More Halloween Fun

The kids had a lot of fun carving pumpkins this year. The last couple of years they have painted pumpkins, but this year we thought they were ready to try carving again. The girls had a great time cleaning out the pumpkins, choosing their designs and actually carving it out themselves. Trace on the other hand didn't enjoy getting his hands dirty, so opted to have Daddy do his dirty work. Daddy made a silly face on Trace's pumpkin. Kaylee chose a cat design and Daddy helped her. They both turned out cute. Kianna decided she wanted a spider pumpkin. We found a cool design online and I let her trace it onto the pumpkin and then told her to carve out the web. While she was carving I was busy in the kitchen trying to bake some pumpkin seeds. When I came back to check on Kianna's progress, I discovered that she had mistakenly carved out the entire web. She had forgotten to carve out the legs, which hold the web in place. Sadly, the entire web and spider fell completely out of the pumpkin. Thankfully, Daddy was able to get the spider and its web back into the pumpkin with the help of a few toothpicks. It was a silly mistake that gave us some laughs. Oh and the pumpkin seeds were a hit, the kids even had seconds. I think it was the cinnamon and sugar...

On Halloween night, we invited a few of our friends, The Hildebrandt's, The Gamel's, and The Leventis', over for some yummy food and trick-or-treating. We had a great time together and got lots of loot!!!

Halloween Weekend

Fall Fest: Spiderman, Padme Amidala, and Queen Amidala

Star Wars: Queen Amidala, Padme Amidala, and Anakin Skywalker

Kianna

Kaylee

On Friday night, the kids got all dressed up in their costumes for the Fall Fest activities at The Centre. The fun thing about Halloween weekend is that they get to choose from various costumes in their dress-up bin. Tonight Trace chose to be Spiderman, while the girls wore their Star Wars costumes. The festivities began with dinner, popcorn, and M&Ms all while watching "Madagascar 3". The fun continued with a costume contest in which Kaylee got 3rd place for her age group. The rest of the evening was spent playing games and jumping in the bouncy houses. We must have worn Trace out because he slept until 8:30 AM the following morning, which is pretty late for our little guy. 

On Saturday, we were in for another action packed day in costumes, all Star Wars themed. The kids got to trick-or-treat at the nursing home I work at. It was fun getting to introduce my patients to Trevor and the kids. It was Trevor's first time walking through the nursing home, so he enjoyed that too. We went straight from the nursing home to our church's annual Barnyard Bash. The kids got more candy, got to decorate a cookie, play games, and go on a horseback ride (although Trace opted to play on the new playground rather than ride the pony). From there, we went to a bonfire where a bunch of our friends were gathered for more food and fun. We even got to take a hayride through the woods. Fun times!!!

Fall Trip to Iowa

Olive Garden with Grandpa Wayne and Grandma Sue

Uncle Trevor and Bruxen

Kaylee and Bruxen

Boy Cousins

Cousin Picture

Bruxen and Kianna

Bryker and Trace on the hayride

Aliyah, Kianna, and Kaylee on hayride

Aunt Sam and Bruxen

Cousins

Tire Swing

Corn Maze

Our trip was inspired by the arrival of our little nephew, Bruxen, who was born in July. We had been anxious to meet him and finally had the opportunity to do so. The girls didn't have school on Thursday or Friday, so we headed to Iowa on Wednesday right after school for an action packed weekend. Along the way, we took a much needed pit stop at The Wenzel's house. It is always fun seeing them, although our visits are often too short (less than an hour).

We spent most of Thursday with my dad and Sue, who had delayed their trip back to Arizona for the winter just so they could visit with us. We are so thankful they did! We had a nice visit with them and then they literally left the following day to begin their long drive to Arizona. We officially met Bruxen that evening. He is precious and looks so much like his Mommy. He has her nose and the same big blue eyes. He is such a mellow little guy and loves to talk. Kaylee especially adored him. She loved holding him. She will be such a good mommy some day.

