Trick or Treat!

I'm a little behind on the pictures, but I don't want to forget what a fun halloween we had this year.  Ben was super excited to wear a t-shirt of his costume to school, since they don't allow the kids to wear costumes.

 

 And just a few short hours later, we had our own Darth Vader in search of treats!

 

We also had an adorable Mario, who suffered through the mustache for about 30 seconds to humor me.

The boys never asked to carve pumpkins this year, so I thought we were home free.  Then about 5pm on Halloween, they decided they were ready.  Uh, no.  Instead, I gave them paint markers to decorate them and we got some very cute zombies and ghosts.  I wish I'd gotten a close-up of those.

 We left a big bucket of candy by the door and started meeting up with the other kids on the street to start the trick or treating madness.

This picture says it all - Alex is blurry because he was running so fast.  That kid never slowed down the entire evening!

I love, love our street and the circle outside our culdesac.  It seems like everyone was outside enjoying the beautiful night and watching the kids have a blast.

Towards the end of the night, Alex was laden with loot.

When we got home, he wasn't ready for the fun to end, so he pulled out his chair and handed out the rest of the candy.

I have found this unbelievable for the past two years - as soon as the kids get home, they eat a couple pieces of candy, then they're done with it!  They absolutely love trick or treating but they quickly forget all about the treats.  That just leaves more for me!

Goodbye, Training Wheels

We've known for quite some time that Alex was capable of riding on two wheels, but he was scared of falling and Matt and I didn't want to sweat out in the heat making him learn.  Now that fall has come to Houston (so the afternoon highs are pleasant 80's), Matt decided it was high time to get the little guy riding his bike.

It took lots of talking and a few pushes, and then Alex was off.  He was hesitant at first but quickly gained speed and started attempting tricks.  No waiting around for this guy. 

 

We were so proud of him!  And I prayed that he wouldn't fall on the first day or we'd never get him back on his bike.  Luckily, he didn't fall until the second day when he was racing the 7 and 8-year olds down the street (and winning) when he skinned a knee.  By then, he'd had a taste of speed and we could talk him back onto his bike...but maybe just a bit slower this time.  I love this guy's passion and determination

Check out my handsome boys on "Dress for Success" day.  Outfit input not accepted from Mom.  (Yes, those are Ben's corduroy pants tucked into cowboy boots)  It was also class picture day so it should make for some pretty awesome pictures.

After Ranger Science (a hands-on experience with parent volunteers), I got a picture of Ben's class and teacher before they had to leave.  It's a great group of kids and a wonderful teacher this year.

We were so fortunate to have our beloved Dulaneys come visit over the weekend.  I bet Mr. Scott had no idea we were going to put him to work!

Crazy picture!

And sweet smiles.  We love Miss Lou Anne and Mr. Scott!!  It was a quick visit but so wonderful to catch up with them.

The spy game has been very popular around here lately.  Just don't tell the boys that their spy glasses are supposed to help them see what's going on behind them, not in front.  They love to sneak around the house and count how many times they see me without getting caught.  Let's just say that number would be very small if I wasn't playing along!

You ever get the feeling that someone is watching you?

Butterflies

We had been watching our butterfly-to-be buddies very closely last week looking for any indication that they were ready to emerge.  On Friday morning, each chrysalis had gone from bright green to clear and we could see the detail of the monarch wings, so we knew they were ready. 

 

Sometime during breakfast, Ben shouted that we had a butterfly!  Our first friend appeared quickly and quietly and totally surprised us.

While we were checking out the first one, suddenly the second chrysalis popped open right before our eyes.  He was out in just over a minute, so no wonder we missed the first one.

We all watched as the second butterfly emerged and I've got to tell you, it totally made my day!  So amazing that these guys were caterpillars just a few weeks ago.

We were so caught up in the excitement and beauty that the kids totally missed the bus, but it was worth every minute.  I'm so glad the kids were home to see it happen.  (and how much do I love this picture?  Ben's big, gaping smile still warms my heart but it's quickly disappearing)

Our new friends spent the rest of the day drying their wings and crawling around the cage.  The kids thoughtfully left several fresh flowers in there in case the butterflies were hungry.

That afternoon we took our lovely friends outside and said goodbye to them as they fluttered away.  We saw two monarchs in the yard over the weekend, so maybe it was them coming back to say hello!

Latest Pictures

Alex came home thrilled last Friday because it was his turn to bring home the class mascot, Tex.  He hung out with his stuffed buddy for the weekend, slept with him, then wrote about his visit in Tex's journal.  This boy still loves all things kindergarten!

We took advantage of a gorgeous, warm October Saturday and headed to Galveston on the spur of the moment.   A tropical storm out in the gulf kicked up some waves for Matt to surf and as always, the boys only needed some sand and water to stay entertained all day.

They drove some cars in the sand for hours.

We also dug our big hole/castle/pool and played out in the waves.  We enjoyed a nice dinner of fresh seafood and then headed home!  I love that a 90 degree day in Houston's "fall" can be spent with toes in the sand.

I loved the wardrobe choices on this particular day.  But if they get dressed first thing in the morning, I'm not going to argue!

 

We went outside to enjoy a spectacular sunset one evening.

The tooth fairy has visited again!  Ben's bubba tooth met with Matt's pliers and Ben now has the most adorable smile.  It's impossible not to smile back at him right now.

