Who knew we would make such beautiful babies! :) I suppose this post is a little past due, but I know there are many out there who know we took family pictures a few weeks ago. So here is the end result. We took them ourselves while in Logan, UT for Halloween. Check out my sister’s blog for Halloween pics…she and my mom were the only ones who captured actual Halloween pics because I was busy getting four kiddos ready on my own. Adam flew in and met us as we were walking out the door to trick-or-treat. We are so glad that he made it in time. There is no going back–the kids officially know what Halloween entails. Of course, I threw all of their candy away about three days after we got home. I couldn’t take the begging and whining for candy for breakfast anymore. However, I did pull out the best bits of candy and stashed them away for a rainy day! (Yeah, yeah, what are you going to do about it?)

The kids had a blast at Jaimee and Brian’s. And they were troopers during pictures. They actually tried to smile–even though a couple of them are still learning how to pose for the camera. (oh, the things we take for granted) I am really pleased how they turned out. And I am even more pleased that we don’t have to have a desert landscape. Fall pictures are always my favorite. Here you go:

THE BOYS!!!!!!!!!!!

THE GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MAMI Y PAPI!!!!!!!!!!!!

OUR BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone loved the chance to practice cutting fire wood, roasting Starbursts, and having a generally great time. Despite their greatest efforts, all phalanges remain attached. Rach was busy scrappin’ with her friends (I imagine we’ll see a post on that shortly), so stayed at home while we played.

We made yummy breakfast Saturday morning with the assistance of Jaime and Rob and then Uncle Rob assisted Papi with the ninos the rest of Saturday while Mami and Tia Jaime scrapped the day away. Thanks for an awesome weekend!

A couple of people have asked what Sundays are like at our house now. Adam and I both feel that our Sundays are even better. We get home from church around 12:30 and eat some lunch straight away. After lunch, the kids scurry off to their rooms for quiet time. We have each child in a separate room and they love their own personal time. The kids don’t have to sleep, but they have to stay in their rooms until we come and get them, which is usually around 3:00. (although two out of the four regularly fall asleep anyway) That give Adam and I two whole hours together. We nap, we talk, we read, we snuggle, we catch up on shows we haven’t seen during the week. Mostly we just enjoy the quiet.

Once the kids are up, we either go outside or watch a movie usually. This past Sunday Adam taught the children to play a new game. Danny caught on right away. Ezzy had no clue what she was doing. And the two younger ones followed their brother. I also broke out our Cocoamotion, and taught the kids how to make hot chocolate. Nikky and Juan P. stared at the maker the whole time–they could not believe their eyes. 

After a couple of hours of family time, we have dinner and then the kids get ready for bed. That usually lands us around 7:00 or so. And the kids go to bed at 8:00. I thought Sundays would possibly be extra “work” for me, but I have found the opposite to be true. It is mostly relaxing and low-key. As long as we get the kids an hour or so of activity they are pretty awesome the whole day. I love Sundays!!!

We spent last Saturday out at Red Rock exposing our children to the elements. It was awesome. The Brummett and DeMarco families both joined us. We also had our little buddy, Kavika, up from Arizona. Oh yeah, and we brought a friend’s grandson from Adam’s work. Needless to say, our car was packed with kids and gear. The picture to the left is of our little band. Even our prissy one loves to hike, so the climb was no problems. Dave bought a few pair of kid’s climbing shoes a few months back since they regularly take friends out climbing. Jena has been anxious to let our kids use them for months now. :) Adam also took the kids a few weeks back to buy a couple of children-sized harnesses. Note, Wompy looking like a little utilities worker in his shoulder harness…too cute. At least I don’t have to worry about him or Nikky flipping upside down on the wall. We knew the kids would do great, but it was rewarding to see them all reach the top of the route. Well, all except Wompy. I think he could have done it with another try, and a little help, but we ran out of time.

Nicole was the only one who didn’t want to try in the beginning. Of course, Adam and I basically threw her onto the wall and made her start. She was crying for a few minutes, but then papi helped her realize that she was perfectly safe by letting her hang on the rope off of the ground. After that, she started, and never looked back until she was 50 feet off the ground at the top of the route. She rappelled down without any help or direction. Actually, both of the girls were better on their first tries than the boys. Ezzy scurried on up without a thought. It took Danny two tries to do the whole thing. His first try saw him only 15 feet up. After seeing Ezzy do it, he wanted to try again. Classic Danny!!!!

