Halloween

Who doesn't love Halloween? We always have such a fun time and we have even more fun telling everyone that it is a birthday too! Ben was still in Germany and we were lucky to be invited to our friends the Elgan's for a walk around their neighborhood and creamy potato soup to warm up.

 

We were a little worried when it started drizzling and that drizzling turned to a good rain while we were in the car driving up to our friends house. We were lucky when it suddenly cleared away and we started walking with the kids. Oh-- they had such fun running from house to house. The excitement and energy from the children makes me tired just thinking about it.

Brecon- IRON MAN

Cael- Mustache, GI JOE, batman gloves, regular shoes- GUY

Connor- not-trying-too-hard PIRATE

Brielle- little Devil baby (she looked so cute)

The awesome Elgan family- We helped make Steve look his Halloween best!

My little family and ready to go! I have to admit it was fun to be a blond again...  it would just be too much work to keep it!

We finally let the babies out of the wagon for one house. They were pretty content as long as we were throwing a piece of candy back to them every once and a while. Such cute little bugs (and devils too)

The boys try to protect their loot as Brielle makes a fast grab. That girl can really eat all the major food groups from the boys' candy buckets!

Brecon has been working so hard in his Kindergarten class. I love all the projects he comes home with.

NEW YORK CITY

We decided to spend the day in NYC exploring with the family. The weather has been getting colder and colder so we tried to wear as many layers as we could for walking around. Our first stop was at the American Museum of Natural History. We only really explored the first floor full of dinosaur bones and other extinct creatures. It is always fun chasing the kids around and trying to tell them about everything we are looking at. We were able to get free admission into the general exhibits, which was plenty for us to see. It will be fun to visit again and again with our future trips to the city.

After leaving the museum we had a romantic walk in and around Central Park. I guess not that romantic since we were chasing our kids around and listening to them tell us that their legs were going to fall off. You know, the usual romantic stuff? They are getting ready for the NYC Marathon so we got to see the bleachers and plenty of runners and fast bicyclers cruising through the park. I happened to remove my canvas jacket while we were watching the boys climb on some big rocks. Somewhere between that moment and when we had walked a mile away my nice warm jacket disappeared. I hope it is claimed and keeps some person a little bit warmer (and more fashionable, too)

Lunch at the Carnegie Deli. Busy and crowded, but a classic experience. Ben was longing for a foot high pastrami sandwich like the one on the counter... I guess we will have to get one next time. Connor was asleep in the stroller and we had quite a lot of looky-loos checking out our family (a waitress asked "4 kids?") There are pictures all over the wall of "famous" people who have also enjoyed a lunch or dinner entrée.

We walked along the street with some delicious crepes, caramel apples, pies, cookies, cupcakes, and hot shish kabobs to try, we were just so full from lunch--- but we did our best to try what we could.  Next time the street vendors will get more of our attention.

As we turned and continued to walk I knew when we saw ATLAS and then PROMETHEUS on Rockefeller Square (people ice-skating below), with the NBC observation deck and experience store... I felt like we were in New York. It might be fun to get down there early for the TODAY show so I can wave at the camera like a crazy person.

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Trump Tower, H&M, PRADA and LOUIS VOITTON along our walk up to F.O.A SCHWARTZ toy store experience. Our kids were begging for us to get them something. We enjoyed watching the associates sell their goods and the kids had a great time playing on the BIG PIANO (as seen on the movie BIG with TOM HANKS) Luckily enough we walked out of there without any purchases made. I'm sure the kids would really have loved to get something, but we're not made out of money!

More walking, trying to stay warm, sleeping Brielle in stroller and we made our first ride on the NYC subway. Nothing too crazy, just trying to make our way back to the Museum where our van was parked. From loading up and starting out it took us about an hour and 10 minutes to drive back home. Not too shabby. Our neighbors were cooking s'mores when we pulled into our driveway so we joined them before going inside for the night.

You might think that we were so tired from the day and we all collapsed in our beds, right? Well we had also promised the boys that carving our pumpkins needed to occur sometime before Ben left--- He was leaving the next day! So we let each of the boys pretty much carve their very own pumpkins. We are proud to say there wasn't any blood spilt. Not like the night before when Connor split his ear open and Ben applied DermaBond to keep the wound together. Yesiree, we didn't have any blood or finger fatalities on pumpkin carving night :) I would call that a success!

WHAT A DAY...  and WHAT A NIGHT!

Connor's birthday

Our sweet little birthday boy! We had the Elgan Family over for a fun laser-light dance party and to share birthday cake and ice cream. The party was THAT much better when we also made everyone wear a furry mustache on their face. Silly Connor was wearing his on his forehead most of the night. It doesn't itch that much up there I guess.

