Some of us...

...prefer to play IN the toy box.

Hooray for Farm Day!

My kids LOVE farm day at preschool. Usually we have to wait until spring. We were so excited that it was in the fall this year. I think the most exciting part of riding horses and playing with a cow, chickens, ducks, a Llama, a pig and bunnies... is doing it in front of your their own school! The kids think it's pretty cool that the front lawn of the school gets transformed into a farm just for them. Claire had a lot of fun with all of the animals too.

This cute little pig was only 12 weeks old!

Didn't you know that bunnies love to have their ears brushed?

I guess this guy got tired...

Claire loved the cow... and the cow loved Claire. These animals are pretty much treated like house pets. Their owner told me that once the cow got tired she would have laid on the ground and let Claire crawl on top of her. Wouldn't that have been cute?

Lily showing off her usually attitude to the camera.

Aidan riding the horse. The picture I got of Lily was completely blurry :(

On special days they walk the kids to the neighborhood park behind the school. It's not really any different then the school playground... but to 3,4 and 5 year olds it's awesome!

A little racing to really get them good and tired.

What a fun morning! We were pooped.

It's Fall somewhere...

... and that somewhere is not here.
Gramma Louise and Aunt Nomi were so kind to make us some waxed leaves from Pennsylvania. Now our home has a little bit of fall inside... because there is little sign of fall on the outside!

We've had a few chilly days but then it warms up again. I'm not complaining though. I love this time of year. My kids will play outside all day without getting to hot or to cold. I'll admit yesterday was a little warmer then I would have liked, but today is just perfect!
I do have to say that it is chilly enough in the morning that we wear long sleeves or jackets when we walk to the bus... but usually we have shed those warm clothes well before noon.

Notice Lily's sun dress and Claire's long sleeve dress :)

But I know these days will end soon. Sometimes it will stay warm until Christmas but other times it gets cold sooner.

Spooktacular Events.

We had a fun Halloween this year. On Friday, Lily and Aidan had a great carnival at preschool. My mom came down to play too. The kids had a blast. Sydney knew we were having their party that morning and found a reason to sneak by to say hi.

The kids all dressed up and ready to go.

Aidan's popcorn hand.

Decorating cookies.

Claire enjoyed a cookie too.


Grandma helped out Aidan's group most of the time.

A little face painting is always fun.

Tricycle races!

Fun songs at circle time.
My mom had to drop by the mall so we tagged along. Everyone loved the kids costumes. Lily had so many compliments on her hair... she was so proud.. it was super cute.

They even rode the carousel.
That night I took Sydney and Lily to our churches Trunk-or-Treat. Aidan and Claire were ready for bed so they stayed home with dad. The girls had fun getting candy and played games. Lily skipped and hopped every were she went. I thought she was going to explode with excitement.

Eating popcorn.

Playing a few games.

This is the only picture I have of Sydney's (warmer version) of her hula girl outfit. She decided it was to itchy and used last year's outfit for Halloween.

Because Halloween was on Saturday we saved the pumpkin carving for that morning.

Claire watched.

Sydney carved most of her own.

Lily did a great job too. Robbie only helped her turn the blade at corners.

Aidan enjoyed stabbing all of the pieces that fell out of the pumpkins.

Sydney told Aidan to take a bite of the pumpkins... so he did.

I guess we weren't super pumped about the pumpkins this year. I didn't get a picture of them finished... and we never even lit them or put the outside.. lol.

Our friends, the Baer's, had a double birthday party for their kids on Halloween this year. We had a lot of fun playing games and eating cake. Then we went trick-or-treating as a big group. It was a little crazy but a lot of fun. I think a lot of other people in the neighborhood decided go in groups too this year. The street was filled with people and kids. Cars had to inch by just to get past everyone.

I just had to point out what a wonderful night it was. It had been a little chilly a few days before but it warmed up just perfect for trick-or-treating.

We got home pretty late and Aidan really wanted a sandwich. He fell asleep on the table three times before he finally finished and went to bed. Poor guy.

One more!

I forgot one of my favorite pictures of her. It has always made me laugh.

Nothing like walking into a room and seeing this.

Connie

On the 17th of Oct I lost my kitty. She crawled under our bed and passed away during the night. The day before I could tell she was going to pass. I hugged her and kissed her and gave her as much love as I could. A few weeks earlier she began eating less and then she stooped completely. I hand fed her until the end but it didn't help. The doctor put her on some medicine but it didn't help either. At first we were worried that she was dying the same way Dude did (and it only being 3 months apart) but in the end we could tell they were completely different. We couldn't figure out what was wrong and I just couldn't afford multiple tests and ultra sounds. We had a few theories but that's all.

Enough sad stuff though! Onto the memories :)

Some of Connie's last days.

The early years.

She loved babies... and being the center of attention!

She loved to lay on and in everything, chew paper and help you with paper work and she never met a sink that she didn't love (to lay in or drink out of).

She was so great with the kids. She never scratched them and she tolerated a lot! She and Sydney really had a special bond. It's funny how animals to that. Dude always had an extra soft spot for Lily.

She was always in front of the camera. I have so many shots of her butt walking past my camera. I still think I see her every time I turn a corner.

She led a fat and happy life. I love my Connie! I miss her so much.

A bit about Sydney...

My beautiful baby girl is seven now. Ok she has been seven for a few months now... but it's still so hard to believe!! Most days I'm not really sure if I'm ready for her to be so old. We are facing so many new emotions and adventures... :). Do all kids go through a phase in which every word out of their mouth comes out in a whine? Yikes...
What a good kid though! Really. Sydney has such a kind heart. She is so helpful and takes the role of "the oldest" with great ease. You would think that because Robbie and I both grew up the oldest in our families we would sympathize with her a bit more... but we find ourselves asking her to do a lot of stuff for her siblings and blaming her for things that really weren't her fault. At the same time she gets to do things the others don't. Like going to a friends house after school, having slumber parties, or even running "work" errands with her dad. We have given her a little more freedom and independence and of coarse like most kids her age she has tested the limits of it :O. In the end we always learn a lesson and figure out what works for us all.
We're so proud of her every day and we try to remind her often.

Photo by Sarah Heinle

And for exciting news!

Sydney is very proud to announce... she has Glasses!

And... and new hair cut!

Such a goof.