Easter Cuties

This year, the Easter Bunny brought the kids new church clothes. The boys all got suits and Sydney got a new dress in her favorite color. She was so excited it was modest enough that she didn't even need to wear a little white tee shirt with it. It's hard to find little girls' dresses with sleeves...but that good old Easter Bunny came through!  I never bought the older boys suits when they were little, and what a mistake that was!  Jakey was just killing me in this little 3-button number...he said he looked like Daddy and now he could go to work like Daddy (which we thought was funny since Tim never wears a suit to work...).

And don't even get me started on Little Miss--she LOVES purple and was so excited to see this dress on Easter morning! 

Here's our little stud, Ryan looking oh-so-dapper.  Can't believe he'll be 12 in 2 1/2 months!!!

And of course, Brandon, the teenager.  I had to tell him to show me some teeth in this picture--he thinks he's too cool to smile wide.  But those teeth are too nice not to show off. :)

Here they are all together.  The difference in heights is pretty funny.  Our kids are pretty spread out age-wise, but it's been perfect for us.  Love them all so much and wish they would stop growing!!!

Christmas Letter 2011

I can't believe I didn't make a single post last month...time to play catch-up.  I also didn't send out Christmas cards until New Years...so hopefully most of the family has gotten theirs by now.  For the rest of you or those that I just plain forgot, here is the body of our Christmas letter, with the news of the year:


Merry Christmas, everyone! This has been a busy year for our family, as usual. We love to play catch-up and reflect on the ups, downs and blessings we've been given at this time of year. Some things we'd like to forget are our first car accident only a few months after we bought our new van, Cathy losing her camera at DFW airport, and being faced with unemployment. Some awesome family memories from this year are camping trips to Grandjean, BSU football games, our dog Molly having adorable little puppies, and Tim finding a new job. The good has definitely outweighed the bad. We have seen the Lord's hand in our lives and are ever-grateful for His guidance, family and friends.

Tim is now the corporate audit manager for Micron, a technology company in Boise. It has been a big adjustment after almost 12 years at SuperValu, but we are so grateful the Lord has provided a way for him to provide for our family. He still serves on the High Council for our Stake and of course, spends as much time as he can hunting. He, his dad and brothers went to Wyoming again in September for an antelope hunt. He also enjoys gardening (good thing, since Cathy does not) and added raspberries to our crop this year.


Cathy started teaching piano lessons in September. She has 8 students, counting her own, and has really enjoyed teaching, much to her surprise and delight. Her first recital is next month. She got to go see her family in Texas in June and has had fun repainting much of the house this year and redecorating. She is the Primary chorister for about 130 children in our ward.


Brandon is in 8th grade and just turned 14, so he is now old enough to attend Stake dances (which means his parents have to wait up for him now…uggh). This year he has played basketball and football and ran track. He is in choir at school and loves the guitar. He got an electric one for his birthday (that thankfully has headphones). He shot his first buck this fall. He has earned all of his merit badges for Eagle Scout and just needs to do his project now.

Ryan is 11 and in 6th grade. He started band this year, playing the clarinet, which he loves. He tried something else new and ran cross country this fall and wants to run track in the Spring. He earned his Arrow of Light award and graduated from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts this summer. He takes piano lessons from Mom and is doing awesome! He shot his first turkey last Spring.


Sydney is 7 going on 16 and in 2nd grade, but she goes to 3rd grade for a couple hours each day since she's such a smarty-pants. She is also taking piano lessons, played T-ball this Spring, and is starting basketball next month. A highlight of her year was getting her ears pierced a few months ago. She is still quite crafty like her mom and is always creating something.


Jake is 3 years old and is still the light of our lives. His smile is infectious and he is at that age where he just says funny things all the time. At Ryan's last band concert, he said (with really big eyes), "They have cymbals. Cymbals are loud. I love them." He makes us laugh all the time! His favorite thing right now is Dad's iPad, especially Angry Birds. He starts Primary next week. He has also been learning to use the potty this year and is getting way too big way too fast.

Halloween!!!

 Dear Blogger,

Sometimes I really hate you.  This week I have wanted to try and catch up on blogging, but I don't really have all day to wait for my photos to upload...so now my family will only get to see these 3 pictures that would actually load...sorry family.

Moving on...Halloween was Monday, and the kids had so much fun dressing up.  These pictures are actually from Saturday when we had our ward Trunk-or-Treat.  I'm always too busy on Halloween to really take pictures...

