tricks and treats, and sugar overloads...

the drive to school on halloween morning.

last night i received an email stating that the elementary school does not acknowledge halloween. so, this morning, instead of sporting his iron man gear, isaiah wore a glow-in-the-dark jack-o-lantern shirt. it was pretty sweet. he was happy about it, i was happy about it. it was all good. 

on the other hand, makayah's preschool class was celebrating halloween, and i was in charge of bringing snacks. makayah dressed as a butterfly ariel princess...basically her ariel mermaid dress with pink butterfly wings. the best part about dressing up? the makeup, for sure. she was pretty stoked about wearing bright red lipstick, eye shadow, and blush. why not? 

for snack i made mini "mummy sausage" and brought an orange v8 splash juice blend. mrs. t, the preschool teacher also made heart tarts (she was dressed as the queen of hearts.

when both kids were home from school, they all dressed up, ready for trick or treating. i picked up sam from school, and on our way back home, we stopped at one of the neighborhoods near our garden spot. we tried to hit as many houses as we could before our 6:30 halloween dinner party with j & em. 

sadly, we were too busy having fun and forgot to take any pictures of our halloween spread. our main dish was pumpkin stew in the pumpkin. it was quite tasty. we also had mummy dogs, pumpkin cookies, veggie pizza (so good!), and chips and salsa. the kids watched, "it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown" as they ate their dinner. we had a great time talking and laughing with j & em. we'll really miss em when she has to leave for her job in michigan. after putting the kids to bed, the adults gathered 'round and watched "red riding hood." it was a pretty good movie, made even better by guessing and throwing in our votes for who we thought the wolf was.

before the night was over, makayah woke a few times with a tummy ache and threw up once. luckily there was no mess to clean up, and all she needed afterwards was a bit of cuddling. she had snuck some extra candy from her bag earlier...let that be a lesson! ;) but seriously, our kids just don't handle sugar very well. they don't get very much of it, and when they do (especially after birthday parties, it seems) they come back with their tummies aching. that's how it goes. happy halloween!

hinchley's dairy farm

the outing began with missing 'hello kitty' rain boots. there were some tears, but a substitute of hiking boots seemed to be okay. well, that, and our friends j & em had arrived to join us on our trip - made everything much better.

i had bought tickets to the dairy farm back in april when they were advertised on groupon. you can't live in wisconsin and never go to any of the nearby dairy farms. isaiah had been to this particular dairy farm on a field trip with his kindergarten class last year. he was pretty excited to go again. 

 the milking spots. we each got to milk one of the cows, j took those pictures so, we'll have to wait on those. it wasn't as easy as i first thought it would be.

 the baby calves came up to the fence and would lick the kids' hands. one began sucking on isaiah's entire hand.

 it was pretty slimy, and mimzy didn't want anything to do with slimy, baby cow tongues.

 later on in the tour, we were given an ear of corn to feed the rest of the farm animals. it reminded me of going to my grandma's house.

 the rule was, one corn cob each. makayah snuck 5.

 mimzy's favorite animals were the honking geese. she giggled, and giggled.

this bad boy was mad doggin' us. 

  

 the geese were fun for a few minutes, but the goats were even better. i love feeding goats and the way their little fuzzy lips tickle the palms of my hand as they lick up their corn kernels. isaiah and makayah liked it too.

 mimzy didn't. but she did like watching them eat. 

 the goats went crazy for corn, pushing and shoving. makayah was pretty upset about how rude they were and would say, "mom, don't feed that one, he's a bully. he won't let the scrawny one eat."

 next up, the hay ride. we rode out to the pumpkin field and were allowed to pick one pumpkin each.

 isaiah first chose this cute orange one, but once the tour guide yelled out that the white ones were great for pumpkin pies, he made a mad dash for the white patch.

 makayah wasn't going to be satisfied by just any pumpkin. it took a while for her to pick the perfect pumpkin, but in the end, she found one.

we rode back to the farm, whilst sitting on our hay bails. our tour ended with a good dose of hand sanitizer and potty breaks. we got home, and counted the number of pumpkins we had gathered over the past month. 8 total. it reminded me of the children's book, 'too many pumpkins.' what ever were we to do with 8 pumpkins? time to make and freeze pumpkin puree. 

recipe for the perfect saturday

1 beautiful, sunshiny, fall day.

2 cameras to chase down...

3 halloween-costumed children -

1 fearless superhero (iron man)

1 beautiful butterfly

1 adorable ladybug.

