Chewie, Gooey, Ghoulsy, Cutesy (and we survived it all)

Well, another Halloween has come and gone, and I'm happy to report we have survived yet again.  I'll admit, things weren't quite as put together this year as they've been in years past.  I don't know, maybe it was having two kids in fall sports, maybe it was Duke's travel schedule, maybe I'm just getting old and tired.  But in the end, the kids had fun and that's pretty much all that counts, right?

A good portion of the week leading up to Halloween was spent baking cookies:  4 dozen undecorated cookies for Delila's party at Infinite Bounds; and 4 dozen decorated cookies for Jake's soccer team.  The kids love helping make cookies, so I thought it would be a fun thing to do together.  Two failed batches and a very messy kitchen later, I realized the error of my ways.  So...I turned them loose with their own cookie and some decorating supplies.  I'm brilliant like that!

Good, not-so-clean fun in the making!

 Seriously, can you ever have too much goopy green frosting?

I mean, how else will you get all the sprinkles to stick?  Hmmm, it still needs a little...something.

Oh!  I know!  A little black frosting!!  Perfect!!

Now for the real dilemma:  where to start....

Oh yeah!  Right here!!

We don't worry if things get a little drippy...

...because it's finger-lickin' good!

The frightful festivities were in full swing by Friday night.  We had tickets to the Dallas Mavericks' basketball game.  Kids were encouraged to dress up and were rewarded with all kinds of goodies prior to tip-off. 

Delila's decision to dress as a "magical pink unicorn" worked to our favor. She stole the show and got the whole family moved down to courtside seats. And of course, the Maverick's mascot, Champ had to stop by to see who was stealing all his thunder. Yes, our little lady made it on the Jumbotron that night.

Jake originally wanted to be a penguin for Halloween - probably because we had so much fun watching them on our trip to the Baltimore and Dallas World Aquariums this summer.  But since I wasn't up to figuring out how to make a penguin costume that he could easily walk the neighborhood in, he figured dressing up as a Zombie Football Player was good enough for him.  Let's face it, if it has anything at all to do with football, it's pretty much OK with Jake.

He was looking pretty scary once the makeup was complete.

Here he is, a Zombie Dallas Cowboy rising from the grave.  Hmmm...maybe that's the problem with the Cowboys this year...zombies.  (Oh, and don't worry.  Jake's not rooting for the Cowboys.  His heart still belongs to Pittsburgh.)

Although Halloween was on a school night this year, we stuck to our tradition of gathering with a handful of neighborhood friends to snack and get dressed.

Here's Lila, suiting up under the careful supervision of Katie the Terminally Cute Witch.

Yep, I'm pretty sure that tail belongs on the back.

Hats on!

And the BFFs are ready to go!!  (That's Best Friends Forever, for our non-texting readers - you know who you are.)

And they're off!  Trick or treat!!

As is also the tradition, good friend Karen helped me hold down the fort and dole out treats.  It was a great time.  The only thing that will 'haunt' me - other than Jake's peeling face, of course - is that I didn't get a group picture.  We were pretty disorganized, and it makes me sad that that moment's gone forever.  But that's the only real regret.  The week was a hectic good time.  Fun was had and the treats were plentiful.  In the end, the kids were home in time for baths and went to bed dreaming and scheming of Halloweens to come.  Of course, I'll be having nightmares about the ghoulish mess I have to clean up tomorrow.  But it was a good time and we all survived...and that's all that really matters.

Jake Turns 6 in a BIG Way

Well, we had a birthday in our house recently.  Jake turned 6! And true to form, we celebrated in a BIG way.

The first fantastic thing that happened was that Mimi & Bubba flew in for the momentous occasion.  They got into town in time to greet Jake after school.

There was a big surprise waiting for Jake after school.  While he was busy learning stuff, all the grown ups were busy giving his room a new Big Boy look.

Think he liked it?  Judging by that grin on his face, I'd say it was a successful redo.

Jake actually knew his room was getting painted.  He helped pick out the colors.  He wanted all the walls painted yellow - since that's his favorite color and all.  But, as our painter reminded us...a little yellow goes a long way.  It took a little convincing, but eventually Jake gave in to the idea of a nice sunshiney yellow behind his bed and a nice sky blue for the rest of the walls.

The walls were hung with art, shelves, & sports memorabilia of all kinds. No doubt about it, it's a boys room.

Of course, we had to include plenty of space for all of his trophies.

For his birthday dinner, Jake requested a "healthy meal" of tilapia and broccoli.  (Can I just say how proud I am of my  kid's fantastic relationship with healthy food?!)  This was followed by one of everybody's favorite desserts - Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie.  Mmmm, mmmm, GOOD!!  Actually, it's not one of Bubba's favorites, but he managed to choke down a piece anyway.  Thanks for making the sacrifice, Bubba.  I know it wasn't easy.

Then...finally...on to the moment he'd been waiting for all week.  The PRESENTS!!  Actually, he'd been patiently been waiting to open this particular gift for about a month.  The present in this picture is from Jake's best friend Lukas who lives in Germany.  His dad brought it over earlier in the month, and poor Jake had been staring at it for what I'm sure seemed like forever.

It's no surprise that it was the first one he went for.

Legos!!  A sure-fire hit!!

And a special surprise in the bottom of the bag...a new beer cap to add to his collection!

The rest of the presents from the family stuck to a familiar and favorite Jake theme...football.  A new University of Texas football jersey...

...a Jerome Bettis figure...

...and the piece de resistance...a Pittsburgh Steelers football field floor mat!  Oh!  Let me die and go to heaven right now!!  Could it possibly get any better than this?  Why yes it could, but you've got to come back tomorrow to see just how much better!

A Perfectly Perfect Father's Day

It's Father's Day, and you know what that means...FOOTBALL!!  Huh?  Yep, the Bond family love affair with football continues - spearheaded by Jake, of course.  (Honestly, I don't know how crazy it's gonna get around here once Jake actually starts to play football which will probably be this fall - so hold on to your hats folks.  Or should I say hold on to your helmets?)

I like letting the kids pick out the gifts they want to give their Dad.  While the gifts may not be exactly what a Dad always dreamed of getting, at least they're authentic and from the heart.  As usual, Jake knew the "perfectly perfect" gift for Duke.  He swore me to secrecy and I dutifully swore I wouldn't say a word to ruin the surprise.

Delila also knew exactly what her Daddy would like for Father's Day.  She also swore me to secrecy.  And while I'm committed to letting the kiddos pick out their own gifts, well...

...I really felt our little Ladybug could use a little coaching this time around.  I wasn't convinced that Star Song from the My Little Pony gang was really the perfectly perfect gift she was thinking it'd be.

I stumbled upon what I thought to be the perfectly perfect little something for Duke when we were in Galveston. 
 
So, just what were these perfectly perfect gifts?
 

To Daddy:  Love, Jake

A Washington Redskins Football Helmet

To Daddy: Love, Delila

A Dallas Cowboys Football Helmet

To a sometimes crabby Duke:  Love, an almost always crabby Denise

A crabby business card holder

As for celebrating the day:  we all slept in a little, had cold cereal for breakfast (per Dad's request), we went to see Marmaduke at the movies (a little scary for Lila), had grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch (even though it's 97 degrees outside), and then took naps.  The day's not over, but I'm pretty sure the rest of it will be low key and relaxed.  In other words, a perfectly perfect day.