This year, after quite a metamorphosis, Sydney finally settled on a cowgirl costume.  (For those who care, she initially wanted to be a wolf, but not just a wolf costume--she wanted Tim to shoot a wolf, then skin it for her to wear over her head like a cape...not my daughter...  Then she decided she wanted to be Captain Jack Sparrow, but I steered her away...I'm not a fan of my children cross-dressing.  Then she settled on Ninja, but after looking through the Halloween costume bucket she found Brandon's old chaps and vest (which were both too small, but what do I care??)).  We just bought a hat and bedazzled it to girlify it a little.

Jake recycled Ryan's Buzz Lightyear costume that I made 8 years ago.  I was glad to get another use out of that one, seeing as I spent more time on it than I'll be confessing here on my little blog...

Ryan recycled his Grim Reaper costume from last year...no cost yet again...perfect!

And Brandon decided to be "Up Dog."  What is Up Dog, you might ask?  When you find out, let me know!  Apparently it's a phrase that middle schoolers use..."That's really up-dog."  Whatever...  The best part was that his costume was also free...he used my Silhouette to cut out a dog shape w/ vinyl and stuck it on a black arrow and taped it on a t-shirt.

I was really pleased w/ my Halloween costume budget this year....$5 for a cowgirl hat.  They had fun and got plenty of candy.  And on Halloween night when I was watching Jake trick-or-treating w/ Sydney and Ryan and his little shoes would light up and he was just so excited, I took a mental picture and just smiled.  He's the perfect age this year.  He understands how it all works, but he's not yet snotty like my older ones, thinking, "Just give me the candy."  He's truly overjoyed w/ each little piece.  And it's sure made him want to do better w/ potty training since there's once again candy in the house that he can get as a reward.  Bonus.

July 4th

For the 4th of July, we went up to our trailer for 5 days.  It was so nice to have 5 days with no phone calls, laundry or video games.  Of course, there was plenty of laundry when we came home.

We had a great time.  Our friends and neighbors, the Tufts, came up, too, along with Tim's parents, Josh and Brittney, Cody and Lindsay, Daniele and Matthew, and Kip and Sabrina.  It was fun to have so many people there.

We went fishing and swimming, and rode the 4 wheeler.  On the 4th, the kids and I painted shirts.  Tim was a party pooper and didn't want to, so note his BSU shirt instead.  We went with Josh and Brittney and their kids to Red Fish Lake and then watched the fireworks in Stanley, then came home the next day.  The kids loved playing on the beach!  Pardon my hair--this was my 4th day w/ no hair dryer or flat iron.  Good thing I wasn't a pioneer!

Easter

Going through the few pictures I took, I'm realizing I have no pictures of Sydney in her Easter dress. I'll make her wear it this week again and take a picture then. She and I went on a girls' night out to shop for it. She's a size 7 now, which means she is no longer grouped with little girls...her size is in the 7-14 "tween" category. Yikes! I helped sway her a little from the more "mature" dresses, but for the most part, she picked it out on her own and I love it. It's black and white and so darling...pics to come soon, hopefully.

This year we went to my sister-in-law Tammy's since her son Daniel was giving his talk before he leaves on his mission. It was fun to have a mini-Bryson-reunion and the kids loved seeing all the cousins. We had an egg hunt, and Jake had such a great time. I had found these great sand buckets at Michael's for a dollar and used my Silhouette to put their names on them...still love that thing!




Sydney going at it.






A Bryson tradition is the silver/gold eggs. They each have a dollar or two hidden in them and are hidden especially well. This year, Sydney found one and it had a gold dollar coin inside. She was so excited!


You can also see that we cut her hair. About a week ago I was cutting the boys' hair when she started begging me to cut hers "short." I told her to think about it for a while and if she still wanted to, then I would. Once that girl makes up her mind, there is no changing it. So now we pretty much look like twins. I think we'll both get A-lines pretty soon...it will be fun for summer.

A little reminder...

Yesterday I was reminded just how amazing my man is. He called in the early afternoon and our conversation went something like this:

T: Hey, you didn't get me anything for Valentine's Day, did you?
C: Don't worry, I didn't get you a gift, so that you don't have to get me anything either, o.k.?
T: Just making sure. Are you o.k.?
C: I'm fine...

