Jack-o-Lanterns, Ghostbusters, and Trick-or-Treating

The night before Halloween my parents and I helped the boys carve their pumpkins. Ronan wanted me to make a Batman symbol on his, and Griffin wanted a happy face on his pumpkin. They both had fun scooping out the insides of their pumpkins and collecting seeds to roast. I was glad to have a few extra hands to help--it's a messy job! (Josh was at EWEB rehearsing with his department for their second annual Halloween performance.)

Notice their painted fingernails in these pictures. (:

The finished products!

On Halloween morning, Josh's mom, my dad, Ronan, and I went to EWEB to watch Josh dance with his department. They had been practicing twice a week during the month of October to prepare for this...and they did a great job! EWEB goes all out for Halloween! Most of the employees dress up and they give prizes for best costumes, best performances, etc. It was so fun to watch! Josh is the mummy and if you want to check it out you can click here. Last year they danced to Thriller, and Josh was Michael Jackson (click here for that clip). Here are some pictures from the perfomance:

The whole group

Mummy Daddy with Captain Hook

When Josh got off work we took the boys trick-or-treating around our neighborhood and to each of the grandparents' houses.

We saw some of Ronan and Griffin's buddies, Kaiser & Christian, as they were heading out to go trick-or-treating.

My friend, Sydney, with her brand new baby girl, Jumi. She was pretty surprised to see Josh's costume!

Ronan really got into character as the night went on. (:

Griffin and Sadie posing together.

Sadie and Ronan

All the cousins on the Hecht side of the family.

the 'adult' children (plus Ronan)

Indiana Jones catching the Mummy

Tyler in his bat costume~made by Memaw!

Barn Party

Here's our family on a hayride at our church's annual Barn Party...the Saturday before Halloween. A friend let us borrow these Captain Hook and Peter Pan costumes, which were handmade for their boys the year before. Ronan loves playing pirates (and wearing costumes in general), so he was super excited about being Captain Hook! He also had a lot of fun seeing what his friends and cousins were dressed like. Griffin did pretty well wearing his costume, but preferred not to wear his hat. His favorite part of the night was the candy!

Captain Hook!

Finn the Ninja and our little Peter Pan

Kenton and Finn were dressed alike (:

Cohen the spider!

Ronan, Ethan, and Macey playing together.

Captain Hook with Parrot Ethan on his shoulder (:

Super brothers, Eli and John~ friends of ours from church.

Captain Hook and Tinkerbell Sadie

Amy with her little sleeping ladybug, Emma

Pumpkin Patch

October 16th~Ronan, Griffin, and I went to Lone Pine Farm with my friend, Melissa, and her two boys. She also brought along another friend's little boy, so between the two of us we had 5 boys to keep track of! It was a lot of fun and the kids all cooperated nicely. Everything at the farm was so exciting and reinforcing for them. We fed the goats, went on a hayride to the pumpkin patch, and went through the corn maze in search of a pirate ship. It was a perfect day to go...not too cold, muddy, or busy!
All 5 waiting for the hay ride to start:
Griffin, Kaiser, Ronan, Christian, and Marcus

Ronan was SO excited to search for a big pumpkin.

Griffin found one just his size.

Such a strong boy!

It was cute how the little boys would follow the big boys around and do whatever they were doing.

Checking out the pond.

A quick picture of the boys and me with our wheelbarrow full of pumpkins!

This was the easiest way to get to the kids & pumpkins to our cars. (: We loaded up the tired kids and headed home for naps!

Nature Walk

October 23, 2008
These pictures were taken along the nature trails surrounding Bond Park. I jogged there with the boys in the double stroller and then let them explore in the "forest" on foot. It was such a nice, sunny fall day--I'm so glad we were able to get out and enjoy it! The boys love being outside no matter what the weather is like, but we all last longer when it's not raining. (:
Right away Ronan started pretending that he was building a tree house, and he asked Griffin to find sticks and rocks for it. I love how Griffin plays along with whatever Ronan is doing. He really wants to keep up with his big brother!

Somehow the boys cooperated nicely for the camera, and I was able to capture some super sweet moments. I later used these pictures to make a photo book for Josh for Christmas.

Ronan- 4 1/4 yrs old
Griffin- a month away from turning 2

Sweet Brothers

Griffin likes walking around with his hands in his pockets.
Such a cool dude. (:

Firestation Field Trip

On October 8th, Ronan's preschool class went on a field trip to the Coburg Fire Station. Fireman Benton, who happens to be Ronan's teacher's husband, gave us a special tour of the firehouse and let all of the kids try out the fire hose. Ronan was so excited! The kids also got to try on some of the equipment and play with the flashlights and radios. It was a great little field trip!

The whole class with Fireman Benton
Here's Ronan waiting patiently for his turn at the hose.
Spraying the water!

Such a happy little firefighter!

Back to October...

We found a few fun ways to celebrate Josh's Birthday while we were still in the midst of finishing our house and waiting for occupancy.

Lunch Date at PF Changs~ Just the two of us.

Dinner, cake, and presents with our little family at Papa's Pizza.

Daddy and Griffin

A few days later we had a party at our new house even though we still couldn't live there. We had running water and carpet, but no heat yet as I recall. It was fun seeing how the house felt with lots of people in it. We unpacked some toys so that the kids could play in Ronan's room, and we all enjoyed just getting to hang out together.

Here's a look at the kitchen~ fully functioning, but not completely finished at this point. (:

Me with the 31 year-old Birthday Boy!

View from the balcony looking down at Tyler, Aaron, and Becca

From left to right:

Kenton, Papa, Jon, Josh, Ronan, Aaron, Cohen, Sadie, Becca, Amy, Grammie with Emma, Memaw, Katrina, and Great Grammie.

Playing in Ronan's new room with Memaw and Great Grandpa.

Gathering in the living room...

Josh's sister, Amy, with her sweet baby Emma (just 2 weeks old!)

Happy Birthday, Josh!