Blake's Special Visitor

No, it wasn't a girl.

But it was pretty and shiny and made Blake smile from ear to ear.

After Blake's team won the championship at the Las Vegas Mayor's Cup soccer tournament last month, the boys on the team took turns housing the trophy cup.

One night after practice Blake, Blake blew into the house, threw his Nike napsack on the floor and hoisted the cup above his head, and paraded around the house.

The trophy sat alongside the Harry Potter series on top of Blake's bookshelf.

"Shouldn't you take the trophy back tonight," I said after it had been with us for about a week.

"Yea, I guess," Blake said.

"Well, let me take some pictures first," I said.

"No, that's silly, no pictures," Blake said.

Later that day as Blake gets ready for practice ...

"OK, I'm taking the trophy back ... shouldn't we take pictures?"

Good idea, Blake. :)

10 Things I Love About My Kindergarteners

Zach and Allie with their cousin Trent

It's been nearly three months now since Zach and Allie -- my babies -- have been in kindergarten.

I'm sure a lot of us moms share the same mishmash of emotions as our youngest starts school -- alternating between between gearing up for a happy dance because we finally get a chunk of our lives back and grabbing the tissue box because we realize that our days filled with chasing butterflies, blowing bubbles, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and maneuvering the big "car" cart at the grocery store have been traded in for homework, backpacks and school lunches.

And somehow having twins makes it feel like it's sped by even faster. Between the blur of sleeplessness in the early days and the fatigue of chasing and entertaining two little balls of energy in the toddler days, this whole having-all-my-kids-in-school-now thing still seems a bit surreal. But I do have to say that I've always loved having a kindergartener -- or two! -- in the house.

With Zach and Allie, I love that they:

• Still hold my hand as I walk them to school ... and then give me a hug and kiss before they join their classmates in line. Zach gives me an extra special, unique, crossed-arm wave each day as his class heads into the classroom and the last few Moms (yes, I confess, I'm one of them) lingers around to wave good-bye.
  
• Are so excited on days they get to buy lunch. "Mommy, mommy, check what's for lunch today," Allie always asks.
• Want to do homework. "More, more, can we do one more page, Mom." No bribes, rewards or threats involved ... so refreshing (uh-hum, Blake. Cough, cough, Nick).
  
• Get so excited when they see Blake or Nick at school. When it happens, it's always the first thing they tell me. "Mom, I saw Nick in the bathroom today." or "Mom, I saw Blake going into the cafeteria." So sweet ...
  
• Sing new songs around the house. "B-L-U-E spells blue. B-L-U-E spells blue. Hi, ho, did you know, B-L-U-E spells blue."
• Look around at words and sound them out with a new mission in mind. Out at dinner one night and Zach, his eyes stuck on a restaurant sign and his eyebrows scrunched as his brain juice pumped, asked, "Mom, does that spell pizza?" Indeed it does.
• Are so excited when I come into their class to help. "Mommy ... are you coming in to help today," they ask about every other day.
• Come home eager to share what they've done. "Mommy, look, we made pumpkins," as they proudly hold up their paper cutout pumpkins covered in orange square pieces of tissue paper.
• Have huge smiles on their faces when I pick them up at the kindergarten gate at the end of the day.
• Pretend to play teacher when they're at home. Allie will grab a book and read it to her class, which usually consists of stuffed animals or imaginary students. It's so cute watching her hold up the book to show her "students."

"And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together."

~ Robert Fulghum, All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

Halloween Highlights

Zach and our resident witch.

Batman and "Fifi" the poodle.

It was another fun Halloween in Anthem, Arizona, our little hub along the northern fringe of Phoenix.

While I do miss the chill in the air and having family members accompany us on our trick-or-treating ventures, Halloween is loads of fun here.

Some of our 2009 Halloween highlights:

• Zach was Batman -- a family favorite. Blake was Batman back-to-back years when he was 3 and 4. Allie was a little, fancy pink poodle. Many mistook her for a bunny. Nick was some yucky, creepy, bloody, lab tech guy. And Blake, for the first time, opted not to collect candy. Instead he manned the homefront and handed out candy.
• Nick has fun not only trick-or-treating, but also hiding in the bushes and scaring the trick-or-treaters on the way to our door.
• Brett had another stellar jack-o-lantern -- an intricate spider web with a spider. I think if he had it to do all over again he could have been a successful surgeon.
  
• Notwithstanding the cold front that swept through for a few days before Halloween, the weather was awesome. While kids are decked out in costumes, most parents are in short sleeves and flip-flops.
• At most houses, kids don't even need to knock on the door. Many parents are out enjoying the evening on their front porch or driveways as they dole out the candy.
  
• Our neighborhood is DECKED OUT! Most of the houses in our little neighborhood have lights, blow-ups, and plenty of spooky decor to keep the kids on their toes. In fact, since early October it has become our evening ritual to take a walk or bike ride through the neighborhood so Zach and Allie can admire the visionary Halloween feast night after night.
• Parents get into the mood just as much as the kids. The Iowa State fan up on the corner was handing out beers in bags. The woman who lives in the house with the blue lights had a tray full of margaritas alongside the holiday candy and one father was pullining his cooler in a wagon with his little ghosts and gremlins.

Nick carving his pumpkin.

Spooky!

Brett's jack-o-lantern