Giddy-Up! It's Halloween!

Ever since Porter was born, I have wanted the kids to be Jessie and Woody from Toystory. Mostly because Brooke loves the ToyStory movies and Jessie and she even has a pink stuffed horse that she named Bullseye all on her own. Plus, Brooke is pretty much unopinionated about her costumes and is happy to accept that she'll dress up as whatever I tell her :)

I ended up making the kids' costumes because the ones you can buy online were so expensive and made of really cheap materials (or so the reviews said.). 

 The Saturday before Halloween, a local grocery store doesa trick or treat around the store. Porter was so cute to hold my hand and walk around to each place to get his treat.

as soon as he got his first treat, Porter was pretty persistant that I open the pretzles for him. If not, he would have just chewed through the bag! It was a nice distraction while we waited in line for the games.

 I love this pic of Porter trying to steal a piece of Brooke's cotton candy.

 After, we went to Honey and Pinch's to show off the costumes:

Porter wanted to be like big-sister and climbed up on the fence too

 Picture time was over as soon as Porter saw this--I couldn't tear him away from the fence.

I love my little buckaroos! And as proud as I am of their homemade costumes, I may try to stuff them into them next year too!

Family Update

Blake: Has recently been given a new opportunity to advance at work. We are really excited about this and what it means for our family, and I'm so proud of his hard work. Not only did Blake shoot a large bull elk this hunting season, he also shot a pretty nice buck (that's a deer for all you non-hunting folks--I only add that because before I married Blake I had no idea that was what it was called) this past weekend. It's been busy and Blake's been gone a lot camping and hunting on the weekends and his days off--the kids and I are looking forward to having him around  more now that it's over.

Courtney: Still teaching and being mom. Both keep me busy and I love it. Over the fall break I completed my first attempt at sewing Halloween costumes for the kids. I'm really happy with how they turned out. I also finally caved and went to see a podiatrist about my foot I injured while running my half marathon a month ago. He took some xrays and this time they could see the stress fracture. Apparently it's in a really common place where lots of people get stress fractures. So I get to wear this lovely boot for the next 4-8 weeks.

And I hate to still complain (but I will anyway--heehee), the boot makes the uninjured parts of my foot hurt! I swear my foot is going to be totally messed up by the time this is all over. 

I've also been reading a ton lately. My favorites right now are the Blood Red Road series, The Divergent Series (I just got my copy of Allegiant yesterday--can't wait to start it!), and I'm also reading a really interesting parenting book called Nurture Shock--I really like it. 

And speaking of parenting...

Brooke: Brooke is enjoying preschool and loves to play with friends. She loves to color and sing and dance around the house. She and I have our constant battle of the wills and I'm always trying new things to get a handle on it. She loves her PJs and it's really hard to get her to change into other clothing. In fact, as soon as we get home she changes right back into them. I've descovered she doesn't like jeans too much and is much more apt to wear play clothes if I describe them as "jammy pants" (i.e. cotton or sweat material)

 Porter: Will be 21 months in a couple weeks! I am constantly using the word "sweet" to describe him. He is just a really sweet little boy. He loves to read books and sit on my lap. He loves to give hugs and be helpful like pick up or empty the dishwasher. We're starting to institute a time-out for being naughty. He is still blanky and binky obsessed--even though he doesn't get his binky until bedtime, he'll go stand by his crib and cry for it. He doesn't say too many words, but I can tell his vocabulary is starting to pick up. He's getting really good at being able to mimic the words we say.

 One night we were drying fruit and Blake and I both had aprons on. Brooke and Porter both wanted one on too--Porter was so pleased with himself that he had one on like the rest of us.

Confessions of a Wannabe Seamstress

I just completed my first ever sewing project (I'm a little proud of myself right now). If you care to read about it, I posted about on my other blog. You can read it HERE.

A Tale of Two Siblings

For the most part, Brooke and Porter get along really well. They play well together and Brooke is super helpful to get Porter the things he needs when mom is busy.

Porter loves giving hugs.

 That is not to say that they get along perfectly. Porter hits and pulls hair and Brooke does it right back. Sometimes Porter gets into Brooke's stuff and destroys it (a good lesson for Brooke). They get jealous of each other if one is sitting on my lap and the other one sees. Can they both sit on mom's lap? No. Porter pushes on Brooke until she starts to cry and then I say, "Okay! No One is sitting on my lap!" and dump them both onto the floor. And sometimes I think Brooke blames her naughty behavior on Porter (just wait until Porter can talk more, then will begin the tattling, I'm sure).

Saturday we wanted to get out of the house and enjoy the beautful fall weather. We drove up to the dam and did a small walk along the river (my foot is still not fully recovered, so I can't walk very far).

 Brooke's imagination at work: "Look Mom! It's a small key!" (it was a rock)

 More imagination: "Look at that cave! I wonder what lives in there?"

 We decided to eat dinner at the lodge up there, but it was still a little early. We walked around the grounds and right by the lodge is a lake. Of course Mr. P wanted to be in the water and was mad when we kept him away.

 We walked back to the car and Porter threw himself down on the grass and proceded to throw a major fit.  We just ignored him and kept walking. We got Brooke buckled into the car and stood outside waiting for Porter to finish throwing his temper tantrum. He'd stop crying, look up and see us, then throw himself back down to cry some more. Blake and I thought it was pretty funny. We couldn't believe how stubborn he was being! Finally, Brooke unbuckled her seatbelt and said, "I'll go get him." She walked over to Porter, helped him stand up and then held his hand as she walked him over to the car.

 She helped him over the log

 And the temper tantrum was gone and forgotten about by the time they got back to the car. Brooke definitely gets the best big sister award for that one!

Oktober Fest

We haven't had an M. Family Oktober fest for several years. It used to be a big deal for the first few years that I was married to Blake. Childless, it was usually Blake and I's job to write and hide the clues for hayride/treasure hunt. By the time our kids came along, the tradition had kind of fizzled out (we did have one the year I was pregnant with Porter, but not all the adult kids and cousins came). This year it felt like old times. We were also celebrating the engagement of Blake's brother and had a shower for Di, our new sister in law!

The festivities started Friday night by the girls throwing Di a surprise shower while the boys went skeet shooting. 

Saturday morning Blake shot his first bull elk. He was really excited and everyone was really happy for him and wanted to see it.

Crafts are always a big hit! The kids (even the teenage ones) all made their own monster t-shirts.

Porter was always on the go and enjoyed the extra attention from cousins. Mom enjoyed the extra eyes to keep an on eye on him so I could visit with family.

Do you notice where Porter sits to "ride" the bike?

It was pretty much cousin soup in the hot tub all weeekend.

There was indeed a hayride/treasure hunt as per tradition, but since it fell during P's nap time, I stayed at the house while everyone else went. Brooke loved it and told me all about it when they got back.

Saturday night the kids watched a movie (I think the dads did too) and the women started a game of Apples to Apples. I think it was the late night and all the junk food and dirty diet cokes that had been consumed because quickly the game turned into an "adult only" version of the game. We laughed our heads off. I needed that. Sunday morning the kids woke up early to play games before everyone left for home.

We love spending time with family and can't wait until we see them again!