Too Soon

Don Gio and his Entourage

I knew that one day Daisy would drive off with some boy and I would be terrified but I just didn't think it would be this soon.   Our new little neighbor Giovanni might not be the  best driver but he is the only kid around with a truck.  I thought it was a cliche that girls were into guys with wheels but it appears to be true in the Red Doors.
After watching him take out a couple of lawn toys and almost  run over a pregnant lady Rosy opted to ride behind  on the tricycle.  She's no fool.

The Sweetest Boy

 We love our little Ike so much that it is hard to describe.  He has the sweetest demeanor and is chubby and snuggly and he smiles every time you look at him.  I have never  been less productive in my life because every time I pass him he smiles and I have no choice except to stop and kiss  his cheeks. 

Of course the baby is in on the game.

The Day After

 What do you do when every good sleeping space is filled with a child?

 You hang out  in their bunk beds.

 Bonus:  Ike in his favorite outfit from a couple of his favorite ladies.

Goonies Never Say Die

 Our Goonies costumes didn't really get seen at Brandon's birthday party so we thought we would pull them  out again for the big day this year.   It was  pretty cool when people asked Rosy who she was and she answered, "Stef."  No explanation and nothing but a stone cold stare until they would pretend they knew what  she was talking about.  If they stuck around long enough she might add that, "Daisy is Mommy Fratelli."
A special thanks this year goes out to Jill who provided the infamous tattoo.

 Ike was the cutest little Sloth imaginable.

 

 Look at these Jokesters out begging for treats.  I am surprised the people weren't scared to open their doors.

Rosy Wins

We went around the most picturesque neighborhood and they ended up with a ton of candy.  They really had to earn it because we had only been out for a few minutes when it started dumping rain. 

 Most everything survived the downpour, except Rocky's booby traps.  They were destroyed. 
When we got home they were sorting  their treats and I noticed that while Rocky and Daisy only had one Butterfinger each, Rosy had 15.  I think that every time she had a choice she picked one because they are orange. 

Daisy was counting all of her candy and I think she had 75 pieces.  I guess Rosy thought it was cool because she was counting too...."21, 21, 21, 21." 

As usual we spent the next two weeks fighting and binge eating sugar.  I ate basically all the chocolate and they took care of the rest.  Now it is time for a quick detox so food tastes good again by Thanksgiving.

Halloween Business

 This year it felt like the lead up to Halloween just kept going and going.  At Buena Vista they decided that the parents didn't have enough to keep them  busy and planned Spirit  Week.  That meant that we did crazy hair, mismatch, pajama day and other hi jinks.  I only got a photo of the crazy hair and it doesn't even look that crazy.  On mismatch day I just let them pick out what they considered a  nice outfit and for once didn't make them change part of it.

 We also had a lot of fun around our house.  We did our dinner in a pumpkin and played around  with  the  dress up stuff in our house.  

 Since the weather has been so lovely we hung out with our neighbors.  I was  looking at the photo and noticing the  knife sticking menacingly out of the pumpkin.  Let that be a warning to anyone who thinks that because I have 4 kids that I am responsible.

 Bijoux always shares her  Grandma  Rose with us when she comes into town for a visit.  My girls have developed quite a friendship with her and we always look forward to the times when she is here.

 The girls insist on making at least one Jell-o brain a year.  This time we tried the Frankenbrain.  Green Jell-o and cream cheese with pineapple inside.  It is just the kind of Jell-o salad that Mormons are known for but we decided that we were going to be Mormon Zombies.  Last time Brandon made them eat it without any utensils but since they were already in their jammies they had to be a little more sophisticated. The flash on  the camera made Rosy look like she actually is some kind of demon.  Hmmm...

 Ike steered  clear of the carnage.  He is still not really into the idea of solid foods and the brain idea sort of rubbed him  the wrong way.

