So much fun, so much silliness, and so much sadness ...

We headed back home last weekend to attend a friend's birthday/Halloween party. My parents were gracious enough to allow us another date night (wow - 2 dates in 30 days ... that's a record!) and watched the boys. They took the kiddos to Rolling Acres Wildlife outside of Salina. The boys are still talking about it! They loved seeing all of the animals and spending time with their Grandma and Papa = ) Riley is also still asking each night if Grandma and Papa will take him to McDonald's for a snack. Oh the things that boy loves!

Papa trying to measure his big boys ...

My awesome hubby also had a super awesome surprise for me. I had no idea he was planning this. Usually, I'm not much for surprises, I prefer to do the planning ... but, I'll take this kind of surprise any day. You see, I've been complaining a lot lately that I haven't gotten a full night's sleep for quite a while. Each night, somewhere between 2:00 & 4:00, one or both of the boys will have a bad dream or two and need some comfort from mom. This usually results with them just climbing into bed with us. Yes, I know, I've created my own turmoil by allowing this, but I digress. Anyhow, as much as I love the snuggles and that my boys feel safe, it does greatly decrease the quality of sleep I get. Anyhow, Corey decided that he was going to make sure I got a full night's sleep and got us a hotel room for our date night with the kiddos staying with my mom and dad. Did I mention how wonderful this guy is? On top of this, he did not get just any hotel room ... he got the honeymoon suite complete with heart-shaped jaccuzzi. Let me tell you -- that jaccuzzi was the perfect answer for my frozen toes after spending all evening at the outdoor party! Aaaand, a fabulous way to relax before a much needed full night of uninterrupted sleep = )

Sweet Heart

Below are a couple of pictures of us before the party and some of the best costumes of the night ...

Corey as Howie Mandel from "Deal or No Deal",

Me as "Kate + 8"

Zach as a super dorky nerd boy,

Dinah as the creepiest doll in town!

Dale as a convict,

my sis Tracy as hottie Police Officer

Jenny as Tina Turner,

Nick as Mr T (he was the best!)

Jen as Mary Katherine Gallagher,

Corey again

What a super fun night with great friends!!!

When we got home, Riley was feeling extra silly. He decided he needed to change his clothes and this is the outfit he ended up with ...

What a character! (just in case you couldn't tell, those are underpants on his head, socks on his hands and a shirt as pants = )

Unfortunately, after all of the fun and games of the weekend, the work week had a very sad turn. Our sweet doggie, Gracie, has been slowly getting a little worse with each passing day. The cancer was just progressing so quickly and really causing her pain to the point where even on the medication, all she really could do was lay around. Even sitting was hurting her. So, we had to make the extremely difficult decision to have her euthanized. It was one of the saddest moments of my life, but it was the most humane thing we could do for her. At least now she is no longer in pain. I am so thankful for all of the love she shared with us over the years and all the wonderful memories we have with her. She was so loved and will forever be in our hearts. We love you Gracie!

Some Chills, Some Thrills, and a Whole Lotta Sponge Bob ...

We started off the weekend with a surprise visit from my sister, Tracy. We were all so very happy to see her = ) We were also excited that she got to go to the pumpkin patch with us this year ... too bad she brought the freezing Colorado temperatures with her! Our trip to the patch was much shorter this year as the chilly temp and extra cool breeze took a little of the fun out of the adventure. But, we all trucked along on our mission and found some prized pumpkins nonetheless. A little bit of cold can't keep us down!

Here's Riley hopping along ... not too long before he slipped and slid into the slippery mud. Yuck! Thankfully, it all cleaned up fairly easily. Too bad we couldn't catch his desperate attempts to stay upright, though. It would've been an America's Funniest Home Video winner for sure = )

Gage with his "daddy pumpkin"

Riley being a strong man and one-handing a decent sized pumpkin!

