Trick-or-Treating

Daddy took the kids trick-or-treating, and they had so much fun. The traveled in a group of almost ten kids and a bunch of daddies. Last year Aidan only went to a few houses, but this time he kept up with the big kids and thought it was wonderful. The Flash cap surprisingly stayed on the entire time, and he loved saying, "trick-o-treeeeee". He definitely embraced the entire experience.

The treat bags were overflowing, and Aidan even received something a little different...

Happy Halloween!

Yesterday the kids had a super boo time at Nathan and Nolan's Halloween party in Cypress. Allison counted down all weekend.

The hostess with the mostest.
Kellie always does such an unbelievable job with her parties. Thanks for such a great Halloween experience! It was all tasty and amazing! (Superbly cooked meatballs I might add.)

Pearly Whites

Today the kids headed to the dentist for a check-up. Allison did a great job as usual, and for his first ever dentist visit Aidan was perfect! I warned and warned them that this was his first time, and he might not cooperate. He made a major liar out of me, and I could not have been more proud.

Field Day

Allison and her classmates really shined at field day today! She ran the 50-yard hurtles, 75-yard dash, competed in the beanbag toss, and participated in the tricycle and hop around relays. It was so much fun to watch and cheer for her this afternoon!

Allison's Six-Year Portraits

The Largest Project

When we were looking at houses last summer Tyler's major requirement was that there be a spot to build a wine cellar. In this house, he was pleased to see the enormous laundry/utility room would be just right. This is the before picture from the listing:

And so, Tyler signed up to volunteer through his company with Habitat for Humanity. He learned a few things about construction and set to work. Papa Denis came and helped him with some of the work, and I have looked everywhere for those pictures. We really do appreciate his time and labor!

We can take credit for each part of this renovation except the floors and dry wall. Tyler built the walls, did the electrical, put in a vapor barrier, installed the insulation, built a shelf for the cooling unit, installed the cooling unit, and installed the door and wine racks. I painted and stained and did the moulding. Inside the wine room I did a faux finish. I highly doubt I will ever tackle one again. You have to work at warp speed with the glaze, and for a beginner that's hard.

The room was usable in early May. Here he is on the day we moved the wine from the storage unit to the cellar. He was one happy boy!

We struggled and struggled with the moulding around the door. Tyler wanted it stained, but the stain did not take well. Finally, this week, he agreed to let me paint it white. The laundry room side is officially complete!

Since he stole half of the awesome laundry room, he agreed to let me have these drying racks. I love them! They take up no space at all and allow me to still hang dry clothes in the room.


The wine room itself is not complete. He still wants stained wood moulding in there, so we'll have to work on that. We also need to finish putting the racks in, but here is what it looks like so far:


It really is a great space, and once the racks are completely installed it will hold around 650 bottles of wine. Anyone thirsty?

The Big Cheese

Aidan has really been working it for the camera lately. Here are a few from the park yesterday.

Zoo Boo

The kids had a great time at Zoo Boo this year. There was a scavenger hunt of stations where they played games, received tazoos (zoo form of a tatoo), collected treats, painted pumpkins and a zoo wall, saw spooky creatures, and went through a pirate's cove with bats. Most of the kids had costumes on, but Aidan would not cooperate. You'll just have to wait and see what this little man has chosen.

These days Aidan cannot go to the zoo without taking a ride around Hermann Park on the train, so we obliged. He loves it so much.

Allison at Work

I am the class photographer for the Pattison yearbook, so I was lucky enough to watch Allison in action yesterday. I caught pictures of her in centers and at recess. She's very serious all of the sudden. I've noticed it at school, at her birthday party, at gymnastics, etc. She tells me, "Just because people don't smile doesn't mean they're not happy or having fun." I'll take her word for it. She smiles and laughs a ton here at home, so I guess she just has her game face on elsewhere.

Celebrating Six

Today Allison had her birthday party with her friends at Sugar and Spice. The girls all had fun getting hair, makeup, and nails done. Then they dressed as fairies, walked the lighted catwalk in the dark with lasers while Justin Bieber was played. Finally the fairies enjoyed some pizza and cupcakes. It was a very "Allison" party.

Love/Hate Relationship

Yesterday Allison was all about the love for her brother.

She helped me repaint the little table and chairs that used to belong to her for his room.

Last night they snuggled up together and watched Monsters Inc. It was incredibly sweet.

Then, after Aidan would not share his trains with her, she was done.

He is a true two-year-old, and I applaud her for putting up with him as well as she does. He really can drive her crazy. We're working on his sharing and taking turns, but it is going to be a long road. In her mind, his behavior is completely unfair, and she would be correct. Maybe this will get through to him. He was banging on her door and crying.

Boo!

We are ready for Halloween here! I thought we would do a little flip-flop today. Notice who is posing for the picture and who is inside looking out wondering what they're missing. That happened completely on its own, and I couldn't help but laugh.