Halloween

I know Halloween isn't for 2 more days but we've had enough festivities to warrant an early post. Plus I figure, I'll get it posted early and avoid procrastination. Yay me! Mia wanted to be Sleeping Beauty this year but her one request was to have blond hair (because of course Sleeping Beauty isn't brunette). Amber was kind enough to loan us a blong wig. She feels like a princess and you can tell by the way she poses for each picture. Mason is Luigi and is more than excited about it. I was happy to find the costume and he's happy to wear it. Winning combination! Madden is a penguin (isn't it great when they want to be something you already have?).

For my Mom and Dad's party last Friday I decided to join with the kids in dressing up. I was going to get one of those super sexy numbers like cat woman or a maid uniform and then I remembered - I don't need a costume to be sexy, I've got that one down! Instead I found a jailbird costume and thought it would be perfect to reflect true Thompson style. Why not keep theme with some of Matt's family, right? Besides, they don't allow inmates to wear makeup so I didn't even have to get ready for the day. hehehe.

Here's the whole gang at Mom and Dad's (at least the ones who dressed up). Matt was of course at work that night but he stopped by for an hour or so to join in the festivities. Thanks Babe! As always, we had such a great time! Now we get to look forward to trick-or-treating through the neighborhood Saturday night. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Here's to a new start!

We're making some adjustments at school with Mason right now, namely switching teachers. Since making this decision it's caused me to think long and hard about what's best for this kid. He's had to be a fighter from the beginning and I think I've taken that strength for granted. This week I've been reminded that he's just a kid and how fragile he is. But mostly this week has made me fiercely protective of him!

I've always known he was smart, beyond his years really. He figures people out FAST and very little gets by him. This can make parenting a little rough at times because he needs ROCK solid reasoning. Nothing is done just because. Which I can see could make teaching a bit unique at times too. He loves the people and things in his life with every fiber of his being. He wants those around him to be happy. However, he's not a people pleaser in the sense that he won't tell you what you want to hear. He'll tell it like it is and that aside, he'll hope you can be good friends.

It's made me sad this week watching some of his struggles. I want to scream at those who are making him hurt. Mostly I want to take him in my arms and keep him safe FOREVER!

Have I made you wonder what's up? I'd share the details but right now that's impossible without using a massive amount of expletives! Lets just say that hopefully changing the teacher will eliminate the struggles. Here's to a new start!

side note:

Just so you know, if you hurt this child in any way, YOU WILL HAVE THE WRATH OF THIS CRAZY WOMAN TO DEAL WITH!

Fathers & Sons

Another summer post

On Memorial Day weekend Matt and Mason had the chance to go to Fathers and Sons outing. They went to Camp Woodland up towards Morgan from Friday to Saturday night.

Matt was a bit undecided about going until our awesome BIL Gary invited him and Mason to join him, his Dad and his BIL John in their TRAILER!! Now Matt's not a big camper so any convenience you throw his way will make the experience more likely to happen. He jumped on board pretty quick with that offer. Mason and Gary's nephew Quincy hung out and got to be pretty good pals. Mason talked about Quincy for weeks afterwords. These boys did a great job keeping Gary awake until the wee hours of the morning. That will teach Gary to sleep outside with the rowdy youngsters.

I know Mason and Matt both had a great time. Hopefully next year will include Madden so Mia and I can get our girls night out started!

I think I burned his retinas

As I getting dressed this morning (something I try to do behind closed doors but I was in a big hurry and I honestly thought all my kids were downstairs) Mason walked out of his room and caught a glimpse of me in between wardrobe changes. Both of us looked at each other in shock and horror. Then both uttered panicked apologies.
Me: "Sorry Mase! I thought you were downstairs. I should have shut the door." I say as I shut the door....a little too late.
Mason: "Ummm, ok." he mutters as he hurries away. As he's speed walking down the hall I hear him say to himself, "That was so not age appropriate!"

Pinewood Derby

This summer I was in kind of a slump trying to get use to Matt's new work schedule. In my state of slumpiness I neglected to keep up on the blog. Since this blog is essentially our family scrapbook I need to include a few things we did over the summer. So here we go.
On August 29th Mason had his first pinewood derby. Thanks to Grandpa Elggren for cutting out his initial design and to Matt for helping put on the wheels. Everything else Mason did himself. He wanted to do a "Super Mario Bros" car and I think he nailed it.

That's his car on the left. They had to add some weight to it before the race by taping some of Matt's keys to the rear. It worked well and his car competed with the best of them.

Though he wasn't the overall winner his car did GREAT! He won "Most Original" for his awesome and creative design. We were all really proud of him. Way to go Mase!

