Trunk-N-Treat

Our church hosted it's annual Trunk-N-Treat event with over 60 decorated car trunks, fun costumes, carnival games, chili and cinnamon rolls, and of course, plenty of candy! We had BEAUTIFUL weather - Praise God - and a wonderful turnout!

Unfortunately, K2 came down with strep the night before, so he and Dad had to miss out, but I think they enjoyed some 'male bonding' time here at home!

Our oldest cowgirl is now on the team of 'teen' helpers for our Children's Program, so she was running the booth with fun tattoos for all of the kids.

Our youngest cowgirl had lots of fun 'rounding up' candy and treats!

Argh! Pirate K3 came home with plenty of treasure!

Who knew there would be fellow pirates there to hand out treasure? What fun!

Pumpkin Patch

We finally saw some warmer weather towards the end of October, so we were able to visit a nearby pumpkin patch with a few friends from MOPS.

All smiles!

Choosing our pumpkins

Meeting some goats...

...and a few chickens, too!

We're sure glad we went!

The Zoo Krew

Our annual trip to the zoo was great! We sure love going in the Fall...shorter lines, cooler weather, and of course, the beautiful colors of the season. Enjoy!

A brief pit-stop in the desert with Mom

Checking out some fishies with Dad

Look, Mom!

The petting zoo is always a favorite...

...gotta love those hungry goats!

The bears were a family favorite this year - this is the first time we have ever seen ALL of them out at the same time!

Always fun to share our popcorn with the peacocks!

Taking a break with some feathered friends!

Three boys on the Skyfari.

We all tried it out for the first time this year, and we would definitely recommend it!

Three of us were a bit unnerved by how high off the ground we were, but by the end, we were glad we went!

K1 and Mom on the Skyfari.

Welcome to the jungle!

Apple Picking

Our family was invited to a friend's acreage to pick some apples earlier this fall, and what a treat! We had lots of fun searching for the best apples to take home and enjoy...and we sampled a few along the way, just to make sure. :)

Got some fun pics of the kiddos, although I couldn't snag K2 this time - he was too busy either climbing trees or chasing after his friends. How wonderful to have SO much space to burn off all of that energy!

Thanks again to our wonderful friends for inviting us!

Sisters...

K3 searches high and low for the perfect apple!

K4 was a big help, too!

Enjoying the 'fruits' of their labor!

YUM!

Kitty Birthday

Our little princess turned 3 last month, and she had her heart set on a 'Kitty Birthday.' At first, I thought this meant a birthday theme with actual kitty cats, since I know she adores them! However, upon visiting the party store to take her birthday shopping, I quickly discovered that she had been asking for a 'Hello Kitty' birthday all along. No idea where she learned about Hello Kitty or when she became such a fan, but it's her birthday and her choice, so we went with it!

We had a lot of fun celebrating. Got her pictures taken that day in her denim dress and red cowgirl boots (see previous posts to learn more about her shoe fetish!)...adorable!

Had Grandpa, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins over for pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage, bacon, and strawberries - yum! We are definitely blessed that Chef Daddy makes such great breakfast! :)

Got lots of fun Hello Kitty presents (thanks, Target Dollar Spot!), dress-up goodies, and a new tea set, which we broke out right away and had tea together!

Ended the evening with a Hello Kitty flower cake and ice cream. Perfect.

Happy Birthday, princess! We love you bunches!

By the way...I pray I always get to start every day hearing that sweet little, "Good morning, Mommy." You make me smile!

Happy Hello Kitty day!

Blowing out all 3 candles! Hooray!

Yay! A pretty pink polka-dotted tea set just for me!

All smiles on her special day!

Look Mom, Hello Kitty!

New Nephew

My sister doubled her blessings in August with the birth of her second son! Little B took his sweet time getting here, but is doing great...and what a head of hair! Looks a lot like his Daddy, and definitely a wonderful addition to our family. Congrats!

Proud Mama!

Baby B

Meeting cousin K2...

...and cousin K1!

Fantabulous Family Fishing...Finally!!

Okay, so we decided this year that it might be fun to start re-trying some of the activities we used to enjoy before diapers, naps, and baby food took over our world! We are finally moving beyond that stage of our life and we are greatly enjoying the developing independence of our youngest children, so we thought we'd take the whole family out fishing this summer! My hubby and I used to fish when we were dating and first married, and it was nice and relaxing; but of course, fishing is only really fun when you CATCH fish. Needless to say, we didn't have much fun, actually ANY fun, the first few times we went out this year. Didn't catch a thing. AT ALL.

Anyways, after a brief hiatus from the 'fun family fishing' idea, a suggestion from a friend lead us to a spot we had never fished before, and we hit the jackpot! Everyone with a pole that day got the satisfaction of reeling in multiple fish, and it was really a wonderful time. Definitely looking forward to trying our luck again next year!

Everyone wants to watch as Daddy unhooks one of the first catches of the day (and of the whole summer, for that matter!).

K4 couldn't wait to get her hands on those fish (she may be a princess, but she's never afraid to get dirty!), and she had us all laughing when she got the giggles about the way they jumped and wiggled on the line.

K2 blew us all away and managed to snag 2 fish on 1 hook! He couldn't stop talking about it, and he has asked to see this picture many times to remind him (and the rest of us!) of his great accomplishment!

Finally reeling one in was totally satisfying for K1 - after that she was happy to just hang out and see how many the rest of us could catch! She was a great help with baiting the hooks, too...she's never been one to be afraid of a little dirt (or a little creature!)!

And, of course, Dad takes the cake with the biggest catch of the day! Way to go!

What wonderful memories...

School Days

Pics from our first day of school for the year...we've had a few ups and downs in the first couple of months, but overall it has been a good school year so far. Report cards came back today for the first quarter, and things are looking good! Both kids have excellent teachers again this year, too - we know we are blessed.

Miss K starts her LAST year of elementary school...

...and Mr K shows the 4th grade who's boss!

The whole Krew is excited for school to start again!

Summer Memories

Here are a few pics to recap some of the fun ways we ended our summer this year. And yes, I realize it is now October, but better late than never, right?!?

K3 and K4 'drive' the firetruck at the Children's Museum

K2 LOVES exploring at the water table in the Museum

My beautiful girlies had fun with the water, too!

Our one and only picture from the annual Family Night at the baseball game...we were ALL exhausted that day!

K3 and K4 befriend a turtle at the Nature Center...

...while K1 (and friends!) discover what a snake REALLY feels like, even though Mom and K2 weren't too interested in finding out!

Even K4 decided that snakes were pretty fascinating, and she couldn't wait to get home and tell Daddy all about it!