'Tis party time...

It was finally time for Rylan's Pirate Party (after over a month of talking about it and trying to get him as excited as I was for it). It was so much work, I cannot even describe the type of exhausted I am. But it was worth it because Rylan had fun and I really think the other (12) kids did as well. It was not-so-organized chaos. I tried to keep it all under control but we had our moments. Good thing there were mothers and my in-laws there helping out.

Well, all good parties have cakes--and boy did this have a cake. I had wanted to try rolled fondant for some time so I decided to use this opportunity. I learned a lot (mostly I learned that I absolutely hate rolled fondant now) and luckily I had some much needed help from my friend Vickey when it came time to work with it. Here is the finished product:


The basement was decorated in a pirate ship theme and the decorations really transformed our basement. The wall mural was awesome and it was so simple to work with. It was definitely worth every penny. Thank goodness for Oriental Trading Co.!!! I decorated the night before the party when rylan went to bed (yes, I was up most of the night) so that when he woke up the next morning it was all a huge surprise. He didn't really know what to think. Once everyone came and we had so many people in the room, it was really quite a party. Here are a few of the videos of the day...

The reveal:



The fun begins:



The big present:



In the end, I will say that although it was worth all the work, it is not a once a year thing. Maybe every other year? Hmmm, we'll see. I do know we are planning on a water/pool party in the summer. I think having a party outside will be good--lots of room for the noise to go.

What a pile of .... leaves

So yesterday I decided to go out front and rake up some leaves. Rylan was outside "helping" and it was the perfect opportunity for him to have a little fall fun. So the little boy from across the street and his mom came over and the boys had a ball playing in the HUGE pile of leaves. Thought I would share in the fun.


Here is what I walked in to see the other day. This is how he fell asleep on the couch. He is such an angel...when he's asleep :).
Okay, to be fair to Aaden, here are a few cuties of him as well.

Trunk-or-Treat

Last night was the annual trunk-or-treat at our church. Rylan and I had made the finishing touches to his costume a few days ago and he has been waiting (not-so) patiently to wear it. I really didn't think he would wear it for very long but he actually wore it the whole time. He looked so great. I know I'm a little biased, but I think he was the cutest one there. I will say, there were some pretty cute costumes. My favorite being the home-made ones. We still have the neighborhood trick-0r-treat tomorrow and then weather-permitting we will go to Nauvoo for their big Halloween thing on Saturday. I really hope the weather is good because every year I want to go to Nauvoo because I've heard it is so much fun, but every year something happens and we can't go. So keep you fingers crossed!

Anyway, here is a picture of me and my boys (don't mind my frazzled looks--I haven't been feeling super well lately).

Isn't my husband handsome?

Also a few video's. I never get over how at home Rylan seems like such a big boy but when we get around other kids, he still seems so small and sweet. He was really excited to play all the games, and then especially for the candy. The first video is very funny because he is playing the game and then he just randomly starts laughing for no reason. It was great.

Thank You Kiki!

Sorry about the dog whining in the background.


Translation: "Thanks aunt Kiki, I lub you."

Here is my amateur attempt at restoring some old photos of my dad, uncle Bruce, and Grandpa Bill. I think Aaden looks so much like my dad (the smaller guy). What do you think?