Above is a picture of each kid on the wall, but there are a ton of picture in our gallery! We may endure blazing hot summers here in the desert, but the benefits are days like this from October to April. The kids are begging to go back to the Mountains. I guess Adam is pretty proud. I think that Danny and Ezzy will be able to do Keyhole on our annual Zion trip in May, if they learn to really swim by then. (I guess I’ll be calling the Y soon for swim lessons.) That also makes daddy very happy. I can’t resist…here are a few more pics:

We have had a fun-filled October so far, and it just keeps going. The past two weekends were filled with excitement and laughter. On the weekend of the 11th, we hosted a Halloween party here at the house. Don’t ask me why I had the bright idea before we were fully moved into the house, but we pulled it off. In fact, the pressure helped us get more shelves put together and hung. Our family room truly looks like one. I had drapes made for our front room. Our loft finally has bookshelves for the plethora of kids’ books we possess. And there are only a few boxes scattered throughout the house left to unpack.

The party itself was a blast. We probably had about 40 people total. Some new friends, some old friends, some neighbors, and tons of kids. Adam inflated our little bounce house, which was a huge hit in our backyard. We decorated sugar cookies (thanks Val for taking charge) and let’s just say the McCracken kids were completely enthralled. When Valerie mixed the food coloring into the icing, Danny’s eyes got really big and he said his classic, “oh, wow!” They could not believe the icing was changing color. It really blew them away when she mixed yellow and blue together to make green. Each kid frosted a cookie for the daddy who was hard at work carving a pumpkin in the other room. I am not sure how many toppings they used, but Adam had enough sugar to last him through the holidays at least.

In addition, we had pumpkin carving, a coloring corner, and an all around good time. Oh yeah, we made my sister’s famous Chili in a Pumpkin, which was the hit of the party. Everyone loved it, Jaimee!!! All in all, the kids had a blast. They are figuring out what Halloween is all about from friends at school. So now they are totally excited to dress up and trick-or-treat next weekend. We will be spending that holiday in Logan, UT. We have many friends and family there who are anxious to meet the children. So off we go on Thursday. It will be fun for the kids to experience a real fall as well. Although Logan is more like winter temps right now. :) Regardless, we are excited to see everyone.

A few more pics can be found here!

With all the anticipation of the first ride, you might think they actually know how to ride a bike. Logical thinking like this will lead you down the wrong path…

But, after just a little practice, Danny was up and moving…at least on Nikky’s bike! He hasn’t yet mastered his own, but a few more days of practice and he should be good.

We had a great time and our 3 noobs did a great job! All of the pics (as if these aren’t enough!) can be found in the photo album. Special thanks to Rach (because she is amazing!) for watching the kids for the day so that I could go on this — love you!

I have lost 35 pounds since January when I started training for the 1/2 marathon. The best part about it is that I feel so good right now that I am motivated to start exercising again. My schedule with the children doesn’t lend me to much snacking during the day. That has also helped. I still have about 50 pounds to go, but 50 is manageable when I see that I’ve already lost almost that much.

I know I should post a picture, but I don’t really have one ready. I’ll have to go through the recent pictures, and post it next to one of my pre-miscarriage pics from January!

Okay, okay. I know people are checking our adoption blog way more than this one, but I have to blog it before things get crazy around here in Bogota.  Jaime Lynne and Robert chauffered us on our very last date as a childless couple last weekend. It’s not often that we get chauffered, and it is even less often that it is on such a momentus occasion. Look how adorable J & R are in their matching famLea t-shirts!!! And where do you think we chose to eat….yeah, I know, it’s a complete stretch to think that we went to Claim Jumper (that’s CJ’s to the Brummetts)…

We had water,  no appetizers, and light dinners so that we could feast on the yummy deliciousness of THE DESSERTS. Robert and Jaime actually switched places so that Jaime and Adam could share one of the many things in life that they have in common–the chocolate chip calzone. I actually can’t stand the thing, but they swear by it. I begged Adam to let me get the mint chip mud pie (Jes, are you jealous yet?) Robert shared it with me. Thanks Rob!

So the post-eating portion of the date was supposed to include some Wii action, but by the time we got back to our side of town we were all too pooped to party. Lame, huh? That’s okay. We are perfectly content in our lameness…we have our friendship. :) Well, I guess by now everyone knows that we are finally in Colombia picking up our children. We won’t be posting anything on this blog for awhile. Check out the adoption blog for lots of updates.

I am proud to be George’s Auntie. And I am extra proud of what my dear friends continue to accomplish in the name of their son. Next year, I hope to take my children to Portland to walk with their Aunt Jes and Uncle Dan in Relay for Life. This weekend is for you Georgie, and for all of those who are here still fighting the good fight!