Trick or Treat, round 1

Because Halloween night is pretty busy for us around these parts, we usually dress the kids up and go visit my grandparents the night before.  I love, love, love their outfits this year!! 

My adorable little Colts fans.  {Brittany saw this pic and said they looked like UK fans.  Gag.  Bite your tongue, Britt! ;)}

 We loaded up and barged in went to visit with the great-grandparents!  All of us.  And, when we are all together, it can get pretty chaotic.  But, I love it! :)

We had a Colts cheerleader, a poodle skirt girl {is it Bobby socks girl?}, a cheetah, Reggie Wayne, a vampire, and The Turtle Man.  After I saw this picture, I started thinking back to when it was just the three older ones and we could dress them up as cute little monkeys or lady bugs.  Yeah, those days are long gone. ;(

 And, I had to throw in this pic!  Travis tries his hardest to make Maggie like him.  He grabbed her from behind for a quick pic and she whined the entire time. Ha!

 Next up?  We headed to Trick or Treat with Jami and the kids!  She invited us to the pad where Steve works.  It was awesome!  We hadn't done this before, but we will go back {invited or not!}.

 They had all of the residents in the hall passing out candy.  My kids loved it!  {And I just realized that Steve looks like a resident.  Ha!  He's not.}

 The crew...munching on candy. :)

 Thanks, James, for the invite!  Love you!

The dream party for a six year old

Levi got invited to his first big boy birthday party.  He has been to birthday parties for his cousins or close friends.  But, this was a drop-your-kid-off-at-a-stranger's-house birthday party.  I knew this day was coming.  But it still made me want to hurl. 

Levi has a new friend named Bobby that he met playing soccer.  Two weeks ago, Bobby's parents gave us an invitation to his birthday party.  They explained that they were building an obstacle course and the boys could wear camo and bring Nerf guns to shoot.  You guys, that is like HEAVEN to my little six year old.  Kind of like if someone gave me $1000 and said, please go shopping and only spend this on yourself.  Heaven.  ;)

First up on the agenda was a new Nerf gun.  I think Eric was just as excited to help pick out a gun for Levi!  And, you know what makes me proud?  That Levi bought the gun with his own money.  :)  It has an extra attachment on it that makes it three feet long.  Hilarious!

 Over the next week, I constantly heard, "How much longer till the party?"  Oy.  Finally the day arrived and Levi was soo excited!  Here is party of the course set up in their basement.  So cute!

 And they even had vests and safety goggles for each child to keep.  Double cute!

 Bobby's mom sent me the following picture while Levi was playing.

When I went back to pick Levi up three hours later, he was running around like a wild man in combat.  When he saw me, he said, "Noooo! I'm not leaving!"  Ha!  I think he had a great time. Bobby's mom told me he was a really polite child and she couldn't get over him saying "please" and "thank you" for everything.  Yes!  It's working.  Ha!!  On the way home, I asked Levi if he had eaten dinner.  He said, "Yep, cake and ice cream."  I guess that's all you need! ;)

Mom's cool is just not as cool as dad's cool

Here is my cool thang:

The other night, we were driving out to see Eric's parents and I yelled, "Ohh, kids, look! A hot air balloon is landing in front of us."  So, Eric pulled over and we watched it land in a field right by our house.  Ten minutes of excitement and it was over.

Then, Eric has to go and trump me.  He picked Levi up from the bus stop one day this week and took him to the airport to watch planes.  {Side note: when I take the kids to the airport, we sit in the van and talk amongst ourselves.  When Eric takes them, he gets out, goes into different buildings and tries to talk to everyone he sees.  I would die of embarrassment.  Oy.} 

I got this text from Eric: "OMG, there is a pilot here I started talking to and he is going to show Levi his private jet!"

Of course he is.  Because that's how Eric rolls.  There is a reason his nick name is The Mayor. ;)

 Hot air balloon?  Yeah, Mom, I'm in a private jet.  What hot air balloon?

