Halloween highlights

Before neighborhood Trunk or Treat...

 Pumpkin carving night...

 A Halloween-themed lunch (yes, that's a Frankenstein made out of bologna!)...

 Family Halloween fun night at school...

Halloween socks at soccer...

 I hope everyone had a fun Halloween season like we did!  :)

time flies... (July 4th festivities)

I'm so far behind on my blogging! That must just mean we're too busy enjoying our summer, I guess...definitely not a bad thing. Going to play a little catch up with this Fourth of July picture post. Lexington puts on a great parade and street fair. No, we have no idea who the kid in the blue shirt is, but he and Sam ended up in the Lexington Herald Leader photos together!

Sam: "Now there's something you don't see everyday." :)

Sam: "Don't shoot!"

Grace LOVES the horses...and Ronald McDonald... :)

And what's a street fair without sugar?

Fun day! We ended it by skipping the fireworks downtown since last year was NOT fun. We got to see a nice fireworks display while at the drive-in movie the night before and we knew we were looking forward to fireworks on the beach in MI, so it wasn't a tough decision. Fortunately, it seemed most of our neighbors decided to put on a show of their own, so we were able to enjoy some anyway from the comfort of our home.

MI in June (day 1)

Before we get to "MI in July", I figured I better update with our June trip! Day one was nice and laid back as the kids checked out Uncle Justin's phone, played in the tree limbs that had come down in Grandma Donna's yard, then enthusiastically watched as a couple of guys turned many of those limbs into wood chips later.

Grace got to open some birthday presents and most of us walked up to Dairy Queen to grab a birthday treat.

It was a great day to get some visiting in with Grandma and Papa, Grandma Donna and Uncle Justin.

what a fun day it was...

Grace's birthday party was one of the best ones, yet. Kind of made me wish Sam had the option for a park birthday party, but February weather prevents that!

Grace wanted a party where they could play soccer, play t-ball, have their faces painted, do a craft and play on the playground...and she got just that! Since past birthday parties were getting a little large, I started the "you can invite the number of kids that equal the age you're turning" rule that my mom had with us when we were kids. It worked out great (that is, after Grace's nail-biting decision of who to invite that almost made me give in and let her invite more...almost). The small group played well together, no one got left out, and Kris and I had an easier time keeping track of everyone. That will definitely be the standing rule from this point on.

Oh, and the cake was a big hit! Grace had drawn a picture of what she wanted a couple of weeks ago and actually had me and Kris sign off on it...a binding contract!! She is a big fan of all the cake baking/decorating shows that are all over tv right now, so she insisted that we use fondant on her cake. Seriously, I don't know if fondant even existed when I was a kid, but if it did, I definitely had no idea what it was!

In true diva fashion, she kept the celebration going beyond the actual birthday, when we headed north to MI on vacation and she squeezed in a birthday celebration with Kris's side of the family. Posts on that will be coming soon!

What we've been up to {Part 1}

At the beginning of April, the kids and I roadtripped to Cleveland for their spring break. Surprisingly, the crowds weren't too bad there this year (it's normal to head north for spring break, right?). :) We spent 3 days cramming in as many visits with friends as we could. Thankfully, some of those friends were even willing to host us overnight! While we weren't able to see everyone, we loved every second of the visits we were able to have. From kids who decided they were "just like brothers" to experiencing the Children's Museum (including a giant room filled with sand!) to movie watching and playing to driving by our old house, a good time was had by all. :)

Easter 2011

Bronchitis, egg dying, crazy thunderstorms, tornado warnings, baskets, celebrating at church and a bunny cake...what a lovely weekend :)

St. Pat's!

A few days late...the kids were thrilled to head to school in green instead of uniforms! Grace's class visited one of the 2nd grade classes to help them clean up their room after a sneaky little leprechaun had messed up their room. And Sam's class had a leprechaun visit and leave them each a gold chocolate coin on their desks, making sure to leave Sam a pile of rainbow Skittles instead because leprechauns are pretty smart and know not to leave chocolate that was manufactured on shared equipment with peanuts and tree nuts for the kid who is allergic to such items. :)

my crazy valentines + a new addition!!

A day late on these Valentine's pics...oops! I was too preoccupied last night receiving the surprise Valentine's news that our new niece decided to make her arrival yesterday! Yay! Yes, that's right...I said NIECE! Finally another girl in the family! Here she is, Miss Lyla:

Can't wait to meet you, baby girl!!

a day in the life of a 6-year-old

The very first day of being a 6-year-old, that is.

As requested, the day began with Dutch Baby Pancakes for breakfast (the most yummy breakfast ever, by the way).

Then it was time to chat on speaker phone to receive birthday wishes while opening a couple of presents.

Then it was Lego mania in pj's for a few hours.

Then it was time to be presented with a special pan of cupcakes decorated by the sister of the birthday boy.

That afternoon, a party was held at a local gymnastics facility where several of the new 6-year-old's classmates joined in on the celebration. A good time was had by all. :)

Following the party, the birthday boy returned home for presents from Mom, Dad and Grace and a couple of pictures with his parents, who can't figure our when their tiny baby turned into the giant kid!

I'm pretty sure Sam had a fantastic birthday! And he is very proud to FINALLY be 6. :)