It's never too late to be thankful!

So, I realize we are in the middle of the advent season and Christmas is getting closer each day, but I think I still have time to write a Thanksgiving post.  Afterall, it's never too late to give thanks.  This Thanksgiving we had a pretty uneventful weekend which in itself is something to be thankful for.  Everyone has been pretty healthy this year, our boys are both going through huge growth spurts, we both have jobs to feed our hungry boys, and we have more blessings than we can count!  I was supposed to work Thanksgiving and the day after, but due to not so many sick kids, I was able to stay home with the boys and enjoy the weekend with them. We took the boys ice skating saturday morning and they had a blast. I think they are ready for some hockey on the pond in Chicago in about a week!
Earlier in November, Mason's school put on a cute thanksgiving program in which he was a pilgrim.  I've included a few pictures of that. It was a pretty great thing to listen to a room of preschoolers sing "How great is our God."  I love hearing little voices praise God.  "Don't be a turkey, just say thanks" was pretty cute, too:)  Enjoy the pictures!

Birthday Boy!

On Friday we celebrated our Talen's 3rd birthday!! Hard to believe he's three already. We had a fun little party friday morning with his friends.  Talen wanted a tractor party and a tractor cake, he's a little obsessed with tractors. Every time he sees my dad he asks to have a ride on the tractor and he even asks Papa in Chicago for a ride on his tractors when we skype.  Here's a few pics of the party, judging by the smiles on his face, I think he had a pretty good day:)

The spread, complete with a bulldozer truck and sand pudding.

Pin the boulder on the bulldozer

 

Buddies

 Happy 3rd Birthday Talen!! You've grown so much this year! Your vocabulary seems to get bigger every day.  You've learned so many new songs and ryhmes from storyhour this year and even made a couple little buddies without my assistance.  You've mastered the potty (not an easy task;).  And you always seem to make us laugh.  Your personality is so different from your brother with your goofy grins and silly expressions.  You play so well independently, yet you always look forward to your brother coming home from school so you can play with him.  I love how you still like to cuddle with your mommy in the mornings and I love listening to your prayers, that seem to go on forever, at bedtime.  I'm so thankful for the gift you are to us and I can't wait to see what new things you learn this year, we love you so much Talen!

Surprise Getaway

 Two weekends ago Kevin surprised all of us with a short little getaway for the night.  Friday afternoon he came home, sent me to get Mason from a birthday party and packed the boys bags for the night!  When I got home the car was packed and all I had to do was pack my own bag before we left.  He had booked a room in San Jose and found a few fun things to do while we were there. We got to SanJose a little after dinner time and walked around Santana Row - a nice outdoor shopping center.  We got some icecream and walked in a few stores.  Then the next day we got breakfast and headed to the San Jose Children's Museum.  It was such a fun place for the boys.  We had a hard time peeling Talen away from the fire engine. They also had a cool water area which the boys loved and an exibit on fossils that Mason enjoyed.  We headed home around noon since I had to work later that day, but it was such a fun little trip.  Kev did a great job surprising us all!

Waiting, somewhat patiently, for the doors to open:)

Firemen in training

                                                                        

The bubbles exibit

 

 

The water exibit

Fall fun

It's been pretty crazy at our house lately with Kevin's coaching schedule and my work schedule.  It seems like we are going different directions most days. But this weekend we all get to be home together and I'm loving every minute of it!  What we've been up to this weekend....

A little pumpkin carving



Taadaa!! The finished product and two (i mean three) very proud little boys!!!

We also took a trip to Del Osso this morning since we were given a few tickets there.  The boys had a blast on the hay ride. But I think their favorite part was the petting zoo. Talen was fascinated by all the big poop laying around.  And he loved the "big chicken" aka Ostrich in the corner.  We also spent a lot of time in the goat pen petting the baby goats.  Enjoy our pictures, and we hope you are enjoying the fall season as well!

 

 



our life lately...

We've been staying busy here with school, work, and of course a little play! Here's a few shots of my little artists.  Notice Talen is very good at painting one area of the page over and over until he's got it really good:)  Yep, that is what every color mixed together looks like! 

