"Uncle Jamie, You're Crazy!"

 Aunt Vikki and Uncle Jamie sent a birthday gift wrapped in about 15 layers, I kid you not. Layers of brown paper, plastic sacks, tissue paper, and anything else they could find. Evan was laughing so hard by layer four that I thought he would have to stop and take a breather. At last, he got to the actual present....the long awaited Star Wars Leapster Game! He likes it so much that he has taken it to bed with him.

Halloween

The boys have been counting the days to Halloween since September 30th! This morning Keagan's class had a costume parade, and then they went trick or treating to area businesses. 

Evan's class had a Halloween party complete with crafts, games, and cookie decorating.

At when it was finally dark, we all (Opa and Oma included) headed out for trick or treating. We met some of our new neighbors on Ridgecrest, and we also went down our old street to see our old neighbors. Stacey and Frank were kind enough to make treat bags for the boys filled with whole sized candy bars. Jan and Vicki had hands full of candy to pass along to the boys. We miss living on Golf Club already!

As soon as we got home, the boys had dumped their baskets and were sorting the candy into piles: favorite, good, and bad. Evan will have his favorites eaten by Sunday; Keagan will still have uneaten candy a year from now.

Fall Festival

Tonight I took the boys to the daycare's annual fall festival. The boys wore costumes, played chase on the haunted playground, played a few carnival games, and ate a piece of candy or two. It was great fun for them and their friends. 

Evan, Charlie, and Jessie

Jade and Evan

Silas, Keagan, and Charlie

Moving Day

Boxes, boxes and more boxes! 

I don't know how we did it. The moving company packed on Monday, we slept on the floors of the new house Monday night, we went to work/school etc on Tuesday, and we returned home to a house full of furniture. As of Saturday night all 125 boxes had been unpacked. All of our family pictures are hung, the fall decorations are up, we have phone/internet service again, and the pantry is full. We are settled in our new place...at least for the next eight months, and we are relieved that the ordeal is over.

Built Tough

Keagan had a nasty fall this weekend while riding Evan's scooter. The worst part is I was supposed to catch him as he careened down the alley. At the last minute, he jumped off the scooter, and the scooter went under his feet. As he was sprawled out on top of the asphalt, he looked up at me, and it was as if the knot on top of his eye was growing while I watched. Today it looks even worse with more of the eye blue and bruised. He is embarrassed about it and refuses to talk about it. And as luck would have it, picture day is on Wednesday!

After the fall and a long nap, the boys and I went to Montclair's Haunted Happenings. There was nothing haunted, and Evan was disappointed to not have experienced the fright of his life.

Today we had another soccer game, and Keagan helped me take a couple of pictures. I think he might really know what he is doing.

Academic Award

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Today I opened Evan's Friday folder to find this! What a surprise! It had me wondering if the teacher didn't pass one out to every kid. Then I wondered if she gives one every Friday and it has taken seven weeks for Evan to show "outstanding student performance". Evan, of course, had no idea what it meant or why he received it. It doesn't matter how we interpret the reasoning behind the award because we still get a free meal with the certificate, and when all of our goods are packed on Monday, it will be the perfect excuse to eat a meal out.

On a side note...The kids paid a dollar today to wear a hat to school. The money collected went to Heavenly Hats, an organization dedicated to buying hats for children who have lost their hair as a result of chemotherapy. Evan wore his all day - backwards. What a great cause!

Field Trip

Keagan's pre-school class takes a field trip to a local assisted living home every month. For October the kids dressed in costumes for the residents, and the residents passed out a piece or two of candy. Even if not every kid did, you can bet that Keagan remembered to pack a costume on the day of the trip. He chose the Batman costume that Evan wore two years ago, the same costume with one leg missing and a giant hole across the backside. We couldn't convince him otherwise, and we later decided that the cape did a good enough job of hiding any holes. In case you are wondering, the costume selected for the 31st is safely tucked away in a drawer, and as a result, it remains hole free!