Happy Halloween!

Despite the pouring rain and hail, the girls found a small window to go trick-or-treating. Adam anxiously volunteered to stay home and pass out candy! Myself and the girls adventured out with our small umbrellas for a short time. We made it to four houses before the rain started in again! Kourtney decided walking around in the rain on crutches was not worth a small amount of candy! We went back home and waited for the rain to stop. It was a little different not seeing hundreds of kids walking around the neighborhood. Instead you saw many minivans with red tail lights, doors flinging open, kids running up to the door, kids running back to the ca,r and jumping in before they completely get drenched! After a while Kaitlyn and Makell decided they wanted to go out and try it again! Kourtney stayed with her dad to pass out candy. Kaitlyn told Kourtney she would carry her Halloween bucket and get candy for her since this was her last year for trick-or-treating. There were a few individuals that thought Kaitlyn was trying to doubling up on candy! She explained but, they still wouldn't believe her!
It was one of those years that I told the girls they would have to find a costume we already had. They went through the bin and came up with the idea to be fifties girls! Thank goodness these were costumes because it sure makes them look grown up! :)




















Makell decided to be Snowwhite. I think it was a perfect match! She loved the idea of coloring her hair black and wearing red lipstick!





I have never been able to get Adam to dress up! He absolutely refuses! We had a small break through this year! He did wear bunny ears for a short time, and I have proof! When he saw the neighbors walking up to the door, they were off in a flash! It was fun while it lasted! Baby steps!

It's off!

It's finally OFF! Kourtney couldn't have been a happier girl! I personally think the four weeks went fairly fast, but Kourt will tell you different! We took a trip to the doctor's office today for more x-rays, and found out that her bone has healed, but her ankle bone has really weakened from being immobilized for several weeks. The doctor said he was a little surprised to see as much "cloudiness" in the bone as he did. She will be wearing a walking boot for four weeks to try and strengthen her leg, and then back for more x-rays. :)


This guy(Brian) was so funny! I picked the girls up from school early so we could make the appointment on time which meant Kaitlyn and Makell came with us. As soon as we walked into the room Brain instantly started cracking jokes. He asked Kaitlyn and Makell if they wanted to cut the cast off. He told them it was really an easy process. He took out the tool and showed them how and told them, "the only thing to remember is STOP when you see blood!" Oh... you should have seen their faces and better yet Kourtney's face! She went white as a ghost! She looked up at me and with a little whisper (so he wouldn't hear, but he did) and said, "don't let them do it mom!" Kourt and blood don't mix well. Brian had a good laugh as well as myself! I still laugh about that moment!

Kourtney was a little shocked to see the difference! Her right calf muscle had turned to jello. All she really cared about was she was finally able to itch her leg!

Opportunities to Teach and to Be Taught!

Like I have said before, Makell and Harley are best buddies! This morning I over heard a conversation Makell was having with Harley. This is how it went.


Makell: Harley, this is the temple. We have to go there.
Harley:
Makell: This is Jesus. He loves children.
Harley:

I walked into the kitchen to see Harley in the middle of a so called "lesson". There were different pictures lining his bed. Makell was placing each picture in front of his face while she explained what each represented. I wonder what was going through his puppy mind?


Talk about melt your heart!


There are no words to explain the feelings you get when you see your little one's teaching what they know!
I was amazed that he actually sat there and listened to her explain each picture. He looks like he is totally interested!
I guess he figured he better get comfortable because he was in it for the long hall! :)

Ooey Gooey!

I think pumpkins are such fun and cute decorations but I hate the messy insides! We asked the girls if they wanted to paint them this year? We quickly found out that painting was just not an option! They said we carve every year and we can't stop know! We found some free templates online that we printed off. I love hearing their comments as they stick their hands inside to touch the cold gooey mess! One thing we have discovered is; the bigger the pumpkin, the less messy the inside is!

Witches Night Out!

What a fun evening! The Heaton gals all got together for "Witches Night Out" at Gardner Village. It was fun to see everyone and catch up! We all met and went to dinner before our evening of fun. The Heaton girls sure know how to dress up! When we were leaving Texas Roadhouse a gentleman stopped us with a funny look on his face and asked, "what's was up with all the witch stuff?" We explained and told him this only happens once a year! After answering his question he still had the same puzzled expression! I think he thought we were all a little crazy! We should have extended an invitation! I wonder what he would have said?! :)
Grandma sure knows how to make us all laugh! I will let her tell you the story! :)
We found out that Kasey is one lucky gal! She was the winner of a super cute gift basket! After Gardner Village, we invaded Kasey's house. It was fun to talk and hang out with the girls! I could have talked all night! Teresa had a drawing for some "fabulous" prizes! We missed all those who couldn't make it! Looking forward to next year!

Apples to Applesauce

So I tried something new this year! I made homemade applesauce for the first time ever!

We had several bags of apples that we had picked from our tree, and I wasn't sure what exactly to do with them. After talking to a friend, she inspired me to try it! I can't believe how easy it was! This will now be a yearly thing for me. My kids love applesauce and I love using it as a substitute!
One of my good friends suggested a few of us get together and spend the day making applesauce. I was amazed at what four ladies can do! By the end of the day we had done over 60 quarts!