Of course, I can't put my tone of voice into this post, but I was a little annoyed after I hung up, thinking, "This is why I don't get him things, so that I won't be disappointed when he shows up w/ nothing and I was thoughtful." I was kind of on my high horse and felt so justified that I hadn't gotten him anything and wouldn't have to have that awkward "Look what I got you...oh, you didn't get me anything...???" awkward moment later in the day.

I did, however, plan an amazing menu of rib eye steaks, baked potatoes, homemade brown bread, salad, and for dessert--homemade chocolate lava cakes w/ ice cream, Magic Shell, and whipped cream. Basically, calorie overload, but whatever...

So as I'm setting the table and getting things ready for our special dinner w/ the kids, he walks in the door from work w/ flowers AND Andes mints--my fav! Be still my heart! I was genuinely surprised! AND he also gave me a card, which he wrote in--which he knows is my favorite thing--AND had put 2 "coupons" inside. (That's 3 "AND"s...)

The first one said "GOOD FOR ONE TEMPLE TRIP WITH YOUR HUSBAND" and had an expiration date of Feb. 12, 2011. Haha--we had gone on Saturday night and then to Olive Garden for our pre-Valentine's Day date.

The second one said "2 tickets to Wicked valid for May 4, 2011 @ 7:30pm." That's right--we're going to see it in May! Uber-excited!!!

So we did have that awkward moment after all, only completely reversed! Talk about feeling like crap! But feeling so fantastic all at the same time! He definitely got me!

So what's the moral of this Love-Day story? That Tim is amazing and the best thing that has ever happened to me. That he can still surprise me after 16 years, and that he just keeps getting better. He really is the perfect person for me. I don't know how I ever tricked him into falling for me, but I don't care. Point is, he's mine. And that couldn't make me happier. And I love that he knows to be afraid of the phrase "I'm fine."

And next year, I will definitely be getting him something amazing. :)

Christmas letter 2010

I meant to post this like 2 weeks ago, but today will have to do. For any of you who did not receive a personal Christmas letter from our family, here is yours. Hope your holiday was great!


Happy Holidays from the Brysons!


What a great year it has been! Some of our favorite memories from this year are lots of camping trips to Grandjean in our trailer, lots of Boise State football games, and just living the dream and enjoying time together as a family. Here's our yearly recap:

Jake turned 2 in September. He is not your typical 2 year old--he is so easy! I hate to actually put that in writing, but it's true! He is a true joy to have around and is learning something new every day. His favorite things are Buzz, Woody, and Mickey Mouse, chocolate milk, nursery, and horses (especially the BSU mascot).

Sydney is 6 and in 1st grade. Her reading is out of control and she loves school. She quit dance lessons this year to take karate instead, which suits her feisty personality to a tee. She is an awesome swimmer and loves to do anything crafty like her mom. She definitely holds her own around all these boys! She can't wait to be old enough to go hunting.

Ryan is 10 and in 5th grade. He is a Webelo in scouts and will be a boy scout next summer. He was elected vice president of his school last month and is in the gifted and talented program. He is also taking karate lessons and is doing fantastic at piano, too. I almost cried with joy when he asked for new piano books for Christmas!

Brandon is 13 now and in 7th grade--we have entered the teenage years! He still gets amazing grades and is a Life scout, so he is working on his Eagle now. He got a guitar for his birthday and has been teaching himself to play. This year he shot his first big game animals--2 antelope and a deer. He's living up to his middle name.

I (Cathy) am just trying to soak up my time with our last little one at home. I have been bitten by the crafting bug lately and have painted several rooms and done some redecorating. I am now the Primary chorister in our ward and that's been fun! I also shot my first deer last week and made my husband proud!

Tim is in his 12th year at Albertsons and still counting the years to retirement… He has had a successful hunting year, the highlight being the mountain goat he shot in October. When he has time, he enjoys working in the garden, college football (big sigh for BSU), and lots of hunting. He is currently serving on the Stake High Council.

We have been truly blessed this year as always and are grateful for family and friends who make life so full of joy! To keep up with our family throughout the year, you can visit our blog at timandcathybryson.blogspot.com. We love you all and wish you the very best!

Love, The Brysons
Tim, Cathy, Brandon, Ryan, Sydney and Jake

My new BFF

Isn't she beautiful?!?! She's called a Silhouette, and Santa delivered her to my door last week. I'll wrap her back up on Christmas Eve and be super-excited on Christmas morning, and even pretend to be shocked and surprised. But until then, I am going to play. :) This is the very first thing I made with her. It took maybe 3 minutes. I changed out the plates on the plate rack in my kitchen with red ones (they were less than $2 each) and printed out JOY and stuck on the vinyl...it was real hard, haha! I love how it turned out, and once Christmas is over, I'm going to put EAT on plates to match my kitchen for the rest of the year. I'm thinking I could do BOO or EEK for Halloween...so many ideas spinning in my head... This pic totally reminds me of how tired I am of my mustard-colored walls, though. They will be changing REAL soon.

