Happy Halloween from the Udstuens!

Halloween was full of parties - three to be exact! We started out with a party at daycare. Amy had a pajama party (smart idea!) complete with a pirate themed treasure hunt and cupcake decorating. We headed home for a quick lunch, Ben took a nap, and Jonah dressed for his preschool party. His preschool class rode a school bus up to the nursing home and assisted living to have a costume parade and sing for the residents. A backpack full of candy later, we were heading to the big town party. We're convinced that every kid in the town was running around the Fest Building this evening on a sugar high. Our kids did great and were both fast asleep by 8 p.m. Whew - what a day!

Cupcakes at Amy's.













A few more fun pictures below of Captain Jack - the beard was popular, but didn't last more than 30 seconds.

Pumpkin Carving

Jonah and Dad set out to create one of the most elaborate pumpkin carvings I've ever seen! As you can see - it was quite a success!

Captain Jack Character Study: After we finished the pumpkins on Sunday evening, it was time to introduce Jonah to Captain Jack. The three of us headed down to the movie room and watched about 10 minutes of "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Happiness is...flying through the air

A favorite pastime when Dad get's home from work...launching the boys.

Weekend at the Goulds

We had a wonderful weekend in the Cities at the Gould's house last weekend. Saturday was spent picking out pumpkins, drinking hot chocolate, and wandering through a straw bale maze.














There were rows and rows of pumpkins - hard to pick just one!













Of course, Jonah eyed this one!














We also spent some time at the Minnesota Zoo - here Mara and Jonah are checking out the camels. Ben called them (and every other animal that day) "Puppies!"



















Mara and Jonah finished the day with a movie (and yes, those are Captain Jack Sparrow eyes on his cheeks! Stay tuned for the Great Pirate Costume this Halloween!)

Table for four please..

We had three couples over for supper the other night. 8 adults, 8 children...everyone was exhausted by the end of the evening. But these four managed to spend 30 minutes dining at the picnic table! And another 2.5 hours running, shrieking, and laughing (the loud kind, not the quiet, pleasant giggle). We wouldn't want it any other way.

"I can't find my blue basketball shirt!"

This is what happens when I give Jonah some "alone time" in his room. When I asked him what he was doing, he simply said "Looking for my blue basketball shirt." He had emptied 7 of the 8 drawers before he gave up. And guess where the blue basketball shirt was.....drawer #8!

Once Jonah had decided what to wear, the whole family went to Early Childhood Family Education class for scarecrow building. Jonah named his scarecrow "Jaguar". I think you'll all agree from the photo that Jaguar is a little scary - at least Jonah thinks so!

We Love Wednesdays!

Wednesday is the day I get to stay home with the boys each week and yesterday was great! Jonah and Ben took an hour long bubble bath, we went to the library, made Mac and Cheese, took naps, played outside, and went for a walk. Life is good.

On a side note, I pulled a muscle in my back a few days ago - a first for me. I'd been racking my brain trying to figure out what happened. Then this morning it all clicked. When I went to get him and saw this...it was pretty obvious. Can you believe how big this kid is?!? 16 months and he's almost outgrown the pack and play!!! (Note: Ben normally sleeps in his crib, but his attempts to serenade his brother at 5 a.m. resulted in a bed transfer! :-)