We have been BUSY! - Fall Fun, Part 3

So, I sat down to work on our blog and realized that we have been super busy and I have not been able to write for a few weeks. That means, I have another really long post with lots of pictures!

Our neighborhood had their annual Halloween party and it was better than ever! In addition to the usual activities, such as pumpkin decorating and a bounce house, there was a petting zoo, pony rides, a hay ride, and trick-or-treating through the "spooky forest." The Amshoffs were able to join us for the party and we all had a great time!

Preston loved riding the horses. He rode three different times and of course, he wanted to do it all by himself. I walked right beside him, but he did NOT want me to hold him on!

Giddy up!

Preston's Pumpkin

Evan's Pumpkin

The hay ride was lots of fun!

Spooky Forest Fun

Carl and I went to the Paul McCartney concert and we had SO MUCH FUN! We went downtown and had dinner at The Hard Rock Café. The weather was great and we got to sit outside and hear a few different bands that were playing Beatles songs. Afterwards, we walked over to The YUM! Center and got ready for the show! We had some really great tickets and the show was AMAZING! Paul played for three hours straight and each song was wonderful! He put on a truly great show and it was clear that he loves performing. It was the best concert I have ever been to and I would love to see him again!

We carved our pumpkins right before Halloween and both boys had lots of fun. Preston really liked using the small tools to "carve" his pumpkin and he spent a lot of time "carving." He was REALLY into it! Evan was also really into carving this year. He did not want much help, so we helped when he needed help and otherwise, we just let him have fun creating his masterpieces! I think they turned out pretty good too!

Evan was eager to clean out the pumpkins, but Preston kept saying, "Eew! Yucky!"

Preston LOVED "carving" the pumpkins though!

"Hmmm. Can I do it myself?"

"Yep!"

My Master Carver

Evan's pumpkins looked great!

Aunt Karol gave us this Yoda set and we were able to use it this fall. What a treat for our Star Wars fans!

Evan and Preston had a GREAT Halloween! I was able to join Preston for his Halloween party at preschool in the morning and I was able to join Evan for his Halloween party at school in the afternoon. Both parties were lots of fun and I had about as much fun as the kids! It was REALLY cold on Halloween night and I was not sure that the boys would want to be out for long, but they were both really into trick-or-treating. After visiting each house, Preston would happily run to the next house while yelling, "More candy!"

Preston loved the candy and cookies at his party!

"Buzz Lightyear" loved his party and was still smiling once we were ready for home!

Evan and Emma

"My party rocked!"

Trick-or-treat!

Preston got to watch Toy Story when he was finished trick-or-treating. He LOVED his costume and wore it as long as he could!

Evan's last soccer game was quite interesting. There was a mix up on the schedule and we ended up with three teams ready to play at 10:00, instead of 2. Since it was the final game and everyone wanted to play, we just made two new teams! The kids did not mind and everyone had a ball. Evan was super excited that he received a trophy after the final game.

Carl and I went to Bowling Green to join our friends for WKU's homecoming game. I had not been back to campus in years, so it was really nice to back and to hang out with some of my dearest friends. We had so much fun tailgating and we really enjoyed the game and hanging out with our friends after the game. Unfortunately, I woke up in the middle of the night and I missed my boys terribly. I tried to go back to sleep, but it was useless. I missed my boys so much! I was SO ready to get home and see them. Of course, they barely missed us, because they stayed with Grammy and Granddaddy and had a great time playing, making crafts and going to Chuck E. Cheese! Preston was excited to see me, but poor Evan wanted to stay! I was just so happy to see those cute little faces!

We had our first snow of the season and our first snow day on November 17th. The boys and I enjoyed the extra day at home and we had fun playing in the snow, coloring, reading, cuddling, etc. While I love a snow day here and there, I do hope that we have many less snow days than last year! Making up snow days for a couple of weeks in the summer is NO FUN!

Fall Fun (Part 2), Vera, and More!

I am so gad that I decided to break up our "fall fun" posts into several posts! I have a lot to write about today and we have not even had our neighborhood fall festival, class parties or Halloween!

We have been very busy over the past two weeks! At the last minute, I decided to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. I did not form a large team, as I have done for the past few years, but I was happy to have Carl, Evan, Preston, Bonnie Mom, Heather, Josh, Jackson, Caleb, and Emily join me for the race. We were able to raise a few hundred dollars for breast cancer research and prevention and we had a lot of fun too. (I will admit that racing with the kids was pretty tricky, so we only completed part of the race!)

 

 

We love going on walks in the woods and it is extra enjoyable now, with all of the beautiful fall leaves. We recently hiked through the woods and over to Putney Pond. The boys loved exploring and Evan even got some pond water to take home and "investigate" under the microscope!

 

This picture cracks me up! Evan refused to believe that it was chilly, and insisted on wearing shorts and a short sleeved shirt. Thank goodness Daddy had a sweatshirt to share!

 

My little explorers!

Putney Pond was so pretty!

 

 

We went to The Louisville Zoo's "World's Largest Halloween Party," which has been a family tradition since Evan was a baby. We were excited to have Caroline, Rachel, Teddy, Bonnie Mom and Grandpa join us for the party. We all had fun, but of course, the kids had a blast! Caroline and Preston LOVED the candy and I think they both took a taste of each piece of candy that they received! Both Evan and Preston enjoyed getting their pictures taken. Preston was thrilled with all of the characters and asked to take pictures with just about all of the characters! Evan really liked the character cut outs and scenes that you can pose in. We ended our evening with a ride on the train, which was a real treat, since the line is usually too long to ride!

 

Evan

 

Preston

Caroline

 

Both boys liked "driving" the UPS truck, but Preston is obsessed with "big trucks," so he was especially excited!

 

 

 

Evan

 

 

 

Despite the fact that Preston is not smiling in these pictures, he was SO excited to see the characters! He insisted that we stand in all the lines to meet everyone! 



 

Preston was able to convince "Mario" to pose with him! I am so glad that "Mario" was such as good sport!

 

 

We FINALLY got to ride the train! (We have tried for months, but waiting 30 or more minutes to ride is not realistic with a toddler!)

 

 

Evan took Daddy to Donuts with Dad at school. Both of my guys had fun and Evan was really excited that Daddy took him to the book fair and bought him three new books!

 

There is a battle of the bands fundraiser that The Brandeis School of Law does each year, called Lawlapalooza. Greg, Mina, Darryl, Jordan and Carl formed "The Grateful Decedents" for the show. Not only did they put on a GREAT show that really got the crowd excited, but they also won first place! What a fun night!

Lawlapalooza

The Grateful Decedents

 

After Kaiya passed away, a local shelter posted a need for fostering some cats. I was super sad without Kaiya around the house and I thought that fostering a cat for a few weeks would be good for me and help me feel better. I did not pick the cat to foster. I simply asked for a cat that would be ok with kids. They gave us Vera. She came to us as a very afraid little kitty. (I use the word "little" loosely, as Vera is several pounds overweight!) She hid most of the time, ran away from all noise, growled at the dogs, etc. Over the course of a few weeks, she settled in and became a super sweet cat that wanted to be where we were, loved being cuddled, tolerated the dogs, etc. I fell in love with her, as did the kids. Carl would say our fostering experience was a disaster, because we have now adopted Vera. She is a great addition to our family and we are so glad she is here!

 

Meet Vera!

 

    

Preston is now 2 1/2 years old! He is now adjusted to preschool and he is a super sweet boy that loves to cuddle, sing, play, take a bath, run, jump, climb and be wild! We love him so much! Happy Half Birthday, Preston!

"I am 2 1/2 years old!"