Happy Halloween!

Our darling boys at the church 'trunk or treat' on Friday night.

(Dallin was a pirate, Connor was a bum, and Eli was a vampire.)

Saturday night our neighbors had a Halloween party. We opted to go as white trash. We figured it wasn't too far of a stretch from the truth! :)

My sexy man. Back off ladies! He's all MINE! ;)

If you have a local walmart near by (for the mu mu) this costume can be yours too! Just add some balloon boobs and dodge ball baby! :) I've never felt so glamorous!

(After I put on my rockin dollar store makeup... Eli told me sincerely that I looked beautiful! I hope that is not a hint as to what the future holds for us one day. ;)

After Seth and I figured out what we wanted to be and how we wanted to dress... I had no idea where to even look for a mu mu. Good Will? After striking out at Good Will... Seth suggested Wal mart. Jack pot! We found a whole rack of them. But my favorite part was when a lady stopped Seth and I as we were searching for that perfect one... and told us that there were "some REALLY cute ones for a steal a couple racks over... clearanced for only $5". We both had to bite our tongues and hold back our smiles as we thanked her for the tip. :)

Happy Halloween!

Mathletes

A few weeks ago Connor came home with a note asking if he could join an after school math group called the "Math Olympiads". He was one of three kids in his class asked to join and I knew it was a privilege to be asked. But to be honest, my first reaction was hesitation (although I didn't show it!).

You see, I come from a family where I think maybe there was a little more emphasis placed on being a starter for the school soccer team... than there were on academics. (I'm totally going to get a phone call for this entry! :) Don't get me wrong. There were standards. Like if we didn't get a 3.0 (straight B's) or higher, we had driving privileges taken away. So we weren't allowed to be total losers. But, my senior year when my report card came home and said I had 29 absences in my College Comp class in ONE semester... no questions were asked... because I had my B! Striving for excellence? Probably not.

So when Connor was asked to join the Mathletes... I was worried by accepting I would be setting him up for a future filled with Star Trek and pocket protectors. Not to mention it was one more extra curricular activity. The boy already has piano, scouts, golf and soccer at the present time. And I sure as heck wasn't going to drop a sport to join the math club! :)

But after talking to a friend about it, I was assured that Connor would remain untainted. That he is too social and too much of a people person to ever be a complete nerd. :) And not that there is anything wrong with nerds... I love nerds! I really do. I'm probably the biggest nerd of them all! But let's at least keep the kid's options open and let him decide if he wants to go down that dungeon and dragons road, or not. Right?

Seth on the other hand is always telling me we want our kids to be nerds. That nerdom is the key to raising good kids. He may have a point?

And don't worry, I am well aware the McKeehan's have always thought they were far cooler than they actually were/are. But that's OK... because it doesn't seem to phase us much. :) Seth just told me the other day that he thinks Connor got a double dose of the McKeehan genes. I'm not sure, but I'm fairly certain he was not meaning it in a positive way. ;)

So when Connor came home from his first day of Math Club... I asked him how it went. His response? "Uh, it was actually pretty boring."

Ahh, that's my boy! It looks like being a Mathlete is going to work out after all.

But I draw the line at buying him a T-shirt for it!

World's Easiest Party!

For Eli's 5th birthday he wanted to have a pool party. Awesome! I didn't have to fork out hundreds of dollars to rent a place out, or even clean my own house! We headed over to the neighborhood pool... and just out of sheer dumb luck- aside from the lifeguards, we had the entire pool to ourselves!

Per Eli's request... he wanted donuts this year and not cake. Even better... I didn't have to bake! We tied balloons to a table and kept it stocked with watermelon, licorice, donuts, chips, soda, popsicles and sunscreen. What more could a 5 year old possibly want on a sunny Memorial Day morning? :)

They swam and ate... and ate and swam. No one even got cramps! :)

I think we had 8 kids show... plus my three. We asked each child to bring a parent so we didn't feel overwhelmed making sure everyone stayed afloat. But from the looks of these flotation devices... I don't think anyone was going anywhere! :)

After a couple hours at the pool... we took the presents home, got cleaned up, and opened them up in the comfort and peace of our own home.

