Ahoy, matey!*

*I was informed multiple times that Jake and the Pirate Princess** do NOT say, “ARGGHHH!”

**Izzie was a little boring and THE pirate princess was a little too hard core, so we*** made almost all of Kate’s costume up, but stayed true to the pixie dust around her neck. She was satisfied.

***My mom.

Ward Trunk or Treat

Drew’s girlfriend dressed up as a flower to go with his costume. Then, she pulled moves like this all night. He decided it was a little too much PDA for his liking.

Real Trick or Treating

Drew and I lasted only a few houses. Someone had to eat pass out the candy.

outside the box

For the past month, we’ve had a rocket ship in our living room. Yesterday, it became a slide.

Pumpkin pancakes

He’s a fan

You know you have leftover pumpkin from something. Or you will some time in the next month or so. Make these. Your kids might start off the day liking you. Pumpkin Buttermilk Pancakes 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 egg 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 1/4 cup white sugar 1 t baking powder 1 t baking soda 1 t cinnamon 2 T vegetable oil 1/2 C canned pumpkin You know the rest. Makes about 16 5”-pancakes. Magleby’s Syrup (everyone has a different version of this syrup. This one is my fave. It’s obviously fat- and calorie-free) 1 C butter 1 C sugar 1 C heavy whipping cream 1/2 t vanilla Bring to a boil, add vanilla last. Serve on pancakes, then drink the rest. I mean, refrigerate the rest. Yeah, refrigerate it. Don’t drink it. That would be silly.

Taste of my own medicine

I got a flu shot on Monday. Probably the worst possible day to have it (Note to self: inflict pain on your arm when you can relax for a day, not on a day where you have LOTS to do), but I was at Target and wanted to get it over with.

When we got home, Kate noticed that my band aid was falling off. “Mom, your band aid is falling off. We’ll just take if off really quickly and it won’t hurt at all.”

Ethan told me at least 10 times that he was so proud of me for not crying.

I didn’t get chick-fil-a out of it, though, so I’m not sure it was worth the bravery.

Cousin Camp Houston '11

Also known as mosquito fest Houston ’11

This past weekend, my sister-in-law, her 2 darling girls, and my mother-in-law came for a great visit. And lucky for us, so did billions of mosquitoes. That didn’t stop us, oh no it didn’t.

Grandma came prepared with matching Halloween jammies, of course.

We made capes.

We took being “super” to the next level and added headwear to the “super” costumes.

We went to Galveston.

The park, where SuperElla was spotted.

Made ghost suckers.

Went to Old McDonald’s Farm.

(notice that squiter getting Kate’s leg? He and his friends were relentless. She has over 20 bites right around her knees. I’m guessing from this very pony ride)

Wore. Grandma. Out.

Scored yet another darling set of Halloween jammies from Grandma.

And walked away with a goody bag to remember just how much we love being with our cousins.

Turns out when you check the weather around these parts, you should also check the mosquito reports. Thankfully, I think our guests had only a few encounters with the little pests. But poor Kate has upwards of 40 bites. She’s a trooper, though, that girl.

See what a fun hostess I am? Who wants to come next? (I promise to check for mosquitoes, never go outside, and bring repellant anyway)

Thanks for coming, Packer girls! Can’t wait for next year!

Thoughtful Boy

We went to the car wash today. We were listening to Raffi. Down by the Bay. You know you’re jealous. As we were getting out of the car, Ethan said, “leave this on so the man can listen to it.”

That lucky man.

Tour de Creative Learning Center

Also known as pre-school Trike-a-thon

Game faces on.

Scoping out the competition.

This is no laughing matter.

I pity the fool who gets between this guy and the finish line.

Nothin says intimidation like a princess helmet. Surprised Lance never thought of that one.

They mostly stayed in the peloton throughout the ‘thon. To Kate’s detriment, though. A pile-up in the 23rd lap took her out of the race. Luckily, the medical team was close by.

Ethan was not to be discouraged. He went on to complete 38 laps.

(Did I mention the laps were about the size of a living room?)

The victor’s prize? Fruit snacks, of course.

In all seriousness, this was the reason for the ride. About every 2 or 3 laps, as they passed, they would ask if it was time for snacks yet. Doubt it was the best time they ever had in their lives, but it was worth it for the blog post.

