A Tale of Four Cousins

We made a quick trip to Houston recently to visit some of our favorite cousins.  Since Stella had been in the car since 6 a.m. by the time we got there, we had to find a place to let off some steam.  Here's Savanah, ready for action...

What's it gonna take? TEAMWORK!  Damon and the kids ganged up on this whack-a-mole game...

Cheesy smiles and cheesy pizza...

Is this a good looking mother-son duo or what? 

Good genes just run in our family...

Cille got her first picture with Jamie...

And Jessica...

Stella learned early...just give the tickets to Savanah...

They are so happy together!  Let's move to Houston and do this all the time!

Darren has outgrown the space rocket already, but still dreams of being an astronaut...(actually, I made that up, but maybe)

Giddy-up! Savanah gives Stella some riding lessons, Texas style...

While all this fun was going on, Cille was busy, too...

As our mothers did before me, I forced the four kids to pose for a group photo.  The one that can't walk and the older two were much more cooperative than Stella...

Darren is thinking, "Yup.  It's a baby."

I can't remember what bribe I used to get Stella in the shot...

Savanah: still loving the lense.  Darren, Cille, and Stella: OVER IT...

By the time we made it to the hotel room these three were all tuckered out...

If you count REALLY big kids, this post should be entitled "A Tale of Seven Cousins," and we could even stretch it to eight if we're not picky about blood.  We had a fabulous time with the family that we were able to see, and don't worry if we missed you...we'll catch you next time!

Overboard Halloween, Part Trois

This is the last Halloween post, I promise! Stella was so polite. In this photo she is thanking one of our neighbors for her candy...

Missy and I living the glamorous mommy life...

We made it back to Stella's house and she is so excited about it!

Grandma Tonie was on candy duty at our house.  I was going to try to crop the weedy bush out of this picture, but the truth is that when you are sewing pumpkin carriages with Prince Charming all afternoon, a few things (like proper lawn maintenance)  simply fall through the cracks...

After making it home, Stella was kind enough to pass out some candy to other trick-or-treaters...

She also wanted to take some pictures with Princess Jamie, since she missed out on that earlier.  I think she's making that face because she has a dot in her mouth.  She informed me immediately after this photo that she does not like dots...

Three princesses...

Four princesses...

Add an overworked Fairy Godmother and a Charming Prince...

Molly and Stella had fun waiting for more kids to come to the door...

And our final group photo of Halloween 2010, complete with candy in Stella's mouth...

And we all lived happily ever after!

"Pumpkin Patch"

Those of you who follow Damon's Tweets may remember the following:

Stella's "school" is "visiting" a "pumpkin patch" today. @eraney03 was kind enough to share this pic with me. http://yfrog.com/evb4mhj
9:27 AM Oct 28th via Twitter for iPhone

The reason that Damon used so many quotes is probably best explained by just reading this post by our friend, Emily (aka @eraney03 on Twitter).

Overboard Halloween, Part Two

If you though Halloween was over after my last ridiculously photo-laden post, you were sadly mistaken.  Here's more of my sweet little pea...

Family of four living the fairytale life...with a Cinderella who is really fond of corn but not so fond of having her picture taken...

Told you Stella ripped off the peas...

Setting off to get some candy...

Wait, maybe we should go this way...

In our rush to make it to the other side of the neighborhood and start trick-or-treating, we almost left one of our princesses!  This was Jamie's second year to trick-or-treat with us (where was she the first year, when I needed someone to help carry around a 20 pound kangaroo?!)  and she cheated.  When she was told she had to dress as a princess, she borrowed a costume from a real princess and upstaged us all...

Jamie's not really fond of having her picture taken, so since she was letting me, I took lots.  If you would like some copies, let me know...

We did finally make it to the Millets', our rendezvous point for trick-or-treating fun.  Mawmaw Shirley drove Cille's carriage...

Hey, Good Lookin'!  Whatcha got cookin'?  Why, nothing but the cutest little burger EVER!

Stella did eventually remember that she had to pick up her dress to keep from tripping...

Our friend Katelyn was precious as Princess Dora...

Our group's assault on one neighborhood home...

What a precious pumpkin Lora was! 

We also discovered that at least one dentist has a very close relationship with the tooth fairy...

Belle, a.k.a. Molly Jane, joined Cinderella in her pumpkin...

Chef Raney, Salt-n-Peppa, the other Chef Raney, and the best looking hamburger on the block...

Halloween can really wear you out...

But the fun is not over yet! There's still ONE MORE POST!

Happy Halloween! (or Going Overboard, Part 1)

A couple of months ago, I came up with an idea for the girls' Halloween costumes. I wanted them to coordinate, and when we got a costume catalog in the mail, it quickly became obvious that Stella wanted to be a princess. Any princess. She wanted to be every princess available, so I decided that I would help her make the decision. I chose Cinderella because she looks most like Cinderella with her "beautiful blonde hair" (her words) and because that was one of her first favorite movies. I decided that since Stella was being a princess, Cille could be a pea. Hence, our Halloween theme: "The Princess and the Pea." At the last minute, Damon decided that we all needed to participate in the dressing up, and hilarity ensued. All of the costumes except Cille's were centered around the Cinderella theme. I felt bad about this, and thought briefly about letting her be a black cat again and saying she was "Lucifer" from the movie, but seriously, what would I tell her when she grows up? "For your first Halloween we dressed your sister as a princess and you as a foul-tempered cat named after the Prince of Darkness?" Nuh-uh. Cille stuck with dressing as my sweet little pea...

It is Halloween tradition to put on our costumes early and pose for pictures in the yard with various fall-themed items...

The peas on Cille's pea in the pod costume didn't hold up so well.  After the first one fell off, Stella was happy to permanently remove the other two for her sister...

Aren't they precious?

And of course, Cinderella has to have proper transportation to the ball.  Damon, Emily, and I spent the afternoon turning our Radio Flyer into a pumpkin carriage.  Cute, huh?  It's also reusable, so look for this conveyance to make several more appearances on the blog...

Since I said we all dressed up, I'm sure you have been wondering about the rest of the costumes.  Well, Stella needed someone to help her get ready for the ball, and Mawmaw was happy to be her Fairy Godmother.  Little did she know that this job would include hair and make-up duty for a very bouncy two year old...

Cille's first Halloween...

Such a happy little legume!

Cinderella was pretty pumped, too...

Mawmaw putting the finishing touches on Cinderella's pumpkin.  Prince Daddy Charming didn't get the memo that he was supposed to wait at the ball for Cinderella...

What's that over there?

One of the neighborhood dogs heard we had a Fairy Godmother and wanted to know if she could turn him into a footman like Bruno in the movie...

He really wanted a ride in that pumpkin...

Cinderella politely declined his services.  Her exact words were, "No, yucky puppy.  Get away.  You are stinky!"

My costume was also Cinderella.  Or the ugly stepsister.  Whatever...

Pawpaw was the king, which fit, because much like the King in the movie, he is all about the grandkids...

See?

Group photo time!

If you thought that was great, brace yourself. More Halloween fun to come!