Student of the Month - Cadence

Cadence is my go-getter. She was one of 3 kids chosen as

students of the month

representing the 3rd grade. ONE OF THREE.

Trek & I got to go to this big ceremony & everything. She got to go up to the front of the cafeteria where the principal read a page of all her achievements, then presented her with a certificate & a goody bag. She was beaming like she just won a million dollars.

She makes this mommy SUPER PROUD!

Congratulations Cadence!

Family Pictures 2011

Back in October, we had a dear friend take our family photos. I love living SO close to the beach & to SO MANY beautiful areas. We took our pictures at Lover's Point in Pacific Grove & it was GORGEOUS. We couldn't have asked for better pictures. Thank you Sabrina! They are PERFECT.

Carving Pumpkins

Halloween just wouldn't be Halloween without carving pumpkins right? We LOVE carving pumpkins every year. And we all know the best part is pulling out all the GUTS.

Cadence opted for a typical jack'o'lantern face this year. She did a great job.

Trek & I helped the other kiddos with their pumpkins. They told us what they wanted & we carved them for them.

Lorien wanted a WITCH.

I did a pretty cool INCREDIBLE pumpkin for Bladen.

And Daddy did a pretty cool CAT for Taya.

We had a BLAST. I love FAMILY TIME.

An INCREDIBLE Halloween

Well, you know me & Halloween. A year in the making. . . that's all I've got to say. We always know what our next theme will be & I keep my eye out all year long for pieces I might need come October the following year. This year was great because we finally RECYCLED a costume set we used 6 years ago.

We were

The Incredibles

once upon a time when we had 2 baby girls back in 2005. I remember making mine, Trek's, Cadence's, & Lorien's costumes all by hand because I didn't have a sewing machine at the time. It took FOREVER. Thank HEAVENS I have one now because there is NO WAY I could have made EIGHT costumes without one.

So I re-used mine & Trek's costumes. (Oh man, they were SO poorly made, but they worked.) Bladen actually fit into the costume I made for Cadence so his was complete. I just had to make the others. Cadence's was easy & was pieced together with wardrobe pieces in her closet. Taya's was the same, but I had to sew things ONTO pieces she already had. Lorien's I cheated & ordered online for my own sanity, & Craiger's I made from scratch. Then the NIGHT BEFORE the Halloween party, Trek's sister called & asked if she could come so I threw together a FULL COSTUME for her in a matter of hours. . . & it turned out to be my favorite costume of the night.

This is what my upstairs area looked like the night before our Halloween party.

Finally Finished.

Craiger as "Baby Jack Jack"

Bladen as "Dash"

Cadence as "Mirage"

Lorien as "Violet"

Taya as the infamous "Edna Mode"

And Auntie Tylee as "Syndrome" our nemesis

Taya was HILARIOUS. She was everyone's favorite costume of the night. She kept making the face Edna makes in the movie & we would all crack up laughing. She really played the part & was the hit of the party.

I really did marry "Mr. Incredible." What other man do you know that would wear "women's underwear" over his "spandex" for his wife? He really is Mr. Incredible.

Tylee was AWESOME as the bad guy. Just look at that hair. She was such a good sport.

Halloween parties are always so much fun. My kids loved eating donuts off of strings. SO FUNNY.

Overall, I think it was the most

INCREDIBLE

HALLOWEEN EVER.

Until next year . . .