Thriller Nights

 Soccer has really taken a turn for  the better now  that the girls seem to be starting  to get the hang of it.  Last season Daisy was running away from the ball but now she is starting to really have fun.   I tried to dissuade both of them from signing up this season but I was out-voted.  I even made friends with  some  of the parents.  I know...it was a big step.

 Rocky's games have gotten pretty intense  now that they have an actual referee and goalies.   She loves  to be the keeper because she gets to wear gloves.  I get a little nervous  every time  she puts on  the  mis-colored jersey after a horrible incident a few weeks ago.   We had signed  her up to play with our  neighborhood school but one of the games was  against  the school  that she actually attends.  She knew a bunch  of  the girls  on the  other team which made it for a good game but also made  it the perfect chance to really screw up.  She had stopped a goal  attempt and  her  coach  yelled, "Drop kick it  like we practiced."  She drop kicked it and it went so high.  It felt like it took a million years  to come back down.   All the girls stopped and watched it as it finally hit the  ground and then as slowly as was possible rolled into her own goal.
The good thing is that she wasn't embarrassed in the least.  The bad thing was that maybe it would have  been a  little  bit better if  she was a tiny bit chagrined at the least.
The  rest of the games  have gone better and she played very well in their final game.  If nothing else she contributed to the team by suggesting the name.  The Purple M&Ms.   She has always had a gift for giving  names.   I didn't take any pictures of her playing because I was too busy watching her when she played.  I did get one photo of the fans.

 We had such a great time with Oma and Opa.  I was so happy to have them here.  I wanted them to see Ike before he got any bigger.   My favorite thing is to watch my kids with  their grandparents.  It helps me to forget about how much trouble they give me and  reminds me how special they are.

While they were here we started talking about ghost stories and Daisy told everyone that she really wanted to go to the haunted corn  maze.  Since there was no way that was going to happen we compromised on doing the next scariest thing you can do in Eugene.  Watch the Thriller  video on Oma's iPad.  Since I learned my lesson about Thriller a couple of years ago this time it was a slightly edited  version.   It still did the trick in scratching the spook out itch.
Rocky is like a little version of her mama covering her ears when she is scared. 

It seemed like they had barely gotten here and it was time to leave but we made some pretty sweet memories during those couple of days.  I have some pretty cool folks.

A Birthday Surprise

 The night before my birthday was kind of a bummer.  I had a crazy day and  everything seemed to go wrong.  The final straw was when Ike pooped all  over me at soccer practice and then  while I was trying to get him  cleaned up he peed all over the car.   Man those baby boys can really make a mess.  Anyway,  I woke up on my birthday hoping that it would go a little better.   I went out for a run and then met Brandon on campus for lunch.   When I got back home I almost jumped out of my skin when my mom and dad were hiding in the hallway.   SURPRISE!
Some people might  not  think that this is that big of a deal but those  people do not know that the Howards do not do surprises.  
It was the best  birthday ever.  We  all got to go to the pumpkin patch at the Johnson Farm.  

 I love the rugged nature of that place.  The hay ride is unlike any other.  

 I took 7 pictures but this is the one that seemed to best catch what it is like.  There are all kinds of targets to hit with mini pumpkins and it isn't your slow, calm meander that you would expect.  In fact a woman on our ride wasn't prepared and she completely fell into the hay.  It is fast and reckless and should probably require a  waiver but the old man who drives it is old school and even after being talked to by the  ODOT incident team has stuck with his old traditions.

 Once you get out to the pumpkin  patch the  fun is just  beginning. 

 Opa helped to get the best technique in launching  pumpkins at the scarecrows.

 Rosy found the perfect pumpkin.  She made some random woman pick it  for her because once she saw it she wouldn't leave its side.  It was so cute, in fact, that  it was stolen from our doorstep in less  than an hour.   When  Oma  tried  to replace it with one  from Market of  Choice she knew immediately.  At least we have this  picture because  that is all that lasts anyway.

I am one lucky old lady.