Beautiful November Day

On Sunday we took advantage of the beautiful November day and headed to Brookside Park for a picnic and for the boys to burn off some energy. I wish I could store up some of this beautiful fall weather to use in the middle of February when I am so sick of the snow and being inside:)

An Astronaut and a Cheetah

Another Halloween has come and gone and this year trick or treating was a little more exciting then last year. Our Halloween festivities started on Thursday with a trip down to Krugers to make and decorate Halloween cookies. Gabe wasn't too interested in the cutting out cookies part but did enjoy putting sprinkles on them, and of course eating them. Ty didn't help with the cookies but added to the Halloween ambiance with his jack-o-lantern t-shirt. I bought it at Target in the dollar section and didn't think I would get to use it, at least not without a long sleeved onesie underneath but it was a beautiful day so he got to wear it without the long sleeves. Friday turned out to be just as nice of day and we got our costumes on to go out trick or treating after nap time. My cheetah woke up first and actually kept his hood up most of the time. The cheetah nose was complete with a cheetah growl when you press it. My astronaut woke up just in time to go so we got his moon shoes(just black target shoes, but he called them his moon shoes) on and anxiously awaited Daddy's arrival. Clark came to trick or treat with us this year as well. All the boys had fun getting their candy. The little boys had more fun taking their candy out of their buckets. Our neighborhood was great for trick or treating, lots of lights on and lots of kids. After we were done in our neighborhood we drove over to Grandma and Grandpa's so they could see our cute trick or treaters. The cheetah at this point was getting pretty tired so we came home, ate some pizza and headed to bed, but not before an attempt to get a picture of them both looking at the camera in their costumes. It was a beautiful day. The astronaut and the cheetah slept very well(and so did their mom and dad).

Our Little Fish and Happy Birthday Grandpa

Gabe started swimming lessons the middle of October at the indoor pool by the high school. I was pretty sure he would like them since he loved being in the water this summer and I was right. Gabe jumps right in with no hesitation and loves every minute of it. We remind him each time that he needs to obey his teacher as he tends to like to do his own thing every once in awhile(like climb up the ladder) but for the most part he does really well. There are only 3 kids in his class including him so he gets plenty of teacher time. He always comes home with red eyes from going under the water with his eyes open so much but he has so much fun he doesn't care. Last night Grandma Mel and Grandpa Tim came with us to his swimming lesson to see Gabe and then we out to Hickory Park for Grandpa Tim's birthday. Ty was mesmerized by the singing when they brought out the birthday sundae. Gabe just wanted to help blow out the candle. If anyone ever needs help blowing out birthday candles Gabe will gladly be at your service:)

C is for Cookie

P is for pumpkin and M is for mess. All things we experienced this weekend. As you can see Ty really really enjoys chocolate chip cookies. I think more of the cookie ended up on his face rather then his mouth but he enjoyed it all the same. Gabe usually loves cookies as well but this night he didn't want to eat his cookie or anything else for that matter. He pretty much just made faces at me over his sandwich. Ty doesn't like food but anything else he loves to put in his mouth. A good example is this pumpkin we had on the table. He wouldn't eat his dinner but loved the pumpkin. Ty is also really good at making messes. This morning he got the pantry door open found this box of cereal and this is what happened. I threw out my back on Tuesday and have been hurting ever since so this is a great help to have to sweep up a whole box of wheat chex. Oh the joys of little boys:)

Wide Open Spaces

The older I have gotten and the older my kids have become I have learned to appreciate wide open spaces more and more. Growing up in rural Iowa by the farm I took for granted the wide open spaces we had to play in, the large groves of trees that served as my play house, the endless combine and tractor rides that I never really appreciated until I had kids of my own, a huge yard where I could run around and ride my bike and not have to worry about the neighbors or traffic. This past weekend we drove up to the farm on Sunday to visit my Grandparents and uncle. It is now watching my kids run around the farm and the look in their eyes when they see where we are that I truly appreciate growing up where I did. Gabe loves to run around the farm, to explore new things. He was able to explore the wagons more closely this trip(don't worry Dad was up there too, just well hidden in the first picture) as well as a few of the tractors. He also got to go on a combine ride even though they were done with beans and the corn was not quite ready Uncle Bone got the combine out just for Gabe to have a ride. Ty loves to explore as well but he is just as happy to explore the new toys inside the house with Great Grandma. It was a fun day for the boys. That evening the boys went on their first hay ride with our connection group from church. All the kids enjoyed themselves and the night was beautiful.

Ledges

Friday afternoon we went over to Ledges with the boys. They had a great time running around and looking at all the beautiful scenery(warning lots of pics:)