Halloween Party at the Zoo

Last night we went to the zoo's annual Halloween party. Rachel, Teddy, Caroline and Bonnie Mom went with us and we all had a great time! Evan really liked the giant pumpkin that talked, playing in the hay maze and seeing the polar bear. He liked the candy too, but he got tired of collecting it and one point and said, "I'm just full of it!" It was HILARIOUS!

Preston was an adorable Yoda!

Evan LOVED his storm trooper costume and he looked so cool as he walked around the zoo!

Our whole family had fun at the Halloween party at the zoo. (I am SO glad we got a family picture!)

The Amshoffs joined us for fun at the zoo and we were so glad that they did. We all had a great time. Teddy even said we should make our trip to the zoo a family tradition!

Caroline was the cutest pink rabbit I have ever seen! (They took this picture at home before they left, but I added it since my picture I took of Caroline did not turn out well.)

Race for the Cure 2012

This year's Race for the Cure was a little bit crazy. Instead of being held at Waterfront Park like it usually it, it was held at Iroquois Park. The new location was not as nice as I had hoped. It was difficult to park, it was difficult to find people, it was difficult to find volunteers that knew the correct information, etc. Thankfully, most everyone had fun and we raised almost $3000 for The Susan G. Komen Foundation. I am lucky to have such supportive friends and family. I am also very fortunate to be a breast cancer SURVIVOR.

My boys were up early to help race for the cure!

The survivor parade was lots of fun. I love seeing all of the survivors and seeing my friends.

Rachel, Teddy, and Caroline came out to help us race. I was so glad they could come!

Preston enjoyed racing for a cure with Mommy.

Emily and Heather (They BOTH looked so great at the race!)

My sister did an awesome job organizing our team again this year. I am SO grateful for her help, love, and support!

Carl and Susan ran the 10 K race. (I am so happy that Carl's foot is healing and that he can run again!)

Evan had lots of fun holding the sign for Team Rachael Koontz.

Heather, Josh, Jackson, Caleb, Emily and Evan posed for a picture at the race. (It is hard to get four kids to stand still for a picture!)

Laarni had fun at the race and helped us raise lots of money! I am so glad that she could make it to the race! (I did not see many other friends because the race venue was so disorganized, but I am glad that they were able to help us!)

Grammy and Granddaddy were in town for the race this year. I was so happy that they could make it!

Bonnie Mom was at the race this year too! We were all glad that she could come, especially Evan, who wanted to sit with her and talk to her all the way to the race and all the way back from the race!

Carl is a very supportive and loving husband. I am so lucky to have him by my side!

Fieldtrip to Gallrein Farm

I got to experience yet another great thing about job sharing last week! I got to go on a field trip with Evan! I was SO excited and Evan was too! We went to Gallrein farm with Evan's preschool class. We went on a hayride to pick pumpkins, played on the hay playground, pet the animals in the petting zoo, and ate a picnic lunch. It was so much fun for me to spend time with Evan and to meet some of his preschool friends. I can't wait to get to go to more events soon!

Evan, Isaac, and Camden posed for a picture on the way to the pumpkin patch!

I was SO excited to go with Evan on his field trip to the farm!

Evan was SO excited to get to pick a white pumpkin from the pumpkin patch!

Evan and his friends had lots of fun playing on the hay playground!

Evan was quite pleased with himself after climbing the "hay castle."

Evan wanted his picture taken with Mrs. Arbough and some of his preschool friends. How cute!

Evan found a GIANT pumpkin! (I am glad he did not want to take one home!)

The petting zoo was lots of fun! (Evan liked the goats and the sheep.)

Evan and Elizabeth posed for a picture! (Evan was excited to "drive the tractor!")

Huber's Farm - Fall 2012

Each year we go to Huber's Farm to pick pumpkins. We always have lots of fun, but this was the best year yet! Evan was TONS of fun this year and although Preston couldn't do much, he was very content to ride in the carrier and have his picture taken a few times. (Preston never fussed and we were there about three hours!)

