!  The boys still haven't nailed down what they want to be for halloween.  It changes every week.  So far the list has been: a cliche ghost (a sheet with eyes cut out, which I pray Joaquin doesn't pick because I can just see him tripping all over this thing -- major safety hazard), a cowboy, a pirate, a car, and a flashlight. :) ha!

We will see when the end of the month comes, what the boys decide.  I'm sure that post will come soon.