Happy Halloween!!

My Guys

It has been a Happy Halloween at the Allen house! The boys have had a blast today and are well stocked in the candy department. We started off the day by trick-or-treating with a couple friends at a nursing home in the area...the boys loved it once they realized that complete strangers were just giving them candy. :) We did the usual trick-or-treating tonight too with our friends down the street. This is the first year that John actually figured out how fun it is to trick-or-treat. Jacob wasn't too impressed b/c he didn't make it more than 4 houses before he fell asleep!

Halloween Festivities

Yesterday we got a pumpkin and carved it up. John was fascinated with the 'pulp & seeds' inside and we are still finding those all around the house! Jacob didn't participate much except to throw in his two cents, otherwise he just kicked back and relaxed the whole time. Last night we had our ward Fall Festival, so all the kids were dressed up in their costumes and marched around the trunks to gather candy. It was great fun!!

The Magees

The boys and I just got back from a trip to California to visit the Magees and had a total blast!!! It was great to see everyone again! John's been on Cousin Philip withdrawl these last few days ;) It was great to meet little Ella...she's adorable and her parents are doing such a great job...her mom (my cuz) looks great too! It's amazing how everyone is growing up!

We spent most of the time with family. We visited a pumpkin patch, where John enjoyed the blow-up jumpers.

We also went to the Sacramento Zoo and Fairytale Town

We also spent plenty of time wrestling (that is John's middle name you know), driving the golf cart and chasing geese at the park. Jacob even previewed a Halloween costume:

We had a great time and the boys were EXHAUSTED when we got home. John walked in the door from the airport and disappeared into our closet and this is how we found him:

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Much to John's delight, we saw Thomas the Train this weekend. We rode him through East Austin and hung out in the Convention Center for games and other activities. John had a blast. Grammy, Papa, Uncle Kev, and Becky were all in town too for the festivities, which made it even better! After Thomas, John had a birthday party with another train ride around our neighborhood, so it was just a great day for him! Jacob was quite the trooper too and had a good time on the train trying to stay awake so he didn't miss any action.

Why Bother with Toys

Jacob is turning into a real boy! Not sure exactly what to say, but man was he hard at work! Just a side note on the videography...I had to hide behind a wall to shoot this b/c anytime Jacob sees the camera he freezes and will not do whatever he was doing before...as exhibited in the video of him and John getting ready to go to bed. AND I was laughing so hard and trying not to be loud that the camera was shaking.

Teeth

It's a shame kids don't come this way ;) Jacob has had a rough weekend with his 2 bottom teeth showing up rather quickly (well one is through the other is on it's way in the next day or so)...I wouldn't say un-announced though. No wonder they gave Opium to teething babies centuries ago. Poor kid...you can just look at him and he starts crying right now.

John Deere

John was a good helper today with the lawn...he was catching all the grass Dad missed. It has been interesting that he wants to go outside and help now that it is a little bit cooler outside. If you asked him if he wanted to 'help' Daddy with the lawn a couple months ago, the answer was always, "No, I'll watch from the window." I can't say I blame the kid...Texas summers are intense!

The State Fair

Last weekend we made the annual trip to The State Fair of Texas. It was great and we had a blast as usual!! Anything fried you could possibly think of. They had fried alligator, fried cheesecake, guacamole, oreos, etc. The new food for the year was a fried latte...didn't get that adventurous ;) We checked out the aquarium, the car show, the Birds of the World show (my favorite thing there), the Nature & Science Museum and the animals. John has decided on a yellow corvette for his first car...we told him to keep dreaming and start saving!

A good time was had by all! If you're ever in Texas in Sept/Oct, we highly recommend the fair!

Brothers

We've been off the blog for a little bit...just life getting busy again! In any case, Mark caught these guys on video this evening and it was so cute I couldn't resist! After the boys get cleaned up, we snuggle up to read a story. The goofing off has already begun b/c they just can't stop playing!! Jacob tries to grab John's face or his water cup and John thinks it's hilarious, so he grabs back and it just escalates from there. Jacob's already getting that "oops you caught me" face when he notices the camera is there :)

We'll get you caught up on Allen life shortly! Hope all is well for you all!