Easter 2013

This was the first time I have braved coloring Easter eggs with the kids.  We used Kool-Aid and food coloring because I had those on hand. 

The kids enjoyed it.

And our final products ended up ok.  The brown ones were actually grape Kool-aid.  We won’t use that flavor again; they looked bad and they tasted like grape boiled eggs.  Not good.

Then we went to Papaw’s for dinner and the annual Easter Egg Hunt. 

The Easter Bunny hid all of Kora’s under sticks.

She almost didn’t have a big enough basket.

And then she enjoyed the fruits of her labor in the Gazebo.

Tuck’s were hidden a little bit more challengingly.

I know he circled around a couple of them multiple times.

But he loved racing around the front yard looking for them.

He finally found the one in the mailbox.

And settled in to inventory the booty.

It was a cool day but the kids had fun and we ate like kings, of course. 

Halloween 2012

This was a big year for Halloween.  The kids are old enough to do some pumpkin decorating on their own.  I still could not come to terms of Tuck and a knife so he still had to resort to painting his pumpkin. 

These two look a lot alike right?  It’s hard to tell the talking head from the pumpkin.  And they are both just so darn cute.

And this was one of my big holidays for successful Pinterest inspiration.  These mummy juice boxes were a big hit and the Frankenstein green pudding cups went over well too.  But somehow I failed to get a picture of those.  And don’t you love Kora’s dismembered leg.  I think it adds to the Halloween gore.

We went with a Star Wars theme for Missy’s annual backyard party.  Last year TJ told me he would grow out his beard and dress up as Chewbacca so I held him to it.  But somehow I missed getting a picture of him.  2 days before the party Tuck started dragging his heels about dressing up so we had to go rent the movie then he was totally on board with being part of the theme.

Kora made a convincing Yoda.  Her coat is an old bath towel and her hood started out as a polo shirt.  The ears turned out a bit droopy but I was still proud of my attempts.  And she won “Cutest Costume”.

Can you even tell my attempt at Princess Leia?  I think I totally nailed the braids.

And here is Luke Skywalker.  His favorite part was the pool noodle sword. 

And what would a good fight be without a sword wielding Yoda?

Missy had her party on Saturday since Halloween falls mid-week.  So we got to dress up again on Halloween day.  It was going to be a fight to get them back into their Star Wars costumes so they both decided they could be Cowboys.  Doesn’t he look like a real bad guy?

These are the kids new authentic Texas cowboy hats that Grandma Deb brought back from El Paso.  Aren’t they just the cutest?

Kora was mad that I made her put her boots on the right feet before we left.  It was pretty chilly that night so we made a pretty short night of it and walked two blocks of Main Street.  The kids still ended up with a pretty good stash of candy.  Kora was pretty scared of the Stay-Puff Marshmallow family and wouldn’t you know that we would run into them at least three times. 

I think this may have been my final year of getting to choose the kids costumes.  I am sure next year Tuck will have plenty of opinions of his own.  I guess I had a good run.

Kora Playing

Kora will not keep her clothes on.  She’d rather play while wearing just her diaper.  And lately she has insisted upon wearing Tucker’s hat.  It has been loved hard.

Do you remember having one of these Fisher Price xylophones? I know we had one when we were little.  Kora loves it.  It makes quite a racket in close quarters. She will make laps around the house.

Tucker got this Jump-a-lene for Christmas.   It looks like a kissy pool with extra tall sides.  They enjoy jumping in it but lately it has turned into a fort.  They turn it upside down and prop it on chairs and the couch.  Here is Kora and Daddy hiding from the bad guys.  Tuck is on lookout behind the couch.

Just like Daddy!

 

Missy’s Pumpkin Patch Trip

Every year Missy arranges a trip to the pumpkin patch.  The kids get to pick out a pumpkin to carve/decorate and they have a competition at the Halloween party.

Kora picked out her own this year.

Tucker in the wagon.  He is flushed from the laps he and the other boys were running through the corn maze.

This is Tuck and his friend Henry.

Kora’s gourd.

This was another successful trip.  Way to go Missy.

Idaho Arrival

Sept. 8: Our flight left at 8 am.  We arrived in plenty of time which was a good thing since we got on the shuttle without grabbing the car seats.  So we checked in and TJ took the shuttle back out to the car and schlepped the car seats back to the Delta counter while the kids and I watched planes take off and land.  Luckily they let you take the car seats and other “baby items” for free rather than considering that an additional checked bag.

We had a 2.5 hour flight into Salt Lake City.  The kids and I were in one row and TJ was right in front of us handing us snacks and games.  The kids did really well and Kora decided to finally fall asleep on the descent into Salt Lake; only about a 15 minute nap.

We had just enough time in Salt Lake to grab some lunch and use the bathroom then it was to our gate and out to the plane. The flight into Lewiston was only  1.5 hours.  Tuck was out shortly after take off and slept even thru the landing.  Kora on the other hand was wide awake for the whole trip.

Once we landed, got our luggage and picked up the rental car we grabbed some lunch and followed Mandy, Jenny and Blake to the park to run off a little steam before an hour long drive into Orofino.

We spent nearly 2 hours at the park. The slide was a big hit.

Blake wouldn’t go down without his Momma at the beginning.

Once he did go down on his own he got a little turned around.  Funny kid.

Kora was fearless from the get go.  Of course she only goes down backwards and on her belly.

Plenty of climbing, swinging and running were just what they needed after the long trip.

Kora slept the whole way to Orofino but Tuck was too excited about seeing Dash that he didn’t nap any more.  Just lots of “are we there yet”s. We all arrived at the house about the same time.  You would never have known that the kids hadn’t been together for 21 months.  They are such good friends and such good kids.

More posts of our adventures to come.

Idaho Vacation

We spent the last week in Idaho visiting my sisters and nephews.  Here are some pictures of just some of our adventures. 

Tuck and Blake on the slide.

Blake, Dash and Tuck watching cartoons in the morning.

Playing on the Clearwater River

Visiting Mandy’s new horse

Riding a friend’s pony

More time on the river.

S’mores

Carnival rides

Hiking along the reservoir

I will have more pictures of each adventure but these will have to do for now.