Halloween: Batman & Robin

So our costume of choice this year was the dynamic duo of Batman and Robin.  For the past few months Caden has talked about wanting a superhero cape, so we thought the Batman and Robin idea would be perfect.  Caden was Batman and Ethan was Robin.  We started our night out with Trunk or Treat at Caden's preschool.  Caden spent most of the time in the bounce house and Ethan cried because he was scared of the other costumes.  Quite the adventure, but fun!

 We then headed home to do a little trick or treating in our neighborhood.  Both boys really enjoyed walking around to the different houses. There were several houses out here that had lots of decorations.  One around the corner had all sorts of Halloween Green Bay Packers decor.  It was really neat!

At most doors, Caden would say "trick or treat" and then "thank you".  Ethan was just amused with the doorbell that sometimes he would drop his candy bucket on his way to the door.  After invading all our neighbors we came back to the house to hand out the ton of candy I bought, which we really needed to get rid of so I wouldn't eat it!  Caden would holler "candy, come and get your candy".  When trick or treaters arrived he would ask them "Who are you?" and then say "I'm going to give you two pieces of candy".  It was really cute!  So this is a short version of our crazy Halloween night! 

Caden's Sport Camp

Yes, I apologize for not keeping up with new posts like I should.  I'll start my New Years resolution early for next year which will involve me doing a better job on posts.  Well, lets just say I'll try!!!

We started Caden in a sports combo camp through the rec center out here.  The rec offers hundreds of classes for all ages at multiple centers.  We figured since Caden was to young to play soccer or baseball we would just put him in a basic sports class to get familiar with sports other than the ones we play at home.  The first week he did basketball and he did surprisingly well.  He was the only kid that could walk and dribble!  The second week he played soccer and continued to get mad at his partner because he wouldn't kick the ball back.  So, Caden would run get the ball from him, go back to his spot and then kick the ball to the other kid.  The third week, they did baseball, which is Perry's favorite sport as well as Caden's.  He did so good.  He threw the ball correctly, caught several balls, and hit the ball really well off the tee. 

A couple of things happened that evening that were very funny.  Caden was up to bat and the coach was trying to explain to him how to stand correctly, well the bat was a little long so Caden decided to choke up on the bat.  Last I checked that's not something a 3 year old really understands or knows how to do.  After camp he told me that the bat was to long so he had to choke up on it!  WOW!!!  The second thing that we got a kick out of was when he was standing on base he would clap his hands and chant "Let's Go Rangers!"  Since we are living in Angel territory I don't think anybody thought that was to funny, but we sure did. 

It's amazing the things that Caden can comprehend!  Here are a few pics from the different weeks.  Oh, and I don't have any from the week of soccer.  That night was cut short due to a desert sand storm! 

And here are a couple of Ethan playing while Caden was having sports camp!!

Hanes House: Caden's Room

Yes, I know I have not posted anything in a while.  Sorry.  With the start of school and other activities it's just been a little crazy around here. 

The next show case is actually inside the house!  It's Caden's room.  Caden's room is located upstairs at the end of the hallway.  He really loves baseball so I tried to showcase that as much as possible.   And yes, there are two random windows behind his hutch.  I'm not sure why they put those there. 

So, as you can see we did actually paint, for those of you who doubted me!!

Birds

So today after we dropped Caden off at school, Ethan and I decided to go walking rather then going to the rec center.  Out here they have walking and bike trails everywhere and the majority of them are shaded.  Ethan and I strolled some of the local parks and both really enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  After our walk I decided to let Ethan play at one of the playgrounds.  He's normally one that likes the big boy slides so I figured this particular park would be good, since it had easy access to the bigger slides.  Once I let Ethan out of the stroller he took off running and I figured he was headed towards the slide, wrong, he found a group of pigeons.  He kept hollering 'bird, bird" and he just watched the birds walk around the play area.  He would even get down low like he was going to creep up on them.  I think Ethan has a fascination with birds! 

Oh and by the way pigeons are all over the place out here.  The insect companies advertise about pigeon removal.  I guess I'm just use to grackles!

Hanes House: Desert Oasis

Ok, so I'm going to start a series of blogs that will give you a tour or our Vegas home.  This way all of our Texas friends can see what Nevada living is all about.  Also, so that those of you who doubted whether I really did come out here for 3 days to paint, I finally have some proof to show it! 

I'm going to start with one of my favorite spots, the backyard!  Our backyard is actually fairly large for most houses out here.  One of the unique things I've noticed living out here is the backyards wrap around the sides of the house.  We also have a beautiful pool and spa which we spend a lot of time in.  The pool has a spill over from the spa and a waterfall too.  One of the first things we did was put up a safety fence around the pool so there is more ease with letting the boys play in the backyard.  There is also a huge sandbox in the corner of the yard.  It's shaded all day long so the boys are able to dig and get dirty pretty much any time of the day.  Ethan is really good at pouring sand on his head and we are always finding it in his diaper. 

Our backyard is also known as the baseball and soccer field.  Caden loves to go out and play baseball, he even has spots that he calls bases so he can run when he hits a home run.  We've just recently pulled out a baseball tee, and if you not paying attention you are going to get nailed by a line drive.  I guess we have a baseball player on our hands!

Well, that's the layout of the backyard.  We are still missing patio furniture but we haven't had much luck finding anything we liked yet.  If we had a garden ridge out this way that's where I would be shopping but the closest one is in Oklahoma City.  Just one of the things I miss about Texas. 

Stickers

Caden is a huge fan of stickers.  I'm always finding stickers on clothes, windows, toys, etc.  A few weeks ago my mother sent us a box full of goodies, one in which included stickers.  After Caden got over the excitement of his new crocs and towel he immediately took the stickers.  Perry and I weren't exactly paying attention to what Caden was doing, because we were enjoying the Julio's chips mom had sent.  Which by the way is one of the things we miss out here in the desert, along with Chick-fil-A, but that's another blog for another time.  About 30 minutes later I was headed upstairs to change Ethan's diaper and I found the entire bottom of the staircase covered in stickers.  Between the two posts there were probably 18 to 20 stickers.  Caden called it his art!  I couldn't help but laugh, at least it wasn't crayons! 

Now two weeks later those stickers are still there, at least some of the them.  Ethan has decided he doesn't like the stickers on the stairs so he is slowly removing and putting them on the toys.  Luckily, the sticky is no longer sticky so I normally find them on the floor and then throw them away when the kids aren't looking.  Just one of the small things I love about my children!

FIrst Blog

Ok, so I've been inspired by several of our close friends to start our own blog.  I'm not that good at facebook so I'm hoping this will be away for our friends and family to see what's happening at the Hanes' House!  So, welcome to "The HANESome Crew"!  By the way Perry came up with the title, which sounds just like something he would come up with!