Pumpkin Picking!

We were fortunate again this year to be invited to the Cook's pumpkin picking party. The kids are able to roam the field in hopes of finding their perfect pumpkin free of charge! With Kourtney's broken leg, she couldn't do much walking around, so dad did all the roaming for her while carrying her on his back. What a lucky girl! You should have seen him carrying Kourtney and her pumpkin back to the car! I told him to be glad she chose one of the smaller ones(40 lbs.)!
Kaitlyn spotted her "perfect pumpkin", but found out very quickly it was too heavy to carry. We weighed it when we got home and it was over 60 lbs!
Makell once again found one of the biggest pumpkins in the field. It weighed more then she did!
The kids absolutely love doing this! Thanks Cook family for the fun evening and fun memories!

Down to Two!

The girl can ride! Makell learned how to ride a two wheeled bicycle! We actually noticed she was ready awhile ago, but held off as long as we could. It's exciting to watch them do new things, but learning to ride a bike tends to scare me a little.
It literally took her about three minutes before she was riding with no help. Adam said it was definitely the easiest lesson ever!
She was ecstatic! Kourtney, Kaitlyn, and myself stood on the sidewalk clapping and cheering for her as she rode by!
I told Makell she is so lucky to have such a great dad to help her! I guess this means no more bike trailer! Yea! I'm looking forward to many family bike rides together!

A Trip to the Firestation!

Makell's preschool class took a field trip to the fire station. The kids were in awe seeing the trucks and equipment up close. They each had the opportunity to jump inside the ambulance and firetruck to explore. When we first arrived, they told everyone they would have to stand behind a yellow line on the floor if an emergency call came in. Just a few minutes later, firefighter Sorensen's pager went off! The kids saw first hand what happens when someone calls for help. The door opened, people jumped inside, and off the ambulance went with lights and sirens. Every child had their fingers stuck in their ears watching it leave the fire station! Quite an experience for them!


Firefighter Sorensen also asked the kids if they knew how some fires start. He made them all promise they would never play with matches or anything that could start a fire. He put on his fireman suite to show the kids what it looked like and how it sounded. He explained that there was nothing to be afraid of if they ever had to come to their house. He told them a story about a little boy who was scared when a fire started inside his house and decided to hide in a closet. He told them that firefighters are their friends and want to help them stay safe! Makell loved it!

Broken!

After a long painful weekend, and a trip to the Dr.'s office for x-ray's... it was official her leg was broken. It all happened last Friday night when we decided to attend the school's roller skating party! The kids had worked really hard the previous week during "health and fitness week" to meet their goal to be physically active. During recess the kids would run laps around the school grounds. Each lap completed they would collect a ticket. Their goal as a school was to earn 5000 tickets. When the week was over the kids had received more than 7000 tickets! Very impressive! For their reward the school took everyone and their families roller skating. At first we were not even going to go, but decided at the last minute that we would. The kids were having fun playing and talking with friends. After about an hour we told the kids it was getting time to go. We told them one last lap and then it was time to take the skates off. So off the kids went and Kourtney stepped out onto the floor and lost her balance, with her skates becoming locked together and fell backwards onto her legs. It happened right in front of Adam and I. I knew instantly she was hurt.

Lessons learned from this experience:
1- Forget about telling your kids that they have five more minutes! It never fails that that is when accidents happen!
2- Accidents happen in three's! Four in this case. Three other people from her school broke bones that same night. :( I doubt they will be doing that activity again.
3- When your child acts like they might die...schedule x-rays even if they have the history of drama! Thinking it was just a bad sprain at first, I realize what a tough little cookie that girl is! Spent two days laying down with it elevated and in pain to find out that their was a good cause for all the pain!


On the positive side, the Dr. said if you had to pick a break this is the break to have. It was the very bottom portion of the tibula bone on the back side. The break missed her growth plates and has a history a healing very well! So... Kourtney gets to wear a hard cast for four weeks and then a walking boot for two to four weeks depending on how it is healing. With one week behind us, I hope the next three bring her a speedy recovery!

A New Fad?

We celebrated Makell's birthday with my family on Sunday. A week after her actual birthday, but hey...better late than never. Makell was extremely excited and eager to let everyone know that she had pierced her ears a week before. When it came time to open presents, her first choice was one her uncle Matt had put together. She started ripping through paper and then suddenly froze. After everyone was anxious to see what it was, she slowly held up a cellophane bag with two orange objects in it. Her face was priceless! It was her very own homemade earrings! LOL! If you know my brother Matt very well you know that he always has a joke or something up his sleeve! He took cattle ear tags and fabricated posts so she could hang them from her own ears! It was so funny! Makell didn't think it was as funny as the rest of us! She tried really hard to not look disappointed and seemed to let out a very faint and sheepish "thank you". We all had a good laugh! These tags are pierced into a cows ear and are used to track/log the animal with identification info on them.




After talking, we told Matt that he needed to market them. I bet there would be someone out there that would buy a few sets. You never know, it could become the newest fad and fetish! Any takers? I personally, will pass. They even have ones covered with fly repellent for those hot summer days.
She was relieved when aunt Janette pulled out another package for her to unwrap. Nettie had her back and gave her a box with "real earrings" in it this time!