Is it really over?

Today was an off day to begin with. We took the "safari" to run errands today since we needed to finish some things before Noel and I go on vacation TOMORROW.

Then Nana came over around 1pm to see the "safari" which meant that naptime started later. Then Pops showed up with Sean and Melissa and then Nana, my mom, showed up not far after Pops. So Elijah, Joshua and Jacob did not take a nap today and instead played with Pops and Nana during naptime.

When it came time to get ready to go Trick-or-treating the "safari" was ready to go. You see earlier in the day we went to Wal-Mart to get them buckets to hold their candy. Each one got to choose what color they wanted. So everyone got dressed and was ready to go. We hung out in the front yard for a little while before we left.

Each house that we went to loved the "safari" and the costume idea. Joshua got the most compliments because he was definitely the right person for that costume. Hannah was also talked about because she was just so cute as Dorthy. Also she said "thank you" a lot. Only one house scared us and that was the house where the dog came to the door. The "safari" went down three streets and then came home, got to eat two pieces of candy, had a bath and went to bed. The funny thing is that the neighbor across the street came over before we left to see the "safari"; he brought candy with him. The "safari" was so excited that they were ready to go inside because they had gotten some candy and were good. In the next couple of years they are going to really start to get the hang of the collect the most candy strategy.

I just wish that it lasted a little longer because of all the time it took to make the costumes, but the good thing is that I made them big enough so that they can wear them next year. Here are some of the pictures that we captured this evening.

We have reached the Emerald City!

I am finally done with all the costumes. They were a pleasure to make; I really enjoyed the challenges and the different fabrics that I had to use. Fleece was nice, LAME fabric I will not use again unless I absolutely have to.

Noel and I got the "safari" dressed today to make sure that we got at least one picture of the "safari" in their costumes. It should be an adventure tomorrow night. The good thing is that I get to sit at home and hand out candy and Pops, Nana and Noel are taking the "safari" out.

So without further ado here is a picture of my "safari" being the Wizard of Oz.

WOW!

Close your eyes and think about what it would take to get 21 people that do not live in the same town together to get a family picture. Then think about what it would take to get 11 of those 21 people to look at the camera because they are 3 and under.

I am exhausted just thinking about it. Well Erin with Pure Wonder Photography did it. We are grateful and very excited.

The last time that my parents got family pictures done was a long time ago. Back them my brother, Drew, was the only one married and had two kids. The rest of us were behind.

Here is the last family portrait:



This is one of the pictures that Erin pulled off.



Now if you like the look and you live in Austin you need to book a session with her. Just go to here website and contact her. I am telling you it is totally worth it and it is an easy process because she does not stress you out about the photo session and just captures the natural flow of your family.

Also if you want to see the other picture from the sneak peek please go here.

The Sneak Peek

Here is the sneak peek that we got from our photo shoot on Saturday. I know that I am already in love with what Erin did and cannot wait to see the rest of the pictures and the photo shoot from the evening with all 21 of us. So here is the link to see our sneak peek.

Thank you so much Erin for all the time and patience that you had with us and our wonderful "safari." I love that the pictures are natural and bring out the personalities of our "safari."

Things are Still Here

Wow it seems like I have not blogged in ages but in actuality it has only been over a week and a half. That is way too long in this house because something happens on a daily basis. So this entry is to fill you in on all the things that have been happening.

First Joshua got a black eye while sleeping. Yeah I know what happened. Well I have a few ideas and you tell me what you think.



1. Joshua was sleeping and hit himself while dreaming
2. Joshua rolled out of bed and landed on his fist
3. Jacob and Joshua were playing and Jacob hit Joshua
4. Jacob pushed Joshua into the wall
5. Joshua ran into the wall himself.
6. The bruise fairy came and left him a present.

After getting that picture I know that you are going to be disappointed in me that I did not stop and get a picture of this. I decided that I was going to go potty while the "safari" was playing and being nice. I get out of the bathroom to find that they had been working on their team building skills. You see they figured out that Esther does not weigh anything and that Joshua can hold her weight on his back. So Esther climbed onto Joshua's back and decided that she was going to give everyone juice from the 2 GALLON container that is on the counter. She pushed the button and decided mid-way that taking a bath in red Kool-Aide was better than drinking it. So the triplets got a bath and scrubbed pretty hard to get the red tint off their bodies. The moral of the story is do not let you toddlers out of your sight for anything and never let them communicate with each other. Just Kidding.

This month has been hectic because we had a photo shoot for our family of 7 and then my parent's photo shoot of 21 people (11 of them 3 and under). So I made the shirts for Esther and Hannah and myself. Erin will have the sneak peeks out this week sometime but she gave me this teaser yesterday. I think that she captures the personalities in every picture that she takes. If you are in the Austin Area make sure to think of her for your next professional pictures. Here is her link.



