Happy Halloween!

We had lunch with Becky and Mandy (at work) today.  Judson refused to put on his costume until candy was visible.  Then a little box of "Nerds" did the trick.  The costume went on and stayed on.  I had recently told someone that there was about a 99% chance that it would never go on.  (He'd refused to put any of it on until lunchtime today.)  Needless to say, I'm pretty thrilled.  :) 

We haven't done anything for Halloween up until this point (Judson's always refused to wear a costume), but dressing up is so much fun!  Next year I'll have to get in on the action, I suppose.  Tonight we're off to Corvallis to go to Calvary Chapel Corvallis' big harvest carnival at the fairgrounds with Josh and Crystal Nelson and their two kids.  We're looking forward to it, and hopefully I'll have some more pictures to post.

In terms of costumes, I'd tried to get Judson to pick a different one (at Costco...they have the neatest costumes!).  But the sword was just too enticing.  I've got to admit, he's the cutest little knight in shining armor I've ever seen.  And the ladybug?  OH. MY. GOODNESS.

Reading "Ladybug Girl," of course! :)

The first picture of the costume.  I had to snap it fast.  I figured he'd want it off as soon as he got the candy.  Was I ever surprised that he wore it until naptime!

More Colorado pictures...

Here are a few more pictures from my mom's camera.

Judson was the first person (since Fleeta's owned her house) to try out the big jacuzzi tub in her room.

We went on a walk along the Arkansas River the last night we were there.  I had the brilliant idea to let Judson throw rocks in the river.  Both kids were instantly covered in mud.  Ugh.  I figured it was appropriate, though, since Fleeta has seen so many pictures of muddy kids on here.  Now she knows first-hand how quickly it can happen.  :)

Desperately trying to escape my arms...

Somehow he had mud on his back...and you should have seen his shoes!

The Robot Party

We had Judson's party this afternoon and I'm already blogging about it!  There are two reasons for this.  I'm avoiding the clean up and I took so few pictures that it won't take long.  :)  (Really, though, I'm sad I didn't get more pictures.  It's just so crazy once things are in full swing.)

After Cooper's multiple parties, I was a little burned out on party planning.  Judson had been requesting a robot cake for about six months, and I had confirmed with Bridgett that we were both planning on the same day, so I was pretty content to let the cake be it.  Well, actually, I wanted to do a little more, but only if it didn't require much time or effort.  :)

Thankfully I found a huge sheet of adorable robot stickers (as opposed to Transformer-type robots) at Dollar Tree yesterday.  Judson and I made "Robot Fuel" out of juice pouches.  It was fun and he thought they were SO COOL.  :)  That's really all that mattered to me.

The party went well.  I was a little apprehensive, because it's so many people to cram into our tiny house (seventeen adults and seven kids).  We encouraged the kids to play in Judson's and Cooper's bedrooms, which kept a little of the chaos out of the living room.  I had wrapped a coloring/activity book for each guest child (in cute robot paper :) to open while Judson opened his gifts, and that worked really well.

As usual, Bridgett's cake was perfect. The pictures turned out well, but it was even cuter in person.

All in all, the party was a huge success.  Judson had lots of fun, and we were once again blessed to be surrounded by so many people who love him (and the rest of us, too)!

We put the extra stickers on the cups for the adults.

How cute is he?!?!  You can't tell, but he had one blinking light on his head and three down his body (in the yellow and black circles).  The lights alternated colors and speeds, so it really was very robot-like.  Everyone was once again amazed by Bridgett's talent!

Excuse the food on her face.  I have to document the new face she makes when she spots the camera.  :)

This was during the birthday song.  The poor guy was not a big fan of all the attention, but he handled it well.

In addition to the cake, he helped himself to one of the robot's arms that had fallen off. 

The birthday boy

I have a number of posts to do (surprise!), but will just leave you with a few pictures from today...
 

