Museum of Natural History

Yesterday I took the kids to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. It was SO MUCH FUN!! The reason that we decided to go, was because this past week, the science part of Hannah's school stuff was dinosaurs. She was way more into it than I thought she would have been, so I figured why not reinforce all the stuff that we read and learned about by actually taking her and Gabe to see the dinosaur bones. Hannah was a little nervous at first (I don't think that she actually realized how big the dinosaurs would be) and Gabe thought it was pretty much the coolest thing in the entire world.

One of the things that really cracked me up was that Gabe kept calling the baboons bapoons and the skunks teddy bears. One of the museum workers really got a kick out of the skunks being teddy bears :) It was also so much fun to watch Hannah practically run from one exhibit to the next, because she was so excited and wanted to take everything in all at once. I have to say that even though are days when doing school at home is frustrating and really works on my patience, days like today are so good for my heart and seeing my kids learn and be excited about learning makes it totally worth it. When we got home Gab couldn't stop telling his daddy all about the dinosaurs (dinos) and Hannah kept saying that the best part of the day was the whole thing :) All in all, it was just a really great day :)

Pumpkin Carving

Seeing any connection between the last post and this one? :) The pumpkin that we picked a few weeks ago has now been carved. It was so much fun! Gabe was cracking me up, he kept saying, "Why daddy chopping the pumpkin?" He just couldn't figure out why daddy would want to cut the pumpkin up :) Although when the candle was in and the pumpkin was lit up both kids thought it was really really cool!

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we had small group and our small group went to the local pumpkin patch/petting zoo for the evening. It was so much fun and some much needed family time for us. We started the night by taking a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch and picking our pumpkins. It was dark by the time be go there, so the kids got to have flashlights as they looked for pumpkins, which they thought was really cool :) Then we headed back to the petting zoo (we got to ride in a covered wagon which Hannah thought was really cool) and all the kids had a blast seeing and petting the animals. Because it was family night, all the pony and wagon rides were free so each of the kids rode the small ponies twice and then we got brave and decided to ride the draft horses too :) Gabe rode with Nick and Hannah rode all by herself. She was so brave and I was so proud of her!! Gabe wasn't scared at all either, and they are both now convinced that we should get them a pony :) We finished off the night by holding the adorable puppies, which they are both also now convinced they need one of :)

Two weekends ago we had the annual Swiss Festival in our town. Unfortunately the weather was less than cooperative, and it was cold and rainy all weekend. We didn't do many festival activities because of the weather, but we did manage to make it to the big parade. :)


Hannah had so much fun!

Gabe did too...really, I promise :)

Show Us Your Life....Pets

One of the blogs that I really enjoy reading is Kelly's Korner :) Every Friday she has a SUYL (Show Us Your Life) post that talks about various different things in life that we all have in common. I usually just read, but I could resist joining up this week, because the topic is pets.

Let me introduce to you the best dog in the entire world...Diesel. He is a chocolate lab, and we rescued him last January. He really is the sweetest, cutest, guy in the world and such a perfect fit for our family.



He is great with the kids and LOVES to be outside, chasing a ball, or playing in the kids swimming pool :)







I know it may sound silly to some, but he really is a part of our family and we love him so much!

Swiss girl!

Every year in our little town we have the Swiss Festival. It is a big deal around here and people like to dress up in traditional Swiss costumes. My mom had saved the outfit that my youngest sister wore when she was little, and this year it fits Hannah (kind of..I had to take in the waist and it is a bit long but she wanted to wear it so badly :)) Anyhow, she originally wanted to be in the parade, but when she realized that she wouldn't get any candy if she was actually in the parade, she decided that she would instead just wear it to the parade. :) Candy is a pretty big motivator when you are 5 years old :)

Ultrasound pictures :)

We had our ultrasound earlier this week and I am so excited to share pictures of #3! We stayed strong and didn't find out the gender, and are really excited for the surprise in the next couple of months :)

Zoo!

Potty trained!

Well, while his fashion sense may be a bit impaired, we are so proud of our POTTY TRAINED little man!

Happy Birthday Hannah!

My sweet Hannah love,
I can hardly believe it, but you turned 5 this past week! How on earth that happened, I am not sure :) Five years has gone by way to fast for this mama's liking. We had a Hello Kitty birthday party with all your buddies, your very first "friend party." You had so much fun tearing around with your friends and being the center of attention.

I am so proud to be your mommy and your daddy and I love you more than you could ever imagine. I love watching you play with and help your little brother, and I am so impressed by how well you share your toys with him. You are so smart, and learning and growing a little more each day. You love to learn about the world around you, and about Jesus. Your innocent prayers touch my heart more than you will ever know. I love you sweet girl!

Love,
Mommy :)


Just for fun, some pictures from the party!


Hannah's buddies!!


Cake!

Guess who is 5 years old?! (She was so excited to be one whole hand :))

Laura Ingalls sun bonnet :)

Hannah and her cake :)

Make-up Gate 2011 :)

A certain someone got into his mama's make-up while we were on vacation... That certain someone was supposed to be taking a nap, but instead he decided to paint himself, and the bathroom with my foundation, lip gloss, and mascara.

I was mad for about 30 seconds, but then I had to turn around to keep from laughing. I mean seriously, how can you not laugh at that pouty lip and joker-ish make-up job... :)



I think we should start calling him Mr. Messy!

OBX 2011

We went on vacation last week with our group of friends from church. It was a blast! The kids had a ton of fun playing together, and the adults had a great time too :) 14 adults and 10 kids in one house for a week and we are all still friends :) What a great group of people we have been blessed with!


The whole group!

Family picture :)

Gabe was not afraid of the water at all!

Hannah loved the waves!

Nick and the guys after the OBX Sandbar 5k!

My awesome hubby finishing his 5k! So proud of him!