Halloween Fun

This was the first year my kids have requested "scary" costumes which I blame on our obsession with Heroica.

Here is this year's lineup:

Leah as a vampire

Lincoln as a werewolf

Peter as the cutest zombie ever seen

And Eli as a fireman (the only non-Heroica costume).

We were able to squeeze in several wearings of the costumes thanks to all the festivities going on.

 We had our school carnival, which we invited some friends to attend with us.

Then there was our ward trunk or treat.  Eli couldn't quite get the hang of saying  "Trick or Treat" so he would call out "Yay! Halloween!" as we approached each car.  It proved to be just as effective, if not more.

We spent the actual Halloween day hanging out among the Truffula Trees at a neighborhood festival.

and enjoying the loot from the trunk-or-treat. 

Ahhh... there's nothing quite like having a lollipop for each hand (and probably a few spares in his pockets)

Since we had already collected plenty of candy, we decided to forgo trick-or-treating that night and instead enjoyed toenail soup with moldy eyeballs and sorted our candy for the Candy Witch.  It's a well known fact that the more candy you leave for the Candy Witch, the cooler the toys you get... so our kids were very generous this year and were rewarded with PlayDoh sets, Polly Pocket dolls, and Legos!

Definitely a good trade!

Eli is THREE!!!

Eli (aka Captain Chaos) turned three last week, but since Dad was in Puerto Rico we waited until he came home for the festivities.  

He was thrilled to be able to open presents just for him and loved the coloring books, puzzles, Mr Potato Heads, and his new baseball cap.

While all of my kids are very active, Eli is by far my most physical.  He has the most amazing balance and can climb things most three year olds won't attempt unless mom is standing nearby.  I've learned to just hold my breath and be ready to run to the rescue (although that rarely is needed). 

He and Peter have a great time playing together (usually) and it is sometimes a challenge to keep them busily engaged in something constructive.  I can always tell when I'm falling down on the job because I find lipstick smeared all over my mirrors and bed or cheese scattered across the carpet or yogurt paintings on the windows.  Sigh.

We love his craziness and his energy even when we are left exhausted at the end of the day.

Thanks for keeping us on our toes Eli!

Happy Birthday!

Proud Papa

My little brother and his wife just welcomed their first child

and my newest nephew.

Hooray for more cousins!!

What a cutie!

Mr. & Mrs. Weidmann

Aren't they gorgeous?

My beautiful baby sister got married this weekend and she was simply lovely!

Her husband wasn't too shabby either!

 We started the weekend off by taking over the neighborhood park for a picnic with friends and family on Friday evening.  We ate pizza...

...and played games and pretty much acted like little kids.

Of which there were quite a few... I think we were finally able to get most of them in this picture (still missing 2 or 3 though).  We had a little bit more luck with the big kids...

The Bardo clan has gotten old-er... now we all have our own clans that create just as much chaos as we did back in the day.  

The picnic was a great relaxed way to celebrate before the big day.

Lisa and Erich were sealed in the Houston Texas Temple on Saturday morning and the ceremony was beautiful.  The words spoken by the sealer were truly inspired and a reminder of how much our Heavenly Father loves each of us and knows us better than we know ourselves.

Lisa was able to wear my mother's wedding dress (with only a few alterations) and it suited her perfectly!

Such a beautiful girl!

We ended the day with a reception at my parent's house.  They created a beautiful backyard oasis that was perfect for the day.  Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures because I was busy making sure the bride and groom got something to eat and chatting with old friends and loved ones.

And my mom made these cute little jars of jam as favors for everyone to take home!

Isn't she amazing?!

We will miss Lisa as she runs off to England with her Swiss husband, but we know he'll take good care of her and we are eternally grateful for Skype :)

School Starts

We have successfully completed the first week of school, so I figured it was high time for me to post pictures of my excited kids on their way out the door.  In the interest of full disclosure, this is actually a picture of the second day of school.   That's just how we roll around here - that and they were too excited to stand still long enough on the first day.

On the Friday before school started, they had a Meet the Teacher social at school and the kids were asking me every 20 minutes if it was time to go yet... that got pretty old by 3:30 when it was finally time to go!  We were excited to find out that Lincoln has the same teacher Leah had last year.  Mrs. Marino is great and I know she'll give Lincoln the freedom to work ahead and do some independent projects this year.  Leah had never met her teacher, but she soon found out that Ms. Pena has her class put on two plays every year.  That sealed the deal for her!  One of her favorite things this summer has been the puppet show they put together for Activity Days so she is thrilled to have another chance to do something dramatic.

My kids have always been very independent and I love seeing them get so excited  for the friends they'll make and the challenges they'll encounter.  It's fun to see them head off to new adventures with a confidence that they'll be able to handle anything that comes their way and the knowledge that I'll be here to help them if they need it.

In other news, Lincoln pulled out his front tooth the week before school started.  So he headed off looking a little like a boxer who got in the way of a well-placed punch.  It's a good look for him :)