Project #2...I cut out snowflakes from white vinyl and stuck them on the glass panes of the office French doors. Again, so easy and so fast. It would have been even easier if I had make one huge snowflake for each door, though. Next year...

This picture is a craft I did before I had a new BFF. It's just an idea I saw online and decided to try. It's a coffee filter wreath, and cost me about $4. I still can't decide where I want to put it, so for now it's on the inside of the front door, but I think it will move to the entryway once I get it repainted...soon!

Project #3 with the Silhouette...new Christmas throw pillows. I only used my machine to cut out the template for my Heat and Bond, but that helped a lot! It was more work than I thought it would be, since I had to sew around each snowflake once I ironed them on to make sure they'll last, but I'm so happy with the results, it was worth it. Especially since I can reuse them year after year.

Here are two pillows on one of the couches. I made 4 total, and I love them. And yet more walls that need painting...I can't believe I was this boring when we built our house...

I have so many more ideas spinning in my head to make with my new BFF, but I also still have wrapping, baking, and last-minute Christmas stuff to do, so I don't know that I'll get to have any more fun with her til after Christmas.

And whoever says happiness doesn't come from a store, they're right...the UPS man brings it to you! Just kidding! Well...mostly, anyway. :)

Halloween '10

Here are the pictures of the kids' Halloween costumes. Brandon originally wasn't going to dress up, but changed his mind last-minute. He made a pretty sweet hippie. Ryan has been begging to be something creepy and scary like the Grim Reaper for years, and I finally gave in. Sydney decided to be Dorothy so she could have some sweet sparkly red shoes in the end. What can I say, she knows how to work it... And Jake was an alligator, just because it was so stinkin' cute...and warm. They had fun at Trunk-or-Treat, and we went around to some friends' houses on Saturday night, too.

Pumpkin crafts

So even w/ reading so much in October, I still found a little time to do a few fall/Halloween-ish crafts. One of my new obsessions is blog-hopping different crafty blogs, and I had to try out a few ideas. My absolute favorites are the glittered pumpkins on my kitchen table. I saw them on Martha Stewart several years ago, and always wanted to do them, but you had to special order her super-fine glitter and it was pretty pricey. Fast-forward a few years...now they sell her glitter at Michael's, and it was 30% off a few weeks ago, so I splurged. I pretty much want to glitter everything in my house now, and I'm already wracking my brain for what Christmas-ey things I can glitter...so many possibilities! And super-fast and easy! Love them! I also copied a few other ideas and made some scrapbook paper pumpkins and fabric pumpkins. They turned out pretty cute. And I love that they will be able to be stored and re-used year after year. And that they're a little different... I also love that they're not Jack-O-Lanterns, so I can keep them out through Thanksgiving. Cause I hate having to change things out...too lazy.

Halloween Sneak-Peek

Can you guess what Little Miss Sassy-Pants is going to be for Halloween?? We saw these shoes at Wal-Mart and she was coveting them, and I suggested she could be Dorothy for Halloween, then we just might have to buy them for her costume. She's no dummy! She realized that she'd end up with some sweet shoes out of the whole deal...so I bought the fabric today and am excited to sew up a cute little dress. She's already talking about how she needs to carry a little basket with one of her stuffed doggies inside. Well, duh!

Easter Sunday

In Bryson family tradition, the Easter Bunny left baskets full of presents for the kiddos. Brandon got a new MP3 player since his old one won't turn on anymore. Sydney got lots of Littlest Pet Shop pets. Ryan has really been wanting a new alarm clock so he can wake himself up in the mornings, and his wish was granted. And Jake got some toy balls and a new book. Mostly he just wanted the Tootsie Pops. :) They had a lot of fun finding all the candy, too.
After the 2nd session of conference, we went out to Grandma's house for dinner and the annual egg hunt. Again, it was pretty cold, but not nearly as bad as the morning before. Again, Jake got like 5 eggs and thought that was fine. Sydney and Ryan, on the other hand, filled their buckets to the top and had a ball! Brandon decided this year to help hide. It's funny to see him older and no longer egg-hunting. Sydney was thrilled to find the "silver egg" that Grandma always provides. It had a $2 bill inside, which she has already spent at the school book fair.

