My Cat and Things

What a fun Halloween! I have been wanting to do the Cat in the Hat/Thing 1 & Thing 2 idea ever since the twins were born and I figured now was the time. The costumes were easy to make and we received so many compliments -- very fun times.  Shared some appetizers at a friend's house before heading out for a bit of trick-or-treating and even got to bed on time!  The twins were plenty happy with the first Dum Dum they received and of course Sydney took home some loot (to share!).  Now on to Thanksgiving and then Christmas - wow!  It will be here before we know it.

October 23...7 Years Later

Aaaah, seven years ago.  Where has the time gone?

But this is what October 23rd looks like seven years and three kids later:

A little pre-church breakfast.  Everyone looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (thank goodness I am behind the camera).
 

Then catching up on our outside play time after a few cold and rainy days

And an official anniversary photo taken by our favorite photographer (her name is Sydney - maybe you know her?)

And we did get to celebrate (a day late) by attending a great concert by Brett Dennen at the Intersection with friends!

Love you, Honey.  Here's to 7x7 more.

Busy September

September 28 already and the twins are 18 months old. Around 26 lbs. each and in the 93rd percentile for height, they are moving right along in the growing and learning.  Sydney started preschool and it has been a busy month!  Tuesday and Thursday mornings fly by and there is a lot of carseat buckling and unbuckling but Syd is loving preschool and she adores her teacher.  We started out the month taking care of our monarch caterpillars as they turned into beautiful butterflies.

Over Labor Day weekend, Dan and I also managed to get away for a night while his parents watched the kiddos for us.  We had a great day on Pelee Island and spent the night at a beautiful bed & breakfast in SW Ontario, Iron Kettle.

While we rode bikes around the island, sipped wine, went out to dinner, and slept in, the kids did this (the only thing I don't have a photo of is my 3 kids and their cousin Leah up at 10pm watching cartoons in the basement with Opa & Oma thanks to the thunderstorm!):

This month we also watched Uncle/brother-in-law Jon compete in the Reed's Lake Triathlon

Other than that, it's just been the usual chaos and cuteness around here.  The pool is closed, we are appreciating every last nice day by playing outside, school is in session, moms' church group starts next week, the leaves are falling and the apples are ready for picking.  I love fall!

And maybe I've just never had a boy before (or a coordinated child?), but I think this is a future soccer player!

First Day of Preschool

Easy breezy. This girl is ready and we are happy for her! She didn't want to leave and can't wait to go back next week. We are really looking forward to this year of preschool (minus the hauling-the-twins-out-of-the-car-twice-in-2.5hours-part)!

Excited and ready to roll!

Yes, I do think she could fit inside.

Camping with Friends - Van Buren State Park

We were blessed to spend another summer vacation with our good friends the VandenBosches, Marcusses, and Morris'.  This year we decided to try camping.  3 trailers and one tent and we were set to go! We spent 4 nights at Van Buren State Park in South Haven and only had to endure one thunderstorm (thanks to our friends with trailers we stayed dry).  For the most part, we had beautiful weather which was perfect for playing in the middle of the road, biking, and the beach.  And so many other fun activites too. Thanks for the memories, friends!

Helping Daddy fix up the bikes

Snacking (lots of snacking)

Playing Play-doh

Just relaxing

Decorating bikes with crepe paper and beads

Painting rocks

Riding bikes and trikes

Enduring one thunderstorm

Picking blueberries

Bike trips to the beach

Making s'mores

And snuggling in the tent