I was a little worried that the fall might have dampened Kate’s spirits a bit, but when we got in the car, she said, “I think I won.”

Funny thing is we never told them it was a race. We just said we were taking their bikes to ride at pre-school. I guess the second you put a medal around a kid’s neck, it all gets very serious.

After such a grueling ride, they both needed a couple cool-down laps in the cul-de-sac.

A special thank you to our sponsors:

Don Secor platinum sponsor

Jimmy and Kira Secor

Scott Price

Kristen Price

Donna Behnke

*It’s not too late to sponsor. If you, too, would like your name on an honorary DoubletheFun blog post, send your money in now. Make checks payable to their mother.

Who's having a happy Columbus day?

This guy

They can be so sweet sometimes

Last night, the twins were running wild and Drew and I were sitting on the couch taking in the spectacle. Next thing I know, Ethan comes to Drew and asks me if he can give him a hug. Then Kate wanted to join in on the bonding. And in true Kate fashion, she took it to the next level when she closed her eyes, gave him a soft kiss on the forehead, held his face in her hands, and whispered, "We love you, Drew. We're ALWAYS going to be here for you." For better AND worse, she is dramatic, but I feel like I owe this little girl a shout out. She has had bloody noses since she was a wee one and this dry (you're laughing, we live in HOUSTON) summer/early fall has made the worst of the situation bringing on at least one gusher a day. Our pediatrician decided it was time for a cauterization, so we went to the E.N.T. this morning. Kate was quite obviously terrified, but she held it together and didn't move a muscle. The doctor said he's never seen such a still three-year-old. We celebrated at Chik-fil-a, of course.

Update

• If you’re wondering how we’re taking the loss of Steve Jobs... well, it’s not pretty. We think we’re going to come out of this okay, but there’s just no way to know for sure.
• We’ve taken October by storm. Costumes are almost ready. Decorations are up. And most importantly, Halloween cookies:

• Greg’s been working like a dog lately and we sure miss him. A lot. But Ethan has really stepped up in the “man of the house” position and takes his job very seriously. If he sees a spider (and there’s been quite a few) he will RUN to the bathroom for a tissue, “wipe” the spider, and then flush the poor thing down the toilet.

• I made these last night. A. Ma. Zing. (Although Greg wasn’t so convinced. As kindly as his tired soul could muster, he said, “um, did you mean to put salt on these?”)
• I FINALLY caught the Pinterest bug and it’s taken over my life. I knew it would, which is why I resisted for so long. But I’ve cut some other time-wasting things out of my life to make room. Like flossing.
• The twins will be riding in their pre-school trike-a-thon next Friday. If you so feel the desire to make a pledge, I won’t stop you.

• Drew took a pretty girl to Ikea and lunch today. He doesn’t like to mention the parts about their moms being in the front seat, them riding in car seats, or that lunch came in liquid form. He thinks he’s hot stuff.

• I’ve been making all of Drew’s baby food. Combine that with the fact that I’m still nursing (despite 3 teeth and thrush), we’re saving something like millions of dollars. Good thing, too, cause buying a house is kinda expensive.
• Some things we’re loving about our house so far: morning sun and evening shade in our family room, kitchen, and backyard (might even be my favorite part); the hard wood is not nearly as hard to keep clean as I was dreading anticipating; huge playroom; 3-car-garage; riding bikes in the cul-de-sac; gas stove (my first since I lived at home. Every bit as wonderful as I knew it would be).

Finally...

The wedding!

In all the wrong order...

Jimmy wanted to be just like the boys.

The twins honestly had more fun that day, and especially night, than I think they have ever had in their whole lives. There was an italian soda bar and they just kept going back for more. They danced the night away and I wish I had a picture of them with my cousins because the twins latched on to them wouldn’t leave their sides. “Best. Night. Ever,” as Kate would say.

The siblings. I didn’t realize until just now that we’re standing in birth order. Thomas, me, Jimmy, Kristen, Matt. Love. Them.

Did I mention Kate thought the party was for her? To celebrate her new shoes, to be exact. Here she is making sure they’re ready for their big debut. Ethan found a rock.