Halloween 2013

What a fun day!

Kyle and Ryan had Halloween activities at each of their schools while Evan stayed home with Mom.  {He's getting a few teeth in, so wasn't in the best spirits, but we made do.}

When Kyle got home from school and Dad got home from work, we carved pumpkins.  

 Grandpa came over for the fun, too!

Here's our finished creations:  Kyle directed our jack-o-lantern.  He wanted "triangle eyes, a square nose, and an angry mouth."  This is what we came up with. 

Ryan told Stephen what to carve.  He wanted circle eyes and was quick to point out that Dad didn't make circle eyes.  "Those are ovals!"  Ryan started by saying he wanted a happy mouth, but ended up choosing the sad one from Stephen's sketches. 

 Then, we all got into costume.  Here's The Portal Master and his Skylanders, Spyro, Hex, Crusher, and Trigger Happy.

 Our block got a party together, everyone bringing out their chairs to hand out candy.  We had some great food, too.

 I loved the costumes--we had 2 neighbors thinking the same things--baby lobsters and chef parents.  Adorable!

 Once the boys ate, they were ready for some trick-or-treating.

 Now that our neighborhood's houses are all complete, we were able to actually walk and knock on some doors this year!  The boys were very good {mostly} about being polite--Evan was cracking me up with returning candy he didn't want and trading it in for a piece he was eying.  Assertive, that one! 

 When the buckets were full, we headed back to the party.  The boys rode their bikes and scooters in the street with all the neighborhood kids.  Evan dug into his candy, 2 lollipops at a time! 

Then, we dumped out the spoils and surveyed the loot.  

It was a truly Happy Halloween!

Halloween Garb

With 3 boys and several Halloweens behind us, we have quite the wardrobe of holiday gear, from PJs to lots of changes of clothes.  Happy Halloween from the Coopers!!!

You're the BREAST!

2013 has been a hard year for us, but we have received an amazing outpouring of love and support to help us through.  One of our biggest supporters has been the people Stephen works with.  In the beginning, they sent home coolers full of freezer meals.  One nurse in particular who is a breast cancer survivor shared her story with me and constantly checks in to see how I'm doing.  A few of Stephen's coworkers have consistently sent meals home on a weekly basis, and we randomly get cards and small gifts that help us know how much others care.

Right after my surgery, many people Stephen works with got together a donation fund in our honor and surprised Stephen with a substantial check.  We were blown away.  How do you properly thank so many people for donating and helping our cause?  Baked goods are often one small way.

I got the idea to make some sugar cookies in the shape of a bra, ice them pink, and write thank you cards--You're the Breast!  Thanks for all your support!  I forgot what a process making sugar cookies is, especially when you're making large quantities.  I'm SO glad Stephen was around to help me ice them!  I wanted to make enough to pass around to neighbors and other who've helped out, but that will have to wait for another time.  Here's the result of 2 days of work:    

 

 I hear they were a great success! 

Pumpkin Fun

 We've had a pumpkin filled week so far. 

Yesterday, we met up with some friends for a pumpkin hunt at the park!  This was such a fun idea--something I definitely look forward to continuing.  The boys loved opening up their pumpkins to find the hidden treasures most of all. 

When Kyle got home from school, we met up with some neighbors and had a pumpkin painting party.  Kyle took this project seriously, using all possible colors and supplies.  

 Ryan and Evan just slapped paint everywhere. 

The boys then got to run around and ride bikes and scooters while the girls kept painting.  We even had cupcakes!  Such fun.

Today, Kyle's pumpkin fun continued at school.  His class did pumpkin investigating today--their pumpkin weighed 9 lbs and had 297 seeds.  Then, they carved a moon in it--for Mrs. Moon.  They even tasted pumpkin seeds.  

It's been a pumpkin-y week so far, and we haven't even carved any yet!!! 

Cousin Time

 On Saturday, we took a trip to College Station.  It's crazy to realize that I haven't been there since March!  The big boys got to go to an uncrowded, easily won football game, which was nice for a change. 

Meanwhile, the kids played and played and played.  They were cracking me up with their playtime stories--here, they were using swords to fight monkeys. 

I'm glad these guys all love to play together so well! 

Trunk-or-Treat

 On Friday, our church had its Trunk-or-Treat activity.  The kids had SO much fun, and they were pretty well behaved, too.  That's a great relief, since I was a single parent for most of the event--Fridays are usually long work days for Stephen. 

Here's most of our Skylanders family, minus our Portal Master. 

Crusher: 

Trigger Happy--he's always making funny faces as this character. 

 Spyro--content with, yet, another lollipop!

There were so many fun games to play!

 Kyle's VERY favorite station was this coloring one.  He begged to go back and make another one. 

 We then had some of the chili from the chili cook off.  Kyle and Evan really liked one of the recipes--eating 2 bowls!

FINALLY.....Dad arrived!  He was just in time to hand out candy.  Evan did so well with this year's trick-or-treating experience.  

 Kyle and Ryan knew just what to do, too. 

We came home with full candy buckets and worn out Skylanders.  It was a good night.