It was soooooo worth it!!!!!

This is where I was on Thanksgiving Day!!! It was so much fun and I am so glad I went even though many people thought we were crazy to take our young kids.
As the parade got closer people began crowding in all around us. I never really realized how many people there were until I stood on top of some railing to find Tom (my friend's husband) who had gone to take the kids to the bathroom. I could not believe what I saw. Now please remember that I am from a small town of 1500 so a crowd like this is slightly overwhelming to me. Oh, and speaking of Tom at one point he was not sure if he would make it back to us because the crowd was so tight. People actually handed our kids over the top to get them back to us, unfortunately for Tom people were not as willing to pass him over their heads. Eventually he did make it back much to the relief of his wife, Brenda Here is Devon not knowing anything of the excitement that is about to come his way but smiling nonetheless.

One sad part was that I was not able to stand right next to my kids and see the smiles on their faces as the parade was going by, so here are the pics. that the police officer from the other side of the barricade took. Mason with friends Adam and Trevor Lamont. They look pretty happy to me.

McKena with Spencer

Some parade highlights: All of the bands were great of course. I enjoyed this one because they added some extra jam into their music with great moves.

MILEY CYRUS!!! This of course is a highlight for any little girl.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed the old school balloons. It was just cool to see what they started with. A very close second for me was the Smurf balloon and float.

I will not claim to know Ryan's favorite however I know that he is a Snoopy fan.

Then there is the favority of everyone, Jolly Ole' Saint Nick. I do not know if it is the suit or what but this was a fabulous Santa Claus, with a beautiful sleigh and reindeer.

That recaps it. If you ever have a chance to go, do it. It is Sooooo (I could not possibly put enough o's) worth it.

I also have to give a shoutout to Louisa for all of the encouragement and advice. Thank you.

Here is the animal and his sister.

Soccer has come and is almost done for this year. This is McKena's second year playing and she improved somewhat. I still think she may be more well suited for something like dancing or gymnastics. However I think it is good to have her playing sports as well. On Friday they had their banquet. I have mentioned about how wonderful my neighborhood/community is. Every year they hold a sports banquet that is also for all citzens. It is so wonderful to see the people that don't even have children playing sports out to support the community. There was good food and dancing. I was actually excited that the kids got medals this year instead of tropheys.
Mason was known as the animal of his team. He would just get in there and go after the ball, often getting a little pushy. He didn't care if the other kids were taller than him (let's face it they always were). I loved to watch him play. He became so involved stating "I want to be the best soccer player ever" This was especially good for him because he often has a hard time being in front of others. When I signed him up he did not want to play because originally McKena was not going to play. I would say "but Mason you love to play soccer" to which he would respond "only in my backyard, mom." He really opened up.

McKena had a fun year and really began to attack the ball. She was always smiling. People would always ask if she ever stopped smiling. She loved to cheer her team on. At one point her coach told her she had to wipe that smile off of her face, and get her tough look on. We worked on her tought look for awhile but she just could not do it. I am grateful to have such a happy little girl.

2+2+2=our cute halloween family

This year I decided to once again make some of our families Halloween costumes. I didn't do it last year and so I felt the need to start again. What a chore! For the last 3 weeks nothing has gotten done except for sewing these costumes. There has been many unwiped noses, unswept floors, and unmade dinners. Now they are done and it is over. Am I glad I did it? I am not sure, but it is done and we are all happy.
Here are the two dragons. They were so cute and the bonus is that the costume was warm. Don't be suprised if you see Devon as a dragon for the next few years.

Spiderman (no I did not make it, do you think I am superwoman?) and his amazing pal Firestar. Thank you to the amazingly talented, Bronwyn for the flames at the boot and sleeve tops. Nobody really knew who McKena was however, one of my friends said that she did look like speed. Perfect compliment for a superhero.

Zorro and his Latin Lady. For those of you that knew I was making myself a red cape all I have to say is that by the time I was done my brain could no longer comprehend what to do with the red cape. Maybe next year.

Happy Halloween everyone!!

PS our kids wore their costumes 4-5 times between all of the different events so I figure all of my work may have paid off.

Mason is now 5

Yesterday was Mason's birthday. He is now 5. It is so hard for me because he was my smallest little one at birth and now he seems so big. I just want to enjoy this year, which is his last before heading off to school. I love having him around. He had a great day. His breakfast choice was again donuts, lunch chicken nuggets and dinner pesto chicken with brocoli. I am so glad that we have moved beyond the corn dogs and nuggets for dinner. It was nice to have a meal that I could actually feel good about feeding them after all of that sugar.
Mason really working to get those candles blown out. He chose to have just a plain cake with cherries on top. I really am not a cake lover and so I was glad to see something a little different.

The moment of surprise. The funniest part about this picture was that he had already seen this gift in my room one day. He sure does pull of the surprised face really well!!!

5 wonderful things about MASON

*He has really become so much more helpful since McKena went to school all day

*He is truly very sweet to his mom, he can make me feel so loved

*He has built a little bond with my old lady neighbor, they really are great friends

*He is very athletic and is LOVING soccer this year

*He is becoming a fun older brother for Spencer and Devon