Pumpkin Patch

We had planned to go to a big pumpkin patch on Friday, but Miller was still sick (both boys had Croup last week) so we had to nix that plan.  Thankfully, Pop and Gran came for a quick visit and we were able to go to a little pumpkin patch downtown on Saturday. 

 I think Miller examined every pumpkin there trying to find the best one to carve.

 Jacob found a few too!

 Jacob wasn't too excited to take a picture with me.

 Our attempt at a family picture.  Fail.

 After the pumpkin patch we went to the park and then to lunch.  Then it was time to carve!

 Miller had to get his tools since Pop had his out.

 The final product!  Not a great quality pic, but priceless nonetheless!

Thanks for the pumpkin (and the visit) Pop and Gran!

Seagrove Beach Trip

Hello friends!  Blogging has been taking a backseat lately and I've been away too long.  I love the way that blogging makes me stay current with our trips and other memories though so that while my children won't have a beautiful, detailed scrapbook to look back on they'll at least have this!  (And the books I print from it!)

We spent last week in Seagrove, Florida with my dad, stepmom, brother and his girlfriend.  It was absolutely beautiful (after the first two days) and the perfect time to go to the beach!

We drove down in rain and had rain when we got there.  When it let up a little my dad was sweet enough to take Miller to look for crabs in the drizzle.  Sweet La La let Miller borrow her rain jacket.

 Dinner at Great Southern in Seaside.  It was wonderful and I highly recommend it!

 This toy was well worth the space it took up in the car!

A casual night out in Seaside.  It was perfect for the little ones.

 You may start noticing a trend.  I love this little boy in bubbles.  They make my heart pitter-patter.

 Can you hear Jacob saying, "Cheeeeese!"

 Miller's first go-cart ride!

 I think he liked it ;)

Sweetest daddy ever.

 Poppy and his boys!

 

One morning when the big guys went to play golf, Cissy and I thought it might be fun to go bike riding through Seaside.  It turned out to be a pretty disastrous day, but still fun!

 Disaster #1:  Waiting almost 2 hours for a baby trailer from a place only a block away.

Disaster #2:  Immediately after getting the baby trailer and starting the ride to Seaside, a tire on the trailer popped.  It made for a good workout for mommy riding on a flat tire!  The bike company was pretty quick to bring me a new one, but (Disaster #3) this meant moving Jacob who had fallen asleep for about ten minutes and thereby waking him up (and he never slept again the rest of the day).

After these first three disasters, we were having a great time!

 Miller decided to cool off in the "waterfall".

 We had a good run of about an hour ride, a delicious lunch outside, and another thirty minutes of riding before Disaster #4: Miller's bike pedal broke off of his bike.  Thankfully we had room for two in the baby trailer, although Miller wasn't too excited when I insisted we leave his bike and come back for it later.

We ended the day with well-deserved chocolate shakes followed by mommy-alone-time on the beach.

It was tough to come back to reality after such a fun week!  Thanks for everything, Poppy & Cissy!

Labor Day 2013

We had our 8th Annual Labor Day Weekend at my parents' lake house with 10 kids (ages six and under!) and twelve adults total.  It was crazy fun, and sometimes just plain crazy :)  Needless to say, we didn't have time to snap many pictures and all of the ones we did get were iPhoto pics.

Kendall and I loaded up our kids on Thursday and rode down together.  They did great and it really went better than we expected! 

We finally got all five kids to sleep...

and then we came to a standstill from roadwork.  Awesome.  Thankfully the littlest ones at least got a decent nap before waking up.

All of the kids!

Addie, Sam, Hays, Winston, Henry, Foster, Hunter, Campbell, Miller, and Jacob

These two cuties have already been betrothed to each other.

Sunday night we snuck away for a girls' night!

These girls have been such a blessing to me and I absolutely cannot express how thankful I am for them.  Can't wait until next year!  Maybe we should do it Memorial Day too (only kidding Pop and Gran!!!)  Thanks for being such gracious hosts and all you did as chefs, babysitters, boat captains, and cleanup crew!

Preschool is back!

Hallelujah!  Preschool is back in session!  This family loves mother's day out/preschool or whatever you choose to call it.  It is from 8:30-12 for three days for Miller and two for Jacob.  It is the perfect balance of activity for the kids and alone time for mommy to get household and personal things done.  I am so thankful for our preschool and the teachers there.  To me, it is everything a preschool should be.  Lots of playing, crafting, reading, singing, and Bible stories with a little "schoolwork" thrown in.  The teachers are all very loving and I've loved watching Miller learn in such a natural way.  We all seem to function better when "school" is in session so we were glad to get back into the swing of things.

Miller's first day of 4-K

 Excited about his first day, but a little nervous with his new teacher.

 Loving his new classroom!

 

Little bit didn't start until a few days later, but he did great!

He dove right out of my arms over the dutch door into Ms. Jennifer's arms when he saw all of the new toys and kids playing!  It was a relief to not leave him while he was upset.

We're looking forward to a great year!