TRICK OR TREAT, SMELL MY FEET!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

McCrea's First Halloween

He already had enough excitement for the day!

Getting ready for trick or treating

Daddy and the kiddos!

Enjoying our baby's first Halloween!

My Cute little Dragon!

Ashley (Snow White) Lorelei (Sleeping Beauty)

Ready for the first knock at the door!
"TRICK OR TREAT!"

Look at all the yummy candy!

Ready for the next house!

I want to go home now!


HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We enjoyed a WARM night of trick or treating! Where else can you wear a sleeveless dress and flip flops? We went over to our friends, the Fiorentin's, had some yummy pizza and salad and got ready to go. The boys stayed to pass out treats and play the Wii. We got out around 6:00 and stayed out till about 8:00. It was fun being out with all the crazy Halloween people. Lorelei and Ashley were pooped after the 10th house and wanted to go home. I couldn't believe it! I guess I'm the only true Halloween freak in the family now. However, McCrea enjoyed his evening being out with all the trick or treaters. He was fast asleep within the first five minutes we were out. Although, Lorelei protested about how tired she was and wanted to go home she was very happy about getting all the candy. Her favorites are anything CHOCOLATE! After enough whining from Lorelei we finally headed back for the evening. I wanted to stay out longer. As we were heading home for the night, I was flipping through the radio channels and I couldn't believe my ears, they were already playing Christmas music on HALLOWEEN! What is wrong with this picture! Anyway I sang Christmas music on the way home. I'm already getting into the Christmas spirit. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HALLOWEEN PARADE!

HALLOWEEN PARADE!

I went over to see the darling parade at Lorelei's school! It was exciting to see what everyone had chosen for their costume. Most of the girls in Lorelei's class were princesses. It was so fun to see them showing off their costumes as they walked by everyone. Lorelei was Sleeping Beauty this year! She was the prettiest princess of them all!

BABY'S FIRST HALLOWEEN!

McCrea's first Halloween!! He is 3 1/2 months old. He enjoyed all the fun festivities and was very curious watching all the costumes and people going by. He even enjoyed all the decorations. We decorated our home with lots of spider webs, spiders, a flying bat and other Halloween decor. When he saw me all dressed up, he just stared at me and wasn't quite sure what to think. It sounds like mommy's voice, but sure looks like such a strange person. I had black hair, a silly hat and Chinese robe. He wondered what happened to his mommy! Luckily, he didn't cry and let me hold him still. His first trick or treating experience was a success. After five minutes of being outside, he was fast asleep. He woke up half way through crying and wanting his costume off. He was the cutest DRAGON ever. We just love our little Halloween McCrea!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN BIRTHDAY STEVIE!

Happy 34th Birthday!

Hopefully all your wishes will come true!

Happy Birthday and Halloween to the best brother ever! WE just love our Stevie! He is turning 34 today! Steve has lived with us the past two years! We have enjoyed every moment with him. He knows how to have a good time, to lighten the mood, to make you smile and he is a great helper. He has helped us paint our house, clean up the yard and pool, clean house, make dinners etc. Although he has a free ride living with us, he truly has given so much back. We enjoy the great sense of humor and his wonderful, caring, sweet, personality. Lorelei has such a special bond with him. It is so much fun to watch the two play together, joke around, wrestle, play tricks on each other. Lorelei just adores and loves him so much. Also, McCrea is already starting to show interest in Uncle Steve too. He talks and smiles at him and I know he will enjoy and benefit having his Uncle Steve here too. Thank you Stevie for making these past two years happy and enjoyable. You are the best and we all LOVE YOU SO MUCH. Have a Happy Birthday! Hope this next year will be the best ever!

Here are some facts about Steve!

• He is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. He genuinely cares about people.
• He is a vegetarian mostly because of his love of animals.
• He LOVES animals and is very sensitive to their needs.
• He loves to travel and my dad can't wait for there next adventure.
• He loves to be outdoors, hiking, swimming, even when it is 115 degrees outside.
• He loves to play the piano and is really talented. He also sings too.
• He is a hard worker and is very meticulous on how he does things.
• He is very clean and organized.
• He never complains about anything.
• He is really easy going and let's things roll off his back.
• He never gets angry and is really positive about everything.
• He is a family guy.
• He loves to watch sports and is athletic.
• He is a handsome guy and very single. hint hint

CARVIN' PUMPKINS!

