Halloween

We kicked off the Halloween season with a trip to Anderson Farms.  Unfortunately, we didn't spend enough time checking out the forecast, and only got to spend about 30 minutes there before the skies opened up and it started pouring freezing rain.  Didn't stop the kids from having fun riding go carts, racing through the corn maze, and buying a bunch of pumpkins, but it definitely shortened the time we were willing to spend there.  Here are some cute pictures before it got too bad:

Here are the wet and ready to leave kids after we called uncle in the corn maze.  The kids were bummed about the short time with their cousins, so we headed out for pizza instead, which was full of laughs and fun (and wet willys) before Isaac had to go to his baseball game.

We took our (many) pumpkins home and started to decorate the house.  The neighbors started putting out their Halloween stuff awhile back, so we had some catching up to do.  We told the kids we would only help carve the pumpkins if they cleaned out the guts - they didn't get too far before dramatically gagging and begging for help.  We got carving kits to help us graduate beyond the elementary designs we usually do, but they required special tools and some serious elbow grease - so the kids just watched and pointed out where our designs didn't look as good as the pictures (haunted house and a pirate-cat) - but were ultimately happy with the results :)   

  

Finally, on the eve of Halloween, after the kids shamed us for being no fun when we told them we weren't planning to dress up, we all took a trip to the Halloween store to see if there were any costumes that would meet our and the kids' expectations.  The pickens were slim, but we found Mickey and Minnie in our sizes, and everyone was happy. The kids woke up super-excited to wear their costumes to school, (Strawberry Shortcake and Power Ranger) and equally excited to see Bill and me in ours.  We all dressed up, and Bill went to Isaac's school (he agreed to decorate the classroom for the Halloween party) and I took Caitlin.  He met us just in time for Cate's Halloween parade and we hung out for the beginning of her classroom party, before heading back over to Isaac's school.  We missed the parade, but got to see him and all his friends in costume and hang out for the beginning of his party, before we had to go to work.  Both parties were adorable, and the kids were really grateful we were there (along with every other parent - I'm continuously amazed at how few people seem to work around here!)

Here are some pics from Cate's school:

Here is Isaac's party (he's walking toward the crafts table):

On Halloween, we got the whole fam to come to our neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating:  Grandma (flower child), Aunt Alli (school girl), Uncle Chad, Sebastian (speed racer), Aunt Jen, Jaden (grim reaper), Talia (snow queen), and Ari (spider-girl).  The kids had fun running from house to house and got enough candy to last until next year.  

Back at the house, Pilar (Pink Lady) was having fun experiencing her first American Halloween (she had been making adorable crafts with the kids all week in preparation) and Bill and Uncle Chad were making a feast for everyone to enjoy after we warmed up.

After dinner, Isaac, Cate and Sebastian took turns greeting the trick-or-treaters and giving out candy.  Isaac refused to go in until the last trick-or-treater  was done, but Seb and Cate got bored and went in for a dance party.

Before bed, the kids poured out their bounty and catalogued the best and worst pulls, and lamented the fact that we would only let them have one :)  Overall, a very fun Halloween!

Busy kids update

Isaac has been very busy playing baseball and soccer, and learning how to be a Cub Scout.  Bill is just as busy - volunteering to be assistant coach for soccer and baseball, and Den Leader for Isaac's cub scout troop (super-dad!).  Isaac has settled into his new school, making friends and really seems to love it.  We met with his teacher this week, and she says he is a great kid and is generally doing well, but he has some issues with focusing.  He's apparently very social and runs out of time before finishing his assignments in class. We are working with him on this...
Here are some pictures of soccer.  The team has made a LOT of progress this year, and there is actually some real soccer being played at the games, which is fun to watch.

Progress in baseball is not as remarkable, but Isaac really loves it.  He is definitely getting better though, and has gotten a few really good hits, but still struggles with staying engaged when his team is in the outfield.  We may have a theme here...

The cub scout thing is really cute, and actually full of great learning opportunities for the boys.  They learn about nutrition, fire safety, disaster preparedness, and nature through visits to the fire station, recycling center, hikes, etc.  And seeing them in those adorable outfits isn't too bad either.  

Cate has been busy too! She is doing Art at school and takes Hip Hop after school on Fridays, which is super-cute.

At home, she is spending lots of time doing "homework" - every time Isaac has work to do, Cate asks for paper and insists on doing some herself.  She has gotten REALLY good at letters and numbers.  In fact, her teacher told us she is doing better than a lot of the kindergartners in her Montessori class.  She also loves helping with the cooking.  On Saturday mornings, she runs downstairs to get all of the ingredients out for weekend pancakes and insists on doing the measuring and pouring.

