25 Bananas and a Gorilla

Mark's team at work dressed up as 25 bananas and a gorilla for Halloween last week, and someone took video of the team walking from their building to the main campus, while listening to a boom box. They look completely ridiculous, but seemed to have fun!

Here's the video link:

YouTube

I am busy working on Christmas gifts, (lots of) laundry, and getting ready for Halloween tomorrow. I hope everyone has a fun, safe holiday.

Erin.

Adventure Acres

With Halloween only a week away Mark and I really wanted to take the kids to a pumpkin patch. I love picking pumpkins, and the Puyallup/Orting area always had great pumpkin patches for families. Because we are new(ish) t0 the area I trusted Google to tell me where the nearest (and nicest) pumpkin patch is located, and I was pleasantly surprised to find several in the area. Unfortunately for us, the business of growing pumpkins has turned into a money maker & all the pumpkin patches I found charge an entrance fee, hay ride fee, corn cannon fee, play area fee, individual pumpkin fee, etc., etc., etc. I don't mind paying for a hay ride, but when the pumpkin patch turns into a $40 afternoon I think it's a bit much. After doing some more research we settled on Adventure Acres near Dayton. Because the kids are under 5, they were free, and I found coupons for two tickets Mark and I would need. I pulled my scarf out for the first time this year, put the boys' new bear hats on them, and we were set.

I definitely should have checked the weather channel before we left... it was 78 degrees out. My scarf was not necessary.

The "pumpkin patch" was really a corn maze, a kids play area, a hay ride, and petting zoo. The pumpkins were already picked and very expensive, so we are buying ours at the grocery store this year.

We did have a good time, despite my initial pity party. The play area had some fun things for Evan, and Jack loved going down the slide & walking around in the hay.




Evan's favorite activity was walking on top of the hay bales and jumping onto more hay. He thought that was pretty cool.


Henry the horse was also a hit. Jack called him "pup-pup".






Ev stopped moving for only a second so I could get a picture of him on the fence. He was much too busy running in the hay, kicking gravel, and waiving to the goats.


This is probably my favorite photo from today. That face says it all... he was d.o.n.e. with the pumpkin patch, done with his stroller, done. done. done. We left a couple of minutes after this was taken, and Jack was asleep before we drove out of the parking lot & he slept all the way home.

Have a great week :-)

Silly Boys.

Evan put on a pair of Mr. Potato Head glasses & of course Jack had to do the same.

I had a hard time taking this picture because I was laughing and couldn't keep my camera still :-)

Have a wonderful weekend!

Karla Dudley Calendar Kit

Karla Dudley Designs is releasing a 2011 calendar kit tomorrow, just in time for the holidays. I love creating gifts for my family and friends using photos of the boys, and these templates are perfect for that.









I am having these printed through scrapbookpictures.com and I am turning them into 8 x 8 wall calendars.

Goodnight!

E.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum

Mark's parents arrived late Wednesday night from Washington State and Mark wanted to take them to the Wright-Patterson Air Force Museum in Dayton. Mark's Dad was in the air force in the early 70's, and Mark has always loved planes, so I have gone to my share of air museums in the last 7 years. This air museum is neat because it has a a couple of attractions for kids, as well as a memorial outside the museum.

















Have a wonderful weekend, friends.

New Karla Dudley Designs Kit Release Tomorrow!

Karla Dudley has a new kit releasing tomorrow at Design House Digital! Her new kit is called Friends, and it is full of beautiful papers, brushes, and elements in pink, yellow, and gray. My favorite part of this kit is the patterned papers... so, so beautiful.


[Supplies- Patterned paper, tag, photo frame, epoxy, brad, brush, and white string: Friends Kit. "Evan" and "Abby" brushes: Digi Essentials No. 5. Glitter flowers: Crush kit.]

Have a great week!

Look Who's Walking

Our little Jack-Jack is now a walker! He is still unsteady on his feet, but every day he gets better.

We met with a physical therapist last week & she recommended orthotics for his feet, and those will help with balance and alignment, making it even easier for him to walk.














Evan had pirate and princess day at school last Friday.



Have a great weekend!

E.

Layout: YMCA Soccer.

[Supplies - Patterned paper, "fall" brush, tree sticker, and staples: Karla Dudley Designs. Date sticker: Katie Pertiet. Digital Template: Cathy Zielske's Design Your Life Class.]

I love being back on the soccer field every Saturday morning. Evan has been enjoying his weekly soccer games and I wanted to create a layout with his team picture, and a few photos of his first practice and game.

Evan's pre-school is doing a pirate & princess theme this week, and he gets to dress up tomorrow. I need to get his costume ready so my little pirate looks great for his first dress up day :-)

E.

King's Island in September.

We were supposed to take a trip to King's Island on Saturday, but Jack wasn't cooperating. He had had enough of his pack-n-play, and decided to rebel by not taking a nap. Poor kid was a mess by the time we were supposed to go, so we stayed home & Mark put his new crib together. Sunday was a much better day, and after a great morning nap, Jack was ready for the amusement park.










Jack loves going on the rides, and this trip he cried when the ride would stop. This photo was taken after the Merry-Go-Round & he was so, so upset.





Off to bed :-)

E.

Soccer: Week One.

Evan had his first YMCA soccer game Saturday. His first game was canceled due rain, which was not a problem Saturday because it was almost 90 degrees. We started our day with individual and team pictures, followed by a 30 minute practice, and a 30 minute game.

I was really impressed with Evan around his teammates. When he tried soccer last season he was timid, somewhat anti-social, and clingy. He wouldn't practice unless I was on the field with him, and a couple of times he wouldn't go onto the field at all. This year he was a totally different kid. He talked with the other kids, listened to his coach, and definitely didn't want me on the field with him.




Jack-Jack was so good . He sat in his stroller yelling "Ball!" "Ball!" "Ball!" for most of the practice and game. Luckily I brought a small ball for him to hold onto while Evan was on the field.




This picture cracks me up because Evan was having a conversation with his ball. Mark & I were on the sidelines so we couldn't hear what he was saying, but we could see Ev point to his ball, then point to the goal, then point to the ball, and point to the goal again. We think he was telling his ball exactly where it should go :-)








At the end of the game, Evan was a hot, sticky, sweaty, thirsty mess. He was so excited that he scored two goals during practice & kept asking if he was going to get to play soccer again. Luckily he has seven more games before the season is over.

Evan has grown so much in the last year. He is more confident and social, and now he acknowledges adults other than Mark or me. We are so proud of him :-)