Fourth, Fashion and Fire

We decided to host the fourth in the cul de sac this year. We pooled our fireworks with the Flynns and Petersons. 

That was just enough to get a little sparkler action:

 A smattering of smoke bombs:

And three dad's discussing strategy for the "big stuff"

And a little grainy camera footage from that plan well and truly blowing up: 

If you can't see what that is, it's a still shot of our driveway...and fire everywhere. Somehow we escaped without injury or damage to the neighbor's homes. It might be divine intervention. 

One more thing....do you see those cute shirts the girls are wearing? Those were 100% the result of Mark taking them out to find cute clothes for the occasion. He did great letting them all pick out their own style of red, white and blue!

Daddy Daughter Dance

 

Cherry Red

 Everyone needs a dad that buys them a brand new cherry red cruiser so they can ride of into the sunset. 

Missed opportunity

I saw this today in the thrift store.

And I didn't buy it.

I can't for the life of me understand why.

Give me another chance, Universe. I won't let you down.

Top golf and Trick or Treating

Mark took the boys over to Top Golf to practice and get a little energy out. This is one of the reason Dad's are so important. If they were stuck with me, we would probably be sitting down with a nice book. 

Yay dads!

After dinner we put on the fox costumes one more time and headed out in the neighborhood.

Stopping at the Brady's.

Megan's friend, Kayli, asked if she could come over and trick or treat with us. Her mom said she wanted to see what it was like to trick or treat with a big family. lol..

I hope she got the fun side and not the "these guys are totally nuts" side.

This year was kind of fun because all the neighbors were outside watching a Royals game and handing out candy. The adults would chat about the score and watch for a few minutes before heading to the next house.

Mathew helped Everly out when she was tired.

I love big kids!

Then it was back home for the great candy sort and swap.

Happy Halloween!

Mom's away and Dad will play

One of the things I love about Mark is the way he does fun things with the kids and then texts me about it while I'm away. He took Anna on a walk to the park and sent me this cute photo.  He knows how to make a girl feel special....

Random memory.

After I left home, my parents and three youngest siblings moved to Texas. It was right before my mission and I remember taking a road trip down there with my Dad. It was just me and him and I have fond memories of that time we spent together because a) he was a really great dad and  b) I was finally old enough to not behave like a snot.

I remember specifically that he and I stopped over in Albuquerque and he was taking a nap in the hotel room. I decided I would sit outside and do some sketching. As I was sitting outside the door, an occasional truck driver would walk by and strike up a conversation. He would look at the sketch and comment and we would chat for a few minutes and then he would be on his way. It all seemed very harmless to me. Then Dad woke up and came outside in mid-conversation with one of these truck drivers and after he left, I'll never forget the look on his face as he talked to me about all of the horrible things that could have happened to me. At the time, I felt he was overreacting and had very little faith in my ability to take care of myself. I felt so grown up and had no idea of the unthinkable things that happen to people.

Now I am raising my own children and I find myself often in the situation of feeling the terror of what might happen to them. I realize how much my Dad loved me and I understand how frightening it is to see your children venturing out into this world. It's scary.

And mine are just hiding in the clothes racks at Walmart.

The gingerbread train

This year we opted for the GingerTrain! Mark took over, as I was indisposed with the newest pup.


The most essential element to building a successful Gingerbread structure of any kind is dividing up the candy into 4 equal parts beforehand. You may even go so far as to make sure each has the same number of each color of candy. Don't underestimate their "fairness radar". Take preemptive measures!

Then...just go for it. Warning: Do not invest emotionally in the finished product. It's totally beside the point. The point is to have fun and sneak as much candy as possible without detection.





The new pup.


The final product with all the contributors. Mathew is trying out his "disgruntled" look lately.


The best part is taking it apart and eating it just moments after finishing it!