(Tom)
and almost gone are the days of watching my not-so-little-anymore boys walk into the school in their Halloween costumes.  I have been giving a little of the ongoing saga of the creation of the Halo 3 body armor and weapons on my Facebook page.  What initially seemed like a fun little activity, something for the boys to do instead of playing the game on-line so often, turned into a full-blown, time-consuming, energy-draining, sleep-depriving, cardstock-gobbling and hand-wrecking process.  I suppose its because I never saw the original pieces that Tom and his friend Matt worked on:  how long it took, how many steps were involved and how many pieces they were actually going to be making…they just looked wonderful.  They got started on this during the summer when they were looking for something to do, but then school started, and of course most recently, the play.  I would see them cutting and taping the pieces together, but I had NO idea…NONE!  I couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement and enthusiasm for it. 

(Mike) 

Halloween always comes around more quickly than I anticipate and I believe it caught the boys off guard as well.  There have been days when other projects got in the way, like church responsibilities or commitments to the drama department (mostly cookies!).  Nevertheless, I am happy to report that after a very long day Thursday that, included painting by flashlight and drying resin with a blow dryer in the house, that except for some random little parts (that can wait for next year:) we are done and can finally begin the task of cleaning up!  A new house rule is being established:  Do not embark on any messy, time-consuming projects that are not likely to be done in a day without the initial expressed approval of the parental units.

(Tom)

That said, I would like to express what a satisfying  feeling it was to see them get the costumes on and I enjoyed the look on their faces.  There was an incredible team effort with Megan and even Jake helping a little after the cookies were done to pull this off and as tired as I am today, I am so happy to have been able to support Mike and Tom in their endeavors! 

 (Mike)

(Tom)

(Mike)

I remember days when dressing-up (big sister contributions!) was so much simpler!  But this is impressive!  Now we can concentrate on carving pumpkins, more cookies and party time!  

*Will post pictures of the two boys together later!!!