Finally, she is still loving her makeup and nail polish.  She is allowed to play with makeup with a grownup in the house, but not wear it out (even that was hard for Bill to swallow!).  She was on probation from nail polish for a few weeks because she mysteriously started biting her nails.  I got this nail polish that tastes gross and put it on her (at her request!) to help her try to stop.  After one week, she broke the habit, and so I followed through on my promise to take her for a real manicure, which she LOVED! Such a little princess...

We have started reading books on the iPad with the kids, because they love the Stepping Stones books - abridged versions of all the classics are available using language/words that they are better able to understand.  So far, we have read Robin Hood, Peter Pan, Swiss Family Robinson, and the kids love it.  We all take turns reading, and get through each in about a week.  At the end, they get to watch the movie after we finish, which they really love.

Finally, they continue to love music and we have lots of dance parties.  Here they are dancing on the counter to "All About That Base" :)

We said goodbye to Mayensi, because her 2 years with the AuPair agency is up.  She has been wonderful with the kids, and we were really sad to see her leave.  She will stay in Colorado under a student visa, so we will still get to see her.  Our new AuPair, Pilar, is from Madrid, Spain.  She just finished law school and wants to spend a year in the states bettering her English as an AuPair before going back to be a lawyer in Spain - if a year living in our house with 2 lawyers doesn't change her mind :)  She is very sweet, and the kids already seem to love her (and so do we!), which is great.

High holidays

We changed things up a bit this year for Rosh Hashana and took the kids for an overnight camping retreat with the "Adventure Rabbi" in the mountains where the leaves were just starting to change.  The point of this holiday is to be contemplative about the year, and we wanted this to be meaningful and fun for the kids.  We met up with friends and pitched a tent before heading to the communal dinner and for an evening service.  The service was a little too traditional, and the kids weren't into keeping still and listening after a full day, so we ducked out early and roasted marshmallows instead.  We bundled the kids in two pairs of PJs, set up their sleeping bags, and tried to get them to sleep while we hung out by the fire and had some adult beverages to keep warm.      

Because it was so cold and quiet, I was very aware of the kids movement all night.  Caitlin seemed to roll out of her sleeping bag every 15 minutes and I got up and put her back in to make sure she didn't freeze.  Notwithstanding, the kids seemed to get a relatively good night's sleep.  Not so much on my part...but it was still fun.  When it got light out, the kids climbed into our air mattress for some snuggles and we all went for a mini-hike to the bathroom before meeting with the other families for a pre-hike breakfast.

Then we headed out, with about 250 other people for a hike and discussions about spirituality and reflections on the year.  The kids split off from the adults to do some arts and crafts, and walk around the lake, which was fun for them.  It was a beautiful day, and I think everyone had a good time.

After the hike, everyone threw rocks into the water in attempt to cast-off bad behaviors and habits that we hope not to continue in the upcoming year.  I think it was a great experience for everyone - s'mores and a focus on spirituality and nature and family.
Later that week we all went to Aunt Jen's for a delicious Rosh Hashana dinner with the rest of the family and the cousins had lots of fun together.

For Yom Kippur we took the kids to the Adventure Rabbi kids service for some songs and stories and then had 25 people at our house to break the fast - 12 kids!!  Everyone had a great dinner, but with that many kids, we were running around so much I forgot to take pictures!  Oh well, next year!

Finally, for Sukkot, we went to Bethany and Andre's house to eat a delicious dinner outside in their Sukkah.  It's been a busy fall!

First day of school

Two days after we got back from Disney, on Isaac's 6th birthday, school started again.  Isaac was a little apprehensive about starting a new school (4th school in four years), but at orientation he realized that he was in the same class as one of his friends from kindergarten and one of the twins, so he was immediately comfortable.  We had been talking all summer about how cool it was that school was so close to the house, so Isaac was determined to walk to school.  Apparently, the entire neighborhood had the same idea, the streets leading up to the school looked like a parade.   I was amazed at how many of our neighbors had kids at Eldorado, but it's a K-8 with about 1000 students, so it makes sense.  It made the neighborhood feel like a close community, which was nice and reaffirmed our decision to move here.  I was a little emotional taking him to first grade (!!), but he was full of confidence, giving me a quick hug and sending me on my way once we found his class.  Bittersweet... :)

Caitlin went back to the Louisville Montessori for her PK-4 year, but was just as excited for the first day as if she was starting real school.  Bill and I dropped her off together, which made her feel extra special, and she was very happy to see her friends and be back in her favorite teacher, Ms. Jean's class.  

The summer flew by in a flash, and now we're back into the routine of school again, but the kids seem happy to be back, which is a great relief.