A week of Halloween

I LOVE Halloween, the costumes, the parties, the candy etc. However...after having 7 straight days of parties, I am done. You know its been too much Halloween when 2 of my kids didn't even want to wear their costumes to Trick-or-Treat last night because they were sick of them. (Don't worry I own about 30 costumes so I just had them pick out something else to wear!!) Seriously, I have way too much fun dressing up, and if anyone ever needs to dress as a pirate, call me, for some reason I have 6 different pirate outfits!!

The Girls (A.K.A. : Witch, Cat Woman, and Cheerleader)

...Yes, Sydnee is in my old Cat Woman costume. When they say "One size fits all" they are so not kidding!!!!

Trick~or~Treat


Kels and her "Flower Power"


Sydnee the purple witch


One of many events...


What?? We had to dress up to feed the kids dinner at the "Pirate Cafe"


The Menu...Bloody Brains (with some dandruff sprinkled on top), Mummy butt rolls, pumpkin juice and creepy corn (yah, we ran out of creative names by the time we got to the side dish!!)


And we can't forget Elyanna as she was our first Trick-or-Treater (only family comes by at 2 in the afternoon.) Cute little Giraffe huh.


And my adorable nephew Gabe...



Dear Gabe,
I still love you buddy, even though your Mom and Dad didn't feel like making the 5 hour drive over so I could see you in your costume. Even though your mom knows that Halloween is my favorite holiday EVER, even though our families have been together for 8 out of the last 10 Halloweens. It's no big deal...REALLY!! It's not your fault that I have not seen you for 3 MONTHS!! Don't worry, I am coming over to see you for Thanksgiving because I love YOU that much!!!
Love and Hugs,
Aunt Nici

Fishing

The place was Cousin Mike's house...BEAUTIFUL





Family renunion last weekend at Lake Stevens. Tons of Family, tons of Food, Tons of FUN.




So wonderful to see all the family! Can't wait until next year!

Happy Birthday Elyanna!!

This is my niece Elyanna. Today she turns 1. She is the cutest little thing, and really funny. She likes to dance and loves to play with Sydnee and Kelsei (I think she thinks they are her sisters.) She calls every animal she sees a "DUCK" and loves to throw balls. Today we are headed off to a BBQ at my brothers to celebrate. More pics to come. We love you Elyanna. Happy Birthday!!

Dancing in the rain

Big Storm tonight....

Seriously, like flash floods, thunder, lightening, etc...

Rain hitting the skylights so hard we couldn't hear each other talk...

Peaking out the windows, can't see anything but water, lots of water...

Michael says.."I wish we could go out there for a minute"

"Type-A Nici" first thinks.."No way, I just finished bathing all of you and you are all in clean p.j.s, and it will make a mess, and, and, and......."

"Fun Nici" grabs his hand and pulls him into the rain to dance in the driveway as all the kids follow....

So fun for a minute, all the kids loved it, run back to the house only to be greeted by my husband who won't let us in till he gets a picture...

Run back out into the rain while Brian tries to figure out how to take a picture in the dark with the rain...waiting, soaking, kids not smiling anymore...finally a picture...

Guess what it did make a big mess in the entryway, and all of us were soaked to the bone, and the kids all had to put new p.j.s on, but it was so fun!!

I am so relieved that "Fun Nici" still lives somewhere inside "Type-A Nici"!!! Hopefully she comes out more often!!!

SAN DIEGO

Brian and I just got back from California. He had a training that he was attending at the University of San Diego, and I went with him just for fun. We had a great time. There is so much to do, and we were without kiddos so we took in as much as we could in the 4 days we were there..

Day 1: FIESTA ISLAND
Took the motor home right on the beach, watched the sunset, and then a fantastic firework show




Day 2: Sweet ride and San Clemente



Our friends gave us their convertible corvette for the week. Brian was in HEAVEN!!



Day 3: Torrey Pines and Old Town

Breakfast at the Golf Course



Watched the paragliders over the ocean (They offer tandem rides so next time we are totally going!!!)



Old Town...so cool and best Mexican food ever.....





THANKS FOR EVERYTHING MARK AND LIZ. WE HAD A GREAT TIME AND CAN NOT WAIT TO COME BACK WITH THE WHOLE FAMILY!!!

Baby GABE

My sister and her husband welcomed their first addition to the family... Baby Gabe. He is so cute. It is fun to think of my little sister as a mom. She and Tyler will be amazing parents!! Can't wait to meet the little guy next week!!

Uncle Andrew

We have been lucky enough to have Brian's brother Andrew visit us twice in the past few months!!! Our whole family looks forward to him coming, and the kids hang all over him non-stop!! He is tons of fun to have around and I am so glad he lives closer now!!!