chris.reese.girls1.2.3.4

Halloween has turned into a mini-Christmas. There are a slew of parties (school/church), traditional treats and meals to make, food to contribute to all the parties, getting the kids dressed up repeatedly, and of course, the Trick-or-Treating. Throw in Paige's birthday that week, plus a church cleaning assignment the night of the 30th and you have the perfect combination of activities to cause utter exhaustion. Good thing it's fun, but it does get crazy. I was so grateful my parents came to town on the 29th. They were such a help as we managed these fun-filled days. Finley was Elsa this year. She got to wear her costume to preschool on the 29th. They made sugar cookies and finished their school unit on pumpkins that day. Brynn was really into the scary part of Halloween this year. She was hardly recognizable in her makeup and black hair. She even wanted red finger nails "like blood."  I waited until three days before Halloween and had a very difficult tim...

I can't believe my oldest is 10....10!! It's crazy how the time just flies. Ten years ago she made us parents and we've been experimenting on her with our skills ever since. She has put up with a lot of our mistakes through the years and man, she is the unlucky guinea pig as she now enters the "tween" phase and the teenage years loom on the horizon. Good thing she is a pretty terrific kid... She is an amazing leader and help at home. She can do most things around the house pretty proficiently. She always makes her bed every morning, she knows how to cook a few decent meals (top ramen, mac 'n cheese, hot chocolate, Sharon cheese, nachos, etc.), she knows how to clean the bathrooms and rotate laundry. She can change diapers, rock Meg, and babysit her sisters. I don't know what I'd do without her! She continues to be the girl with all the "stuff". This is so endearing and so so frustrating. Trying to leave the house with four k...

This year's pumpkin carving started out super fun. The girls all picked out their designs and had been anxiously waiting until the few days before Halloween to carve. Living in the PNW means you can't decorate too soon...otherwise the humidity destroys your pumpkin before the big day. But the best laid plans often don't work out so well. Paige started to get frustrated with her design and after almost the 2-hour mark she was in tears and walked away. I fixed and finished it for her. Finley and Brynn did amazing and even used the knife on their own a lot. But their patience in waiting for Paige wore thin rather quickly and then escalated into teasing/making fun of her, which got them in trouble, which brought more tears and an early bedtime. There was also this little one making a fuss from the couch for most of the night... Needless to say... No one was awake to see their pumpkins all lit up and how cute they turned out! So we re-lit them the next nig...

This year's pumpkin patch trips were in the "old school" category. This means no fancy patches full of games, playgrounds, or mazes...just regular farms that sell pumpkins. The highlight at each one is a fun little tractor ride. With new baby Meg, it's obvious why we chose these more local alternatives as opposed to the fancy patches that are 1+ hour away. Maybe we will get out to those next year... Finley had a preschool field trip to Punkin' Time in Carnation. We lucked out with some sunshine (after a week of rain rain rain). She loved being with her friends and showing off baby Meg. The best preschool shot we got... Parker, Kai, Katie, Addison, Finley, Lucy's baby sister, McKinley and Lucy (who's not looking) Finley picked out a green pumpkin! The Pumpkin Wash All clean! I love preschool field trips to the pumpkin patch. It's such a fun tradition that I've done with each of my girls. I'm sad this is...