Leaves, Leaves & More Leaves

Living with BIG beautiful trees = lots of leaves come fall!!

Our project these days is picking up as many leaves as we can. The boys have figured out how "fun" leaves are. They see a pile and just run in it, swim in it and hide in it....It's pretty cute. I thought I should get it on camera so someday when they are teenagers and hate racking up leaves I can remind them how much fun they used to have!!

William and Spaghetti

This is video of William eating Spaghetti last night....just made us laugh, I hope it will do the same for you!!

Halloween 2009

Tonight the boys went out Trick or Treating for the first time...I was pretty surprised they did pretty good! They made sure to say "Happy Halloween" and "Thank You", so I was a proud mama! We made the "rounds" of our street, then headed around the block. By then the the boys had enough and where ready to come home and "try" to ingest some of the candy they just scored. I let them have three pieces each, PLENTY of candy for them to have at 7 o'clock at night!! The enjoyed the next hour telling me when kids where coming to "trick or treat" at our house! It was pretty fun to watch-They were just amazed at all the kids coming to the door. Here are a few pictures of their cute Halloween outfits....they both insisted on being "Bees"!

Zoo Boo

This afternoon we took a trip down to the Zoo for Zoo Boo!! This was our first year attending the event. The zoo decorates the entire grounds with Halloween decorations and they have various activities for the kids and of course Trick or Treat stations!! There were a lot of people out today, but it was still fun.... I think mom may have even enjoyed it more then the boys. We met our friends, Lilly & Ella who were dressed as a cowgirl on a horse & Indian and Luke and Nicholas who were dressed a Darth Vader and a pumpkin... these four kiddos are John and Williams closest friends!! We lucked out too the weather was perfect....here are a few pictures from the event!


William, John, Lilly & Ella


John & Lilly





Looking at the Bears!!!





William at least cooperated with this group picture!


John hiding from the camera!!

Pumpkin Shirts

A few weeks ago the MOPS group that I am a part of had a "Mom's Night In" and we Tie Dyed Pumpkin shirts for the kids. I must say I haven't tie dyed shirts since I was probably 7...but it was fun. Especially after seeing the final product. Today at school was "friendly costume" dress up day-since Halloween is on Saturday. I decided to send the boys to school in the Pumpkin Shirts I made. I really wanted to get some pictures of these two cute boys so I got them dressed and bribed them with a cookie to smile for the camera.... You gotta use bribery every now and then!! Here are the few of the snap shots I took!

Pumpkins!!!

Today, we went to the pumpkin patch after church.

We took a little ride out to Noblesville Indiana, to Stoney Creek Farms. They have the annual "Pumpkin Festival" that last through Halloween. Once you get in, you get your tickets and take a "hayride" out to the pumpkin patch (which happens to also be a Christmas Tree farm). The weather happened to be a perfect Indiana Fall day - sun shinning and 70 degrees! The boys took their time finding the "right" pumpkin- but we ended up with about 4 from the field. When we headed back, John and William wanted to ride on the pumpkin train so we got in line. When it was time to bored William freaked out and decided to stay with Mama, and John went alone. He had so much fun they both decided to throw 2 & 3 year temper tantrums as we left the festival. But those were easily remedy with custard from the "Custard Shoppe". John was the first to finish his and then he decided he needed to "help" William finish his.... William graciously let him. It was a fine way to spend a Sunday afternoon!

Colts Stadium- But No Colts!

We had the opportunity to watch High School football games at Lucus Oil stadium, just a few weeks ago!

Although we missed seeing "The Colts" it was great having the whole stadium to ourselves like that. The boys had fun.....But the biggest attraction for them was the cotton candy of course, blue cotton candy to be exact!

Apple Picking

It's Fall! The leaves are turning, the mornings and evenings are nice and chilly... and that means APPLES are ready to be picked and eaten!

The boys headed out to Tuttle Orchards for the first time. Both John and William were able to pull around a little red wagon, and pick whatever apple they wanted to off of the tree. After all the apple picking is done, Tuttle's has a great play area for the kids to run around in. Gotta Love fall in Indiana!

Lake Geneva, WI

Sunday we had to start making the trip home from our mini vacation. We made the decision to take the scenic route through Wisconsin and headed a little west to Lake Geneva.... I just gotta say, if you are looking for a great spot to visit or vacation, Lake Geneva is the spot. It is gorgeous, and lots of activities to do!

One stop we absolutely had to make was the Ice Cream shop!








Attempting to get a family picture!!

Milwaukee Trip

We had a busy summer - mostly play dates, going to the park, and of course the splash pad. With everyone working so hard, there was not much time to take a "summer vacation". We decided to take our "summer vacation" the weekend after Labor Day! Trying to avoid all of the holiday traffic and people. Our initial thought was just to head up to Chicago for a long weekend, BUT U2 decided to kick off it's American tour that same weekend, and there was not a hotel in sight. So we started looking at our other options. Milwaukee was only another hour north of Chicago so we decided to go there. Andy had visited there on a business trip and said it was a great city! So off began our trip to Wisconsin!! We arrived late Friday night, the boys handled the trip pretty well. We got the car unloaded and kids in bed and we were ready to start a fresh day on Saturday!

We decided to get out of the hotel for breakfast and headed out and about looking for something to fill our belly's! After cruising around we found a Bruegger's Bagels and decided to stop there. It was a treat for Andy since we had not had the chance to eat at one since we left Tucson!

Chocolate Milk & Bagels- What could be better???

After breakfast we decided to take an adventure and try to find the lake Michigan.... (It wasn't too hard, we where right around the corner). We found a perfect spot that had a beach and a playground and an awesome spot to run around.

Super Cool John!

William a little intimidated by the water!

Playing in the sand!

Mama and her boys!

William and daddy threw rocks the whole time!

After fun on the beach...we found the playground!

Beautiful view of the Lake.

Staying in downtown Milwaukee, we had the option of staying at a hotel with a water park..... Later that afternoon, we had to check it out!!

We had a little down time in the hotel before dinner....John really wanted to play on the computer and William was acting wacky with daddy!

After Dinner at a great Italian place downtown, we took a nice walk along the river....The boys had fun watching the boats riding along....

1st Day of School 2009

With much joy, for mommy (ha ha) - John and William started preschool on August 25th of this year. John has graduated into the "3" year old room and William was starting off this first year with all the "2"s. Both boys go to school two days a week from 9-1. It's perfect for them. They have learned so much and continue to amaze me daily. I think the hardest part for them to learn is that it is OK to be away from mommy for a few hours and take direction from someone else. They both come home with awesome little "projects" they made in class... and because it is a Christian Preschool, they get taught the values Andy and I try to place in them daily. It's just a fantastic combination. I know they are only 2 & 3 but I believe this is an awesome gift we are giving our boys...even if we have to sacrifice a little more. Here are a few great pictures of the boys excited to "Go To School"!!


Check Out the Cat & Dog in the background....Too Funny!

Williams getting a little bored.....


William Just realized he was going to school.

Camp out in the living room!

Saturday night the boys and I were home alone.... Andy had to work and Tricia was out of town. I thought it would be fun for the boys and I to do something a little "out of the norm". We had pizza for dinner (that's pretty normal) I made yummy, "No Pudge" brownies from Trader Joes and we set up the couch bed in the living room, to "Camp Out" ..... I laid in the recliner and we watched the movie Beethoven. (The boys' new favorite movie) . It was pretty fun... now next time I will really get creative and bring out the boys tent...but I thought this was a good start!

First Indians Baseball Game

Friday night the company Tricia and Andy work for hosted a night out at the ball game for all employees and their families. We thought this would be a great opportunity for the boys to go to their first minor league baseball game. It ended up being a beautiful day, a little chilly that night but none of us seemed to mind. The boys were excited to see the field and players.... we actually had pretty good seats. They did not really get the concept of "sitting and watching the game", they were way more excited about the cotton candy vendor walking up and down the aisle than the actual game. The big "downer" of the evening was about the 3rd inning the skies opened up and it started raining..... But I think that was OK. The boys seemed to have had their fill with baseball and just wanted the cotton candy and popcorn. We gave in before we left and let the boys experience cotton candy for the first time....they were fearless. Now why can't they be that way with green beans??








And now the cotton candy.........