1 picturesque autumn location, picnic point will do.

topping:

4 bowls of homemade tomato basil soup

8 spooky grilled cheese sandwiches

1 silly movie to watch as a family

***

i know i've been saying this quite a bit lately, but today was another lovely day! i am so grateful for this beautiful weather, especially knowing what is awaiting us just around the corner. i'm surprised the warm weather has lasted this long. 

of course, we had to take advantage of this gorgeous day. after cleaning the house and having our big saturday breakfast of pancakes and eggs, we headed out to Picnic Point for a halloween photo shoot of the kids. 

this morning, isaiah decided to dress up as iron man. makayah wanted to be a butterfly, and samiyah was dressed as a little ladybug. i had told the kids, if they dress up like what we wanted them to dress up as for the ward halloween party, they could be whatever they wanted on halloween. 

sam and i snapped and chased our little bunch, and after a good thirty minutes, they were sooooooo done with taking pictures. i guess it's hard work being models. pfft! 

we took the path down picnic point, enjoying the cool air and exercise. it was also fun to hear all the older people gawk over our cute "bugs" and superhero, i'm not gonna lie. 

isaiah had a play date later on that day, so we took the rest of the day off to shop. sam and i had a chance to talk and laugh with each other while the girls played. 

after we picked up isaiah, we all went home for a cozy evening eating fresh homemade tomato basil soup (our friends from school had given us a bag of a variety of tomatoes and peppers), and spooky grilled cheese sandwiches cut out in the shapes of ghosts, bats, and pumpkins. 

it was the best tomato basil soup i've ever made. a perfect meal, to end a perfect day. 

Ward Halloween Party

this was the first year in a long time that our entire family had costumes ready to wear before the ward halloween party actually started. it was quite surprising. friday morning had come, the kids were both off at preschool (isaiah didn't have school and it was sibling day at preschool - which isaiah was super excited about. he was really looking forward to seeing his former preschool teacher and see and play in his old classroom). 

anyway, with the older kids gone off to school, and samiyah taking a nap, i had time to get the halloween things ready for the party that night. we all decided to go as harry potter characters. it was sam's idea, and he rarely dresses up - i wasn't about to fight him on this since he was so willing to dress up with the rest of the family. ;)

 makayah dressed as narcissa (malfoy's mom)

 i was dressed as bellatrix lestrange.

 sam was another scary death eater.

isaiah was ron, and samiyah was harry potter. isaiah really wanted to be harry potter and wasn't too keen on being ron and having to wear a wig. he was a good sport. thanks, isaiah. 

we were also in charge of the spooky halloween photo booth. i think it turned out pretty cute. the kids ran around the chapel, trick or treating, playing halloween games, chasing their friends, and eating halloween snacks. i wish i could post everyone's pictures from the party, there were some really creative costumes! i'm just glad it's all done!

13ish weeks. farewell first trimester.

as of today, i still gag every time i have to brush my teeth...and for a fair amount of time afterwards. i still turn into a zombie after lunch, and usually around 2pm, i have to put in a movie, and have everyone who is home, snuggle with me on the couch - just so i know where they are. fortunately, this is also samiyah's afternoon nap time which tends to work out pretty great.

i still get mad cravings that need to be satisfied immediately for fear of puking if i don't. the latest most random cravings: nachos with jalepenos, and sour gum balls. anything with some heat is actually super tasty, as well.

sometimes i think that i can feel this little baby jumping inside of me. i know it's quite early, and didn't expect to feel anything for a while, but... once, while i was lying down, there was this little POP! and i might not have noticed it at all if i hadn't already had 3 kids.

at my 12 week ultrasound (the one that screens for birth defects and such), the technician couldn't seem to get the baby in the right spot. the baby was sleeping and would scoot away from the sonogram thingamajig. she exclaimed how stubborn and wiggly this little baby was. that made me giggle...and i'm not surprised at all. btw, she said everything looks perfect.

at my 12 week appointment with my regular dr.j, she tried to get the heartbeat. she'd almost get something and then the baby would move. she'd move the instrument and follow, and the baby would move again. "wow! you've got a mover!" she said it in her british accent, and that made it sound even better.

i had talked with my mom earlier this week and she was telling me how she read one of my posts and it brought her preggo memories back. we have quite the list of similarities, and it was so fun to hear how much my mom and i are alike. she'd get sick too if ever she didn't get what she was craving right away.

anyway, it is nice to be coming out of the fog. i have good days and really exhausting-i-just-want-to-lay-around-and-do-nothing days. lucky for me, today is a good day. the girls' have their hair done, they are both dressed for the day, and so am i. i also am back at planning our family's meals for the week. now, all i have to do is stick to it. one thing is for certain...paper plates/bowls, and plasticware are life-savers.

happy 8 years, and many more to follow.

bedtime is always sort of a chaotic time in our household, yes, even on our anniversary. let me rephrase that, ESPECIALLY on our anniversary. but i really should back up a bit....

sam had taken me (and our tag-a-long girls) to lunch today. the place we really wanted to go to wasn't open until 4:30pm. and if i didn't get something to eat right then and there, i felt like i was going to puke. so, our second choice was okay. not as fabulous as our first choice would've been, but it sufficed. we left early...once our girls were covered in rice and soy sauce, somehow we just knew it was time to leave.

we had decided to have a chill day. no stressing out on gifts and surprises, we just wanted to relax. we picked up season two of modern family. picked up isaiah from school, and headed home. the kids ate dinner and played in their bedroom while sam and i kicked our feet up and had a mini modern family marathon.

and then, back to where i began...bedtime. i hadn't had a nap all day, and i just couldn't keep my eyelids open a second longer. when i woke up, sam had showered all the kids, got them in their jammies, and brushed their teeth.

that one act of kindness was huge for me. i didn't have to ask, i didn't have to hint, i didn't have to be woken from my nap for this or that.

so, as i thought back upon the past 8 years of being married, amidst the chaotic bedtime ritual of squabbling, crying, and sick babies, i realized something very important.

