Halloween 2008

Halloween 2008
Luckily a shot in the heiny was just what I needed to get out of my deathbed in time to celebrate Halloween with my little Goblins. I had been shot down with strep throat or something of the sort on Monday and after three days of antibiotics I was still very sick. Went back to the doc and you guessed it, they gave me a good old-fashioned shot in the booty. But enough about me (no pun intended), on to the festivites.

We decided to have a frugal Halloween this year....or maybe it was lazy.....take your pick. We picked out costumes from our stock of Halloweens Past. Nolan and Sullivan agreed to don the handmade clown outfits that were made by Matt's Grandma Miller for him and his sister years ago. I think those were the original wigs as well. Jillian and I put together an Angel for her using her Princess Laia gown from last year and her Tinkerbell wings from the year before. And Brendan's costume has been handed down from cousin Tristan, to brother Sullivan and now to him. Add a $0.99 halo from that Christmas aisle that's always up before Halloween and $3.99 for face paint and ta-da!!!!!!







What a couple of clowns! They each had artistic input in the design of their clown make-up. Sullivan's lips didn't make it past the first piece of candy he ate after the first house!

















As you can see, the older three had a hard time waiting for their little bubby. Brendan wanted to eat everything as soon as it was put into his bucket. And if he saw a dog in the house, he would walk right in and say, "Puppy!" Oh, I forgot to add that the only way we could get Brendan in a costume was to tell him he looked cool. Then he would say, "Bubby, cool!" And when he saw other trick-or-treaters he would point to them and say, "Cool!"














Candy feast! We usually let them dig in that night and eat as much as they want. Then the candy goes into lock-up and used for bribery (Or Mommy's & Daddy's snack attacks). Jillian reported having so much fun this Halloween. Sullivan, as usual, lost steam early in the evening and sat out the last few houses. We were lucky to get the pumpkins carved and on the front step before 6pm tonight due to Matt's travels and my sickness. I guess it all came together and the important thing is they all had fun.

October 2008

This will be our family's new home on the web where you can read about our comings and goings and view our photos. We had a crazy, busy, yet positive summer and naturally keeping up with our website went by the wayside. In addition, Matt made the decision to close his hosting business and is in the final phases of that process. Therefore, we no longer have the unlimited web resources we once had. I am still learning how to use this format and get all my photos up the way I like them. Matt is coaching Nolan's flag football team. Unfortunately his team has no returning players on it as it is supposed to have at least 4! Though his players have shown tremendous improvement, they have only won one game. Nolan is no star football player yet, but he's still young and he definitely is having fun and enjoying it. Sullivan is still loving soccer. Jillian started taking ballet and tap class again and is thoroughly enjoying it.

Nolan and Jillian are official first graders now. They ride the bus to and from school. They had to switch elementary schools after we moved across town this summer but I think they have adjusted well. They are in different classes, per Nolan's request, and that seems to be working well. Their first report cards were pretty good; nothing spectacular but the teachers had nice things to say about each of them.


Sullivan started Preschool in September and goes M,W,F from 8:30-11:00am. He has finally taken an interest in learning! He can spell and write his name and can count pretty high. He likes school and the teachers never have any problems with him. Though he is quite the antagonist at home with his brothers and sister. He is always doing something for attention from anyone.



Brendan has an intimate relationship with his stroller thanks to all the soccer and football games he gets dragged around to watch. That kid is always on the move, so restraints are required if I am actually going to watch any of Nolan's or Sullivan's games. His vocabulary has exploded and almost always talks when he needs to communicate with us. He is putting words together now and speaking in small sentences.

Sullivan turned 5 and wanted to have a party at home. What was intended to be a small party with a few of friends turned out to be a huge event with over 20 kids! It was a blast and thank goodness daddy rented that giant bounce house!

We are settled in our new house and we love just love it. Matt loves having his own office to work from in the house and the kids are loving the space. I am loving the large kitchen and my nice, private bathroom. We are hoping to get at least one more camping trip in this season. Matt is taking the two older boys this weekend after their games. They couldn't be any more excited about that. I am watching two little girls part time for a friend of mine that is in nursing school. That is working out very well, though I don't think I would want to do it full-time.