October 2015

October is always a crazy month for us.  

It seems like school has just started then BOOM! 2 Birthdays and Halloween.  

Declan found this awesome lion custome - a size 2...but managed to squeeze his tiny body into it.  

I belong to both Sams Club and Costco.  They carry the same stuff, but different.  I love the cheese sticks, produce, easy mac, and Ghirardelli chocolate chips at Sams Club - oh and these huge $10 pumpkins too!  

When David got home from work today (the 30th) he asked if we needed any pumpkins.  A local nursery was giving away a huge pile of them.  I said, 'what, you didn't stop and grab a ton?' So he quickly jumped back in his truck and got enough pumpkins for everyone to carve.  Hurray for free! 

Totally random picture - but it's so hard to get Cache to smile a real smile for the camera, I had to include a picture of how cute he can be!

I've embraced making Halloween costumes easy and allowing them to change costumes whenever they want.  When I was young I remember being a convict for 5 years in a row.  Everyone is happy to go get candy.  Cache is happy to get candy, but I think he's trying to accept the fact I made him wear a long sleeve shirt on a 40 degree evening.  Poor kid.

Trick-or-treating with our friends, The Macphersons

I love how these two sit right next to each other, no matter how big the couch.

I'm always going through our stuff, figuring out what I can sell or get rid of.  I've finally hit that point where I am ready to have less.  This awesome Thomas set was sure fun when I set it up to take a picture, but I sold it anyway!  We have more train sets anyway.

My weakness in life...Muddy Buddy.  Seriously, 9 cups of Chex covered in peanut butter, chocolate, butter, and powder sugar - what isn't there to love?  Xander is my kitchen helper and wasted no time taking the preparation bowl and cleaning out all residue of Muddy Buddy.

I hereby claim this day to be the beginning of a long life of Monopoly.  They are hooked. 

I found this totally strange moth on our house today.

Sometimes my kids walk in the door (especially after they've been gone for a while) and I think they are just so cute.  Today I saw this big guy walk in with his camouflage outfit and coordinating lunch box/ backpack.  I made him go back outside and pose for me before heading back in for some R&R.

After preschool, the twins and their two buddies (Tyler and Leif) have playtime.  Don't you love it when kids play 'sleep time'!

Leif

Declan

Xander

Tyler

Happy 9th Birthday Easton!  

In the traditional Svir fashion, birthdays are huge.  It's really Easton's fault.  He loves people.  He loves presents.  He loves birthdays.  This year I convinced the boys to have nerf parties (it wasn't hard to do).  I bought nerf guns at garage sales all summer - I think we have 18 of them now - and haven't paid more than a dollar for them.  I also bought hundreds of imitation bullets on ebay.  We told his friends, rain or shine, come prepared to battle.  I think he had 15 friends or so - plus some siblings and neighbors who decided to join in.  Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and the kids had a great time!  

The twins are just enough the same, and just enough different.  

Happy 7th Birthday Cache!  

Another beautiful day.  We actually had Easton's party before Cache's party.  We really like having Easton's party on the Monday holiday for Columbus Day.  The kids have few conflicts and not much to do.  We had Cache's birthday on his actual birthday - a Saturday this year.  Unfortunately, David was deployed and unable to be there.  Other parents stepped in an helped and it was also a great success.  We decorated shields and had capture the flag battles.

Declan, the climber.  Have I ever mentioned that Delcan has no fear?

Cleaning, sorting, and trading gems and fossils.

I love Xander's drawings.  

By the time we've had Easton and Cache's parties and actual birthdays, we are a little tired of cake.  This year Easton asked for a birthday dinner with rotisserie chicken...what better platform for candles?! (actually, the chicken was so hot, the candles actually melted inside a little, but I didn't tell anyone).  This is Easton with best friends Mark and David.

September 2015

Fall cleaning.  We have so many markers that don't work or kind of work.  I'm trying to do less and make the kids do more.  Sounds good in theory, but doesn't usually work so well.  This time was the exception.  The twins tested all the markers and put them in the working box :) or not working box :(

Our brand new Tiger Scout.  He hates putting on his uniform, but looks cute in it.  

David is the Tiger leader this year.  Easton is a Bear.

Money burns a hole in Declans pocket.  He loves money, but the second he gets it, he wants to spend it.  I took him to the dollar store and he went to town.   Then he ate some and sold the rest to his brothers.  I am not sure if he made his money back, but it definitely kept him busy.

FYI - Easton is a saver, Cache is in between, and Xander is still pretty clueless about money.

I'm tired of the twins asking me 'how many days until my birthday.'  I decided to have them make paper chains with me.  Well, they cut the paper on the slicer machine and then started helping me staple them.  My patience didn't last long doing that, so I just took over.  Did I mention they still have 76 days?  That's 152 chains for twins.  Remind me not to do that again!

Another one of Easton's plants from school - a cucumber.

Xander has awesome writing and drawing skills.  He wanted to write his birthday, so I wrote it and he copied it.  We really haven't worked on writing that much, he's pretty awesome.

My boys are really into the big-eyed TY beanie babies.  It's not a trend thing for them, they actually play with them all day - every day.  Declan just saved money for this cute guy - his name is Candy.  

I bought this little bookshelf at a garage sale for $5, still in the box.  I love bookshelves and cubes and anything that stores my junk.  Declan is the best worker in the world.  And he loves using a hammer.  I gently set in all the nails and he went to town.

A work of art.  My friend also buys me honeycrisp apples at the local fruit stand for cheap.  These are also 'seconds' but they are so beautiful.  I decided to try making applesauce.  It was actually pretty easy and made a ton.   I made some with cinnamon (the darker jars) and some plain.  The kids actually liked the plain better (although they prefer store bought cinnamon).  Like most homemade things, it's going to be hard buying store bought applesauce after this!