We started off by riding the wagon out to the pumpkin patch. Daddy picked his pumpkin pretty fast, but Evan ran all around the pumpkin patch until he found a pumpkin that was "just right." It was so cute to watch him look at all of the different pumpkins before deciding on one!

After pumpkin picking, we headed over to the barnyard area. Evan was in heaven! (He had a smile on his face the WHOLE time we were there!)He got to ride the cow train, go down the giant slide, shoot an arrow at a target, ride a wagon out to feed the animals, ride a pony, build a tower with blocks, and much more! It was so fun to see him having such a good time. (I bet he is going to have a great time this week when we go to Gallrein Farm on a field trip with his preschool class!)

Evan and Daddy had fun on our ride out to the pumpkin patch.

Preston was comfy in his carrier and was happy to be outside on a beautiful day.

"I going to find the best pumpkin EVER!"

"I found it!"

Preston was cute in the pumpkin patch!

My Sweet Boys

We all had fun at Huber's Farm!

Evan LOVED the cow train. (He rode it twice!)

The pony ride was a lot of fun!

Evan loved feeding all of the animals.

Preston can sleep ANYWHERE!

It took him awhile to figure it out, but Evan had fun shooting the arrows at the target. (He even hit the target once!)

This picture just cracked me up! The goat stuck his tongue out at me! =)

Alpha Gam Family Weekend 2012

This year our Alpha Gam Family Weekend was in Santa Claus, Indiana. We picked this location so that we could all go to Holiday World! We thought the kids would have a great time and it made it so that we did not have to meet at someone's house this year. (Our group is just getting too big to have our events that include children at someone's home.)

Most everyone got to Santa's Lodge on Friday night and we spent most of the evening at the indoor pool. The kids had fun swimming and the adults had fun catching up. After swimming, lots of people headed back to our suite. Levi got to stay the night with Evan and lots of the adults came over to continue catching up.

On Saturday morning, we ate breakfast and fed the fish in the pond next to Santa's Lodge. Afterwards, we all headed over to Holiday World. We had a pretty good morning, but Evan was really tired from staying up late with Levi, so we ended up back at the hotel at lunch time so everyone could nap. Once naps were over, we went back to Holiday World and had a GREAT afternoon. Evan rode lots of rides with Daddy. His favorites were the log ride and the scrambler. Preston was too small to ride any rides, but he was content to ride in his stroller, eat, and sleep.

That evening we all ate dinner together in the hotel meeting room. It was fun, but it was loud and crazy with so many children running around! Later, the adults met up in Anne and Craig's suite. We all had fun talking while the kids played in the hall. Levi got to spend the night with Evan again that night, which they both loved.

In the morning, everyone ate breakfast and fed the fish again. Evan was really sad to leave, so we stayed awhile and played on the playground with Xander, Juliet, Elizabeth, Levi, Luke, and David.

It was a very busy weekend, but we all had fun. It was so good to see all of our friends. I am excited for our next gathering and I am excited to find out where we will go next year!

Evan LOVED this rocket ride! He rode it at least five times before we could convince him to ride something else!

Although it isn't Christmas yet, Evan got to see Santa!

As with the rocket ride, we could not convince Evan to stop riding this canoe ride! He also rode it about five times before we headed back to nap.

Preston had fun at Holiday World too! He either slept, ate, or enjoyed riding in his stroller. (He is such an easy-going baby!)

Evan had lots of fun playing this giant fishing game. He was so proud that he caught some fish and won some prizes. (Evan called his prizes his "surprises." It was adorable!) Also, Daddy won Evan another prize playing a game where you toss a ball into a basket!

Evan was SO happy with his "surprises!"

Evan enjoyed a afternoon treat! (Mommy got to have some too, since there was too much ice cream for Evan to eat all by himself!)

Evan and Levi rode these last few rides together. The bumper boats, the sea horse merry-go-round, and Santa's sleigh ride were lots of fun ride together!

(I accidentally left my camera at home, so I had to take pictures with my phone. I think they actually turned out o.k!)