Trick or Treat

This was a fun year Trick or Treating with the kids. They were really into the candy--especially Caleb!! Some friends of ours (Tim & Chrystal) came over with their daughters Allison and Molly to go Trick or Treating with us. The kids would all run up to the door and be yelling Trick or Treat before they even knocked. Then they would all do these little knocks and yell Trick or Treat.

So as we went to more houses their baskets were almost overflowing with candy. Chloe gave hers up with pleasure to Grandma Patti. Chloe said it was too heavy and she would only hold it to go up to houses and get more candy then she would hand it back to Grandma Patti. Caleb on the other hand--- I offered to hold his basket and he would say no, no, no, I carry myself. And if you tried to remove any of the candy to make the basket lighter he just about threw himself down on the ground. So I got lucky-- he dropped his basket one time and when he wasn't looking I grabbed 2 big handfuls and shoved them in my pockets to lighten his load. When we got back to our house I was able to unload the candy directly into our bowl for trick or treaters.

We went out early enough we were even able to make a visit over to Papa Klus & Grandma Klus's house. (great grandparents) So they got to see the kids in their costumes, and the kids got more candy. I think we're gonna take some of it as snacks to the Beaver game tomorrow night.

That's all for now. And I think I am all caught up on pictures. Below- Caleb, Molly, Allison and Chloe in their costumes. Caleb is a train Engineer or conductor and Chloe is of course BUZZ LIGHTYEAR!!

Our family trip to the Pumpkin Patch

So this year we decided to try a new pumpkin patch. Oregon Heritage Farms. We had passed by it a few weeks back and it looked neat. Well it was great. They had a apple shaped bounce house, a kid maze, a "spooky" kid maze (short and under a tarp so it was dark) where they got to use flashlights. And they had fresh apple cider in kiddie cups, yum. We went on Chloe's birthday and the kids went through the "spooky" maze like 20 times. I think it was geared more toward the little kids.

Chloe in the bounce house.

Chloe and Caleb in the bounce house.

Chloe and Caleb coming out of the "spooky" maze.

The Bartlett's

Our Trip Pictures.

If I get pictures from Chris's brother David of the trip I will try to post them because he took lots. But my camera battery died on the 2nd day of our trip. I did want to say that the trip was better than we had expected. Chris and I have gone on some trips with the kids where they just whine and don't listen and it's just horrible, so we decided to expect the worst for this trip. But the kids were great!! They were good on the airplane rides and at the airports. And for the most part they enjoyed the trip as much as we did- getting to go ride in and Aerial Tram at night (I am afraid of heights so this was great cuz I could see the beautiful city lights but not really how far down it was!!!) We also got to go swimming at least half of the days. Oh and they had a really cool kiddie pool that was only 1 foot deep. So as you can imagine that is where Chloe spent most of her time. Crab walking on her tummy and back and splashing and playing with other kids. Caleb on the other hand pretty much only wanted to go down the slide with daddy.

We also got to visit Patti's uncle Francie. We met up with him at a airfield and got to see a plane that he and his friends had been building for the last 8 years. It wasn't ready to fly just yet, but we got to see other planes practicing their landing and take offs. The kids loved it.

Oh and Chris and I had a date night!!! It's been a while. We went to a movie and then dinner. We need to do that more often. At least once a month would be nice!!

Oh and the place with the animals is the Living Desert. It was really neat. We got to see a baby Giraffe with Ostrichs, Camels, pet goats and sheep, and see all kinds of neat "cats". Small and large.


This is a family of Raccoons that hangs out around all of the garbage cans at the Aerial Tram. They got really close, maybe just a couple feet away.

Chloe's 4th Birthday

Wow she turned 4!! I'm waiting for her to act like a 4 year old. We've been doing the daily struggle of getting dressed in the morning. The only times that she will do it by herself is if she is racing Caleb- and then that only works a few times before she catches on that Hey this is how mom gets me to get dressed by myself. Oh and she has the eye roll down!! Mom I'm sure you are just laughing at this and saying ha ha. I didn't think they did the eye roll until at least middle school!!

Let's see... She's in preschool 2 days a week and really likes it. This year they are learning about weather and the days of the week. They also get to leave the classroom for about 30min a day to go play in the gym- which my very active Chloe needs!!! Oh and she loves the classroom because they have Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story, so every day she tells me she played with them.

Anyways, here are some pictures from her birthday parties. (one with friends and one with family).

Chloe blowing out her candles, with friend Scott looking on.

This one is just the funniest picture of Caleb. Every time I see it I start laughing. He hates anything on his hands so if even a speck of sand gets on them he says "It's yucky", but hey you gotta get messy to eat a chocolate cupcake!!!

Scott got Chloe a whole bunch of Barbies, and as you can see they were a big hit. Allison, Ava, Scott, Caleb and Chloe all had some to play with. There is even a Ken doll and a little boy doll too.

Chloe- so patiently waiting. The candles kept blowing out, but finally we got some that worked!!

Chloe blowing out her candles. Again. This time with a Buzz and Woody cake!!

The biggest bite of cake I have ever seen!!

Our Vacation

So we just got back from a week in Palm Desert (near Palm Springs). It was in the 90's the whole time. Nice but man does it feel cold here now that we are back.

The kids were great. Especially Chloe, she was a real trooper. Her lip was bad when we left on Friday and she could barely eat anything and on top of that we couldn't really understand what she was saying since she couldn't talk normal. As the week progressed her lip got better. Now you could barely even see signs of the misshap in the bathroom.

So I will try to post a couple of pictures later from our trip, but my battery on my camera went dead on day 2 so I don't have many. Oh and I will also be posting pics. of Chloe's 4th birthday. Wow how time flies. I can't believe she's 4!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Miserable Chloe.

Yesterday Chloe was in the bathroom washing her face and hands after lunch. She stands on the little kid potty to reach the sink. Well she hadn't had any trouble until yesterday. She slipped and ended up biting through right below her bottom lip. Chloe and I spent 2 hours at the Emergency Room, while Caleb played with some friends (thank goodness). They put a little glue on the outside to keep it from reopening. But I will tell you it is not the outside that looks bad, it is the big huge fat lip and where she bit through on the inside. There is a black spot where she bit through and it just looks painful.

She just about 10min. ago finally had something to eat since yesterday at lunch. She's only having liquid yogurt right now. But that's better than nothing. Anyways Here's the picture.

The Pumpkin Patch

The kids and I went to a pumpkin Patch near our house. It is really cool for kids. We ride a train out to the patch going through a spooky tunnel on the way, and ride a boat back on a small lake with creatures and monsters that pop up out of the water on the way back. While out at the pumpkin patch their is also a child size hay maze and bales of hay to jump off. Here's some pictures.

Oregon Zoo's baby Elephant

A week ago or so, we all got to finally see the new baby Elephant at the Oregon Zoo. I had tried to go 3 weeks ago with the kids but the line was too long, and my kids would not have sat still to wait. So we waited and Chris had the monday off after we moved. We took his parents too. We were in luck-- the baby Elephant is now with all of the other Elephants and was out back in the yard area. He looks so tiny compared to all of the other animals.

Oh since I finally remembered my camera there are some pictures of a couple of the other animals too. The big huge tricycle is one that Elephant's have used. The pedals were as big as the kids heads.