Halloween Parade at MVP Sports

We went to a Halloween Parade at the MVP in Rockford. I like to get lots of use out of Halloween costumes! Plus, I never seem to get good pictures when the kids are trick-or-treating. MVP puts on a great party for the kids. We have gone for several years now. They have trick-or-treat stations set up around the track and a DJ on the basketball court. After trick-or-treating, everyone hangs out and dances.

Kendall is a Pink Flamingo
We went to the party with the Smiths. Here are Caleb, Kendall, Owen and Brady.

Brady with Griff!

Kendall got ahold of some M&Ms and had blue lips before we even started the parade.
Daddy and Kendall

Trick-or-Treat!

My little hockey player. He's missing his two front teeth and everything!!

They had this huge inflatable fire engine slide set up on the basketball court.

Here is Brady sliding down.

"That was awesome!"

Kendall dancing and enjoying a sucker.

My candy!

Here is the by-product of too much sugar... People don't believe me when I say my kids have bad reactions. Here, Kendall has turned into a screaming banshee because we wouldn't let her have any more candy. Luckily, the music drowned out her sobbing and carrying on!

Pumpkin Carving Party!

We had a pumpkin carving party for the neighborhood.

About eight families showed up and we all carved pumpkins in the community building.

Caleb and Owen working on their pumpkins next to Mrs. P-J.

Brady and Austin with their SCARY faces!
Here is our finished product. Brady carved the tiny one for Zoë. I carved Blue for Kendall. Todd carved the scull for Brady.

Home With Kendall

Yesterday, Kendall had a fever and her temp was 101.6. Today, she had to stay home from day care. So, we are just hanging out having a jammie day. Here Kendall is reading stories to her babies and her guys.

She is feeling good today as evidenced by this video...

Great Wolf Lodge

Todd had a work conference at Great Wolf Lodge. We all tagged along to take advantage of the free room! While Todd was in sessions all day Brady, Kendall and I enjoyed the water park.

This giant bucket dumps 1,000 gallons of water every 5-10 minutes. A bell starts ringing when it's almost ready and everyone runs over to stand under it. We've been to GWL three times now and this is the first time Brady was brave enough to stand under it. He can be seen on the right in a white shirt and Kendall is there too, but out of water range.

Brady says "That's awesome!"

SK8R Boy

Brady used some of his birthday money to buy himself a skateboard (and all of the necessary safety equipment). Poor kid does lose some style points for trying to shred it up while wearing his church clothes... =)

Fruitridge Hayrides

We went to our favorite apple orchard Fruitridge Hayrides (http://www.fruitridgehayrides.com) to get some cider and donuts.

We also took a hayride and picked our own apples.



Mmmmm, nothing better than a fresh apple right off the tree!

Kendall loooved riding on the pony!

Just enough time for a sunset ride on the Pig Train...

Bug City at the Johnson's!

Brady got this cool ant farm for his birthday last year. The ants are ordered online and they accept PayPal! By the time I ordered them, it was really cold and only three of them survived the delivery and freezing temperatures in our mailbox. Those guys were very hardy and they lived for about six months! I recently decided to order more ants because the only thing creepier than keeping an ant farm in the kitchen is keeping one with three dead ants in it.

So, the new guys arrived in a tube and totally transformed the farm. The blue stuff is gel that the ants move around to make their tunnels. I guess they also eat the gel. They are totally self-sufficient in this stuff. All I need to do is open the lid every few days to give them some air.
When I pop the lid, they all race to the top in hopes of escape. They can move pretty fast!
The ant farm plugs in and has a little light inside. Check out the cool glow!

YMCA Adventure Guides

Brady and Todd joined YMCA's Adventure Guide program this year. It's a group for elementary students that promotes activities for fathers and sons or daughters. This past weekend they camped overnight in Muskegon.

Brady, Owen and Caleb
Brady said his favorite activites were the Rock Wall and "Bows & Arrows". Here are some pics from his climb up the wall.