Hankoween

Perhaps that post title sounds a little racy.
Just trying to be a little creative here.
The local aquarium has HallowMarine
and the zoo has Hallowzooeen.
This is the Hankins' family version! Hankoween.

One blogging challenge is how to make the same types of pictures from annual events fresh and interesting every year.

I am blogging my FOURTH Halloween! I am excited about that fact, but aware that Halloweens 2006, 2007, and 2008 could look scarily like the Halloween of 2009, just different costumes.

Traditions:
We always go to a Halloween party with my sister and her family before Halloween, followed by a grab bag of Halloween parties and decorating cookies at Granny's house. Finally, we have the visit to Granny's on Halloween Eve and then Trick or Treating in the Mackey's neighborhood, followed by a quick strike back in our own neighborhood. It is just about the most fun a kid could have. And with the weather this year, I was feeling the fun... it was absolutely gorgeous... plus there were no heavy winter coats messing with the presentation of my kids' costumes.

Speaking of that... what is up with my kids' choices of costumes?
I guess Luke's choice was pretty typical for a 6 year old boy... he always wants to be mean or scary... this year he was Cobra from the G.I. Joe show....? I have no idea who that is, really. Could be a character of a serial killer for all I know.
Then Ellie chose to be a nerd. I told her she didn't have to dress up to be a nerd. She could just go as herself. Ha ha. She was cracking us up with her suspenders, taped up glasses and pens in her pocket. She collected her Halloween candy in a backpack. Here she is with her cousins, Ana and Hallie. Look how DARLING they both look, and then, there's my nerd. One thing she does have is personality!
And Kami got this totally original idea to be duck tape girl. Duck tape seems to be "the thing" this year... the girls at school are making duck tape bracelets and covering their notebooks in duck tape. If you didn't know already, duck tape (as opposed to duct tape) comes in a plethora of colors. Even plaid. Kam fashioned her costume out of some old clothes and orange, pink and purple duck tape. The costume was actually about $ 40.00 cheaper than the Cobra dude that Luke dressed up as.... she also has a silver duck tape bow and a striped duck tape cape. Here Duck Tape Girl is with her friend Goldilocks at a Halloween party.I thought my girls both looked cute and their costumes were just right for each of them. However, for just once could they possibly look like my sister's children? Just once, put on a frilly skirt and revel in their girlishness? Pleeeease?
I call them the three pretty princesses, because that is what they are. Gorgeous. Adorable. Princessy. Precious. And such a contrast to my nerd, my duck tape girl and my... um... cobra man. Take a look at an up close contrast: the nerd and the ballerina. Sigh. I've given in to it. Don't get me wrong... I adore my kids just as they are. I am not going to squeeze their fanny cheeks into a frilly costume they don't want to wear. I might consider it though! ;-) Costume choice is just a funny part of our Hankoween.So is all the other fun stuff, like getting Boo'd. Did any of you get Boo'd? That is when someone comes and leaves you Halloween treats at night. They ring your doorbell and run away. Then, you return the favor to someone else. My kids got Boo'd and they Boo'd some friends. These lovely teeth above were from one of our fun boos. Like the eyeball cookies we made this year? Ellie called this her "Here's Looking at You" cookie.
Possibly the cutest Halloween costumes I saw were the Oompa Loompa and Willy Wonka, which further proves my point. My kids don't have to be frilly, just coordinated! That would work for me! I am not getting bitter... just sayin'....Eating some severed finger gummies. Oh so yummy.The spookiest house in the neighborhood... visiting it is a Hankoween tradition.Kami and her purple skittle of a sweet friend. This picture just kind of sums up our Hankoween. The preciousness of time with friends and family. Showing love and attention to others. Having a zest for life and breathing in each second.....

.... even if it is with my Cobra man, my nerd and my duck tape girl.

Kissing Cousins and Loving Mothers

Will they hate me in a few years for taking this shot and then posting on the World Wide Web? I just can't help myself. Lauren's expression is just so pained, which is quite funny, and I unfortunately have to admit it looks as though my child is getting quite good at this kissing thing. Whether it's just to annoy the girls or he really enjoys it (Lord help me) I don't know. At the tender age of 4, he has learned the power of kissing. And now that I think of it, that cookie Lauren is eating looks yummy. Maybe he'd just like a bite of it.
The famous porch swing, which you can't actually see in my not so nicely cropped picture. I promised you all I would get better at my photography, and although my subjects are lovely, I don't see much improvement. It looks like my son is hexing me. Maybe that is my problem. Well, the hex didn't last long because Tom won the quilt drawing, which really means that I won it!
At least that was what I thought until I went home and walked upstairs to see the quilt neatly folded in half on HIS side of the bed, an obvious dig that he was the big winner. His competitive streak knows no limits. But, like a true victor, I did find myself peacefully sleeping under a certain purple quilt that night! Thank you Grandma I! You are awesome!