Special birthday breakfast: scrambled eggs, pear, and a sprinkled donut (with BEAVER sprinkles! :)

Testing out his present from us...yay for a break in the rain!

What do you think?  Does he like it?  :)

When Cooper got tired of being pushed around in the other (baby) trike, I plopped her in the "trailer."  Both of them were thrilled.  Don't mind her goofy outfit.  It was a hand-me-down I almost gave away, but then decided to keep for just this purpose.  :)

Our trip to Colorado

My kids and I spent nine days in Colorado with Fleeta at the end of September.  We were there long enough for her to really get to know Judson and Cooper, and we had such a special time.

Our travel days were long and exhausting, but went almost as smoothly as they possibly could.  I was VERY thankful to have my mom with us.  Yes, our original seats were all separated, but Judson and my mom were eventually seated together.  Cooper and I were placed in the middle seat, but we ended up next to an elderly lady who'd raised eight kids and a man who volunteered to sit in front of Judson so we could have more room.  We also had to run through the Denver airport to get to our gate because it was SO FAR from the other one.  But we made it and the kids help up so well.

Here are some pictures of our time together.  (Highlights included two days with Jack and Donna, dinner with my cousin and his family, a train ride, a walk along the Arkansas River with the leaves just starting to turn, and lots of games and chatting.)

Most people who read this blog have probably heard me talk about Fleeta at some point, but it's worth repeating.  She is such a godly example to me.  Despite incredibly hard circumstances (namely, being paralyzed from the chest down for fifteen years), she spends her days praising God for EVERY. LITTLE. THING, praying for others, and being joyful.  It is so much fun to spend time with her, and I sure wish that we lived in the same town.  (If you like reading this blog, you have her to thank.  She is the reason that I keep it as up to date as I do.  :)

These pictures aren't great.  I just had my little camera with me, for obvious reasons.  Without further ado...

In Portland, waiting for our adventure to begin.  Apparently I didn't get a picture of all of our luggage (including, of course, two carseats).  Darn.

This girl loves jewelry!  This particular necklace and bracelet combo were made by Kate, Fleeta's granddaughter, about ten years ago.

Ready for our train ride out to overlook the Royal Gorge.  This little train had run for over fifty years, but was shutting down for good the day after we were there.  Sad.  (We also rode it with Anna and Macy in May 2011.)

It was a three mile round trip and PERFECT for our little train lover.  He's always been a fan, but lately trains have been decidedly at the top of his list of favorites.

Royal Gorge Bridge

It was pretty much straight down...

Emma (13) and Kate (16), my cousin's kids.  Their older brother, True, somehow managed to avoid my camera (not on purpose).  My kids loved all three of the "big kids."  Kate may end up at Corban University in Salem and we sure hope she does!

In my cousin's backyard, visiting their very interesting chickens and Emma's rabbit, Pigpen.  He was interesting too.  He survived a bear attack this summer.  No kidding.  He was in a hutch at their friends' house while Jeff and his family traveled around doing summer camps with Worldview Academy.  The bear dragged the hutch until he got it open and then carried the bunny away by the scruff of his neck.  Somehow he escaped and showed back up the next night.

Can you see the feathers on the chickens' heads?  It was impossible to see their eyes.  So strange.

Such a cute rabbit!

Fleeta had this little wooden train, and Judson spent hours playing with it.  It was especially fun to take up and down Fleeta's wheelchair ramp.  We also found a little battery-powered train at Goodwill for $4.99 (came with a seven-day warranty :).  In this picture, Judson had carefully balanced the little train on the wooden one.

Judson loved to help Fleeta.  Here he is cleaning her chair.

Eight strands of necklace for one dollar.  Best dollar I've spent in a long time.  (She puts them on herself and wears them until I take them off at naptime/bedtime.  It's quite entertaining.)

He intently studied the safety card for a very long time.

The rest of our adventures were documented on my mom's camera.  I'll try to get those pictures on here at some point.