 I was actually very impressed that they were able to paint side by side without coloring on the other one's paper, or painting on each other!  Granted, it only lasted a short while, but still a success in my book;)

 

Last week we made a trip to Dutch Hollow pumpkin farm with a few other friends. It was about 100 degrees that day, but the kids didn't care.  Talen was totally enthralled by the horse poop. He kept asking farmer John questions about it. We met a not so friendly turkey who bites, and picked out a few pumpkins. So now, it officially feels like fall in our house.

 

 

Our labor day

 On Wednesday Mimi and Papa flew in from Chicago and stayed with us for a week.  We took a drive to Half Moon Bay/Pacifica on monday and had a great day at the beach. We stopped at a great park in Pacifica and let the boys play around there.

 

 Then we headed towards Half Moon Bay and played at the beach.  It was a little cold, but the weather didn't phase the boys at all. Here they are building a sand castle.

 Then we discovered some tide pools at Fitzdgterald Marine reserve. It was such a fun place for the boys to walk around on the rocks and explore the crabs, sea anemone, and other little creatures. We also got to see some sea lions laying on the beach not far away.

Papa's little shadow and biggest fan:) Thanks for mowing the lawn for us Papa and for fixing the lawn mower while you were here! Mimi and Papa also took the boys to Lake Tahoe for 2 nights while they were here. The boys had a blast, while Kevin and I were able to have some time alone. It was a great trade-off! We miss you already Mimi & Papa, your time here always goes by too fast.

We have a 5 year old in the house!

 This post is for you Mason Jay!  It's that time of year to reflect on our oldest boy who just happened to turn 5 on thursday!  Mason had a great birthday.  On his special day he woke up to a bed full of balloons and a special chair decorated for him at breakfast time.  He got to open his present from Mom and Dad.  Then for dinner we had pizza (his choice).  He had to wait until Saturday for his party.  We decided to do a homerun derby party.  Daddy brought nets from school and pitched balls to the boys.  Then we had pizza and the boys got to play in the water park for awhile.  He had a blast with his buddies as you can see.



the homerun derby setup

Mason with his buddies

Mason you have grown so much this year.  You finished your first year of preschool and have just started your second.  I am excited for you to meet new friends and learn even more this year.  You continue to surprise me with the things your little brain soaks up.  You love to play games, and are definintely competative.  You've beaten me so far at go fish, checkers, and memory.  You are amazing at any sport you try and you always give your all.  I love watching you play soccer, not only because you know how to score goals, but because you are so great at helping your teammates score as well.  You are a great encourager to others.  It's been fun watching you and Talen play together this past year.  You have been good at showing him how to ride your old bike, playing hockey with him, and pretending to be super heros.  When he has a bad dream at night and cries, you are always good at telling him "it's ok."

You learned how to swim without floaties this year and even jump off the diving board all by yourself!  You were hesistant at the start of the week, but tried anyways and did great.  Like most new things that come your way, you are cautious at the start, but your strong will takes over and you do it.  We are so blessed to have had you another year in our lives.  We love you like crazy, happy birthday Mason Jay!

A few more things we did in June

We got a little carried away with trips this month, but they were all so fun we had to do them all! Our next trip was to Monterey to stay with our friends for a few nights at their beach house. The kids had a great time as did the parents. It was a nice relaxing trip (well, as relaxing as can be with 6 kids under 6 years old:) We spent some time golfing and at the beach.  On our way home we made a quick stop at the monterey aquarium which was lots of fun as well. Thanks Kevin and Lynsday, we had a blast with you guys!

The week after Monterey we got to see our friends Oliver and Andra from Chicago. It was so great to catch up with them and hear how God is using them in Chicago. The boys, my mom, and I also went up to Santa Cruz for a few days while Kevin and Oliver were at High camp. We had fun at the beach and got a taste of Mt. Hermon for a day as well. It was great to get fed the word for a day and a half, I wish we could have stayed longer. 

The boys at the beach

Mason having a snack with Andra