 {Please excuse the red eyes.  The pics were from Eric's phone and I didn't "have permission" to save them after editing.  Whatevs.}

So happy for this little boy. :)  Made his day!!

phone dump

Is the camera really a thing of the past for me?  I hope not!  I find myself taking pictures with my phone camera and then uploading them to Instagram and THAT'S IT.  I hardly ever pull out my real camera any more.  Sigh...  Need to get back in the habit.

And, so, it begins.

Buckets o' candy and toys.  My parents left to embark on a two week long trip along the east coast, so they gave the kids their Halloween buckets early.  I love this time of year, but the candy is out.of.control. ;) 

Sunday...my little man watching some football with us.  Love.

Also on Sunday, Maggie woke up super cranky from her nap.  She fell back to sleep on me.  I love, love, love moments like that! 

So, you guys, I have been on a cooking spree lately!  {No, I haven't been hacked.}  It has actually been fun to do some new recipes.  I've tried a couple of new things and one of my faves has been chicken and dumplings in the crockpot.  Thanks, Jami for helping me with the recipe.  It turned out really yummy, even though both of my kids just sat and stared at their bowls and said it looked gross. Ha!  It was easy, too!

Yep, that's been my life of late...photos on my phone and trying new and easy recipes.  Don't be jealous.  You, too, can be this boring. ;-)

my favorite time of the year

Many years ago, my parents started hosting a Fall Festival at their home.  I think they have been doing it 12 years.  It is for their whole church and on average, they have about 150 people attend.  Over the years, they have pretty much perfected it and each year, it seems better than the year before!  This year was no exception.  The weather was perfect.  Chilly...perfect for a big ol' fire!

 Okay, so that was only the fire for the hot dog & marshmallow cookin'! ;)  This is the real fire. {Notice how Maggie and Levi are watching Papa "work" the fire.  Adorbs!}

 These two kids could not have had more fun.  They love being at Papa and Grammy's all the time -- but this night is extra special!

 It's special because there are wagon rides...

 There are barrel rides...

 There is corn hole...

 But, seriously, the thing my kids love MOST about the Fall Festival???

My dad rents a Port-a-potty.  Oy.  Maggie must have gone potty 40 times.  She loves it.  And, she thinks it is awesome that my dad hangs a light at the top. 

 I'm gonna let you in on a little secret, though.  When you know the hostess {and the garage code!!}, you get to use the big girl potty here...

 Okay, so back to the festival. :)  There is so much food!  They have a chili cook-off and a dessert contest.  Last year, I won.  This year, I didn't.  It's totally rigged.

 I mean, doesn't this look good??  Mmm.  Chocolate chip cheese ball.

 Another thing that is good?  Friends who show up. :) 

 And act crazy with your kids.

 I think these two munchkins enjoyed the barrel ride. :)

 We love friends who come to help us eat. :)  {I couldn't find Levi after this point.  He was too busy running around with his friends!}

 Oh, and there is the Miller Cinema. ;)  Toy Story 2 was on the menu for last night.

 But, by far, my favorite thing of the night was the warmth from the fire. 

 There is just something about being outdoors by the warmth that makes you smile.

 I'm so thankful for my parents who do this "little" shindig to promote family time...

...and time for fellowship.

Fun Fall Break

I'm really sad that our Fall Break is almost over.  We have had such a great week with Levi home!  Honestly, my kids have been so good and it makes me sad to get back into a routine.  We did manage to squeeze in a few fun things.  One of the highlights was going to the airport and watching for planes.

 Levi got the camera and just started shooting pics.  We were amazed at how busy the airport was that night!  There must have been a plane land or take off every two minutes!

 This is what happens when you tell a two year old girl she can't go fly in the plane.  Levi thought it was hilarious and said, "I'm glad we got that face captured on the camera forever."  Ha!

 I was getting quite bored, but the kids loved it! 

 Another highlight was going to Imagination Station.  Our neighbors invited us to go and we had a great time. :) 

 This boy can have fun doing pretty much anything!

 "May I take your order, please?"

 Most of the toys were pretty little for Levi, but give him a train table and he will be happy for days. :)

There are so many fun things to look forward to!  I'm trying to soak up all these little memories in my head and treasure them. :)