The next day we had a relaxing lunch with Stacie and Patrick, which was followed by Grandma Becki taking the kids, along with their cousin, Bryker to The Playstation for the afternoon. While they were occupied, Trevor and I snuck out to do some shopping. We were both in need of some new clothes since dropping a size or two over the past 7 months. We found some good stuff, while the kids had a blast. The rest of the evening was spent with Trevor's family.

On Saturday, Trevor had the opportunity to tailgate with friends and family for the Iowa vs Penn State game. He reported that tailgating was great, but the game was one of the worst he has sat through. I won't document the score, but will report that it was not a "W". While Trevor was gone, the kids and I visited Bloomsbury Farm with Aunt Sam, Grandma Becki and their cousins: Aliyah, Bryker and Bruxen. We had a fantastic time going on a hayride, feeding goats, riding the trains, watching the pig races, playing in the corn box (it is amazing how many days later we still find corn kernels), going down the big slide, and walking through the large corn maze. We had a wonderful time and even ran into some of our friends, The Taylor's, along with one of my old high school friends, Lindsay McDermott (Tower). I think it had been about 16 years since we had seen each other. The rest of our day was spent visiting with Grandma GG, Grandma Jacque, Grandpa John, Aliyah, Uncle Ryan, and Rylan. We had a nice meal and the kids had a great time playing with their cousins. It was fun seeing Rylan again. She is walking all over the place and even beginning to talk. She is getting so big!

Trace had an especially fun evening. He got invited to sleepover at Bryker's house that night. They are only 10 months apart and boy do they enjoy playing together. Trace told me they are "best friends". I'm not sure what all fun things they were able to do, but I do know they ate cupcakes and watched a movie together. Trace had a blast at his first sleepover! We headed back to Michigan the following morning after a successful time spent in Iowa. Our main goal was accomplished in getting to meet Bruxen and we somehow managed to squeeze in a few "extra" things along the way... 

Keri's Trip to Iowa

I received a phone call from my dad on Wednesday morning letting me know that my Grandpa Russell (Sue's dad) had passed away late Tuesday evening. He was 94 years old and had been in a nursing home battling Alzheimer's Disease for the past 3 years. Although he will be missed, ultimately it was a blessing as he was no longer himself and was having more difficulty recognizing his loved ones. I especially feel bad for my grandma who diligently visited him for 2-3 hours each day. They were married for 71 years and were so sweet together. My grandma said she wished she could shave him just one last time. I also feel badly for Sue. She was such a wonderful daughter. She faithfully visited her dad and took her mom to and from the nursing home whenever needed.

I was blessed to have the opportunity to drive back to Iowa by myself to attend the visitation and funeral this past weekend. It was so nice being able to visit with my cousins, aunts and uncles, siblings, grandparents, nieces and nephews, in-laws, and my dad and Sue. My cousins, Katie and Lauren, and Uncle Tom were in town from Dallas. Katie is getting married in three weeks in Mexico, so it was fun hearing about her future husband and upcoming wedding. It was great catching up and even playing a few rounds of Peanuts, one of our favorite card games.

On Saturday, I had the chance to spend some quality time with Sue. We went out to lunch and then to the movie "Won't Back Down". We finished our date with a trip to the new frozen yogurt shop, Orange Leaf. What a yummy treat that was. We had a great time together. The rest of the day was spent  shopping and attending Alyssa and Cameron's birthdays at Happy Joe's. It was so nice visiting with everyone there. I am so used to having my conversations interrupted by one of my three kids, that it was actually refreshing to be able to have and complete some adult conversations.

On Sunday, I snuck in a visit to meet our new nephew, Bruxen. He is precious and appears to have Sam's eyes and nose. It was fun getting some cuddle time with him and of course seeing the rest of the family too! I also managed to sneak in a brunch with Stacie, Bree, Aliyah, Grandma Carie and my Aunt Marilyn who is visiting my grandma from Texas. It was fun visiting with everyone and knowing that I only had to say a short goodbye, as we all plan on heading back to Iowa in two weeks to "officially" meet Bruxen.

It is great to be back home in Michigan with Trevor and the kids. I missed them. Kaylee made me a "Welcome Home Mom" banner, which was sweet. I valued my time away, but savored the hugs I received upon returning to Home Sweet Home!!!!