I think I will be pushin for the pool party every year! :)

We are so grateful we to get to celebrate another year with this little guy! We love his kooky self, his lack of coordination in every aspect, and that smile that could melt any one's heart. XO

Connor's last day of 3rd grade.

Yes, I realize I am a century behind. And I am aware that I am constantly mixing in the old with the new. But whatever. I am trying and that's just going to have to be good enough. :)

Connor had the GREATEST teacher for 3rd grade. Ms. Szoeke stole both our hearts. Probably his best teacher yet! He cried several nights before school got out... and several nights after... because he was positive he would never see her again.

She was a first year teacher and with cut backs they were only holding on to a few. For awhile we didn't know if she would be back (and neither did she)! She was so wonderful, that upon hearing this news I felt the need to march right into that front office and tell them all that if they let her go... they were making a HUGE mistake! Newbie or not... I could think of a few others we could trade her out for! :)

Luckily, this story has a happy ending! And she came back. And Connor was SO happy! Now Connor has another great teacher that he seems to be equally smitten with. But I think after Ms. Szoeke, she has big shoes to fill. We shall see. :)

Connor and some of the boys from his class. Who doesn't love a group of nerdy lookin 8 year old's? :)

The mind of a 5 year old.

I carpool with a friend of mine to preschool everyday. I drive the morning shifts; she drives the afternoon shift. It seems to work out great. I know Eli really looks forward to the car ride with his buddy.

I also look forward to this car ride and the conversations these two little five year old boys are going to have. It's hysterical! I make sure the radio is off so I can hear... and if I have been asked to put in our favorite "rocket ship" song... I make sure it is turned down low. These boys are way more entertaining than even the best children song artists!

Some of my favorite conversations/debates between these two boys have been that of what actually killed off the dinosaurs (actually this seems to be a topic of choice), what the proper name for a mother is (Mom vs Mommy), the geographical location of volcanoes, what the proper age for having a girl friend is, and to compare and contrast what their younger siblings (that are only a couple months apart) can and can't do (both of which refer to their younger sibling as "my baby"). Don't let it fool you though; there are plenty of potty words and horribly bad knock-knock jokes mixed in among it all.

Or, at least I have always enjoyed these conversations until I heard today's. It went something like this...

Eli: You're house is better than mine.

Buddy: Na-uh.

Eli: Uh huh.... You're kitchen is TOTALLY better than mine!

Buddy: Thinks about it. No comment.

WHAT?!? This kid always has an argument! Gosh dangit. It is a sad, sad day when two 5 year old boys can agree that your kitchen is less than par! :)

Needles

So, I don't know if it is really possible to genetically pass down a phobia... but I think we might be living proof it is!

Seth has always been way too scared of needles. He covers his eyes, grabs his arm in pain, and shrieks in aggravation every time a movie feels the need to show a needle piercing some one's skin. He can't watch me get shots... he can't watch the kids get them... and don't even think about telling him he needs one! The flu shot? HA! Donate blood? Not gonna happen. The only time in the 11 years we have been married that he has agreed to have a needle put in his arm... was to draw blood for life insurance. That speaks volumes. I know he must REALLY love us! :) (But we don't need to mention I thought he was going to pass out the whole time it was being done.)

Anyway, somehow Connor seems to have developed this same fear. I mean honestly, who likes to have shots? No one. And who likes to watch them while they give it to you? Only weirdos!

But who screams and cries for days knowing they are going to get a shot? Connor. Who passes up bribes of being able to pick out ANY toy they want at the toy store afterwards if they don't act a crazy fool? Connor does. Who ups and chucks a huge ace garbage can (3 x your size and weight when you are only 4 years old) at the Doctor when he says you need to get a shot? My Connor did. Who has to have his mom hold him down along with FOUR other nurses just to get his vaccinations? Yep, you guessed it, CONNOR! He's never even known until recently that his dad has a similar fear of needles... so it's not like this behavior has been learned. I don't get it!