April Snapshots

Well, I'd be lying if I said that gifts weren't one of the kids' favorite parts of Christmas. I just love this picture of Lauren watching Luke open the present she got him.

Maggie's Baptism

A special day in Maggie's life... and for all of us who love this precious, adorable, little girl!

A Real, Live Treasure Hunt

There is nothing that kids like better than going treasure hunting. So on this past, beautiful, Sunday afternoon, I packed all 5 kids up, and went out in search of new letterboxes. (In the fall, we found a couple of letterboxes, and the kids have wanted to go searching ever since.......) I won't give away the locations, just in case you decide to go letterboxing yourself, but we followed the clues we found at letterboxing.org. We found TWO letterboxes, one in midtown and one in about 5 miles south of our house. One of the letterboxes, as you can see below, was actually hanging in a bush, right at Kami's eye level. She and Hallie and Ellie peered into the bush, but she was the one who discovered it. Then, the chaos ensued as the kids scrambled to stamp their notepads with the stamp in the letterbox. Each of them were then able to stamp the notepad in the letterbox with their own stamp, which represents their personality. You don't sign your name, just give your "handle."

Here are the kids handles:

Kami - Moon Beam

Ellie - Happy Lemur

Luke - Hot Wheels (real original, huh?)

Hallie - Bouncing Bunny

Lauren - Beautiful Bird

More information can be found on letterboxing HERE.

It's a Small World After All

Ellie: Mom, it's a small world, isn't it?

Me: Yes, it is. Why do you say that?

Ellie: Well, I take gymastics at Tulsa World on Tuesdays at 5:00, and Brooke (her good friend) takes gymastics on Monday at 5:00. Isn't it a small world?

Me: You are right Ellie; it is a very small world.

Magpie

I can say this because she's not my baby... is she the most beautiful thing you've ever seen? She is absolutely darling from that thick, dark hair to her chubby, little toes. I had the privelege of babysitting her, and I have to say I am very proud to have her as a niece!

DeLIGHTful

Rhema Bible College - Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Every year, when we visit here look in awe at the zillions of twinkling lights, we recount a funny story. When Kami was about 3 and Ellie was just a baby, we went to see the lights on a frigid, freezing night. Frosty the snowman was there and people were taking turns saying hi to him. Kami, who was absolutely terrified of Eli the Golden eagle and other large mascots, wasn't too fond of Frosty. Tom decided to "encourage" her to be friendly to Frosty by (jokingly) telling her that if she didn't touch Frosty's nose that he would throw her in the frozen lake. So, little Kami not only touched his nose, but she grabbed it and pulled it until it came OFF! All of Frosty's support staff gasped. Frosty's fat, stuffed, carrot nose was sitting there in that 3 year old brat's hand! We, being mature adults, all hightailed it out of there as quickly as possible. Later, we saw Frosty shuffling to his trailer, head down and very dejected. Sorry Frosty, for defacing you, but it did leave us with a funny memory! By the way, Frosty didn't make it to Rhema this year. I wonder why?

Two of the Most Precious People in My Life

A Cowboy and A Cowgirl

Meet Maggie

The Princess Has Arrived!

At 7:26 PM, on September 12th, Maggie Rae was born! She is truly a beautiful baby, with a head full of thick, dark hair! She weighed 7 pounds 15 ounces. Kim's labor was induced beginning at 9AM, so it turned out to be a bit of a long day for her, but the results were well worth it! Hallie and Lauren COULD HARDLY WAIT to meet Maggie! They were so excited and when they finally looked into her eyes, they were thrilled. Maggie seemed to recognize Hallie's voice. When Hallie spoke, Maggie would slowly turn her head and look around to see if she could find her big sister. And Kami, Ellie and Luke had a lot of fun waiting in the hospital for their new cousin. They got out of bed this morning singing "our new baby cousin comes today!" Welcome to the world, Maggie Rae! We are so glad you are here.

Her Last Day as the Baby

Lauren and Luke spent some time together today. Kim went to get a manicure and pedicure for the big day tomorrow! We are all looking forward to meeting Maggie Rae. So, I took the opportunity to snap some pictures of my sweet niece. Little does she know that tomorrow, Maggie will be the baby of the family! I think she'll be fine with it though, because she loves to take care of her own baby dolls. She likes to take care of them and push them around in the stroller. (Luke wouldn't like it if I were sharing his secret, but sometimes, he comes up to Lauren and asks," Do you want to play babies?") They have fun taking turns being the baby. It is pretty hilarious. I know that Lauren will be a great big sister!!!