 

The Elgan and Platt kids smash together for a quick picture- SAY MUSTACH!

Some of our favorite gifts for the kids are things they pick out at the grocery store for a treat! They get pretty excited and tradition has been a can of pineapple-- He appreciated the Tom and Jerry fruit snacks as well.

We sure love our Connor and the good boy he is growing up to be. He is sweet, funny, and a good helping member of our family. He is a big soul in a tiny body- full of snuggles, hulk-like anger, energetic and loud when he wants to be-- Little bear cub-- our big 4 year old!

OCT everything

It seems that lately I am capturing all the fun and daily life on my phone camera. It is handy and I seem to have it with me most of the time. As part of my "family journaling" I just have to remember to upload the 750 pictures every month! Might as well start with our September through October fun!

I went to help in Brecon's class while they drew a fire escape plan and talked about fire safety. I love these little chances to see my children in their classroom environment, how they interact with their friends and what they talk about. Brecon's teacher talked about what a good boy he is, he does his best work and really is excited about learning. He is kind and a good helper.

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Brecon hard at work and Cael swinging in the tree. Our children ( and the neighbors ) have loved this tree swing that Ben put up when we moved in. There is a slight hill so when we push the kids really hard they are flying high in the direction of the street. They love to twirl and swirl around the tree like cirque-de-siol, and they've only smashed into the tree on their backs a few times. Cael is especially talented with his twirling and spinning, it really is fun to watch him.

Here is the "front" of our house here on post. Technically it is the back because our garage and parking spaces are right behind me. It is a little funny to have everyone who enters walk through the not-always-clean kitchen to get in. The kitchen is the Heart of the Home and mine is always full of dirty dishes!

Ben and Cael were joking around with the water hose in the front and they both ended up so wet! They love to play tricks and laugh when they are winning...

... then Ben gets mad and the fun is over! No more water fights you crazy kids!

Ben all dressed up and home from work. He looks so handsome in his uniform.

My big 4th grade boy! We are still in the thick of piano lessons and he is doing so well. He does a little computer homework every night, practices his songs, does a few chores, and then he disappears with a book. After dinner and messing around, he is found reading until we call to him to turn off the light. Usually he tries to stay up longer and read even after we've gone to bed! At least he is enjoying the books we find for him. Currently he is on the third book in the "Adventurers Wanted" series. Fun, fast and a good time.

Here are a few shots from the "backyard". We are lucky to have some great people we share with, good equipment to play on, and they even let us share playing with all their dogs (4 different dogs to play with) The boys are loving it! Cael is the oldest, Brecon the roughest (we had a few incidences with a little neighbor boy) The swing set is a big hit and we purchased a trampoline to contribute to the backyard fun. Brielle loves getting pushed by her brothers (above) and Brecon loves to pet Babs. She is a good dog!

I love when I pick up my phone and I find 200 pictures of the same face... I am not even joking. These kids have hijacked my camera function too many times. Still I have to keep one or two to remember the moment.

Becky and Ben at IKEA. In the hopes of grabbing the apple strudel dessert I walked away disappointed. Europe IKEA is different that U.S. IKEA I am afraid to say.

One weekend we took the family camping and explored a nearby pond. The sand was very soft and it was a perfect day to walk along it. As we read the signs nearby we were a little confused that the water was "closed for the season". We didn't just in the water or anything, but Cael kept running into the edge. Suddenly we heard a 4-wheel speeding in our direction and a man yell to us "No wading in the water, not even your toes!" Talk about taking your job seriously! Our campsite was noisy so I didn't feel too bad that Brielle was a beast the whole night. She really does need her own container to sleep well during the night, sharing is not recommended.

The evening is the best time to wrestle and play rough. The kids are getting stronger so I can only play for a little while until I am too tired. The boys squeal and love this time with Daddy!

Our friends the Elgan's had a giant carrot in their garden and Cael thought it was pretty awesome to chew on that until he was full. Then  Ben took a turn and worked on that ginormous vegetable for 1/2 an hour. He eventually got the hiccups and finished it  despite the small inconvenience.

The day I left to fly back to Utah Ben took the boys out for some fun. Lunch at Wendy's, Duncan Donuts, and a small party at Chuck-E-Cheese. No wonder the boys love it when I leave :) Connor had too much fun and crashed on the drive home (picture below)

All dressed up and ready for church. This was sent to me from Ben while I was away.

... and this is what happens when you leave a baby with a jar of nutella open nearby, I hadn't even had time to take her church clothes off. You know when you are busy and you can hear the background noise of kids laughing and teasing one another? I thought everyone was playing together- so you can imagine the surprise when we discovered this little hungry lady. At least I know if a survival-type situation she would not be starving, this one knows how to fend for herself.