Happy Halloween

 I volunteered to help at Ethan and Mia's Halloween parties this year. I made sure I had the day off so I could help. I made vampire donuts for their classes. We brought 6 dozen donuts to school. Riley helped me make most of them. They were pretty fun to put together and the kids really liked them.

Both of the kids were excited and surprised to see me at school. I tried to split my time equally between each class. Next year, I'll sign up for a different holiday for each child. Lesson learned.

 Mia wanted to be a horse for her school party. She was so excited to slip into her costume. It was fun watching her interact with her class. She was very quiet and very shy with the kids.

Each child had to introduce their moms to the class. When it was Mia's turn, she absolutely froze. I felt so bad for her because I was really shy in school. She wouldn't say my name and the teacher finally asked me to say my name. When we got home, I asked her why she didn't say my name. She told me that she forgot what it was. :)

 Mia's class played the mummy game. They had to wrap up a classmate with white paper. Mia didn't want to participate in the game. She wanted to watch and stand back. That's exactly how I was in school. (The little boy with the superman costume is one of Mia's boyfriends. His name is Brody and he was in her class for preschool.)

They also made picture frames and bookmarks. One of the moms is a photographer and she took pictures of each child. I'm excited to see the pictures!

Here is Mia's class picture. She is in the second row on the right. The other parents sent along candy and gift bags for each child. They were so excited to see all of the goodies. I really love this age. I wish they could stay this small forever.

 Ethan wanted to be iron man for his class party. He was really excited for the party. Ethan was a little more outgoing in class and tried all of the games. He's kind of a goofball in school. I hope he doesn't act that way all of the time.

Ethan's class played quite a few games. They had boxes filled with eyeballs, brains, and witches fingers and they had to guess what was in there. They also played plinko and had a tootsie roll throw.

I don't know if you notice the bandaids on Ethan's forehead. He jumped off of Grandpa's boat and smacked his head on the cement. He was worried that the other kids were going to laugh at him, so we put bandaids on his forehead.

Here is Ethan's class picture. He is in the back row with the iron man costume.Their class also had a lot of goodies to take home. Their party was at the end of the day, so the kids rode home with me. They were pretty happy about that. They usually have to ride the bus and it takes an hour to get home.

 Mike got off work a little early so we could head over to Sarah's house for supper. The kids were itching to go trick-or-treating. Mike was bacon, I was an egg, Kelly was little red riding hood, Mia was Klawdeen wolf from Monster High, Riley was a unicorn, and Ethan was wolverine.

It was funny watching them go from house to house. They didn't walk. They ran--all 6 of them. They were really fast too. Riley and Jude are usually the ones that we end up carrying but they walked/ran the majority of the time.

They got so much candy. It was ridiculous!

Dairy Farm

 I went with Riley's class on a field trip to a dairy farm. One of the teacher's families own the farm, so we had a first rate tour. They showed us where the milk was kept and we were able to watch them milk the cows.

 When the kids got off the bus, Julie told Atahn to hold Riley's hand. Julie then told me that they are always together. Sure enough, Atahn never left Riley's side. It was kind of funny. Riley sat on the left side of my lap and Atahn sat on the right side of my lap. :)

 Let's just say I'm in favor of pasteurization.

 Riley also has two other boyfriends beside Atahn. Their names are Pablo and Rowen. They were fighting over holding her hands and started pushing each other. During conferences, Julie told me that these boys' parents kept asking who Riley was because they talk about her all of the time.

 They all took turns feeding the calves. They were only four days old. They take them away from their moms right away so they don't get any infections. They were adorable.

 From left to right: Atahn, Jolene (aide), Dustin, Rowen, Pablo, Nathaniel, Julie (teacher), and Riley.

After the field trip, they all enjoyed some ice cream. The kids had a lot of fun!

We Love Margaret

 The newest member of our family is too cute. The girls are absolutely in love with her. They're a bunch of baby hogs. I barely got to hold her that day.

 Margaret was pretty happy that day and didn't seem to mind all of the attention.

 I think Ethan preferred to look at her instead of hold her. She happened to start crying while he was holding her. He then proceeded to tell everyone that Margaret hated him.

I wish she lived closer! We get to see her again in November for a baby shower and then for Thanksgiving.

