Halloween in PHOENIX!

Playing football in the backyard at Uncle Alvin and Aunt Eleanor's house. Yes, Isiah is playing in rollerblades.

Our "Star Wars" Dinosaur.

Optimus and Superman with light sabers

My parents have been contemplating buying a *eventual* retirement place in the Phoenix area for close to a year. So....with the long weekend (it was the end of the quarter for the school district), they decided to head down and take 2 days just to go look at houses. It also happened to be George's FIRST weekend off since Brayden was born, so we went with them! It was so nice to see Alvin and Eleanor again and see how much the kids have grown! And, of course, nice to be in some warmer weather! We were loving it, and Koda loved it even more since he didn't have to put a coat over his costume to go trick-or-treating! George, Koda, and the kids went swimming Friday night in the outdoor pool.....which I figured was a bit cold for me, so I stayed on the sidelines reading. I knew it was heated, but HOLY COW.....that was the 2nd warmest outdoor pool I've ever felt (the first being the one at the condos in Orlando!). We had a blast in Phoenix!

Mark's Halloween Party

The coolest decor at Mark's party?
Definately the blacklight reflective chalk body lines on his concrete living room floor!

Just because he's cute.

*Almost* trying to sleep

Our little Dinosaur and his Biker-chic Mamma

Such a happy little man!

And this is the ONLY picture of the night that includes Dakota (he's Optimus Prime). Once we got to Mark's place, we lost him somewhere in the house. He only surfaced a few times to launch nerf darts at the "spiderwebs" over the fireplace with a few friends he had made.

Mark, the electrical contractor superindendent that George worked with this summer, and his wife throws a MASSIVE Halloween party every year. Apparently everyone (almost everyone) who attends are very elaborate in their costumes. George was probably one of a very small handful that showed up without some amazing regalia. And the whole time he was making fun of me dressing up as a biker chick......hey, I had everything I needed without spending a ton of time and money on a costume that I'd never wear again! I, for one, thought my costume was pretty good for creating it on the fly.

We all had a blast at the party......except perhaps Brayden, who was just simply too tired to enjoy it all! BY FAR, the best Halloween party I've ever been to!

Ethan's Birthday Party-H2Oasis

Lounging......like a couch potato. In the water.

Best brother buddies!

Dakota's best buddy since birth, Ethan, had his 5th birthday party at H2Oasis In October. Since Koda started Kindergarten, we haven't been able to go have fun at toddler swim (it's M-W-F mid-morning!), and he's been pretty bummed about that. Koda and the kids had a blast, and it was Brayden's first time at H2Oasis. Brayden took a bit of time to warm up to the idea of a pool that wasn't quite as warm as his bath, but after the initial "shock", he was LOVING it! However, he wouldn't *smile* for the camera!!! But at least he's not screaming, so that's a plus!

Bathtime

Just a few pictures of the boys in the bathtub. I can't wait until Brayden is a bit older and able to sit up in the bath and play with Dakota! I LOVE being a mom of two adorable boys....I can't imagine my life without them!

Happy Birthday, Dakota!

Dakota's 5th birthday was September 19th, which happened to fall on a Saturday this year! He decided he wanted to go to Bouncin Bears, and then come back to the house for cake and ice cream, and his pinata! My mom and I (mainly my mom!) made a baseball pinata and filled it with some candy, sticky hands, and small nerf-like sports balls. He loved it! More pictures to follow, as all I have at this time are pics from Bouncin Bears!

Brayden!

Dakota started soccer a couple weeks ago, so we all accompany him to his practices/games. It has been outdoors (we had our first indoor practice 2 days ago), and Anchorage has gotten a bit colder lately. The past week, I've really had to bundle Brayden up in order to keep him warm and happy (or at least attempt to keep him happy!) during practice. I managed to stuff him into the cutest little blue corderouy coat, and took a few pictures of him. Unfortunately, Brayden wouldn't smile for me, but he does have the cutest big blue eyes and a little puzzled look on his face! He couldn't be cuter!

Dakota's 1st Day of School!

This year was a bit of a challenge to get Dakota into Kindergarten. The past 2 years, he's been attending New Horizon's Preschool, which he LOVED. It was only a couple days a week for a few hours, but he learned so much. When I talked with the Anchorage School District, they let me know that not only was Dakota past the age cutoff date (I knew that....his birthday is September 19th), but he was also inelidgible to be tested for enterance into Kindergarten because he missed that cutoff by 4 DAYS! No exception, no way to do it. It doesn't matter if your child is a genius (not that I claimed that....but he is a smart cookie!), if your child can do algebra as a 5 year old....they don't care! Soooo.....I looked into private schools in the Anchorage area. I researched virtually ALL of them, met in person with some of the administrators, toured the school itself, etc. I decided to not consider the religious schools (for our own reasons), which left only a few options for us. I went to the Montessori school, found out it wasn't for us, which left us with one viable option (which I didn't like NOT having other options). I met with Pacific Northern Academy, and instantly fell in love with the school and the people. Besides the expense and the location (it's across town with no bus service!), there's nothing I'd ever change! Dakota, George, and I all love the school. It's an Early Kindergarten through 8th grade school, but everyone knows virtually everyone else. Besides his own class, Dakota also knows everyone in the Early Kindergarten class, as well as a good chunk of the kids in 1st-5th grades! There's just a great sense of community there, and it makes for the best atmosphere. Dakota's even made some really good friends there, sisters Isabelle (in Koda's Kindergarten class) and Emily (in the Early Kindergarten class). We've had a few after school playdates, and I've even made a friend out of it, Felicity (the girls' mom). They moved here from Great Britain a little over a month ago and know nobody, and it's so great to be able to become friends with their family!

Anyways, Dakota's first day of school was great. He was so excited to use his new backpack and lunchbox. They wear uniforms there at school (just khaki's or navy pants with certain colors of polos), which are absolutely adorable. And, there's no early morning fights about what Dakota is wearing (which is my favorite part). Here are a few pictures of Dakota's first day at Kindergarten!