 

We met some friends at the local high school stadium for some Friday night lights.  They boys said they had a great time, but oddly, they didn't face the field that often. They love all the activities at a high school football game but don't seem to care much about the actual football yet.

 

We picked up a few new friends last time we visited Grammy and Grumpy's house.  These two caterpillars will be turning into monarch butterflies soon.

On their second day here, they both took to the top of the container and began making tiny webs to hang from.

Soon, they were both hanging in place and I kept watching and watching, hoping to see them make their cocoons.

 In less than an hour, each of them had already morphed into its cocoon!  Now we just hang out and await the arrival of our lovely friends in about 10 days.  This has been a really fun process to watch!

Bubba

Ben finally lost a top tooth!  I use the word "lost" loosely because this one had to be pulled again.  It had been loose for months and began to push forward enough for me to see his permanent tooth once again coming in behind, but not enough to force the baby tooth out.  Matt did some quick work with his pliers and Ben was a tough boy again, and we got another visit from the tooth fairy.

 

What's really making me laugh is how quickly the other (very loose) tooth moved over into the empty space so now Ben has a big, snaggle-toothed grin.  I've been calling him Bubba for days.  It's even better because he just learned how to whistle so he walks around the house with a song coming from all those holes in his mouth.

Alex is turning into a budding writer, although no one is quite sure yet what he's saying.  It made perfect sense when he wrote the story but even he can't remember what was written.  No matter what, we're all proud of his efforts.  He printed this page himself off starfall.com (along with several dozen others), colored it, and created the story all on his own.

School Fun

It seems like I've barely taken any pictures this month, but our routine has mostly been school, homework, play, repeat.  And watch football on the weekends.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  It's actually nice to be well into the routine and watching everyone learn and thrive at school.

The kids got surprise visitors at lunch last week and they were so excited!  It's a shock to me to watch Alex walk in as a student and leave with his class, after two years of him being my little sidekick when we visited Ben at lunch.  He asks me every day to come eat with him.  If I say no (which I usually do), now he asks if Grammy and Grumpy can come instead.

It's handy that second grade lunch follows kindergarten, so we hung out and waited for our next little guy.  Now when Ben walks in, it's a shock to see how tall he's grown!  Especially after seeing hundreds of 5-year olds.

At home, Alex doesn't have official homework but the kid can't get enough of some of his school activities.  His current favorite is "write around the room", where you walk around with a clipboard and write down any words you see.  He combines it with his sight word flash cards by sticking them all over the house, then writing them down.

His "job" isn't finished until he's taped his work up in his closet.  These sheets are growing daily!  Alex also loves to get on iStation and starfall on my computer and has even passed up video games for these reading websites.  Is this my child?  I LOVE seeing him so excited to learn!

 

Alex is also starting to write phonetically and I'm back in the deciphering phase.  I got a good laugh out of this worksheet when I finally figured out what he'd written.  (click to enlarge)  Tllig = tattling  Wepdog = reporting (when you say it in Alex's voice, it makes perfect sense)

And Alex had to talk me through these drawings so I wrote the translation next to them to remember what he wrote.  What he didn't tell me was who was tattling about his brother standing on him...but I have a very good guess.

I've been doing some projects of my own while the kids are at school.  My sweet neighbor taught me how to sew pajama pants and Ben was thrilled to pick out is own fabric and get some custom pants.  It was a lot of fun so I definitely want to do more.  Next time I'll remember to add a few more inches to Mr. Long Legs here.  These will be capris by spring.  I've also been painting a bedroom a week, which is fun to me and really satisfying.

We've enjoyed watching football on the weekend and it's another exciting season to be Aggies!  (and fun to be a blue parakeet in this house, apparently)

School Days

So far our school year is off to a great start.  The kids are enjoying their classes, making friends, and already survived the first virus to pass through the house (fortunately on Labor day so we didn't miss any school!).

Alex has adjusted to kindergarten very easily.  The first day he said, "My teacher isn't as good as we thought.  She didn't have much fun stuff for us to do today."  The second day he said, "We did paperwork!!  It's getting better!"  And the third day as he was getting on the bus after school, Alex turned and yelled to his teacher, "It's going to be a great year!"  Now every day he comes home excited to tell me what he's learned and happy to read me the books he colored or show me his new sight words.  I love seeing how happy he is to be at school and how much he's loving to learn.  I hope it continues!  His only complaints so far - recess is too crowded (with something like 225 kids, I'm sure it is!) and dismissal is too long.

Ben has been really happy in his class as well.  He has some buddies from previous years to talk about minecraft and has found a few new cute girls that make him blush.  His reading has suddenly improved a lot and he's much more excited to do it.  I've also seen a lot of improvement (or effort) in his handwriting so we're off to a great start in second grade.  Let's hope we stay on that track!

At home, the kids have been playing and enjoying free time after school.  Alex has complained that school really interferes with his minecraft time, so we had to discuss our priorities a bit.  We're still in the thick of summer but they've enjoyed racing their remote controlled Jeeps in the evenings when it cools down a little.

 

We were all excited to kick off the college football season last weekend with our friends the Hesters and loved how they rigged up an outdoor TV so we could swim and cheer on the Aggies at the same time.

Ben decided he was ready to go snorkeling and he loved going around the neighborhood pool