Riley's First Day

 Riley's first day of preschool was August 26th. I, unfortunately, had to work that day so Traci, our daycare lady, took some pictures for me. Traci said she was very excited when the bus came and picked her up.

Riley loves preschool. She has the same teacher as last year (Julie.) Mia also had Julie for two years, so we know her pretty well. Riley is the only girl in her class. She has five little boys as classmates. I'm sure she'll do just fine with all of those little boys though, I wish she had a little girl to play with. I'm guessing she's going to be spoiled.

 She picked out a Monster High Dolls book bag. That kind of surprised me because it's Mia that is obsessed with those dolls.

First Day

 Ethan and Mia started kindergarten on August 21st. Mia had the stomach flu that day, so she missed her very first day of school.

 I bought them some cupcakes for an after-school treat. I was able to adjust my work schedule and take Ethan on the first day.

 It blows my mind how big they are. It doesn't seem possible that they are all ready in kindergarten. It makes me sad!

 I let the kids pick out their own book bags. Ethan picked out a batman book bag that has a cape hooked on the back.

 He did really well when I dropped him off. I could tell he was really nervous, but he didn't shed one tear. I was amazed. I, on the other hand, cried like a baby.

 He didn't want to do his "three hug-kiss" (he wants to hug and kiss three times) when I dropped him off. I think he was embarrassed. I did get one hug and one kiss from him.

 Mia was feeling better on the second day of school. I had to work that day and felt really bad that I couldn't take them on the second day. She was over the moon excited for her first day and wanted to ride the bus.

 Mia picked out a Hello Kitty book bag with white polka dots. She was the first one to the bus that day. I can all ready tell that she's going to love kindergarten. The jury is still out on Ethan.

The bus comes at 7:15 am to pick them up. I think it's kind of early, especially since school doesn't start until 8:00. We only live 3 miles from the school. They ride the bus 45 minutes there. School gets out at 3:00 pm and they usually get home around 4:00 pm, so that's another hour on the bus. I think it's an awfully long time, but we don't have much of a choice.

 Mia's two boyfriends from preschool are in her class. I saw them standing in her line when I dropped Ethan off. My first thought was, "oh great." She does not need boyfriends!

My babies are growing up way too fast.

New Roommate

We have a new roommate! My little sister, Kelly, moved in with us last week. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a biology major last year. She decided to go back to school and get a bachelor's in Medical Lab Science. She'll be staying with us for a year while she finishes up some classes.

The kids are elated at having Aunt Kelly here. They don't quite understand why she's here though. :) They keep asking where her house is and where her parents are and why she doesn't live with her mom and dad. It's pretty comical. Every day we come home and see Kelly's car in the driveway, they get really excited and yell, "Kelly's here!" They've done this for a week straight now.

Kelly moved into our master bedroom upstairs and Mike and I moved to the master bedroom downstairs. Mike has been wanting to move downstairs for the last 5 years, but I didn't want the kids to be alone upstairs. Now that Kelly is here, I felt comfortable moving downstairs.

We put new carpet in our bedroom and are getting things organized. It's nice having a bigger room and it is quieter being downstairs except for when the kids STOMP down the stairs. It sounds like a herd of buffalo are coming down the stairs.

The kids (mainly the girls) are having fun getting into Kelly's stuff. They like to snoop through her makeup, fingernail polish, perfume, jewelry, and markers. They're pretty good about leaving Kelly alone when she has her door shut, but Kelly does lock the door if they bug her too much. It's funny because I hear them pounding on her door saying, "Kelly? Kelly? Let me in. Can I come in?"    

Margaret's Baptism

 Margaret's baptism was over Labor day weekend. We left on a Saturday and drove to St. Cloud. We stayed at Amber's house and then drove Sunday morning to St. Paul. Matt and Jenna have a two bedroom condo, so they can't host a lot of people.

 Jenna borrowed my baptismal gown. Margaret looked so precious.

 Margaret slept through the baptism. She stirred a little when the water was poured over her head but didn't cry very much.

Mike ended up getting sick during the church service, so he missed all of the family photos. We were only able to stay an hour at the party because Mike felt so bad and he wanted to head home. I was kind of bummed because I was hoping to shop that day. I think he faked his illness so I wouldn't go to Ikea. :)

It was good seeing all of my siblings. I'm so grateful I grew up in a large family! We have so much fun together. I love seeing all of the cousins interact. It's pretty entertaining to watch and they get along so well!