Now don't get me wrong... my other boys don't like getting their vaccinations either. But they also aren't crazy psychos about it. :)

So when it came time for Connor's 9 year well child check up... the first thing he asks me is if he is getting a shot. I have learned the hard way to be completely honest when it comes to needles. I told him I didn't think he needed anymore vaccinations for awhile... but that there is always a possibility. (I also knew with it being the beginning of flu season... that the Doc might want to give him a flu vaccine.)

He stressed all night and hardly got a wink of sleep. When he had to leave school early for the doctor... he couldn't answer his friends where he was going because if he talked about it he was going to cry.

They called our name and first things first... they took height, weight and blood pressure and sent us on our merry way into our room. 30 seconds later the nurse comes back in , in a bit of a panic, and asks if Connor is feeling okay because his blood pressure is through the roof!! HA! Poor kid! I explained to the nurse his situation. And she said the doc wouldn't let us leave until it was checked again AFTER the check up was finished. (This was a first!)

So the kid lucked out... no vaccinations again until he is 12 and he was able to get the flu mist (they put up your nose) instead of the needle. We ALL breathed a sigh of relief! :)

And sure enough... they took his blood pressure afterwards... and he passed with flying colors! Crazy kid!!! :)

But don't let that fool you. The countdown to the 12th birthday has already begun. And it's NOT because he's looking forward to it!

San Antonio Trip

In April we took a little family vacation to San Antonio. It was a fun filled five days and we were so glad my parents could share this time with us!

We walked down by the River Walk and took a boat ride along the river as we "oohed and ahhed" at all the shops and hotels. It is absolutely beautiful and I would love to go back for a romantic date with Seth sometime. (hint, hint!) But mostly I was just focused on trying to make sure my boys didn't fall in the river as the path runs right along it and there is no rail along the entire thing! :)

Our next stop was the Alamo! We first went to the mall and watched the educational, IMAX movie about it. After trying to answer 507 questions for Connor... we walked across the street and toured the real deal! It was very interesting. Much smaller than I expected. But you could not help but catch the spirit of "Remembering the Alamo". Connor (in all seriousness) wanted to ask everyone he saw "Are you for the Mexicans, or the Texans?" :) He was very pleased to know that even though the Texans had lost the Alamo... Sam Houston later formed an army and beat Santa Anna and his men gaining Texas' independence from Mexico. And now understanding the connection, he thinks living in Houston is even cooler!

Then came two fun filled days of rides, water slides, and shows at Sea World!

The Sea Lion/Otter show was very fun. The little ones loved it and it had a great set and a very cute "mystery" to solve.

I went into the Orca show hating these large mammals. I have seen one too many "Killer Whale" documentaries on the Discovery Channel for me to understand why they are called this. But these magnificent creatures demand respect and you cannot help but be amazed by their beauty. I caught the "BELIEVE" spirit (the name of the show) and felt amazed by all God's creations. A must see, when you are at Sea World!

Destiny and I had a great time off on our own. We got a "behind the scenes" experience with the dolphins. We were able to feed them, pet them, teach them commands and play with them, as well as learn more about them, how they are cared for and what it takes to become a dolphin trainer. I bet you didn't know the first thing they look for is a major in Psychology! (Paired with a minor in just about any science.)

Destiny was in pure heaven and very smitten with a certain dolphin. I personally think she would make a great dolphin trainer and should follow her dreams. BELIEVE Desty! :)

We also got to go see a good friend of mine (Regan!) that lives in San Antonio and spent some much needed catch up time with her and her family. I had not seen her for several years and it was so much fun! Unfortunately, I didn't think to take pictures being the dummy I am.

We had a great time and are already trying to plan our next trip back! :) Next time we want to try tubing down the Guadalupe River for sure!