Halloween Party

 

I was very excited that Will and I could go to a Halloween party this year. It has been FOREVER since I have gone to one. I believe I was 22 the last time. It is hard with kids...what can you do?!? This year worked out and we had a blast!  Originally, our costumes were not going to match. He was going to be Robin Hood and I was leaning towards a gypsy...which I guess could fit together, technically. Then over the month we both changed our minds and ended up picking the same thing. What is that saying..."great minds think alike"...LOL. We had a great time piecing together our costumes. We did not want to just grab one from the store. My main part was, but then I brought in a lot of accessories. Will's is unique. He got each piece separately.

 

So we had a late, late night sans kids. Good times...but we did have a softball tournament the next day. I lucked out on that. Colin had a bad tummy ache that morning so I stayed home with him and Will had to play. The team ended up doing pretty good and so they had to play four games in a row. Will is soooo sore! I was sad to miss out but I was also very tired.

 

 I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween! We are getting very excited to take the kids trick-or-treating!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

Being Home

I think I am adjusted now to being home with the kids. It is more than likely a temporary situation, but one that I have enjoyed so far. We get so much time for crafts, playing and going out on little adventures. I do think that somewhat soon Meli will need to go to a daycare so she can get an early start on a structured "class" situation. We learn things appropriate for her age at home, but I think the interaction with the other kids is important. We see other kids in fun situations...and I love (for the most part) that both of my kids are not shy at all. Meli is still in her own 2 year old world sometimes and will not always notice other people, but after several minutes (or when she is ready to be social) she just jumps right in and starts talking to them. They do not get this from me. I am thinking the hubby was a not so shy kid! I am slowly working on Meli and the hair situation. She does not like her hair up in any way - but I am just as stubborn so I will win (insert maniacal laugh). She lets me comb it now so I sneak in a ponytail, just to get her used to it. She wore the pigtails below for almost 20 minutes. She is going to be an OSU cheerleader for Halloween and I want her hair in a ponytail...probably will not happen but I am going to try. Also, I know, I know - I cannot believe I am OK with her being a cheerleader. No offense to anyone who was but I was not my thing. I was too into sports and the idea of being one horrified me (but I was still a pretty big tomboy at the time). I think I would handle it better now if she wanted to be one. I think.

Ignore our messy closet, this is the last place that needs organizing after the move...

So things that have been going on....we are having so much fun with Halloween. Colin is getting really good at writing his letters. We are working on writing actual letters to the Virginia family members (so expect them in the mail soon)...we also did some cute Halloween crafts to send. I love his age (for the most part). Colin's class earned a Pajama Day this last week. Will and I tried to talk him out of his Christmas ones, but he had made his mind up. Even his teacher wore pajamas. I ran into her and she just said "it is so embarrassing". She looked cute though.

 

Will and I are getting ready for a Halloween party this weekend, so we were trying on our pirate costumes. We had originally planned something totally different and not matching but ended up with the same thing. I think our outfits are turning out so cute. Colin wanted to try on some of our stuff. So here is his pirate costume (with his school backpack still on for some reason) such a cutie!

 

This is us after we carved our pumpkins. It is a phone camera so kind of crappy but you get the idea. We have so many pumpkins this year. I love driving up to see all of the orange.

 

 

My dry-run of my costume. I have not dressed-up since I was 21. I am excited!  You are never too old to enjoy this holiday! Plus, my family did not really celebrate it too much - so I have to make up for lost time!

 

The Loveliest Smile

“Autumn...the year's last, loveliest smile.”  
   - William Cullen Bryant

I have been sick the past few days, so I am having a bit more computer time than normal.  Being sick did not stop me from wanting to play with the kids in the leaves yesterday. When I picked up Colin from school the colors were just so beautiful...so we went back home grabbed Meli and Dad, then had some fun. The kids enjoyed playing in the leaves and I enjoyed taking pictures of them - trying to capture the joy they were experiencing. Such a beautiful thing.

Here are a few...

Love my babies!!

~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~

The B Family

It's the Great Pumpkin...

This past weekend Grammie and I took the kids to a local pumpkin patch. Both Meli and Colin were getting over a cold, but they were still able to enjoy the autumn fun. Of course, now I have the cold. Meli picked out a small pumpkin that she could hold and Colin got a medium size one. The small one is not big enough to carve but it is so adorable! This place was not as big as the ones we went to in Virginia (bur way more affordable!!) There were horse drawn wagon rides to the self-pick area. Meli got very excited about the horses. There was also corn mazes and a nice playground.

It is getting cooler here. I just love fall. We have been having a blast doing fall activities with the kids. We did some Halloween crafts this weekend. Colin and Meli enjoy watching Charlie Brown (my dad got them started) which makes me very excited because I love the show. We have several now (most of the holidays and a few sports ones)...we are getting ready to watch It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown for family night this week. I am such a dork, but I am so excited!!

 

Colin wearing his Marine uniform from Uncle Greggie

~ Love, Hugs &; Kisses ~ The B Family

Autumn Love

I am in love with fall! It is my favorite time of year. There is so much to do with the kids. My mom and I took the kids to a farmers market that has a playground and goats to feed. Lucky for us they had all of their fall activities set up. I did not want to get carving pumpkins yet, but we enjoyed the little maze. We hope to go back in a week or so for the big corn maze and to ride the horse-drawn wagon. I also want Will to take me to the haunted maze! 

Cheese!!!

Meli loves the goats!

They had a little western town set up. 

Second Star to the Right...

“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.” 

Mi-ma and I took Colin to see his first ballet, Peter Pan, this weekend. He loved it!!! It was so much fun experiencing this milestone with him. It is very important to Will and I to expose the kids to the performing arts as much as possible. 

This ballet was perfect for his introduction to this particular form of the arts, since Colin had watched the Disney cartoon recently and we are reading the book. That exposure to the story helped since there were no words spoken. He followed it very well and it managed to keep his full attention.

He did a super job at being quiet. There were several kids there all dressed-up. The girls looked so cute in their fancy little dresses! One dad even dressed up as Peter Pan! So cute with his little daughter as Tinker Bell. I was not sure if Colin would like a ballet (versus a play) but  he loved it. He did think it was strange that they did not talk though. 

The above picture is Colin with the dancer playing Michael. He was very sweet. All of the dancers were. We also got to see Nana and the crocodile, but Colin did not want pictures with them because he could not see their faces.

We are already planning the next ballet we want to come down for...we are thinking the Nutcracker. I also want Will to take me on a date to Zoot Suit Riot (featuring Cherry Poppin' Daddies)!!

“When the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies.” 

― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan