Naughty or Nice?

We have two that will be on the nice list for sure! We took a trip to Target the other night to get some ideas of what might be on their wish list! Both kids found several things they were interested in!

Generations

On Saturday we met Amy, Anna, Gran & Papa to celebrate Anna's 4th birthday! After lunch Gran asked if we could go over to Twin Lakes and get a photo of the kids on Ganga & Pop's Bench. The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect day to play a little bocce and walk around the lake. The kids loved looking at the rabbits, swans and of course puppies!

Brayden's Baptism

We drove up to celebrate with the Lynchs as they had Brayden's Baptism. It was such a sweet day spent with family. His gown was over 150 years old!

Happy Halloween

Not every tradition is planned. This year marks our 8th year of having a Halloween cookout! We still try to keep it pretty simple but it does take a group to have it all come together. We took the kids over to the pumpkin shoot with Gran & Papa. It looked like rain so we set up tables in the garage. We had a big turnout this year...40 folks! Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends. Fortunately for us the rain held off. This year Caden went as DJ C! His costume was a box with three bins. People got to vote for their favorite type of music by placing their candy in the bins. Hip hop won by a landslide! Alli was our little poodle girl! We made her skirt with YaYa's help and she loved it so much we had to make one for her too! After dinner and trick or treating, we set up the outdoor movie screen. The kids watched Monsters Inc. and we all had Smores! It was a wonderful evening!

Must be fall!

Andy was ready to fire up the smoker so we loaded it up and called the family over. YaYa, Granddaddy, Aunt Debbie & Uncle Jay joined us for a fall rib feast! They were delicious! After dinner we decided it was time to carve our pumpkin. Someone had the great idea to make a polka dot pumpkin...but first...Alli took a poll to see who could guess the number of seeds in the pumpkin. This sounded like a great idea until we realized we then had to count them all! Would you believe 386 seeds! While Andy drilled perfect holes in our pumpkin we roasted the seeds. The seeds were ok but the ribs were certainly the star of the evening! But our pumpkin was pretty adorable too!

Birthdays

Andy and I are blessed to have birthdays only 4 days apart. For Andy's birthday we went out to lunch with our friends the Treichlers. Andy had his favorite she-crab soup! We gave him a new game for his x-box & new rubic puzzle. We went to Outback for a joint celebration with our family. On my birthday we went to the Cheesecake Factory with my parents. When the kids got home from school they gave me a Comfy (Brookstones version of the Snugglie) , and my favorite pumpkin bread mix from Williams Sonoma. The festivities continued as the Treichlers joined us for dinner at Vincents, followed by my favorite Ben & Jerrys cake. Rachel gave me this adorable metal tree...oh the possibilities! Can't wait to have fun with this! Ornaments for christmas, eggs for Easter, shamrocks, flags...

No Fair....no fair!

It was time for another visit to the doctor and we got the news. Andy was doing better but the doc said no fair! What...did I hear him correctly...no fair...NO FAIR! (of course we are grateful his was getting better...it is just he loves going to the fair). Well the fair must go on! & so must we since I prebought our tickets! So YaYa, Susan, Maddie, Caden, Alli & I were fair bound! We saw cakes, cookies and some amazing legos! We rode rides...Madeline went on her first roller-coaster...and we ate! Before we left we got a turkey leg for the road. I think our patient was thankful!

Early Birthday

Andy gave me a new camera for my birthday! I was so excited! We typically use our digital SLR but it is big and sometimes too heavy to take out daily. So my sweet hubby made a very special trip to surprise me! Let me share that Andy had been sick with pneumonia for three weeks. Not able to walk more than 50 feet without getting winded. He hadn't been behind a wheel for weeks! So of course I was shocked when he handed me an early present! Come to find out he took the car out when the kids & I were at church! He was so sneaky he even heated up some chili and left it in the sink so I would think he ate that for dinner! All this effort to suprise little old me! Yes I did say old me....I am getting older but thankful for each day! Thank you Andy...I love you! and my new camera too!

Fall Photos

Fire burning...

on the dance floor! The kids' school has a fundraiser that used to be a fun run. However after years of having to postpone due to weather, the PTA changed it to a dance party! Caden had a great time dancing & Alli enjoyed all of the games.