gators basketball get-away

Being the huge Gators fan that he is, when Bart found out that their basketball team was going to play in the same state that we live in, he knew that for his birthday, all he wanted was tickets to the game.  So, a few weeks ago, we drove the 2 1/2 hours to Madison to go cheer on our team!  Bart's mom was kind enough to watch all three kids for us so that we could go.  This was the first time that we had left Krew overnight, which means that we haven't had a night away in over 2 years.  It was way overdue.

Once we got to our hotel, we got all dressed up in orange and blue, including blue hair streaks, tattoos, etc.  

P.S. Bart is participating in Movember, or No Shave November.  Can you tell?

Anyway, we first headed to our favorite burger place for dinner before the game.  It became apparent quickly that this is where everyone goes before the game, because it was crowded!  There were a lot of Badger fans in there, and since it was easy to see that we were there to cheer for the opposing team, we did get a lot of stares, and a few cheeky comments.  

 After our yummy meal, we headed to the game.  It was so exciting to see the Gators in person.  We went to a lot of Gator athletic events when we lived in Gainesville, but it has been a long time.  We never were able to go to a basketball game while we were there though, because tickets were impossible to get.  I guess that's what happens when the season ends with the second national championship in a row!

 We didn't have great seats, but it didn't matter.

 It was a weird experience cheering for the visiting team. I was a cheerleader in high school, so I guess it's in my nature to enjoy all the hype as the team comes out, and as they introduce the players, and all the fanfare that goes with that.  Well, they don't do anything like that for the visiting team, so it felt a bit odd.  But it was fun once the game started because, while I didn't cheer with the entire crowd when the Badgers scored, when the Gators gave us something to cheer about, you could hear all the individual pockets of Gator fans all over the arena.  And, at the beginning of the game, there was lots for us to cheer for!

 We didn't win, but we kept it close the entire time.  With three of our starters suspended and not there, we didn't expect much, so we were pleased that it was at least an exciting game.  And next time we will win!

 After the game, we found a frozen yogurt place that was still open at 10:30 (that seems so late.  I don't remember the last time we were out at 10:30.  Our 8:00 "curfew" puts such a damper on our social life :)).  It was such a great date, and I had so much fun with my best friend, doing something fun that we don't get to do very often.  Oh yeah, and Go Gators!

november randomness

November is always a weird month for me.  I feel like I spend most of the month trying to decide if I want to dive right into the Christmas craziness so that December will be a bit slower paced, or if I want to enjoy things being a bit less busy, knowing that no matter what I do in November, December will always be its fun, busy, stressful, happy, magical time of year!

Here are some pictures of a few of the things we have done so far this month.

For just a few days, as part of the promotional tour for the DVD release of Man of Steel, all of the Superman costumes from the past movies and TV shows came to town.  It was fun to see the original (Christopher Reeve) costume, the way I remember Superman, and all the changes that have been made up until the most recent suit.  Some of the changes are subtle, some not so much.

Another thing we discovered in November: when Krew is going crazy, and can't express what it is that he wants, placing him up above the mantle calms him down.  I'm not sure what about the experience does it, perhaps it's just a little bit scary, so he doesn't want to make any sudden moves, and it's a little bit awesome so he forgets why he was upset, but it has worked several times.  The only problem is that this parenting technique can only be used by Bart, because I am not nearly tall enough to lift him up that high.  (And before you call CPS, Bart stays right there, so there is no danger of Krew falling and getting hurt.  You can relax now).

halloween bonus post

Several weeks before Halloween, we took the kids to a Halloween fest at Lambeau.  We need to get as much use out of their costumes as we can right?  Well, Krew's costume wasn't quite done yet, plus I thought it would be cute for all three of my boys to dress like superheroes together.  It was.  

Krew was not happy about wearing his costume, but you'd never know it by looking at these pictures.  He's the cutest, isn't he?  I knew it.

He was upset enough about wearing his costume, we weren't even going to attempt to put the mask on.  But he did wear it for about .036 seconds when we got home, which was exactly long enough to snap this picture.

halloween 2013

I love Halloween so much!  I love all the fun decorations, I love how excited my kids get about picking their costume, I love making costumes, I love Halloween parties, and I love Halloween candy!

Kade and Ky started talking about what they wanted to be for Halloween sometime around June.  Of course they changed their minds several times, but they talked about it a lot over the past several months.  Krew decided what he wanted to be in September, even before I think he grasped the concept of what it means to "be something" for Halloween.

Kade went with the mighty Thor.  My favorite part was the fact that he took Thor's hammer very seriously.  He would sometimes ask something like, "Hey mom, can you go get my hammer for me?"  Before I could answer he would say, "Oh wait!  Never mind.  It's too heavy for anyone but Thor to pick up.  I'll go get it!"

Ky was set on being Iron Patriot.  Even after he saw (most of) Iron Man 3 and decided it was a bit too scary   He still insisted on this costume.

When did he start looking so grown up?!

These two are best friends.  Being a mom to twin boys is such an amazing thing, and I love, love, love watching them grow up together!

Krew was the cutest minion ever!  Back in the summer, the boys would watch the preview for Despicable Me 2 a lot, and Krew would watch with them.  On one of the previews, one of the minions is acting like a fire truck and says "Beedo, beedo, beedo."  Krew thought this was hilarious, started calling minions "beedos" and since they were everywhere at the time with the new movie out, he loved pointing them all out. So, he decided early on that he wanted to be a "beedo" for Halloween!

He also decided that daddy should be Mr. Gru.  So he was.  I wanted to get in on the theme, so I put together this costume for Edith. Luckily there were lots of ideas online for homemade Despicable Me cosutmes. I think they turned out pretty awesome!

The weekend before Halloween, we went to the Trunk or Treat at church.

Kade and Ky found some of their friends, most of whom were super heroes too.  Of course.

For Family Home Evening the Monday before Halloween, we carved pumpkins.  Kade's is Sulley, Bart's is a mustache man, and Ky's is Perry the Platypus.

The boys aren't allowed to wear costumes to school, which I think is ridiculous, because that was one of my favorite things when I was in elementary school.  It's Halloween for crying out loud.  Let them have a party!  Okay, rant over.  Any way, they did get to wear these funny Halloween shirts I made last year.

After Bart got home from work, we headed out to go trick-or-treating.  The only problem was that it was raining.  It had been raining all day and I kept hoping that it would stop, but it didn't until much later.  But, the upside was that it was so warm!  Even though we had to carry umbrellas, and my feet got wet, and so did some of our candy, we decided that we would take rain over bitter cold and windy (like we have most years here) any day.

So, Krew had decided early in the month, that he did not like costumes.  At. All.  I told him we were going to put on our costumes and go get candy, so all day he kept telling me that he did not like costumes, and that he did not want any candy.  As we were getting ready to leave, I was putting his costume on him, while he screamed.  I wanted him to at least give trick-or-treating a try!  He stopped screaming when we went outside and he saw all the worms on the driveway.  He was so excited to point out all the worms, that he forgot all about his costume.  Then after we had been to a few houses (pointing out all the worms on the way) he decided he liked the whole free candy thing.

In fact, Ky and Kade were ready to be done before Krew was.  Even as his bucket got heavy, and he was having a hard time walking in his rain boots, he still insisted on carrying his bucket himself, and he kept asking if we could go "trick-or-treating more?"

He absolutely loved it, and was so much fun to watch.  Moments like these are why holidays are even better as a parent than they were as a child!

Since Halloween, he has asked several times, "When it gets dark, we go to someone's house and go trick-or-treating?"  So if you live near me, don't be surprised if one evening soon we give in to his request and show up at your door begging for free candy!