Nicolas had his first preschool field trip yesterday. We went to Crane's Apple Orchard in Fennville, MI. It was a lot of fun. I helped to chaperon almost twenty four year olds! They were all so excited, despite the crisp fall weather! They lined up in front of the pumpkin house for a group picture in front of the pumpkin house. All these kids and yet not one pumpkin hit the ground! Amazing!
Nicolas had a wonderful time along with his two "best friends" Parker and Michael. They rode together on the hay ride, picked apples, ate, and made mischief as if they were one mind. Boys will be boys and that's exactly what they were. They ran through the fields giving our guide a workout as she tried to explain how apples are made, how cider is made, and how corn comes off a cob!

The hay ride was so much fun as we went around curves, up steep hills and down the other side, through apple fields, peach trees, forests, and by lakes and ponds. Parker and Nicolas wanted to sit in the back and you can tell they are having a wonderful time! We brought home some tasty apple cider donuts, apple cider, and beautiful self-picked apples for a treat!

The orchard also has a corn maize called "Walk on the Wild Side" which is supposed to be adults only fun - aka scary! We might go try it out this weekend if we can find a baby sitter!

Ninja Nick

Nick just started doing Tae Kwondo and he just earned his first belt! Check out his white belt! He is super proud and learning respect for self and others as well as discipline. The studio is a Christian based studio so he gets good mentoring. He's taking a break until November so that he can do soccer and then he'll be working his way toward yellow!

Caitlynn turns 2!

Yesterday my baby turned two years old. Sob! I can't believe she is growing up so fast! We celebrated in fine style - we went to dinner and then to the circus! She had such a good time. We all did actually. My mother wanted to take her as part of her birthday gift. We had already had a party on the 9th at Italian Festival but we felt it was important to celebrate her birthday. Here she is in one of the princess dresses she got. My mother-in-law created a special dress-up box for her that she just went wild over! She is all girl and loves to dress up so we filled it with pretty princess dresses and other dress up items such as jewelry and a make-up bag (fake of course). She is so into Barney so I called three stores until I found one that made Barney cakes. She went crazy over it! We tried to keep it cold but in 99 degree weather it melted just a bit! It was such a fun party for her. The festival has little carnival games and races so all I had to do was bring the cake and the presents and balloons! Easy as pie.
Just like we did on her first birthday we went to eat at Applebees! They all came and sang to her and gave her a chocolate dessert shooter. She smiled and just looked all around at everyone like she was the happiest girl in the world. When they placed the shooter in front of her and she saw all that chocolate she grabbed the spoon and said "Oh, my birthday cake!" and dug right in. She was covered. At the circus she and I rode an elephant and my kids pigged out on popcorn, peanuts, and snowcones. They got light sabers and inflatable toys courtesy of my mom and had a wonderful time. The clowns seemed to be the hit of the show although I think Caitlynn liked the tigers quite a lot! By the time we left it was rainy and late but we were so happy and tired. She got calls from almost everyone in the world and wouldn't talk to a single soul but her great-grandmother in Illinois. She is really turning into a beautiful and sweet little girl and I am both proud and sad to watch her grow. I hope she doesn't grow to fast.

New desktop

I created a desktop with the help of Shabby Princess! Check it out! I'm going to change it each month from now on!

Growing up is hard to watch!

My husband's company had their annual company picnic this past Friday. They held it in Grand Rapids at a place called Craig's Cruisers. First, let me say that they did an awesome job! Better than any Army picnic we had ever been to! Second, my son is growing up. He drove a car for the first time! Ok. It was a go-cart, but you have to know the feeling of watching your first born behind the wheel of a car makes you feel two things - old and sad. Oh to keep him young forever! But alas, it is not to be. Anyway, here is the video of my son's first turn around the "block".

The things we do for our children...

Ok. Get ready to laugh. We went to the county fair and they had a children's presentation called Pirate Island. It was billed as interactive and since it was free and looked very cute, we decided to make it a point to see it. I didn't know interactive would mean that I would get turned into a mermaid! Yes, we were selected from volunteers. I thought we would go up on stage, see or be part of a magic trick, and then sit back down. Instead we were led to a tent where the lead pirate's wench put us into various costumes.

Yes, this is me - complete with mermaid costume, a ring of flowers, and some weird headband with little alien fuzzy things out the top! I had to do the mermaid cha-cha (which was a lot like the hula) and take part in a story of mystery, intrigue, betrayal, and magic. My only consolation was that it was fun and that my baby looked ADORABLE as a mermaid. My laughing husband, however, was no help at all! Oh well!

Sweetness at its best!

I took my kids downtown today to play in the fountain. For those of you who don't know. Our town has a beautiful downtown. During the winter the sidewalks have underground warming systems to keep them snow and ice free and during the summer there is a fountain that kids just go nuts in! Water squirts up in large streams from several different areas of the ground. They come and go in a random sort of way and the kids loved chasing them.

Needless to say, they got soaked! Good thing Mom was planning to take them so we had towels and a change of clothes! Caitlynn was running away from the water here. She got so excited just to reach out and "wash my hand, Mama!" Nick was full into the water. He ran through the streams, stood over them and let them soak him through, and even tried to use his feet to contain the water underground. Our day was filled with fun! Later we took a walk and went to the park. Then we sat down on the living room floor and spent some quality time watching a movie and eating chips with nacho cheese. I love my babies so much! They try my patience at times, but in the end, love is always there!