Pierce's 3rd Birthday

It's about time I blogged about Pierce's 3rd birthday. We decided to do a small party at the Stuffington Bear Factory. It was a great time. The kids got to tour the factory. Pierce was very excited to be the one to go first. We bought the birthday cake hat at Party City. Surprisingly he kept it on most of the time. He looked soooo cute. After the tour of the factory they all got to make a bear. Pierce picked out an outfit for his bear. They also name their bears and received an adoption certificate. However, I have no idea where those are now. Unfortunately Delaney and Gavin were not able to make it so he didn't have a lot of other kids at the party. He didn't seem to mind. They were driving from Tucson but the highway was closed and they had to turn around. According to Kristen she did therapy with the kids all the way home because they didn't get to go. We still made bears for them anyway. Here are some pictures from the party. By the end of the party he was on overload and ended up crying. Overall it was a great 3rd Birthday. It is so hard to believe he is now the age Elle was when he was born. They are growing so fast. We are lucky to have such a sweet little boy.

These pictures are all out of order. Sorry for that. Hopefully you get it anyway.

I'll be back soon with pictures and video from our Thanksgiving trip to San Diego and Sea World!

Light Saber Attack!!

Pierce got a light saber for his birthday today as well as a sword that makes noise. Keith and the kids had a major light saber attack. It was pretty funny. I realize that eventually it will result in injury and someone crying, but everyone was having a great time. Check it out.

Dear Soon to be Teenage Boys.....

Dear Soon to Be Teenage Boys,
One day you will look into these eyes and be captivated. You will forget how to speak, how to act, and you will make a fool of yourself. These eyes will haunt your dreams. They will burn into your memory. There will be no hope for you. You will buy flowers, balloons, and all kinds of mushy crap you never thought you would spend money on. Just to get these eyes to look your way, even if only for a moment. Do your best to avoid them. They are danger. These eyes know how to get their way. They know how to look at you to get what they want. They know how to break your heart. It's better you hear it now, before it's too late, while you can still save yourself. One look into these eyes and you will be lost forever!

Trip to Tucson

I am a little late in reporting our trip to Tucson. Halloween took up a lot of time so I am just now getting to it. A few weekends ago we set off to see our wonderful friends Kristen and Dave. They recently moved to Tucson (sniff, sniff) and we thought it was time to go see their new digs. Plus, we have never really been to Tucson so it would be cool. There is only one problem with a trip to see them. We apparently all act like teenagers with their very first two liter of purple passion on a back country rode way past curfew. I always vow I will not drink red wine and I will only have two glasses of whatever (but NOT red wine). Well........by the end of the night there were at least eight glasses of wine surrounding us all. Keith couldn't get off the chair. Dave couldn't walk, not to mention I barely remember the conversation Dave and I had but I think it revolved around the G spot....maybe mine but who can tell. I should always make sure to stock up on some ibuprofen before hanging out with those two. You know your drunk when your friend offers to loan you her bike and you start crying. What a baby.

Below is a picture of Dave at the beginning of the night and the next morning with his sun glasses and coffee. He slept the latest, but I think he was probably the drunkest. We went on a pretty cool trip the next day with the kids. I wish I could tell you where it was, but since I had a killer headache most the day, I just concentrated on not puking out the tram. The kids had a great time.

The kids did so great together this trip. I think everyone has matured a little more. Not much fighting at all. I sure do miss those guys. I think we are all kindred spirits. The next time we see them I will definitely be sure to practice my serenity prayer:

God grant me the courage to accept the things I can not change;

courage to change the things I can;

and the wisdom to know the difference.

And the modified serenity prayer for Kristen and Dave:

God grant me the courage to say no to red wine;

courage to throw it away when Kristen pours it my glass;

and the wisdom to never have a deep conversation with Dave when I am drunk!

Halloween Festivities

Halloween was great. The costumes looked awesome. Pierce seemed to be better. No fever, just a little cough. We went to a friends house this year to trick-or-treat. It's the first time the kids were actually going to walk around a neighborhood. Usually we go to some sort of organized function, but this year they wanted to spend it with friends. Our friends live in a huge neighborhood in cave creek. All the neighbors decorate and set up tables for the kids. It was great. We still had a few last minute preparations to make on the costumes before we left. The picture below is the first glimpse of me in the sun costume. We had to cut the head and arm holes before we left. Keith thinks this picture is hilarious with my legs sticking out.

Elle's costume was the hit of the night. You can't tell by this picture, but she had two tap lights on the inside of her helmet that lit up. Everyone kept telling her it was the best costume they had every seen. She was excited. A teenager said it was the best costume in the history of costumes, but being only 15 that wasn't much.

Pierce didn't like his costume that much. It was hard to carry the candy bag. He rallied and made it at least an hour before he wanted to take it off and sit in the wagon. I think we all look pretty good. Most people didn't know what I was until the four of us were together. Keith was hysterical. Everyone started calling him the rocket man. He had to take little bitty steps to walk around so he was always behind us. He stayed in that costume walking around for 2 1/2 hours.

This was the group. We had a lot of fun!

About an hour in Max and Pierce sat in the wagon and ate their candy. Before we left for the night Pierce complained of a tummy ache. I guess we should have heeded the warning because about an hour after everyone went to sleep he started crying. When Keith got up there he had puked in his bed. On the way to the bathroom he puked on the floor. He was also burning up. I don't know if it was all the candy or being sick, but he had a rough night and so did we!!! Oh well, the costumes were great. Now we just have to get our pictures taken for our Christmas cards and we are done for the year. Not sure if we can top this one. I have a feeling it may be getting close to our last group Halloween. Elle really wants to go as a princess next year. We will see.