It's like Christmas!

Auntie Shell cleaned out Mason & Allie's bookshelves, removing any books they were too old for. We came home with an entire paperbag full, and the girls couldn't wait to tear it open and start reading. The bag didn't even make it to the bookshelf before they started grabbing! And, after we cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, it moved to the livingroom!
But, both girls had a great time! Thank you Auntie Shell!

Color Me Pretty

The girls have been coloring quite a bit lately. Some on paper.... Some on hands and face....
Some on table.....

Thank You to whoever invented washable markers!

Ten in the Bed

It felt like there were Ten in our bed, but turns out to be only Five...until Jeff and I finally got up and let the girls and the dog have it. So much for sleeping in on a Saturday morning!

Halloween 2009

Okay, it's already halfway through November, but I'm finally getting the Halloween pictures posted: We only carved one pumpkin this year.

Spot and Snow White made quite the haul on candy! Too bad it's Mom & Dad's bum's getting bigger because they're the ones eating it all!

A Trip to the Patch

Fortunately, we made it to the pumpkin patch last weekend. While the weather was cool, it was at least dry, unlike most recent days. Mason & Allie joined us on the hunt for the perfect pumpkin. Allie found a good one.
Mason & Caroline found another keeper.

Allie & Emily found yet another.

With the wagon loaded,

the boys burned off a few calories before enjoying some hot cider and cinnamon ice cream.

The pumpkin house.

Smiles all around! Everyone is looking forward to next year!

Snuggles with Daddy

Where have September and October gone?

As the end of the month draws near, I'm flabbergasted at how quickly both of the past two months have gone. I've also realized that I'm long overdue for a post sharing pictures from the last two months!

On Sept 1, Caroline officially entered the school district program with her first day of 4K. She's at the same "school" as she has always been and has the same teachers, with the exception of adding Miss Cindy, her 4K teacher. She has always adored "school" and 4K has been no different.

Over Labor Day weekend, we took a quick excursion to the Dells. Neither Jeff or I had been there for years. We enjoyed a Duck boat ride:

Rather than waste money at a water park (at which we'd have spent our entire day at the kiddie pool and didn't feel it was worth the cost... at least not until the girls got older), we decided to go to a non-water themed park. It wasn't at all what I had remembered, and we were greatly disappointed. The place needs a lot of work. Since the girls have no concept of what it cost to get in, they had fun.

Labor Day weekend was also the first weekend all summer we brought out the girls pool. They had a blast!

Mid September brought a couple of gorgeous days for some playground fun,

and a visit from Mr. Peanuts, a friend from school who visited us one weekend. He did everything we did for the weekend, and we made a journal to take back to school describing our fun times. We took Mr. Peanuts on a bike ride,

and to the park, where everyone had tons of fun, including Murphy.

At the end of September, we enjoyed a weekend up North with Grandma and Grandpa. Caroline, Daddy, and Murphy played kick ball....

...until Murphy stole the ball. Game over.

Caroline, Emily, and Grandma went on a leaf hunt.

Caroline found a cool one....

Grandpa, Murphy, and Daddy spent a little time fishing.

By the end of the day, everyone was exhausted. The dogs headed straight for their "doggy bunk bed".

In early October, we were excited to make a visit to Great-Grandma's house! She had lots of hugs for us!!