A Fabulously Flawed Life

Drake has thoroughly enjoyed his Halloween cupcakes this week. Can you tell?!? Lisa had us all over to her house for a pumpkin carving contest for family home evening. She was REALLY into it as this is the first year she carved a pumpkin. I on the other hand, am on my 11 th year of this gig and I know the drill - pick the easiest template and getter done quick. Lisa took a completely different approach. I'm quite sure she was carving that thing all night! It turned out amazing but Geeze Louise. {{competitive much?}}

Another family tradition we have during Halloween is making the haunted gingerbread house. I just buy the kit, open up the packages, and let the kids go at it! Davis takes this annual event very seriously. His little engineering mind takes over and he builds a sound house to decorate. Drake on the other hand is just stoked to eat all different colors of candy. This family tradition has gotten so much easier over the years now that the boys are getting older. It was so enjoyable watching them collaborate on this project. It amazes me how well they all get a long.

Time is seriously flying by at the speed of light. Thank heaven I blog so I at least have something to show for it. Jason has taken 2 trips to Russia for work. The Russians are building their own airliner and his company has been contracted to design the hydralics for it. Super cool. We're finishing up Davis Weblow's scouting badge and so Jason took the older boys camping. Um no, I didn't go. It was raining and like 40 degrees. Drakie and I stayed home and slept in our warm beds. {{evil laugh}} Dylan had his 3rd grade concert and had a solo in the program. He did an amazing job! I was so proud of him. I guess those days of silly faces and playing with the kids next to him are over. My little guy is growing up. Where do the days go?

One of our family traditions for Halloween is go be the Phantom or Boo our friends . Which means we ring & run and leave goodies at the door. Wondering how to Boo your friends? First print out the poem then make a goodie bag or plate with yummy Halloween themed treats. Getting out of the car w/ treats in tact is always the trickiest part. That pink cupcake kissed the ground. Which is why I always plan on incidentals and bring extras. {{no worries}} (Actually I usually try to cover our goodie plates but this year it was too messy.) Next, be reallysneeky and tip toe up to the door. You've got to be extra quiet if then have a window by their door. No peeking in! Leave your goodies at the door with the poem underneath so it won't blow away. Let the younger kids get a head start and once Mommy's in the car - Ring and Run! Lastly, come home and celebrate with Halloween goodies of your own. {{yummy}}

There are 3 parties that I look forward to every year. The Halloween party is one of them! It's a crazy fun time where not only is it mandatory that you dress up BUT you also have to have a skit prepared. It makes for an eventful night full of laughter and complete irreverence. I LOVE it! This year we had quite the characters, here's Indian w/ feather and dot. Kate & Ozzie My sister Lisa went as Beyonce, I went as Taylor Swift, and my BIL went as Kanye West. It's not a stretch what our skit was. {{wink}} Leslie & John's magazine costumes where a huge hit! Ozzie got a little out of "hand" and started it all. It's totally Ozzie's fault. Next thing you know the party really got going. Yep! Even I couldn't resist getting in on the action. {{fotfl}} Here's our skit! I wish we had our practice round recorded because we rocked it but got a little disctracted during the final show. Enjoy! {{sorry the video wouldn't post. I've ...

I cannot believe I am just now posting this. {{shame on me!}} We celebrated my dear friend Julie's 40 th birthday party last month. Julie ROCKS . Julie is straight up one of the most fabulous people I know. Girlfriend IS the entire package: she's an amazing mother, loving wife, caring friend, volunteers at school, focuses on her family, and is a party animal. Julie has the best laugh! She's goofy and adorable at the same time. Even though she's drop dead gorgeous - you don't feel intimidated by her beauty or be- littled by her grace or her talents. She has the uncanny ability to make everyone around her feel loved and accepted. It's truly remarkable. I love being around Julie as her positivity and laugh is contagious. We all gathered for lunch to shower her with gifts, praise, and help her celebrate her big day. It was a wonderful lunch! I'm still trying to figure out my new camera. This is the group picture that our waiter took. Lame! This is ...

(Dylan popping a balloon to see what awards he earned.) We have been really focusing on Scouting this fall. Dylan turned 9 last month and earned his Wolf! Dylan is such a sweet and thoughtful boy. Here he is getting ready to give me the mother's pin. We both earned this hug. Geeze the Wolf was a doozy! Activities with food - done! After pack meeting we made bugs out of my favorite things on the planet, baked goods. Here's Dylan's twinkie bug. Drakie and I made a ding dong spider. Yummy! {{You know I ate it!}}

I just love October. It's right after a month full of birthday fun and I'm still giddy and happy from all the celebrations and excuses to see dear people in my life and to show them how much I adore them. It's also the only month my boys will wear matching shirts! {{evil laugh}} I love easy and fun gift ideas. Amy gave me this fun Halloween gift for hosting the Dallas GNO party. I believe she's hooked you up with a free download for this label from her blog. She gave me extras to use for friends. Seriously, so thoughtful. Main Attic Before October is also when I clean out my attics. The weather is usually cooler which makes it bearable to get in a get my hands dirty. I'm an attic- aholic . I'm in my attics at least 2-3 times a month swapping out toys, decor, etc. I took everything out of the attic and organized it the way I like it, in a semi-circle. Which gives access to everything I need when I need it. The boys had a blast rummaging through all their old to...

It's official, I am a soccer mom. All 3 of my boys are in soccer this season. This is Davis' first year for the sport and let's just say "he's not that into it". That's totally ok . I believe in exposing my children to many different things. Davis has learned the rules of soccer and now has a really good idea of how the game is played. That was my main goal. Dylan on the other hand loves it! He takes initiative and really gets into the game. I think we've found his sport. Drake won't potty train but the little man will play soccer. He loves to kick the ball and get dressed up like the big boys. The only problem is that his team mates won't "give" him the ball. He runs after it with all his might but they won't share. It really bums him out. He has even sat down in the middle of the field and put his head in his lap. It was actually quite funny! Practices are a lot more fun because they play games and afterwards he gets t...