Bear's Vs. Packer's Game

We went to Michelle's house today to watch the game. Terry made his delicious chicken wings and we had a few side dishes as well. The kids spent most of the time playing outside. Caleb and Christopher then sneaked into Chris's room. It was curiously quiet, so I checked on them. I thought it was so cute to see them laying on Chris's bed playing games and relaxing.
Terry and Mike were great sports dealing with the loud kids during the first half. So, Michelle and I decided to take the kids out for ice cream during the second half. After a threat that I would take anyone who was loud to the car, the kids were overall great. We had our yummy ice cream and were back in time to see the last 10 minutes of the game.

First Fall Leaves

Michelle is such a great friend and wonderful sitter to my kids. She set up a playdate on Friday. Kendall's newest friend Olivia, her twin brother Kevin, along with another little girl named Avery and her older brother Conner met us at Munhall after school. Christopher, Eli, and Violet were there as well. The kids overall had a great time playing together.
When we walked by this tree the kids eyes lit up. They loved playing in the leaves together. There will be many more fun leaves to play with before the snow begins!

Chili's

I took the kids to Chili's on Wednesday. By the time we got out of dance class it was 6:15 and the kids were starving. I have to admit I was totally board there. They have these new machines that you can order food, play games, and watch cartoons on. It took Caleb all of 10 seconds to figure out how to use it. The two kids were so engrossed the entire time. The good news was that they were perfectly behaved. The bad news was I had no one to talk to. Wish I had brought a book! I really don't like them to be honest. I would much rather have a conversation with my kids, we have enough distractions at home.

Grandma's Garden

I love that Dorothy and Wayne create a great big garden in their backyard each year. We totally reap the benefits. Caleb and Kendall look forward to their visits, especially when they get to harvest. Kendall's favorite treat from the garden are the sweet and bell peppers. She adores them. Caleb loves eating the snow peas as well. Terry's favorite are the tomatoes. I have to admit, that my favorite are fresh okra. Yum! It is such a special thing that I think my kids will always remember fondly.

Apple Picking September 18, 2011

So, we planned to go apple picking about 6 weeks in advance. As what has become the new normal, when we plan something with our entire family it rains. Today was no exception. We decided to go apple picking anyways and try to enjoy ourselves. Rachel was a great sport, being 9 months pregnant and chasing around Caroline!
Caleb and Kendall has so much fun seeing their cousins Caroline and Isaac. Here is a picture of Kendall and Caroline. Kendall is trying to hold Caroline still.
Terry was able to come today and the kids loved seeing him there. He is coaching right now, so time with Dad doesn't happen nearly enough in their opinions. Here is Kendall trying out a tractor.
Caleb did a great job picking apples. The place had a rule that we each had to have a bag. So, we ended up with 4 big bags of apples. I am going to be doing a lot of baking over the next few weeks!
Caleb finally gets putting his face into these silly cutouts. He thinks they are hilarious. These are pictures that he has to see on my phone immediately. I love hearing his giggles!
Kendall also decided to join in the fun too!

Caleb was such a ham today. He did a great job posing for the camera. Now, if I could just get him to do this for Michelle when she photographs my kids!
Here is my best try of getting both to pose in a cute back drop. Caleb did great Kendall refused to look at me! Grrr!



They had pedal cars here. Kendall so wanted to try them but she wasn't strong enough to pedal.
Caleb did better, with the little ones. But, he was insistent that he wanted to ride on the big ones too. Those were much harder!
Caleb remembered the rooster from last year. He jumped right on wanting a photo.
Kendall also wanted to go on. Micah was a good sport and jumped in for a picture. Noah, Lindsey, Adam, and Nikko came along as well. They spent most of their time in the dry food area. Probably smart, but we did have fun!

Caleb enjoyed playing on the playground.
So did Kendall. She ran and ran. I think it felt good to them because it warmed them up.
Caleb also remembered the cow ride from last year. He hopped on the first cow. I think these are hysterical!
Kendall loved the ride as well. She looked so much older this year riding in them.
Of course, truly funny was Mike riding in the cow. We all got a good laugh. He is such a good sport. He will hop on anything-be it cow or camel with the kids. What great memories!

Kendall Starts Ballet and Caleb Waits

Kendall has started her ballet and tap class. I thought, this would be a fun opportunity for her. The class is an hour long, and they switch shoes 1/2 way through. Well, that means that I have to be there for the switching of the shoes. Which then means that I get to entertain Caleb for an hour. On the first week, Caleb found an acorn when we walked outside. He then was like a cat inside batting it around and jumping on top of it. It is amazing how long an acorn can amuse Caleb! Kendall loves her class, although she thinks tap is really tricky.

Sept. 10, Civil War Reneactment

Okay, so I have a backlog of photos, so I am going to have multiple catch up posts today. So, bear with me! We felt our entire house shaking a few weekends ago. So, the kids and I decided to take a walk and investigate what was going on.
It was a pretty long walk for the Kendall, about a mile. But, we talked and played some games along the way. So, she did a great job. Caleb on the other hand, literally ran circles around us as we were walking. He was all smiles! He is going through a secret spy stage. So, the idea of going and investigating something really excited him.
We hit the playground at Langum park. We didn't stay too long. Kendall had fun on this bouncy toy. It is funny, she is probably getting to old for these types of toys, but she can now finally move them. So, she rides them every time she sees them.

We then went around to the bike trail and found the civil war actors. We figured out that it was a cannon that shook our house So, the kids waited patiently for the canon to go off. And it finally went off. Caleb jumped and looked so surprised. It was so loud, and you could feel the ground shake. Pretty exciting for a 5 year old!