Pumpkin Patch Fun

This last Saturday we went to Roca Berry Farm's Pumpkin Patch with Cael's friend Logan and her parents. We had a blast!!!

Unfortunately it was a little overcast and drizzly, but we played and played.
Cael was super excited to play with Logan.
There was a 40 foot slide the kids loved to go down. I thought I'd take Emmett down it. Well at the top it was not the easiest to get me and him in at the same time... so the first time down Emmett went solo as he slipped down before I could get on behind him. :)

Cael and Logan were wild and crazy! :)

They loved going down and scaring each other, then race back to the top just to do it again.

Daddy took Emmett down the other slide which was a little bumpy.. and very slippery!

Emmett is fearless like his brother and loved it.

The boys had fun jumping into a pile of hay. Of course Emmett saw Cael and Logan doing it first and had to follow.

Cael was not afraid to jump as high as he could.

My little spider.. by the way Emmett loves his Michigan sweatshirt.. thanks Dziedze!

Now this was fun.. there is not picture of me but Logan's dad, Doug, and I got on here with the kids. It was so tempting to bouncing them all high but we restrained ourselves.:)

Of course they had to ride the ponies.

Cute!

Emmett had his first pony ride. He was MAD when he had to get off.

We watched the pig races. Cael is good at calling them, 'souwee!'

That's my boys.. Wanted for being so darn adorable!

Cael wore himself to death running around and climbing on anything and everything.

Emmett was dancing to some music playing.. that boy hears a beat the just starts moving.

The kids had a great time and so did we.

Sunday night we carved one of the pumpkins. Mark and the boys did the messy part.

Emmett tried to help.

My sweet pumpkins.

The jack-o-lantern actually came out pretty good.. see the top of the page.

I'll be sure to post Halloween pictures.. I am excited for Halloween this year. I am dressing up for activities we have planned at work. I'll post pictures of me too. :)

Love you guys!

Cowboy Up!

We had a busy day today. We started by going to swim lessons. Emmett goes at 9:15am and then Cael at 10:45am. They both love it and are doing great. Mark and I have the pleasure of getting in the pool with them. :) By lunch we are all tired.

Cael's buddy Isaac had his 3rd birthday and so his family had a party today at their ranch. Isaac has always worn a cowboy hat and boots to daycare and the invitation had a cowboy theme so we figured Cael needed some cowboy attire. :)

Emmett is just my little redneck, hamming it up with daddy.

Isaac's mom had the cutest party favors, including fake mustaches. Needless to say Emmett was not a fan of the mustache. He was cute but hated it.
Cael on the other hand enjoyed dressing up. Maybe we have our Halloween costume. :)

There was a bouncy house at the party so Cael and Isaac bounced around and wrestled each other.

Cael also got to ride a horse. He thought he was hot stuff.

Cael kept saying 'faster, faster' so Isaac's dad go on with him so they could trot and lope.

It was hilarious because Cael kept saying 'yaw, yaw.' I guess we need a horse. :)

Here is cowboy Cael with his partners in crime Isaac and Logan. These three have been friends since Cael started at Kelly's Kids. I know Logan and Cael miss Isaac who stays at home with his mom now.

Thank you Isaac and Isaac's parents for a great party!

I still can't believe we bought Cael a hat and boots for a party. I guess every kid needs their first pair of cowboy boots. :) I told Mark he could wear them to church.

After the birthday party Mark and I dropped the boys off to stay with some friends while we went to the Husker women's volleyball game. They beat Ohio State! Awesome! Thank you Dave and Jenny for the tickets. We had so much fun! Thank you Patricia and Jeff for watching the boys.

We love you all! Talk to you soon!

Happy Belated Birthday Jennie!!!!

Family Fun

We went to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha on Labor Day. It was a perfect day; the temperature was in the 70's so we were able to stay for 5 hours.

Cael's new favorite movie is Rio so I took some pictures of the birds.
Giraffes are always a favorite of mine. They were the last animals we saw so maybe that is why Cael says they are his favorite. At the gift shop we let the boys pick out one stuffed animal. Emmett picked a penguin which he calls his Baby and he carries it around in his mouth. Cael wanted a giraffe. When I asked him what he was going to name it he said 'Giraff-ia.' Too cute!
Emmett loved the zoo. He was excited to see all the animals. He called everything baby and wanted to touch.

The penguins and fish were a lot of fun for the boys.

