Halloween 2011: Costume parties, Pumpkin Carving, Carmel Apples and on and on and on!!!

Halloween is one of the Fryer's favorite holidays and we do it up! We have the apple cider, pumpkin carving, make pumkin bread, eat pumpkin seeds, dress up a million times, trick-or-treat at the scariest house on the block, invite 40 people over for a costume party and we just can't get enough. I think I might start celebrating Dia de los Muertos on November 2nd just to annoy my friends who can't understand the fascination I have with it... Anyway, we had a great couple of weeks of ringing in another Halloween...

Skeleton pizza!  Made by one of Huddy's friends.

School costume party here's a pic of the parent's who actually dressed up!

The trampoline beyond max capacity!

The kids showing off their costumes.

Never got all of them in the picture at once!

Party aftermath!

Eli didn't even make it to the couch!

Trick-or-treat smell my feet.... (They learned this from a" big kid" at our halloween party and tried it out at a few houses,  to their great surprise people still gave them candy even though they threatened to pull down their underwear.)

Captain America!!!!

The bravest knight of the night.

The Goblin stand off!

These are a couple of teen-age boys, mind you, and they did not break character for the sake of little ones. No siree, they sent children running and screaming for their lives for a good portion of the night.

Hudson marching bravely towards the monster says,"I'm really afraid of that guy behind him." and then ran home.  Eli high tailing it home fell and dropped his candy.  He did stop and pick it up because as the motto goes its candy before safety!

9 years and counting...

Keith and I have rounded 9 years  of marriage and boy "what a long strange trip its been."  We've seen a lot of good times and bad times, we've gotten along and we've fought,  and sometimes we just agree to disagree....I guess its hard to be married and to someone and always have the same opinions.  One opinion we both share is that we want to stick it out. We want to conquer the odds!  So here we are rounding 9 years and this you tube video highlights some of our better moments.  

http://youtu.be/x5ayaxdPT2k

We also, want to thank our friends for coming out and celebrating with us Halloween style for our big day.  We appreciate it and our sending out our heart hugs...

Lady Gaga and Director!

Soul Wandering...

   Well, I made the BIG mommy mistake and flippantly mentioned that I was going to give my diamond rings to my boys WHEN I DIE!!!  What was I thinking.  I the most tender-hearted of all people who used to regularly cry myself to sleep in the 4th grade at the thought of my parents dying, who still now cannot handle the thought of anyone dying. Who is the loudest person at funeral, cried so hard during the movie, One Day, that she couldn't go out to dinner afterwards.   Why I would say that to my 3 and 4 year old is beyond me.  I just was not thinking. 
Anyway, Hudson was in the bathtub  and said, "Mommy, will you always wear your rings."  And I brazenly, calloused answered, "Yep, I'll wear'em till the day I die (proud of myself thinking of what a good wife I am, so committed that I will DIE in my wedding rings) and then I'll give'em to you."

Duh!!!! What did I just say?  I looked at my sweet, sweet angel child and his eyes were looking at me as if the weight of the world had just landed inside him. A layer of his innocence diminshed before my eyes. I myself, had a layer of my own innocence leave me. I, who sits and thinks of myself as not so important is everything to this little guy.  I am the edges of his little world and I had better treat myself with some reverence.   I tried to back track, Boy, did I try to back track.  He was depending on me.  So I said with a huge grin, "I'm just kidding."  And he looked at me like he didn't believe me and half-heartedly met my grin.  Then his face dropped and said, "Mommy, why do people die when they get old." (Mind you he has already been to his great-grandfather's visitation)  I said, "Because their souls get bored of their body and they want to go and do something else.  They want to fly; they want to be free."  A glimmer of hope returned to his eyes.  And I asked him what his soul wanted to do  and he said, " Have kids." His smile was half cocked and he looked at me sideways and I wanted to eat him up and I thought, ' you know, that's what my soul wanted too...'  He quickly added, " and eat candy and go to Grandee's house." 

Eli's soul, on the other hand, wants to be a big giant that stomps on people!
(Hopefully that was just his ego talking and not his soul;)

Aye yi yi!!! How am I going to raise these boys?

Sunrock Farm Birthday...

Hudson and Eli got a chance to head to Sunrock Farm in Wilder, Ky for a little birthday party.  It was a great afternoon of more pumpkin picking, hayrides, holding baby chicks, milking goats, collecting eggs.  It was quite possibly the  most informative birthday party they'll ever go to.  It was great to see the kids being connected to the land and getting intrinsic knowledge of where their food comes from.  Luckily, at their preschool they spend quite a lot of time outside and Hudson's class goes to a farm every friday.  Its amazing how much they already know. 

Eli's first pumpkin of the season, which he later carved:)

The gang showing off their pumpkins while the 'mommarazzi' snapped a million photos.

Eli feeding the goats which was impossible to get a pic of the food in his hand. That goat was fast!

Waiting for a baby chick.  I felt kind of bad for them; they were only 2 days old.  Eli didn't want to hold his which totally surpised me cuz last winter he was our chicken wrangler when we couldn't catch our chickens little 2 year old eli could.  I guess he's grown into a little fear which is not a bad thing for Eli!

Farmer Katie teaching Hudson how to milk a goat.  Huddy was only a little intrigued by this ...

Eli thought squirting milk was pretty awesome and he looked up at Farmer Katie with the biggest grin across his face like, "Did you just see that?!?"

Eli getting the best seat in the house next to sweet Maya as she cuts the brownies...

Happy 5th Birthday, Maya, we enjoyed being with you!

Paying Homage to the Wilmes'

        This post is a very special thank you to an incredible family, who has inspired- us in many ways. 
The Wilmes' have encouraged us to do many things in the last few years, the most important was to introduce us to our current next-door-neighbor, without whom, we would have never found our house.   They bugged us to move to Northside for 2 years before we finally did.They encouraged us to read Alfie Kohn's book, Unconditional Parenting, and continue to inspire us with their dedication to their family.  They know how to work hard, play hard and reign it in. And over the years, as we have worked so hard to complete our home their family has sacrificed weekends to our cause.  John, has painted, plastered, hung drywall, shop vacced, done demo and been generally fun and encouraging to have around the job site.  Fernanda, Lila, and Lucas have given up their husband/dad on many weekends and evenings over the past 3 years. Also, they have been patient with us as we have holed up to do our work and not been available for as many social events.

Thanks guys, The Fryer's are eternally grateful and encouraged by you... Love you guys.

John and Lila at Huddy's b-day

Keith and John bantering over how to hang drywall. (The ONLY person Keith would banter with)

John teaching me painting techniques

Demoltion during Labor Day Weekend.

Lucas hangin out with Hudson and Eli's cousins

John's beautiful wife, Fernanda. 

THE WILMES'

Thank you, Thank you soo much. You've been a tremendous help!

Growing A Sister: Hudson and Eli's quest for a sister continues!

Okay, so we were out in the garden last night and Hudson says,  "Mom I think we should just grow a sister."  So I asked how one would go about doing that and he informed me that "a seed needs to get into an egg".  So Eli ran in the house and got an egg and hudson pulled off a seed pod from the milkweed and they cracked the egg on top of the seed and they now have baby sister growing in the garden....

Hudson's marriage plans

Caitlin and Hudson at Turner Farm

The conversation I overheard shortly after Hudson's field trip:


"I'm going to marry Caitlin when I grow up.  I think I will like kissing by then."

Eli's response, " EWWWWW!"