School Orientation

"Preschool" starts for the boys on August 25th. A week before preschool starts the school holds an orientation night for the parents and kids to meet the teachers and see their classrooms and go over a few rules and of course they always serve Ice Cream after.... so why wouldn't you go?? That night when I told the boys where we were going they went crazy and they were SO excited.....running around the house like animals. I'm not sure they really knew what we were doing....I think they were more excited about the ice cream than anything. But we wanted to look our best, clean clothes and combed hair. My little monkeys have to pose for the camera! We will see how our first day of school 2009 goes....stay tuned for the update!

More Sprinkler fun.....again

I am a mom obsessed with taking pictures!! Sorry! But here are some really cute pictures of the boys playing in the sprinklers on another warm summer night..... Someday they may be completely embarrassed I let them run around practically naked in the front yard. But I guess that's just a price you pay for fun sometimes!

Sleeping babies

The boys and I had a very busy day last week.... They both stayed pretty happy and showed no signs of being tired. They asked me, as some times they do to watch the "Car" movie down in the basement while they were playing. And so being the good mother I am, I put in the DVD and headed up stairs to cook dinner. (Sorry I had to toot my own horn there ;) About a half hour into the movie I heard zero noise coming from the basement except for the DVD.......This is what I found!



TWO VERY Sleepy boys!!!!!

Summer Fun, Playing in the sprinklers

One of the most exciting parts of our day is ussually around 6:30 at night. Everyone is home for the night so we all like to head outside, eat some ice cream and turn on the sprinkler. My little munchkins LOVE it. The water may be too cold for you and me.....But John and William dont seem to mind. And we sort of kill two birds with one stone, boys burn off energy...lawn get's watered!!

William Turns 2!!

My little baby turned 2 on July 30th. I can not believe how quickly time has flown by. A lot has happen in those two years... These little guys bring me so much joy! For William's birthday this year we just had a small family get together, I made William a Hot dog and Corn for his birthday dinner (two of his favorites) and the we had cupcakes followed by presents. I am pretty sure he had a great day!

Baking Cookies

I decided the boys needed a lesson in baking cookies. I figured it would be cheaper and healthier then buying cookies at the store. These boys made me laugh the whole time. They did great dropping in the ingredients...but I couldn't help but chuckle when they started using the whisk as guitars....didn't I say the are musician's in the making?

Catching FireFlies

What more can I say....Summertime in Indiana = FireFlies!!

Last 2009 Concert in The Park

Tonight was the last night of the summer concerts in the park. We attended almost regularly every Tuesday night from 7-9. We would pack dinner, have a picnic and hung out with good friends. Tonight the Town of Fisher's had an extra special treat for everyone- FREE Ice Cream! My boys were ALL over it :) They Love Ice Cream...it even got John in the mood to dance a little.

1st Fishing Trip With Daddy

What could be better on a LONG 4th of July weekend, then fishing with daddy?? Andy took the boys on the first of I am sure many father/son fishing trips. They headed over to a little pond not far from the house, set up & fished their little hearts out. The boys had fun and it proved to be a good experience!!

4th of July Celebration

We celebrated the 4th of July this year out at Conner Prairie, enjoying the symphony of the prairie! This was our first year attending and I think we all decided it was going to be a yearly event. The boys did great (I was worried). There was lots to see, the music was great and the weather happened to be perfect. We had an extra plus that we had Uncle Pete and Aunt Peggy visiting from Tucson, and Aunt Mary and Garmie , Uncle John and Aunt Polly were able to join us.

Singing Sensation

I think like every other mother out there, as soon as their children show any interest in music they think they will be the next superstar. I personally feel this way about both my boys!! They LOVE music and instruments. Here is just a sneak peak into the latest "Singing Sensation" preparing to hit the stage in the next 10 - 15 years ;) (A mom can dream, can't she!) Enjoy!!

William

William woke up from his nap in a GREAT mood this day. I decided to pull out the camera and have a "mini" photo session. The camera was just eating him up. I know I am his mama, but boy he is so stinkin cute!!

The video below I was able to capture William and him say "Liiioooooon" It's pretty cute. When you ask William to roar like a Lion, what comes out is "Liioooooon" instead "Rooooaaarrr". Too Cute!