After the hunt, Grandpa brought out 2 lab puppies that they were watching for Uncle Kip. Sydney immediately fell in love with the black one! She begged for the rest of the night for us to let her keep him. She kept saying, "But he loves me!!" She was really trying to work it, but no luck. Hopefully we can breed Molly soon and then she can have her puppy fix for a while.

Ward Easter Hunt

Saturday morning was our ward's Easter egg hunt. It was CRAZY-COLD!!!!! Brandon got to help hide the eggs, and the other kids hunted (picked them up off the ground). Jake couldn't understand what the point was, but he was obedient and put some in his basket. I think he ended up with like 3 or 4 and that was plenty! It lasted about 10 minutes, and we left immediately after to go home and watch Conference.

Sydney all bundled up!

You can tell Ryan's thinking it's just too cold to be outside!

"Mom, can we go home yet???"

Brandon trying to be cool. Haha!

Chirstmas (better late than never...)

So I know I wrote all about making Christmas cookies with my girlie, but I didn't ever put up the pictures, so here are a few. I can sometimes be anal and bossy about how the cookies look and what type of sprinkles need to be used, but every now and then I remember to be the "fun mom" and I relax (I'm working on it, o.k.!). So Santa got some Christmas cookies AND some Valentine's Day cookies. It was so much fun to just have a little Mommy/Daughter time. I love that girl!See how happy she is to have full control of the sprinkles?!?

Here, you can see some of the fruits of our labors. Not that this is the place to brag, but dang, I make amazing sugar cookies! Those of you that have had the pleasure of tasting them know what I'm talking about! Too bad I ate so many...now I have to be more careful and watch the sweets for a while. :(

All my kiddos in their new Christmas Eve jammies waiting upstairs to start our Christmas eve movie, Home Alone. I just love jammie pictures!

One of the hit toys in their stockings: squishy worm-thingys that have flashing different colored lights that go off and on. They're pretty cool!

Sydney Christmas morning with one of many presents: a magnetic doll set--like paper dolls, but without the ripped paper the next day!

All Ryan wanted was a WII game called Mario and Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games. I hope it's as cool as he's been imagining!

Brandon also had video games on the mind. His request: Madden 2010 football.

Jake just wanted to finally be able to rip open some presents without getting in trouble. He was much better at opening Christmas gifts than he was at birthday gifts. Must be all that practice he got in the weeks leading up...let's just say that I had a lot of re-wrapping that took place.

The usual family Christmas morning picture. This year I was smart and put on some make-up first. :) It was a great Christmas. We love to always be in our own house and make our own memories. Tim's parents came over for a nice ham dinner around 1 pm and the kids loved showing off their stuff. They all have plenty to keep themselves busy now!

Christmas Eve

So I just realized that I haven't posted this whole month yet...lame...I've been getting ready for Christmas. I can say that yesterday morning I wrapped my last gift, which is not my usual routine! Most years, I'm up really late on Christmas Eve wrapping stocking stuff and am so tired the next day. I'm excited that tonight we can watch our Christmas movie (Home Alone) in our p.j.'s and go to bed at a normal time and hopefully be un-crabby tomorrow morning. :)

Today the kids and I made our cookies for Santa and they each wrote their letters to Santa (Uncle Ray, also known as Satan Claus, haha). Sydney is at such a cute age this year and loved putting the sprinkles on the cookies. It would have been so great if I had thought to take pictures, but alas, I did not--we were too busy having fun!

On Monday, Jake and I are heading to Texas for my family's reunion, for 5 days. I'm so excited to see all my siblings and the parentals. The only bummer is that Tim has all of next week off with the kids, and I will miss almost the whole thing. I wish I weren't missing his time at home. But it will be so nice not to have to worry about the older 3 while Jake and I are away.

Since I still haven't gotten my cards/letters in the mail and won't until after Christmas, here is a copy of our Family Christmas letter for 2009. Consider yourselves informed and loved! And for all of my family, I'm hand-delivering your letters on Monday...doesn't that make you feel special?!?!?


It doesn’t seem right that it’s already time to write another Christmas letter. Didn’t I just do that?!? To say that this year has flown by is an understatement. We have had many adventures, good times, and blessings. It’s good to take some time and list them and remember to be grateful. Our biggest family adventure was a week-long trip to Disneyland and San Diego in July. We had a great time and were grateful to Cathy’s mom for keeping Jake—he can come next time.

