Decorating Cookies with Friends

Our good friends, the Lokers, (who lived right across the street from us) recently moved to a new house. It was so hard to see them go, and we definitely miss having them so close...BUT fortunately for us, they stayed in Chelsea and didn't move far. They bought a beautiful spacious home about 5 minutes away...and Laura was right, not much has changed :-) We still see each other almost every Friday for weekly play dates, exchange magazines (People and Us Weekly), get together for girls nights, and chat on the phone. We were so blessed to have them right across the street for the last 6 years, and now we are blessed to have built a strong friendship that will hopefully last for many years to come. We've made many memories with the kids over last few years, and that has instantly continued in their new house. We've gone over there to play the last few Fridays, and the kids have had a blast running around and exploring their new home. Then last Friday Laura invited us all over for a Halloween cookie decorating party! After making cookies, she made the kids a creative lunch of mummy dogs and fruit, while us moms ordered sandwiches from Jimmy Johns. We all had so much fun, and I think this might just have been the first of a fall tradition we will continue every year together :-)

First step...covering the island with flour.

Then it was time to roll out the dough..

and use the cookie cutters!

Brett was so proud of his pumpkin that he cut out all by himself :-)

Carter took this job very seriously...and Abby was excited as could be :-)

Laura got in on the action too :-)

While the cookies baked, the kids played and ate lunch...and then it was time for the best part...decorating the cookies with frosting and sprinkles!

And who could resist a taste? Definitely not Brett! :-)

Looks like fun, right? I'm craving one of those cookies right now!

Thank you Laura for letting us mess up your house, and not mine! HA! It was a great day and I can't wait until our next cookie decorating party...maybe Christmas time?

The Pumpkin Patch!

Last Sunday we braved the wet weather and kept our fingers crossed that it wouldn't start raining again, and headed to a pumpkin patch that we had never been to before (can't remember the name of it though!). On the way there, Brett loved pointing out the big pumpkin signs that led us to our destination, and his excitement was contagious!  It ended up being a perfect afternoon full of lots of fun!!

The first thing we did when we got there was check out the straw play area. As you can tell by the smile on Brett's face, the slide was his favorite part :-)

I love this picture of my boys :-)

There weren't many people there that day, so Brett had lots of room to run!

After that we visited with the farm animals (chickens, goats, sheep, etc), and then jumped on the wagon for a hayride out to the pumpkin patch. There were so many to choose from, and you could get any size for only $5!

As soon as we got off the wagon, Brett spotted this teeny tiny pumpkin and instantly decided that was the one he wanted....because "it's just my size, mommy!". 

My smiling boy with his little pumpkin :-) He was proud of it, can you tell?

Me and my sweet boy :-)

Brett had just slid down the pumpkin behind him, declaring "See, it's like a slide!"

Kyle searched and searched and finally found his perfect pumpkin.

Satisfied with their pumpkins, they carried them back to the wagon :-)

 One of the things that I loved about this place was all the activities for kids! They had a big tent full of many little pumpkins to choose from to decorate with paint and stickers. We spent a long time in there!

Pumpkin bowling was another huge hit! Brett was pretty good!

 The ring toss was super fun too! We all had to play!

We brought home two large pumpkins for carving and two smaller ones for painting. The weather was so warm and beautiful yesterday, it was a perfect day for this activity!

I heart fall :-) Definitely my favorite time of the year!!

First Preschool Field Trip!

Last week at preschool Brett got to experience a 'first'....his first preschool field trip to the Eddy Discovery Center! We had been there a couple times before as a family, but those times didn't compare to the fun he had with his whole class! When everyone arrived we headed into a large room for a little presentation on insects. Insects had been the theme in their classroom for the past month, so this was the perfect field trip for the kids to learn even more! All the kids sat on the floor while the instructor kept their attention with interactive discussions, displays, and of course....BUGS! They also got to do a bee dance, see the large bee hive, and now to the best part...go outside and catch insects themselves! I mean really, what could be more fun than that?! :-) 

Here they are watching the big Praying Mantis walk around on the floor. Brett and Cayden stood up to try and get a better look :-)

The instructor passed around different things for the kids to look at...like this Butterfly. Watching Brett follow directions and listen so intently showed me that he is definitely not my baby boy anymore. My how time flies!

A little bee dancing was next..

And then they got to see the very cool bee hive!!

Then it was time for the real fun to begin...catching bugs!!

Brett was so excited to show the little grasshopper we caught to his teachers!

He was so proud...even though I was the one that caught it, with my bare hands! What can I say...I am quick like that :-)

Brett spent half the time studying the bugs that we caught...he thought they were so cool!

Nathan was proud of his bugs too, and couldn't wait to show Brett the huge grasshopper he caught!

More studying...

Brett was the only one to find a little caterpillar, so some of the girls had to come over to check it out :-)

And lastly, after catching all those bugs, it was time for a snack...YUM! It was a fun day had by all!

A Boy and his Cat

Ever since Brett was a baby he has been a cat lover, just like his mommy and daddy. But lately, this love has turned into a mini obsession, and he just can't seem to get enough of our furry family members! Madelyn is the most tolerant so she is the one that gets the most love (aka harassment). Throughout the whole day, Brett is always keeping tabs on where she is, and I will often find him snuggling up next to her, giving her kisses and sweet gentle hugs...and sometimes I hear his little voice ask, "Do you want a cat treat, Madelyn?". His tenderness towards her melts my heart. Occasionally, we have to remind Brett that Madelyn needs her space. Our bed used to be her safe zone, but ever since Brett learned to climb up all by himself, that went out the window. Now her only chance at freedom is when Brett is occupied with something else, out of the house, or sleeping! Thank goodness Madelyn is such a loving cat...and I think she knows she is very loved by one particular little boy :-) 

Here are just a few of the many pictures I have of Brett and his little buddy :-)

They're pretty cute together, aren't they?