Happy Halloween!!!

Trick or Treat!!! Before leaving daddy needed some help putting his beer away that I picked up earlier...with three willing volunteers it does not take long...
Cheers!

First stop, grandma and grandpa's...Grace needed to check out their first treat...

I debated dressing up as Goldilocks, but I think the 3 bears are pretty simple to figure out...

Time to load back up and head to Auntie Jean's house to go trick or treating...

We are going to have some fun...

We took turns waking up to doors with them. Some high steps along with short porches made for a few stumbles, but we made it thru it warm and dry.

My little three bears...I love em! I had such a great Halloween with them...from pumpkin hunting to ringing doorbells with them!

A Party...

The kids' first Halloween party happened at school/daycare today. I picked out their costumes last year after Halloween. I was quite anxious to see them dressed up. They are the cutest 3 bears I have ever seen. Even though we started off late this morning, I was able to feed, dress in clothes and costumes and get out the door in 45 minutes and on time! The kids had a blast at the party...they came home with a bag of goodies that me and the other mommies made as well as a bag from the school. We also now have dracula teeth that Zach just loves! After school we stopped in at the clinic I work at. It was nice to have my coworkers see the kids as they don't see much of them or me really. Go figure, I got a couple pictures of my teddy bears.
The eldest bear (only by 5 minutes)...Alex

The only girl bear (holds her own very well)...Liz

Our baby bear (but you'd never know it)...Zach...

Let's party!!!!

1st Pumpkin Carving

We finally got to carving the pumpkins. It was so much fun! We were not real sure if the kids would let us cut their pumpkins. Let me tell you how loved these pumpkins are...every morning the kids would say hi to them...give kisses on their stems and hug them...they LOVED them, so cutting was a delicate issue. Jeremy started out by drawing faces on them. The kids got to pick out what shapes daddy would draw.
Here is the crew working on Alex's pumpkin...
Finished faces...

Once we cut one pumpkin, everyone jumped on board with the idea. Daddy could not cut them fast enough. Alex used the spoon the whole time...

Liz did not mind getting her hands dirty...

Zach was more interested in putting on and taking off the "lid"...and tipping the pumpkin over to dump out the seeds...

The work area...

The aftermath...Alex's finished pumpkin...Liz's finished pumpkin...

Zach's finished pumpkin...

The trio...Alex and Zach's are looking at Liz's and hers is looking at both of them...lol.

From pumpkins to Jack-o-lanterns

Hotel Lenzendorf

As you may remember from a previous post my family went on vacation to Florida. I took care of both of my sisters' animals while there were gone. During that same time I also took care of my aunt's dog as she was headed south to go motorcycling in the mountains.
First to check in at our hotel was my aunt's dog, Waldo. He is a bassett hound that has quite the personality! Roxy just loved having him here, not sure if Waldo liked her excitement or not. The kids love Waldo too! They were always making sure that he was with us. And who does Waldo like best...Jeremy. He would get so happy once Jeremy got home. I think the kids wore Waldo out...he loved bedtime the best! We would put his bed by Jeremy's chair and he would fall asleep and have some great dreams. I guess he slept in the morning he was back with my aunt...lol.
Zach and Waldo talking face to face...
Liz giving Wally a hug before he leaves us...

Zach and Wally hanging out on his last day with us....

Waldo asleep after a long day with the kids....

Second guest to check in, check out and check back in was Sadie. Jean dropped off Lexi and Sadie to be watched for the day then decided to take her home so Willie could say goodbye, then he brought her back. Luckily she is somewhat use to the chaos at our house. But even though she is use to it she still got lack of sleep, due to following me EVERYWHERE! I tried to tell her just to relax while the kids were napping but everytime I moved she was right there with me. She would start falling asleep wherever she was sitting. She went on all rides to the kids school (Waldo did not get to....just not enough room with 3 kids and 3 dogs). She slept in bed with us (I just did not have the heart to kennel her up), so that means Roxy got to sleep in bed too...it was a full bed...2 adults, 2 dogs and 2 cats...oy! She also slept like a rock after leaving here...hmmm, do we see a pattern?!?!?
The last guests to check in (at 1am....way past my bedtime) were my younger sister, Jackie's 3 cats and bunny. They got the guest bedroom all to themselves. Now if you know my sister you will totally understand that her animals are high maintenance (right Jackie???). Honestly they were not that bad. Roxy just loves when her kitties are here...she is always at the door when it is about to be opened.
Cat #1 is Josie aka Jo Jo...things I figured out about her...she likes to hide under covers, so the sheet I placed on the bed was great for her...she also loves to play with the water dish...found that out by stepping on the wet towel under the water dish...lol.
I let the kids in to help give attention to our guests...here is Alex giving Jo a pet or two...
Cat #2 (orange tabby) is Libby and cat #3 (black) is Inky...they are the lazy ones... but they loved to be pet...Zach giving Libby some much needed attention...

and Liz doing her part by giving Inky some attention...

The kids' favorite guest and a possible future pet for us...the bunny...Sal. We used the bunny to bribe them for most everything. They just wanted to pet him and see him.

Liz got to the point that she walk into the room and open the cage herself...

Alex just liked seeing the bunny...but also liked how soft he was...

Our rough tough guy Zach was very gentle with Sal...

Waldo stayed with us from Wednesday morning until Sunday night and the others were here from Thursday night until Wednesday afternoon. It was work to have them all here but the kids liked having so many pets around. They helped do the feeding and letting them in and out to go potty. They also made sure Sadie's kennel was ok for her to be in...

Not only did the kids like the extra pets, but Roxy like the 4-legged company as well. She was tired as well...

Fall Fun

Unfortunately the weather has been horrible for fall fun. We have had a bunch of rainy days, so it seems we can never get out to have fun. Today the kids got out for a bit even though it is a mess outside. We are in desparate need of some sunshine to help dry up the leaves. I let the kids play outside while I prepared lunch and snapped these pictures from the house windows.
Alex working hard on raking the leaves...
then wondering when the leaves will stop falling. :)

Zach wondering what Liz has found in the bucket...

nothing important as Liz dumps the leaves and sand out.

Zach playing with a stick...shocking, right?!?!

By the time we actually get to raking all the leaves will be off the tree...normally we rake a few times...not this year!

Alex using the tractor and wagon to pick up sticks...

while Zach and Liz headed to the burning bush in the corner of our yard.

Alex decides to join them and bring a wagon, much bigger then the bucket the two were using...

Here the three are picking the berries off of the bush as well as the rest of the leaves.