Tim had a memorable year this year, finally drawing for a bighorn sheep hunt in August. He trained for months and still wore himself out on the hike up the mountain, but made memories to last a lifetime, even though he was unable to find a ram. Maybe next time. Last month he was released from the bishopric (on his birthday, haha) and was called to serve on the Stake high council, where he’s still trying to learn the ropes.

Cathy spent most of the year trying to keep up with the four kids. They keep her busier than ever, but in the small amount of spare time she had, she enjoyed re-joining her singing group, where she played piano, sang, and sewed many, many costumes. She also helps in Sydney’s class each week and loves watching the kids in their many different sports. She is the Primary secretary in church right now.

Brandon is 12 now! He received the priesthood last month and is so happy to be out of Primary! He also started middle school this fall, which he says is SO much better than elementary school. He played basketball and football again this year (football is still his favorite). He also enjoys hunting with his dad and shot another turkey this spring. He is now old enough to hunt big game, but couldn’t find a deer this year. He just earned his Star rank in boy Scouts and is well on his way to Eagle Scout.

Ryan is 9 years old and in the 4th grade. Last May, he won a brand new dirt bike for perfect attendance and good scores on his state testing. He was thrilled and has gotten a lot of use out of that bike. He played baseball and basketball this year and says basketball is his favorite. He still loves his video games and is a great help with the baby. He earned his Wolf badge in cub scouts and is working on his Bear.

Sydney is 5 and started kindergarten in August. She loves going to school like her older brothers and has become an awesome reader in such a short amount of time. This spring she took tumbling and dance, and her favorite part was being able to wear make-up for the recital…she’s going to be a handful one day! She loves playing with her friends and rides her little bike all over the neighborhood. She learned how to ride without training wheels before her 5th birthday (much sooner than her brothers did).

Jake will be 15 months old at the end of the month, and has been the cutest addition to our family! He started walking about a month ago and now thinks it’s time to run. He loves music and sings along and dances to it. We call him Ry-Ry all the time, because he reminds us so much of how Ryan looked as a baby. He definitely completes our family and we’re so glad to have him.

Best wishes to all of you and we hope to see you or hear from you soon.

All our love, Tim, Cathy, Brandon, Ryan, Sydney, and Jake Bryson

Costumes and Candy and Treats, oh my!

Well, we did it. We carved our pumpkins. dressed up the kids, went to the church party, and went trick-or-treating. Ta-da! No, really, it was fun. I never liked dressing up as a kid, but I love getting my kids to do it! It was a fun year and even Brandon decided to dress up one last time after a long debate (he thought he was too old and cool, but I think the promise of all that candy is what changed his mind...). Ryan decided he wanted to be a mummy this year. I bought some old sheets, dyed them with tea, and ripped them into strips. It took a good half hour to get him all wrapped up! But he looked so cute...until he started moving. This picture is before our party at church. He looked much different after he played at the party....so the next night for trick-or-treating, he went as a basketball player instead. That was fine with me...no more half hour of wrapping him in sheets...

Since Sydney had her Minnie Mouse ears from Disneyland, I was able to convince her to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween this year. I made her little red dress which I love. This girl is just so cute....I love that I get to make her little dresses and that she is so girly. And I love her little black mouse nose. :)

Brandon decided kind-of last minute that he did indeed want to dress up after all, so I told him it was too late for me to come up with something cool. So he was a BSU football player. We already had everything he needed for that costume. :)

For trick-or-treating, I took the older 3 kids around the neighborhood on the 4-wheeler. Tim stayed home and watched football with Jake. I have a little bit of 4-wheeler-phobia, so Tim kept saying, "YOU"RE going to take them?!?!?" A little annoying, but whatever. True, I don't really like driving the thing on a mountain side, but around the block was o.k.

And now, here's Jake--our little turtle, Crush. As you can see, he LOVED wearing his costume. I think in total, he maybe had it on for 10 minutes or so. This was me trying to get a side-view so you could see the back. It was the cutest thing!

Here's him saying. "Can we be done now?"

"O.K. How about if I smile really cute, then can we be done??"

"O.K. Seriously, if you're not going to get this thing off of me, then I'll just have to do it myself."

Then Ryan made him laugh and we got one more cute pic before he went ballistic again. I can't wait til next year when he can go trick-or-treating and get the full experience!