Getting the pumpkins out!

Cutting out the tops!

McCrea's first pumpkin Carvin' experience!

He is very curious about what is going on inside the pumpkin!

McCrea's First Halloween!

Lorelei getting a little messy!

Wiping her fingers on the paper, Gross!

Lorelei is proud of the final results even if she had to touch the stinky pumpkin mess inside!

My completed Halloween Art!

Although this month has been crazy for us, I wanted to make sure we kept up some of the traditions for Halloween. I wanted to just throw in the towel and forget this year altogether. I was just too exhausted from all the drama this month, I just wanted to call it quits. Luckily, I started feeling better that last week of October and decided to make a week of fun for us. Here we are carving our pumpkins! Lorelei insisted on Cinderella's castle and the Rose from Beauty and the Beast. Lucky me, I had to do all the work. Lorelei did help with the messy part, but quickly got bored and left it up to me to finish the rest. I had a good time doing something artistic, although it really is just following a pattern on a pumpkin. I felt like a completed true Masterpiece! Isn't it beautiful?

Trunk or Treat!

Halloween Ward Party!

Sleeping Beauty, Dragon & Mulan

We went to our ward Trunk or Treat party! Lorelei enjoyed dressing up as Sleeping Beauty. She loves being a princess! She loved having makeup on and having her hair curled to make the experience even more glamorous. McCrea was her Dragon! Of course, McCrea was very upset with his choice of costume this year! He did not want to be apart of the Halloween festivities. Not only was it too hot in his Dragon costume, he did not like having anything on top of his head. We dealt with a lot of protesting, but after getting pictures to capture the moment the hood was off the rest of the night. It was a good dress rehearsal for the big night. I went as a Chinese girl! I always have something oriental tucked away in the closet, so it is easy to dress up when all else fails. Lorelei calls me Mulan and was excited I could be a princess with her. Lorelei spent most the night running around with all her friends in the cultural hall instead of doing any of the activities. However, she did enjoy the trunk or treat at the end! We all enjoyed the Halloween festivities!

PUMPKIN PATCH!

We have made it a tradition to go to the pumpkin patch each year. We have the cutest little farm just a few miles a way from us called "Mother Nature's Farm." Every year they have a hay ride, pumpkin decorating, a maze, a bounce house and cute little farm animals, including baby chicks, which Lorelei loves. It was fun little outing with the kids. We went with Melissa, Scotty and Britton. McCrea is enjoying his first Pumpkin Patch experience. Lorelei was devastated when her pumpkin fell out of the stroller and we couldn't find it anywhere. She cried for an hour. She was very disturbed that her pumpkin was all alone or worse that someone else had stolen her pumpkin. Although we went back to get another pumpkin, she was not satisfied and still talks about her missing pumpkin today. It is so funny, all the drama that comes from a disappearing pumpkin. In some ways I'm thankful for a little boy and hoping that he will even out his sister's personality. Poor little Lorelei and her missing pumpkin. Next year we'll keep better track of it.

PLAYING CATCH UP!

TOP TEN REASONS I HAVEN'T BLOGGED!

• FAMILY CAME INTO TOWN
• LORELEI'S BIRTHDAY PARTY
• MCCREA'S BABY BLESSING
• GOT SICK
• COLICKY BABY
• MY NIECE CASSANDRA WAS IN DIABETIC COMA AND ALMOST DIED
• DOCTORS APPOINTMENTS
• GOT SICK AGAIN
• HUSBAND OUT OF TOWN
• BABY IN THE HOSPITAL FOR ALLERGIES

NOW THAT I'VE CAUGHT UP WITH MY BLOG YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE LAST MONTH AND A HALF. THIS IS WHY MY HOUSE IS A MESS, MY LAUNDRY IS STACKED HIGH, AND WHY I HAVEN'T CALLED OR EMAILED ANYONE. HOPEFULLY THIS NEXT MONTH WILL BE A LITTLE BIT BETTER.