Also I have been working on finishing the costumes for Halloween. I have one more to do this week, the tin man. I finished the lion and I am proud of the outcome. The pattern did not explain how to make the mane for the lion so I had to be creative. So here is the picture with Joshua in his costume.




Besides that nothing else important is going on. I am trying to keep my "safari" from getting sick so that Noel and I can enjoy our vacation without our "safari." You heard that right my mother is watching our "safari" for a week so that Noel and I can have some time alone. YEAH!!!!!!!

Hey Mom I killed a ...

Today my son became a hunter! I know that Pops and Papa Bobby will be proud. Now what kind of hunter did he become? A deer, not quite old enough, a frog, nope really has not seen one close enough to want to touch it. So what hunter did he become?

A fly hunter!



You see Noel and I have killed several flies in our house and Elijah has always been fascinated by what the fly looks like after we hit it with the fly swatter. So today my mother came to town to do some shopping and after we had returned we were all playing in the play room. Joshua runs up with this horrid look on his face and informs Nanna that there is a bug and he would like her to kill it. Nanna kills the fly and we go on playing. About 30 minutes later, Elijah is walking towards us with this foam letter, the letter "l". He then tells us that he has a bug. We look on the foam letter to find that he has killed a fly and is not transporting it to the trash can.

I called Noel to let him know that our son had killed his first fly. Everyone is excited and the "safari" lived happily ever after.

Welcome Home!

So the wait is finally over. My brother in law, Mike, finally made it home this week. As the days got closer the excitement grew. My sister, Pamela, made sure that everything was in place and perfect. She brought the outfits, got her hair and nails done. Pamela was told that he would be home on Tuesday and then it was Wednesday and no never mind it will be Thursday. With all the dates changing the excitement left and it was just pure emotion, Will he ever be here?

Well he is here, he came home on Thursday evening. The welcome home excitement was realized when he got to hold his wife for the first time in since January when he was home for his R&R time. It was realized when he held his daughter for the first time. You see she was born when he was in Iraq and he got to see the birth because of modern technology but had never held her. He got to see his boys that have grown so much since he left. A family reunited after being separated by oceans, continents and war.

I am glad that he is home and safe and that our family is united again. I want to say a huge thank you to Erin of Pure Wonder Photography. She captured the welcome home celebration and the emotion that goes into that. You see Erin is taking our family portrait in two weeks all 21 of us and she wanted to capture and be there for this reunion of my sister and her husband. So please go and see the wonderful pictures that she took and make a comment so that my sister and her husband can receive a gift from Pure Wonder Photography, but also see and feel all the emotion that is involved when a family is separated by war. Here is the LINK.

Mike thank you for serving your country and for the sacrifice that you AND your family made for this country. I am glad that you are home and safe. Know that we love you and that we are glad that our prayers were answered for safety and a safe return home.

Glynda and a Shirt

Another costume is done. I was actually done on Friday night but just have not had two minutes to myself it seams. I also made one of the shirts for the family portraits that we are taking in the next couple of weeks. I found it at Etsy and the lady sends you the material cut out and everything you need and all you have to do it sew it together. The material is great and I thought it was a cool idea. If you like the shirt please visit her store. Here is the LINK.


Here are the pictures:

This week!

This week is almost over, YEAH!! I meant to blog more this week but my router went out and AT&T had to send me another one. Also You Tube is having problems uploading the video I took of the "safari" saying hello.

What a week. As most of you know Noel was in Seattle this week for a class that is going to give him some kind of letter abbreviation at the end of his name and allow the company that he works for to get clients out of the state of Texas. So Noel left on Sunday late morning. Colton also stayed with me part of this week due to the fact that Kerri had to be in D.C. for a conference and Doug had the flu. Instead of infecting my family I decided that it would be wiser to keep him and keep my "safari" away from the flu for now. Colton arrived on Saturday night and stayed over until Wednesday afternoon.

My saving grace is that my mother came down on Monday to help me until Thursday morning. I got a lot done and remained sane because there was another adult in the house that I could have an actual conversation with. So I washed the curtains, cleaned the house, wiped my cabinets down and enjoyed my "safari." Thank you mom for coming and staying with me.

I also got another costume done, Glynda is done and there will be pictures later this weekend with Esther in the costume.

So here is the video that the "safari" did for Daddy. Also Noel enjoys hearing the "safari's voice" and their conversation skills are getting better so there is more interaction. Also I will put a couple picture of Hannah being Hannah at the end enjoy.






If you guys are thinking about this weekend please pray for my Brother-in-law who is coming home from Iraq on Tuesday. Please pray for safe travel and for a nice transition into family life again. Also this a joy for him because he gets to hold his daughter for the first time on Tuesday.