Halloween Road Trip to KC

We just got back from our 22 hour road trip! We went to visit Aunt Colleen, Uncle Greg & cousin Greyson. The kids did so great in the car ~ completely entertained and happy 95% of the time. They even gave us a bonus by sleeping like champs during the whole trip.

Here we are at a train themed restaurant. Ian is still requesting to go back (like every 5 minutes).

Greyson is 1 year younger and is generally obsessed with the same stuff Ian likes: trains, cars & Disney movies...
Buzz & Woody!

monkey see, monkey do

This was the best shot I could get & you can tell how FAST they were driving this thing!!

Ahhh... bathtime after a long day of play

Thanks guys! We all had a blast!

Pumpkin Patch - Door County

It was so cold in Door County (high 30's) and we actually had to stop on our way out of town to get Ian a winter coat & Audrey's boots & mittens.

Ian got to jump around in one of these inflatables for the 1st time in his life! He felt bad his little sister couldn't join him so he kept coming over to touch her...

...freezing but having fun!

Pretending to "take" candy out of the witch's bag.

(note the devious facial expression)

A nice woman offered to take a picture so we could prove we were ALL here together... I guess when you have little ones just getting everyone in the photo is what's important. Coordiated "poses" will have to come later in our family!

Yay - What a great day in Egg Harbor - Pumpkins, kettle corn, games and food!

On the Move - Crawling!

As of noon today Audrey has stopped "army" crawling & started the real deal! She is FAST! She also loves to wave a lot - if she so much as hears the word "hi" she starts waving. It's ardorable but I couldn't capture it on film before the memory ran out. Oh well - here she is in action.

Babysitting

Our wonderful neighbors asked if I'd consider

babysitting their little ones.

We decided to try it out... it's only been 2 days, with some very definite up's & down's.

Audrey's been very interested in this new house guest

(4 mos. younger but just as tall as her)!

...although she's resorted to a daily Diet Coke due to an added sense of fatigue - oh wait - that's me...

ha ha ha
"Hands off my pop kid!"
Ian insisted on wearing his Packer attire as well so they could match.
So far these two do not get along well... hopefully that will change.

Caught Kneeling

I sat Audrey in the family rm while I cooked dinner (in eye-shot). The sound of silence caused me to look up - and there she was - helping herself to her toy box. This may not seem like a big accomplishment but it highlights her ability to get what she wants! (I should also mention the toy box wasn't even on the pink blanket when I left the room??) This "discovered" look on her face is priceless.

Also ~ she's ALMOST crawling (will keep you posted) and she finally has that twinkle back in her eyes. She's been sick since August 19th (starting with a UTI) and ending (hopefully!) with this current virus (We think the kids are coming off H1N1) After weeks in a fog she's finally her old, happy, spunky self ~ yay!

(Just ignore my MN accented "whatcha doin' ya der' hey?")

Jen, Rich, Jameson Visit!

The anticipation leading up to their visit was almost too much for Ian, "I need to see my cousin 'Jaminson'!" we heard for weeks.

Eating Blue Moon ice-cream at the Milw. Zoo

(takes after his aunt Jenny's taste buds)

Jen & Rich got to meet Audrey for the 1st time!

She loved her aunt & uncle...

Aww ~ Jameson & Audrey napping together

thanks for the bunny ears Rich :) We had so much fun seeing you guys & can't wait to visit in the spring!

Art Street

When I told uncle Ryan we went to art street he groaned "boring!" Well, either things have changed since we were kids or Ian is too little to know it's boring :)

We spent 5 hours walking around the crowd filled streets - it was sort of like our alternative to our annual MN State Fair trip. We enjoyed some excellent food, face painting, art projects, music & dance. Yes, he actually sat through 3 performances & immitated the dance moves during the show. There was also an "animatronic" wild animal exhibit that knocked Ian's socks off.

All the kids in line were girls getting butterflies. The lady sort of freaked out when he asked for a car...
Watch out Desi Arnaz!

I think he spent 2 hrs. playing all sorts of instruments to all sorts of music...

I like his freedom of expression & loose brush strokes ;)