THREE MONTHS OLD!

Here is one of his happy moments!

McCrea at three months old! He is now 14lbs 11oz. He is getting so big. He is able to control his head well and enjoys his ultrasaucer, swing and going for walks. He has been a very colicky baby this past month. On Thursday the 16th I took McCrea into the ER. He was very sick. He had blood in his stool and was very lethargic. I was scared to death. This past month we have tried him on every formula out there and he has been in so much pain and crying all the time. It turns out he has allergies. Finally his little body couldn't take it anymore. He started having this mucousy diarrhea and we ended up in the hospital. He was dehydrated and the nurses couldn't get a IV line started, so they poked him all over the place. It was so sad and I felt so helpless. After running blood tests and being in the ER all night, they let us go home. All the tests came back okay. It was a nightmare! Thank goodness that Tana, Tammy and Steve all came to the rescue. They were there with me all night to help me through this horrible ordeal. I asked the doctors what I was supposed to feed my baby, because he is allergic to everything. They finally gave me some Neocate just to get me through the night, this is my last hope. Unfortunately, this stuff is extremely hard to get a hold of. I finally ordered some online, but that won't come until next week. I finally got the ER to give me some more formula to get me through the weekend. I also found some people on Craigslist to get some extra cans. We will see how he does with this formula. We are on the urgent list to see a GI doctor and run tests on his little body. They are going to have to do a colonoscopy, and biopsy's on his stomach and intestines. I'm not looking forward to this week, as it will be a nightmare to run all these tests on my little baby and see him suffer that much more. Just to add to all the drama, Chad was in San Francisco for the week and on top of that I have been sick with the flu and allergies. Thank you to my brother Steve who waited with me in the ER and kept the mood light. Thank you to Tammy who knows how to get things done and for always being there for me no matter what it is. And Thank you Tana for all you do and for coming down to help me, whatever it is. Thanks for staying the night and for getting up in the middle of the night with baby and Lorelei. You are the best mother and Nana ever. Please pray for baby McCrea. We will need all the help we can get.

ROLLERSKATIN!

I love to rollerskate! As a child I would rollerskate all over the house, in the garage and down the street. When I got in my teens I would go skating every weekend at the 49th Street Galleria. That was the coolest place growing up. Once that closed I went to Classic Skating. Then when I was about 10 years old rollerblades came out and I would Rollerblade all over. I still love rollerblading. After my mission, I started playing roller hockey with a bunch of guys, it was so much fun that I eventually joined a Women's Roller hockey league and our first season we took first place. Unfortunately, after the second season was over we moved to Iowa and I hadn't really been skating since. After so many years, it was weird getting back into a pair of roller skates again. Lorelei was invited to her friend Sophia's birthday party at Skateland, so we both got on a pair of skates and went for it. Lorelei had a hard time at first, but after practicing for a little bit she had the hang of it. She was able to go around the rink several times, holding my hand of course. She LOVED IT! We will have to go again and maybe get her a pair of skates for Christmas. She can't wait for our next trip to Skateland! Although my arms were so soar from holding her up at the beginning, I think this might be a fun activity that the girls can do together. Rollerskating ROCKS!

CHILDRENS MUSEUM!

Doing Puzzles
Yummy IceCream

Making Pizza
Doing crafts with Ashley and Gina Victoria getting her groceries
Shopping at the grocery store Ashley checking out all the food
Riding tricycles through the car wash
Watching balls going down through the maze

Phoenix just opened up a new Children's museum downtown and we finally went to go check it out. We went with our friends Tammy, Ashley, Gina, and Victoria. We spent a couple hours doing crafts, riding bikes through a car wash, making pizzas and icecream cones. We also went shopping at the grocery store. We also got to see how fast balls went down a fun maze, this occupied Lorelei for the majority of the time. We had a great time. After the museum we went to daddy's work to pick him up and went to the California Pizza Kitchen for dinner. We had a great time.