Feeling like Fall

It's finally starting to feel like fall and I'm excited for this cooler weather we've been having. Even though the cooler temps means the end of most of our outdoor fun for the year, it signals the start of the next fun season. But before I get wrapped up in all things thankful and magical, let's reminisce on our Fall so far. 

We'll back alllll the way up to September. Even though September still felt largely like summer, we enjoyed a few fall activities. We started the month with a family favorite- s'mores! Katie really just likes the chocolate and Brady really just likes the marshmallows, but the time spent together is definitely a favorite of ours. 

Many Friday nights were spent in the stands at Chizevsky Field cheering on our Eagles. 

We also spent a sweltering day at the pumpkin patch with our cousins. I think the heat kept the crowds away as we mostly had to patch to ourselves. The kids sure weren't complaining!

And October didn't disappoint with all the feelings of fall. The kids enjoyed a few combine rides with my dad that month. We might have had to reschedule them a few times, but I'm glad our schedules matched up to get them in. I hope it's a memory that my kids will always remember.

We also spent a lovely day at the zoo! It was Allie's first long car ride and big trip and she was a champ the entire time. The kids enjoyed the snakes, monkeys, and of course the penguins. We also tested out the butterfly area this year, and I'm not sure we will be allowed back ha! My kids are flower pickers and they might have got scolded by workers in there several times, no matter how many times I told them they couldn't pick the flowers. But no butterflies were harmed, so I call it a win.

We spent a warm afternoon at the park.

And celebrated with Eric after he shot a nice buck!

We were TP'd for the first time, and Brayden and Katie performed their first illegal activity by returning the favor to the cousins that got them! 

There's a funny story about this night that I don't want to forget. I stayed home with Ashley (who missed out on the fun because of a lie. However, when I was telling her how much fun Brayden and Katie were having, she responded that it's ok, because she had never been before so she doesn't know how much fun it is. Why is she too logical for her own good ha!)- but anyways, I stayed home with Ashley and Allison, and all of a sudden I'm getting a call from Nichole asking where we are hiding. I guess that Nichole and Connor came home while Eric and the kids were there. They saw Eric's van, but couldn't find him or the kids. Eric said that Brayden and Katie did such a good job hiding- they knew they had to be very quiet and hardly made a sound. If you can't tell by Brayden's face in this blurry picture, he had an absolute blast. And I'm pretty positive Katie had a great time as well. 

 

The next day we decided it was time to carve our pumpkins, well for Eric to carve the kids' pumpkins while I took pictures. Shout out to him for always being the designated pumpkin carver. 

Brayden chose a scary face.

Ashley wanted a face that looked like Allison's shirt.

Katie wanted a unicorn, but she settled for a silly face.

Allison didn't partake this year, but she filled in pretty good for a jack-o-lantern on her own. 

And then we can't forget Halloween!! We visited grandparents and great grandparents, and ended up with more candy than we could ever eat. I had kinda hoped we would be able to tie their costumes into a theme, but when they started telling me what they were wanting to be, I knew that that would be impossible. 

Brayden was a robot.

Ashley was a mermaid.

Katie was a puppy.

And Allison was the cutest little ghost I've ever seen. 

And to round out this ultimate mash-up of a post, Katie's first haircut! Her hair was definitely not long by any means, but it was getting a little mullet-y in the back, and some of her bangs were starting to get pretty long. She did an excellent job sitting for Pam and is already talking about getting her hair cut again. 

Our fall has been off to the best start, and I know that it will only keep getting better. Here's to looking towards the next few weeks with our crazy crew!

Springtime Highlight Reel

Spring means a lot more outside playtime, and a lot less time to get any blogs written! I realized I haven't really sat down and written anything on a general family recap in quite some time.  I think I'll let pictures do most of the talking though, because more outside time means way more pictures on my camera roll than I can count. 

So here's my highlight reel for this spring and all the little moments I don't want to forget in the crazy life we are living. 

We've been basically living on the trampoline. The kids love to do tricks and crazy jumps on there and want me to film everything they do so they can look back and see their cool trick.

We've also been loving the camper. We've been twice this spring, once to Lincoln Trail State Park and once to Red Hill State Park, and the kids keep asking when we will go camping again. We have one more camping trip for sure in June when we go to Michigan, and I'm hoping that we get to go again later this fall once this baby is maybe sleeping through the night. 

Eric and I celebrated 11 years married this May. I am thankful every day for this man and the life we've built together.

And the kids have had a fun filled spring as well! We spent lots and lots of time outside together doing all the things- fishing, four wheeler riding, eating ice cream, feeding baby cows- you name it, we have probably done it.

They've gone on tractor rides with my dad. (And Katie loved it so much that when she saw another tractor in the field she asked if they could go on that one next haha.)

They've had swim lessons.

And T-ball games.

Katie turned 2! (You can check out that blog post here if you missed it).

Ashley had a performance for her dance class at the Wright Family Center. 

The twins had preschool screenings to start school in the fall. 

Ashley got her first pedicure. (And only messed up her toes about three times because she couldn't stop touching them.)

And the kids spent some time with their cousins-I love the bond that these guys all have!

It's been a fun spring, and I can't wait to see what the summer months have in store for us!