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DEFINITELY overrated around here.....

and so is the assumption that my kids will NOT touch my computer!

Beware

You will NOT be able to get this out of your head once you listen to it......but ever since my friend introduced me to it a few days ago, I sing it everytime we drive in the Yeti!!!!!

The best part

My FAVORITE part of Thanksgiving though was after we ate piling EVERYONE into the Yeti and heading down to the church to play baseball w/ Brooks' pitching machine (his baby...)

(I love all those happy faces......poor Ry Gy had Iris insist he sit next to her)

Iris had to go potty when we got there and LUCKY US, she found a little "bicho" (bug) friend!

She loves bichos so much and never lets go of them......and kisses them a lot.

So while Iris was playing with her bug, Royce was wandering around after the 20+ balls on the floor, the rest of us split up and played a game of baseball.

SOME of us were a little better sports then others.......

(Emerson would get SO mad/sad when he would strike out. The pitching machine is actually pretty fast.)

Speaking of mad/sad......Iris bicho died (can't IMAGINE how!!!!) and she was beside herself.

Team A........ready to bat.

And Team B......I think it's important to note that the score was 4 to 9 (for the OTHER team) when this picture was taken......but we still had hope when we started batting.

And, do you REALLY think I would get so excited about a baseball game if we lost? Come on!!! So, RIGHT after we took this picture (prophetic picture I might add) we TOTALLY dominated and finished the game w/ Bronson hitting a grand slam.

Final score: 17-9

FOR US!

I would say we worked off quite a bit of the Thanksgiving meal by then......well, at least enough to run home and eat some of the pies! ;)

Thanksgiving

Tio Bug, Tia Linsey and "Tio Ryan" drove down Thanksgiving morning! The kids were SO excited!!! They got there JUST in time for Bug to join in on the Turkey Bowl (football), and for Brooks to beat him at a 40 yard dash.........

To say the girls LOVE Tia Linsey would be an understatement. The poor girl couldn't even put on her make-up w/o some observers..... (WELCOME TO MY LIFE!!!)

Tio Ryan (Brooks' cousin) was SO sweet to come down from New York......although my kids have never met him, they seriously warmed RIGHT up to him! (even Iris, which is REALLY weird)

Does anyone else always have olives, pickles, etc. laying around on Thanksgiving day to snack on? My grandparents always did, so I feel like Thanksgiving is not really here w/o them (even though no one but me ate the olives). Aleeya LOVES pickles and even tried them on her PB&J sandwich. NASTY!!!

Even while Linsey was on the phone w/ her family back home, she STILL had a buddy.

And this buddy ALSO got to (INSISTED actually) talk to Tia Linsey's family......whom she's never met.

There are no pictures as proof, but I would JUST like to say, that Brooks and I TOTALLY beat 3 of our kids in a game of football in the front yard.......yep, we're winners like that.

While Royce just hung out in the leaves...

The weather was in the upper 60s, so it DEFINITELY merited a little no-shirt action on Emerson's part......and no shoes.......and probably no undies (TMI?)

If you EVER want someone to bring AWESOME drinks.....invite Linsey. Seriously, this Cherry 7-up w/ fresh fruit in it tasted sooooooooooo yummy. We were all HUGE fans.

Nik, this picture is for you...........check out my turkey.

I love this picture so much. It makes me smile just looking at all these faces!

What a WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING. I'm so thankful to be spending it w/ people I truly love.

School Pictures

You ALWAYS send your child to school on picture day HOPING they'll come back w/ some winners. Bronson's were great.

Camden didn't turn IN the money so he didn't get any.

And here are Emerson's...........and well..........they're so him.

This kid will march to the beat of his own drum (unlike Camden who won't even eat his favorite food in his lunch because it "looks weird" to the other kids and he doesn't want them to laugh.)

You just HAVE to know Emerson to get it.

Well, his kindergarten teacher is from Colombia and to help the kids remember to speak Spanish in class, she will wear her "Poncho Magico" (Magic Poncho....as if that wasn't obvious!) and it's "magic" and she'll start speaking Spanish when she wears it. She can ONLY speak English when she's not. At the first of the year for kids that have a hard time speaking spanish, she'll let them wear it and since it's "so magic", they can all of a sudden speak spanish. (so cute)

Well, Camden has some cut-out-fabric tunics for his knight outfit for Halloween. I went to go return them to the lady we borrowed them from and couldn't find them. I see Emerson come off the bus wearing one.

And now......for the past 2 weeks he insists on wearing HIS Poncho Magico everyday to school to be like his teacher.

He is SO funny. He had me cut out a few more when I didn't let him keep wearing dirty ones to school. :) What a character. He doesn't even seem to care that all the upper-class students stare at him.

Well, I guess whatever works to improve your Spanish! (You watch, one day he'll go on a mission to a Spanish-speaking country and wear a poncho magico. HA HA HA)

I'm thankful

that Royce doesn't feel like THIS anymore........

The poor feverish kid would just sit and fall asleep sitting up, snuggle and just let us cradle him. As much as I liked the snuggling, I'm glad I have my Royce back.

However all that holding got him thinking that's how things work around here.....and well, it doesn't. So then he would just follow me around whining. The ONLY cure for it would be to leave the back door open. (good thing the weather has been amazing)

His absolute FAVORITE spot is on the back deck. I don't know why.

He could be screaming and then he'll see the door open, go through the screened in porch and up on the deck. He would literally just walk around it for a hour. He can't get down from it, so he stays on it and plays w/ leaves/cars or whatever.

He LOVES it.

Oh, and get this, I looked out my window and saw my behind-neighbor putting in a gate!!!

(Before there was just a fence there). Do you know what THAT means?!??!!

That means that we don't have to walk around the block to use their pool in the spring and summer!!!!!!!!!WA-HOO!!!!! See, here's PROOF that at least SOME neighbors like us. So all you other neighbors that have had your recycling bins rummaged through for cans, or yards pooped in (don't ask), or fences hopped to pet your dogs, or rotten apples thrown at your cars (don't ask again) or kids running through with guns trying to shoot squirrels, TAKE A CLOSE LOOK AT THIS PICTURE!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Oh my word! Talk about entertainment OVER AND OVER for my kids! But you seriously have to listen to the words......they're hilarious.

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

I can't believe

it's already November!!! October just came and WENT, so here are a few last pictures from October....... (Halloween night)

Enjoying the stamp and ink stamp pad he got in his trick-or-treat pail.

Oh, and just so ya know......ink does NOT come off (like shoe polish does) faces. Yea, not even for a couple days. His face was "tinted" at school for those days. Ugh.

Oh, and although it is NOT my most shining moment, it was indeed part of October so I will admit that I LOST the wager with my friend Rachel............and Erin and I ended up having to clean her bathrooms. I have NO pride left. None.

November first, we got our Gratitude/Thanksgiving tree up with the new things that the kids wrote on their leaves this year. If you'll notice the bottom part of the tree does NOT have any...........little Royce-man is QUITE the little stinker.

(To be honest, I think I like our Thanksgiving Tree better then our Christmas tree. It makes me feel so good to sit down and look at all our blessings and the funny things kids are grateful for......i.e. "hair" is what Aleeya put for one.) WE REFUSE TO LET CHRISTMAS OVERSHADOW THANKSGIVING!!!!!!! ;)

SO funny

Yes, I realize I'm mean for thinking this is funny and that it was my idea to begin with, but in my defense, she has watched this over and over again and thinks it's funny now.

(To set the mood, Aleeya had JUST woken up from her nap, hadn't come out yet and hadn't seen ANYONE'S costume before)

Halloween

Here are the boys.....eh-hem, I mean, here is the dragon, the knight and the Grim Reaper (w/a battle axe......I know, I know)

Here is "MIKE WASOWSKI" and Boo from the movie, Monster's Inc. Aleeya has been WAITING and WAITING to be Mike Wasowski and her dream finally came true.

Royce WAS going to be a monster to match them but the costume didn't really fit, aaaaaaaand, he didn't really like it.

So, he went in his good ol' scrubs. Here are my 5 rascals + one VERY unhappy dragon........

Oh, and if you EVER are wondering, shoe polish does INDEED come off faces! Phew.

The beekeeper with his Queen Bee. (Brooks' beekeeper outfit SURE has come in handy over the years)

A little girl at the trunk or treat asked me WHAT I was doing there. I said I was just there for the party and then she said, "No, Queen bees just lay around all day and lay eggs!" I laughed and I told her to tell BROOKS that that's what I should be doing all day. So she came over to Brooks and told him how Queen Bees should act. Then Brooks looked at her and said, "Madeline, you don't know how true that is. She already DOES that!" BHAHAHAHA!!!