Check out Pumba behind us! :)

Cael and Emmett rode in style. We love the wagon!

Cael thought the skeleton was cool and wanted to take a picture beside it. He loved watching the big silver back gorillas. They are so magnificent!

This guy was eating a HUGE salad while we took pictures.

The boys did get tired as it was a long day. Cael has a sour face in this picture...

Oh, here is Emmett and his Baby!

Yesterday we went to the Lincoln Airshow. We had so much fun! It was HOT but fun!

Cael and Emmett make a good flight team, don't you think?

Here they are ready to fly away. Don't you love their matching shirts with a jet on them?

The boys loved to check out all the planes and helicopters parked for our inspection. :)

A nice lady offered to take a picture of us. We took a few blankets and camped out for a while.

Cael got up on Daddy's shoulders for a better view.

We did not stay for too long because it was so hot and the sun was beating down on us. This particular airshow is one of the longest they said. It started at 11am and the Blue Angels did not perform until almost 4. We live close to the airport so we were able to see and hear the Blue Angels as they flew close by our home.

Daddy let the boys pick out souvenirs. Cael picked a Blue Angel and Emmett picked a Shark bomber.

We love you all! We wish you could have been here with us. Talk to you soon!

Updating the kitchen

BEFORE

The mess...

AFTER

What's left to do in the kitchen - the floor, the ceiling, and finishing the pantry door and baseboards.

I've included pictures of the living room as we have bought a new couch, hung up so new pictures, replaced the carpet. etc.

Oh, and we bought a new kitchen table.

We are looking for a new TV stand and a side table maybe. I also thought about a storage ottoman for the toys OR maybe a coffee table that provides storage.

I love my new kitchen. And I think anyone look at our starter home will like it too!

Just dropping a couple of lines...

I apologize for not updating my blog as often as I did before. I think of updating but then get busy with something else. Well now I am in Orange County, CA and my flight was delayed so I have some time to kill with no distractions - no housework calling my name, no kids needing my assistance, no pertinent work duties weighing heavily on my mind. I could sit and cry about having to wait to get home or I can be productive, right? Anyway....

You will see I created the list of Emmett's words. I had fun doing that when Cael learned to talk so I thought I would try to do it again. This time I will try to include the age he said them.

So what is new besides Emmett's words?

Emmett is walking now. He was a little stubborn to let go and go on his own but the last 3 weeks he has become more confident and practically runs around the house. He seems so much busier than I remember Cael being; Emmett is always into something. When we returned from vacation back in July he did move from the Infant room at daycare to the Peach room. Of course there was an adjustment period but he loves it now. He is such a big boy and so handsome! That cute toothy green and those bright blue eyes melt my heart. The back of his hair and around by his ears is curly - especially with the humidity. I am afraid if I cut it then the curls will be gone. We are going to wait a bit longer before giving him his first hair cut. Emmett is a great eater and now is able to eat pretty much anything, though we are waiting on the shellfish and peanut butter just in case.

Cael is not a little boy anymore. He can be sassy because he is so darn smart. He is potty trained with the exception of still wearing a diaper or pull-up at night. I was amazed how quickly he caught on and has done a great job. He even stands up to pee. I think when he saw his cousin Isaac stand up that encouraged him even more to do it. In Cael's class at daycare they work on tracing letters and numbers. He has done a great job. He has learned more fun songs, we talk about the weather, the days of the week, the months of the year, and of course his vocabulary, grammar, and knowledge grows each day. The other day I was talking to my mom and Skype. I was holding Emmett and Cael was playing with some toys in a clear plastic container. I asked him to come over ant talk to Beesha and Cael said, "mom, this is my future," pointing to the clear container of stuff. All my mom and I could do was laugh. He loves the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons so maybe that is what that was about. Cael has also been saying 'baby' all the time - 'okay baby' 'yes, baby' 'play with me baby.' I am not sure where he go it because Mark and I don't call each other baby. I call Cael and Emmett silly things like 'sweetness' and 'handsome prince.'

Mark is enjoying his job as a Parole Officer. He enjoys learning new things and strives to be the best there ever was no matter what he is doing. As a family we love having him with us throughout the week and weekend since his hours are M-F, 8-4:30. He will have to work late one day a week but that is not bad at all. Mark is the best husband I know. He is such a great support and help to me and the kids.

So life for us is good. We need to keep motivated to finish all the projects around our house but other than that...

Love you guys! Talk to you soon!