Apology of Sorts

I don't know about you but I don't necessarily like being around ornery people. It takes a large amount of energy and can drain anything positive from my attitude fairly quickly. For those reasons I feel I need to apologize for the "NOOOOOO" post a little while back. I feel a bit silly now at acting so dramatic. It's just the changing of the seasons, no one's life has ended (OK, my summer life has ended and I've already established how sad I am at it's passing. Mourn & move on.).

To put a new perspective on the changing of things I decided it would be helpful to take the kids and head up in the mountains. Take it all in, the colors, the air, the changes. A chance to remind myself and show my kids that we live in an amazing and beautiful place! We really are lucky to have 4 complete seasons. Each one played out year after year in it's own time and for varying durations. Fall is a beautiful season and I really needed this little jaunt into nature to remind me of all it has to offer.
Amber and her kids came along and we drove up to Fernwood. It's been so long since I've been up there but Amber showed us a great little trail where we saw lots of beautiful leaves and the kids could hop over rocks in a stream or two.

We brought bags and each of the kids collected leaves of all different shapes and colors.

I love this picture of Madden & Liza. They had a good time but both got a bit tired of walking on the way back to the cars. Madden cried and cried wanting to be carried and I was a little impatient about it, he's too heavy for me to carry far. I felt terrible when I realized that I had put his old shoes on him that are too small and that was more then likely the reason he wanted to be held. His poor feet!! Mom Of The Year...right here folks!

When we got back to the cars we sat on some big rocks and drank Capri Suns which Amber and I both discovered we are not fans of...uck! The kids, well of course they found them to be quite delish! Thanks to Amber and the girls for the fun outing. And thanks to me for adjusting my attitude.

Challenge

I was checking out at the grocery store the other day and the checker saw that I was buying chicken patties.
"Are you going to give your Malibu Chicken another try?" she said.
Huh?
"I read the "cooking" post on your blog, it's hilarious."
Again, huh?
Now I do know this cashier but I had no idea she'd ever visited my blog. This prompted me to do some changing. I now try to leave a comment when I read someone else's blog. Just a little something to let then know I've stopped by. Now I'm asking the same of you. If you stop by (which obviously you did or you wouldn't be reading this) leave a little comment. Because lets face it, who doesn't love getting a little feedback?

:)

Mia's Birthday

Mia had a great 6th birthday. We celebrated with my family the day before at Grandma and Grandpa Elggren's. That way we could celebrate all 3 of the October 5th birthdays together. It's fun to have cousins that share your same birthday, it always makes for a big celebration.

Grandma & Grandpa gave her a cute little porcelain tea set. Grandma Merlene gave her some Snow White magnetic paper dolls & a princess puzzle book. From Matt and I she got a cute barbie head (picture above) that you can fix her hair and put all kinds of jewelry on. She also got a barbie make up kit so she can give herself and any willing participant a make over. She LOVES IT!!

Here's a couple of pictures of her masterpieces. I think I see a career path in the making. Like I said, she'll take any willing participant and Madden's usually more then willing. Greasy pink eye shadow's a good look for him, don't you think?

I made two cakes for her. The orange one I made when we had Matt's family over to celebrate. The marshmallow fondant looked cute but left a bit to be desired in the taste area. It was a blast to make and Mia was more then thrilled with the final results.

The castle cake I made for Grandma and Grandpa Elggren's the day before her birthday. She loved it. I was a little disappointed in how it turned out possibly because I knew how long it took to make. Trust me, it should look AMAZING for the amount of time I spent on it. :(

She loved it and of course that's all that matters. Happy Birthday Mia. We love you!

The next few posts will be catching up on things we did this summer. Trying to play catch up.

Happy Birthday Mia!

Today our little girl turned 6. I know, I know every parent says it, but boy has time flown by. It seems like just a week or so ago we were bringing her home from the hospital. At 7lb 5oz she was our smallest baby but boy did that change fast! By her 2 month appt she was 97% for height and weight and she's stayed that way ever since. Yes, she gets to be the lucky lady who will be both tall and beautiful (not to mention the one with AMAZINGLY great skin that tans like CRAZY and the sweetest dimples anyone could ask for! I'm rightfully prejudice).

We love having her in our family. She is happy to play with anyone she can be in charge of. She's ALL girl. She's loves to draw, color, paint and create. I love to watch her with her toys because she has this need to line things up and put them in different categories. It's not unusual to walk in her room and find her Barbies or Littlest Pets lined up on the floor in descending height or color scheme. I adore how her mind works. She likes to dance and change clothes. Like I said, she's ALL girl!

Mia we love you more then words and can't wait to see what great things you bring to our lives in the many years to come.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOU!!

Happy Birthday Mia Moo!

(photo compliments of Uncle Dan ;) )