After the pumpkin hunting we headed into this sheltered picnic area for some hot apple cider and vanilla popcorn ... yum! In the meantime, Gage had fun taunting this big ol' witch saying, "Nana nana, boo boo, you can't get me." Such a tough guy with the inflatables = )~

Later that evening we headed to Kokoro Japanese Steakhouse to celebrate our dear old dad's upcoming 60th birthday. That's right, 60th! This was his -- and the kiddos -- first trip to such a restaurant. Everyone loved the show at the hot grill. I wish some of the pictures would have come out better of Riley watching the chef. He was in awe to say the least. His eyes and jaw were wide open most of the evening just taking it all in! Also, thanks to my sis, my parents, Corey and I were treated to our first Sake Bombs. Interesting to say the least = )

Fire!

The other big excitement of the weekend was the much anticipated arrival of Gage's big boy bed. Grandma and Papa brought this bed to Gage courtesy of an extra that was being stored at Great Grandma Galyardt's house. He has been waiting for this for several weeks. Every day up to this point he would say, "Grandma and Papa are bringing my big boy bed today?" To which I would need to explain to him how many weeks/days it would be until this event actually happened. Well, he was not let down and is soooo in love with his bed! He is also in love with his matching Sponge Bob jammies courtesy of Grandma and Papa. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

Could this get any cuter?

And, of course, Riley couldn't be left out of getting something new, too. Sooooo, we rearranged his bedroom -- so he, too, now has a new room = )

What a wonderful weekend. As always, it was way too short, but we're already looking forward to the next one. Can't wait to see the fun it will bring!

Lessons Learned ...

Oh my, what a jam-packed weekend! Thank goodness, things finally slowed down a little bit by Sunday evening! This weekend included: a date night for Corey and I, a farm tour with some good and patient friends, cooking, shopping, chores, and eventually a little relaxing = )

Here are some of the valuable lessons that I learned along the way:

Lesson 1. Corey and I definitely need to find a way to schedule a date night more often than every 3 months or so. It is so wonderful to just enjoy each other once in a while without interruption and allow ourselves to be more than just mommy and daddy. Not that we don't cherish those roles, but it was lovely to get out and just have fun for a little while, too.

Lesson 2. On future date nights, I will implement a 2 drink maximum for myself. As much fun as it was to let myself go, the price my children, my husband, my friends and I had to pay the next 2 days was not quite worth it. I am not the best person, wife, mom, or friend I can be while feeling nauseous with a pounding headache during recovery time!

Lesson 3. During a long outing with the kids, take the few extra minutes to pack a cooler with healthy snack options such as fruit, veggies and cheese. Even though the convenience and portability of the pre-packaged graham crackers, rice krispie bars, and cheesey crackers is awesome ... after several hours they just leave you with carbo-loaded, sugared-up children who are still hungry and are now dealing with the comedown of the sugar high. Not so fun for anyone ... especially the still recovering momma = )~

Lesson 4. This is more of a note to self ... quit beating yourself up so bad. It's only a blip. We're not all perfect all the time!

Lesson 5. When preparing to make caramel apples (yes, yes, I know ... more sugar!) it may not be the best idea to enlist the help of your 2 year old sugar baby to unwrap the caramels. Several, might somehow mysteriously disappear!

Lesson 6. Even though he can be extremely ornery and testy, remember how good of a helper your oldest child can be. Keeping him occupied and positive praise does wonders for your relationship and his attitude!

Lesson 7. When making caramel apples, don't expect the little red-headed foodie of the house to leave the apples to set up. It is more than he can resist to have a taste "right now, momma!"

Lesson 8. Just because Mother Nature presents an opportunity to talk to your children about the birds and the bees, doesn't mean you have to go there. It opens up a whole can of worms that you might not be ready to deal with yet.

Lesson 9. There is not much cuter in this world than a wild-haired redheaded boy holding flowers. The picture says it all = )

Lesson 10. Nature is resilient - thank goodness! This poor sapling is on it's 3rd planting. SOMEHOW, it keeps getting bent over, ran over, tackled over, etc. and snapping at the ground level. But amazingly, by just putting it in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks, the roots keep on growing right back. Hopefully, we are teaching our kids that even though accidents happen, if we keep at it and have patience, we can fix what we have broken.

Lesson 11. No matter how dirty or grubby our little guys get, there's not much that a good warm bath can't wash away. Stress included!