THIS, is what being married is all about, for me at least. THIS is why i got married; to have a family, to referee sibling squabbles, to calm their cries, and clean up baby puke. i know someday i will miss this noisy chaos. and already i wonder where my kids' baby chub disappeared to.

if not for 8 years ago on a bright, sunshiney day at the salt lake city temple...i would not have an eternal family with my best friend, sam.

of course, it's not always easy. there are the mundane, tedious, and challenging days that you just want to be done with, but fortunately are balanced out with the wildly fun, crazy in love, full of laughter days that you never want to forget. and so, i keep trudging along this "fablious" marital adventure, hand in hand, with the person i love most, through thick and thin....because, really, i could not - and don't - want to imagine my life without him.

Corn Maze

we had tickets for a corn maze on a nearby farm, and so did our friends, j & em. it turned out to be a perfect sunday activity.

we had to find 12 different posts/clues to get out of the maze. isaiah was our navigator and map holder, until he got us lost. ;) 

 i didn't need a map, and just went on pure intuition. actually, i tried to read the "map" and had no clue what i was looking at.

 sam and his friend j were much better at deciphering the maze map.

 samiyah was great in her carrier, but saw her siblings having way too much fun with our friend, em, that she wriggled and squealed to get out too. 

 the only problem with her walking through the maze were her small legs and short steps. we had to pick up the pace, so daddy threw her on his shoulders, she didn't mind so much. 

until she felt the crazy need to walk along with all the "big kids" too.

 she loved the dirt, and tried to eat it numerous times, along with the corn kernels that fell from the corn kernel fight the kids were having with j & em.

 once we made it through the maze, we had some hot apple cider, some pumpkin cheese pie, and cider donuts. but, the corn maze just wasn't complete without a tractor ride. here are our friends, j & em. we like them a lot. 

 from the looks of it, samiyah quite enjoyed the ride and the wind in her hair.

 i think isaiah and makayah did too, but the ride was pretty long, and there was time for isaiah to ponder things. i should ask what he was thinking at this moment.

thanks j & em for coming along with our crazy crew. we had so much fun, we didn't want it to end at the maze, so we headed out to eat some bbq - mostly because i was craving it. it was pretty good stuff.

3L Cane Toss

first off, we LOVE having grandparents come for visits! so, i'm glad there was an excuse to get together with grandma and grandpa crowfoot. 

there's this tradition the law school has for their 3rd year law students. during the opening of the homecoming football game for the UW badgers, all the 3rd year (3L) law students get to run across the field, stop in the end zone, and proceed to throw their canes up through the field goal posts and try to catch it on the other side (all while wearing their very sleek bowling hats). catching their canes = their first case will be won. 

grandma and grandpa flew in especially for sam and his homecoming field run and cane toss. they flew in late thursday night. the next morning, isaiah and makayah could not contain their excitement and were so anxious, they left - well, i don't know how many messages on their cell phone. we finally met up with them and did what any other crowfoot would do. we immediately headed over to the movie theaters and a visit to costco. we had so much fun catching up, laughing, hugging, playing, etc. 

the morning of the homecoming game, saturday, we all drove to the law school for a brunch with the students and families. to my surprise, there was a full-on working keg and keg pumper. i shouldn't be surprised, this is wisconsin, after all. does it really matter if it's only 8 in the morning? haha. i carefully had to direct my kids to the actual apple juice bottles on the other side of the beverage table. the brunch was delicious, the company and conversation - fantastic. the sprint over to the football field - well, that was a bit chaotic and arm-numbing. and if i were smarter, i would've taken a 30 minute head start before the law school trek over. 

i've never gone to a football game with the kids before - here at randall stadium, anyway.  no strollers? i should've known. no bags with food? i should've known. coming in at the opposite end of where we were supposed to be? of course. 

i quickly stuck the stroller on the side of the nearby parking garage. and no, i was not, in the least, afraid it would be stolen. it's wisconsin. who's gonna steal a baby stroller? bags with food - we were in a hurry and i flashed the best smile i could muster while hiding my humongous bag behind my arm with the baby in tow. we were never checked! ha! opposite end...well, that did pose a problem. we hustled as fast as we could with two little ones following close behind, baby and blankets in arms. but as fast as we hustled, our hustling just wasn't fast enough. LUCKILY and thankfully, grandpa crowfoot was smart enough to go ahead of us and catch everything on camera. whew. 

we had great seats and stayed warm with all the bundling from the blankets we hefted over. we HAD to stay until the end of the third quarter, because that is when they do the "jump around." the third quarter ended, and the music began. sam lifted mimzy in the air, doing air jumps, and the kids were dancing and jumping like crazy! it was a blast. 

we were all so beat afterwards, so we went back to our place, watched movies, ate sweets, and laughed. they had to leave super early the next morning, so our good-byes were said at bedtime. visits with loved ones are always so short, but we sure had fun. thanks for coming grandma and grandpa crowfoot! we love you!