It's fall!

I love this time of year!  There are so many great family friendly activities all over town and we've enjoyed taking advantage of the weather and time together.

Recently we took a trip to Burger Farm with a group of moms from church.  The hayride was a huge hit and so was the puppet show.  Jack reenacted the puppet show for a whole week... every bad joke included. We each took home a little pumpkin and we bought a few at their store, too.  We've now got plenty of pumpkins and Audrey has enjoyed playing with them as we leave and return from the house. I hope they survive long enough to carve for Halloween.

We've enjoyed time with friends at the zoo:

Owen and Levi Gould

Our whole family took a fun trip to A&M Farm in Midland.  It was a hot day in October, and we were sweaty and uncomfortable in our fall clothes.  But I'm so glad we did it.  I love being able spend time with each other - just the four of us.  I feel like we are always busy!  We like to fill up our free time with friends and family, so a quiet morning together is rare. It was great to connect and get refreshed together!

Kings Island

Jacob's firm picnic was at Kings Island this year, and I was excited for about a month beforehand.  We haven't been to Kings Island in years, and knowing that Jacob really doesn't enjoy roller coasters, I thought that this would be my big chance to ride rides and enjoy the park.

The weather forecast wasn't great, but I wasn't going to let a silly thing like rain keep us away.  We arrived at Planet Snoopy just in time for the sky to open and the rain to come pouring down.  Thank goodness for a stroller with a large canopy, an umbrella, and small corners of the park with cover.

We waited out the brief park-clearing storm and then spent the rest of the night having a great time. We stayed out way past bedtime and packed in a few hours of great family time. After all of the kids' rides, I got to ride the Wind Seeker and the Racer by myself.  Thanks for hanging in there with me, guys!  I'm ready to go back.  So if anyone has an extra set of tickets and wants to watch the kids one afternoon, let me know.  The Diamondback is calling my name.

He was so excited to ride his first roller coaster

He was holding on tight

Much more his speed

Train ride with Alex

The Scrambler

Showing me that the racer was going so high!

Hilton Head 2013

We just returned from a week long vacation in Hilton Head. We went with the Troescher family (17 of us!) and we all stayed together in one big house.  The best part of
the house was that the pool was right outside and was just for us.  We could swim all day long and come in and out of the house to eat and nap.  Perfect for our little family!

Here are a few highlights from the trip:

Jack didn't like the police man that gave daddy a ticket. 

Jack didn't spend much time in the big pool - it was great to have the baby pool!

This is a bit fuzzy, but so sweet.  Audrey's cousins were so sweet with her!  

Looking back on my pictures I found a TON of Mara holding Audrey.  What a great cousin. 

Buddies

The only picture I could find of just the two of us!

Mom and Carl's wedding

Well, the big day has come and gone:  Mom and Carl are married!  Now they are enjoying a two week honeymoon cruising the seas and we are not a bit jealous.  Not a bit.

Congratulations Mom and Carl! We hope you're enjoying your trip!

Unfortunately, I didn't do a great job documenting the day.  I think I was too busy running here and there and enjoying the time.

We started with the rehearsal on Friday at ECC.  Jack didn't want to sit still and Audrey was full of tears.  We were in full-blown panic mode by the time we went to the rehearsal dinner.  But we learned from our mistake and packed a bag full of snacks for the wedding.  (Sorry, ECC.  I think we broke your 'no eating in the sanctuary' rule that day.)

The ceremony was beautiful and the kids did great.  Jack ate enough Goldfish and Nutter Butters to fill his belly twice and Audrey sucked on her pacifier and smiled at the people around us.  Whew!

A big thanks to my parents and my aunts who juggled carseats, blankies, diaperbags, and the kids.  Jacob and I were able to enjoy two nights at a hotel which was a wonderful break.

One of the best parts about the weekend was getting to know some of Carl's family a bit better.  Jack just inherited eight new cousins and we have six new friends to BBQ with in the summers.

Congratulations, Mom and Carl!

Jack is two

I can't believe that Jack is two already!  How did those two years go by so quickly?

Jack continues to be a sweet, kind boy that loves his family, trains, cars, dancing, and music.

Here are a few things to remember about Jack as a new two year old:

• He made it to his 2nd birthday with only 4 teeth.  Right after his birthday his 5th and 6th popped through.  
• He is a master at hiding.  He will sit and hide in one spot while we try to find him.  We play this game in the car a lot.  He covers his face and hides, and he'll stay that way for a few minutes before he jumps out and says, boo!
• While he is a great walker, he still hasn't mastered the stairs. He crawls up and down still, and even crawls over cracks in the sidewalk or small ramps or steps into doorways.  
• He's still an excellent sleeper.  Even with company at the house, or in the middle of playing with toys, if you tell him it's bedtime he stops what he's doing and heads upstairs.  You've got to love that!
• Jack loves to listen and look for fire trucks and ambulances.  If he thinks he hears a siren he puts his finger up to his ear and yells, "ambi toe truck"  (ambulance fire truck)
• He continues to love Awa (Audrey) and shows his love by sitting on her, giving her kisses, and telling her hi as he runs past her.  
• He loves playing with trains and cars and is quickly learning the names of all of the Thomas trains.  
• Jack loves his buddies at church and knows his friends by name.  He really enjoys the Toddler 1 classroom at church and has no problem leaving us behind when he walks into the classroom.  

Since Jack loves trains so much, Jacob, Christy, and I took him to Entertrainment Junction a few days before his birthday.  We decided to leave Audrey with Nana that morning so that we could give him all of our attention.  The trains were fun to look at, but I think his favorite part was playing with the train table. 

That night we had a party with our families.  Jack had a great time with everyone that came to celebrate, but he really enjoyed his cousin Emma and her friends.  They were so kind to play with him and he soaked up all of the attention. 

When I asked him what he wanted to do for his party, he kept repeating, "Happy Hat".  I don't know where he learned about a party hat, but we made sure to have them there.

 Here are a few shots from his party:

Jacob built this train table for Jack and he LOVES it!

Audrey in her Happy Hat

The cake... a labor of love