Happy Halloween....wait, seriously?

Y'all, I know, I've been terribly remiss about updating this blog. We've officially been without internet access for the past 3 weeks until TONIGHT. I've just about gone bonkers. So here are some Halloween photos of the kids that should have been posted a month ago. Enjoy!




Introducing...Bumblebee the Transformer!!







And what a sweet little pup...



Lindsay, Liam, & Jon came over for our Annual Broadgate cook-out in our neighborhood, & then we all went trick-or-treating. This is Liam the Monkey laughing with Lincoln.

















We had a great Halloween, & we also had a wonderful Thanksgiving, although our camera didn't even make it out of our car while we were in St. Louis. We gotta get better at this taking-pictures-thing.

Merry Christmas everybody, & I'll be posting again soon! The internet is back in our house. Hallelujiah!
Reunited and it feels so good....

Fa-la-la-la-la,

Camping, Stitches, & Gentry's Farm

I realize it's been a while since my last post! I apologize for my delay, but we've had a pretty busy past few weeks. We had our very first camping trip in our backyard, complete with a firepit & roasting s'mores. Then, we had our first ER trip with Lincoln. He ran into the kitchen island corner & had to get 4 stitches.

And today we made our annual trip to Gentry's Farm. I went there to hopefully get some good pictures of the family together. This proved to be simply a far-fetched dream only my mind could see. It's so frustrating trying to take pictures of kids who won't cooperate! But pretty soon, the frustration lent itself to laughter, & then we fell into the ease of what we might call 'punchy'. So none of our pictures are framers; however, they will make me smile for years to come.

I'll narrate for you. Here we go. Let's start with the camping trip. I'm using 'camping' loosely, as Lincoln wanted to come back into his warm, cozy bed approximately 15 minutes after they were in the tent. But the time we spent outside with the neighbors & by the fire was really fun.

Here's Lincoln so proud of Ben putting up the tent:

He thought he was pretty cool for having his own place in the tent.

Here's some of the neighborhood kids:

Later in the evening preparing to roast s'mores:

Yummy:

Three cozy boys hunkered down in the tent.

Last Wednesday, Mike & Sherry were in town to visit. They bought the boys a dinosaur Lincoln named Butch. Butch can growl, get mad & spit water at you, & he even has motion sensory thingies where he senses if someone is there. If nobody touches him for a while, he starts snoring. If you pet Butch nicely, he purrs & laughs. Lincoln looves Butch. He was in the kitchen laughing his head off at Butch's tricks. He was enjoying it so much that he spun around, jumped, & ran smack into our granite island corner. What ensued was hysterical screaming, lots of blood, & a trip to the ER. 4 stitches later, & he was fine.

Meet Butch:

Upon return from the hospital. The first thing he wanted to play with? Why, Butch, of course.

We went to Gentry's Farm today.

Here are sweet brothers before we left the house.

Mom & L-Train:

Sweet Levi playing in the corn buckets:

I love this little booger.

Linc having fun swingin on the tire swing:

Dad & Levi playing in the corn:

Here's a sequence of pictures that might make you laugh. Nothing went right:

Forget it:

But here is the funniest sequence. All I wanted was a simple picture of the three of us. It doesn't sound that hard, does it? Hmmm. Take a look:

Then I got a really great one of Levi & Ben walking through the corn maze:

Me & Levi:

We've had a wonderful Fall season so far, & it's not even Halloween yet! Be prepared to see Bumblebee the Transformer & a puppy dog. They're two cuties, don't you fret.

Until next time, friends...

Baby Rinks

Today was a special day in the Cissell household.  Back in the summer, Lincoln had a very fun day with Miss Mandi at the McKay's Mill Pool.  At that time, Mandi had a baby in her belly by the name of Baby Rinks.  Lincoln had a great time in the pool playing with Miss Mandi & talking about Baby Rinks in her belly.  

Well, Baby Rinks was born about a month ago.  When we dropped Lincoln off at school this morning, we told him that Rinks & Miss Mandi were coming by our house later that afternoon.  He was very excited.  So fast forward to this afternoon...he couldn't wait for our visitors.  

When they finally arrived, he wanted to hold Baby Rinks in his arms & play with him.  Here are some photos of their time together:

Here Linc is looking at Mandi, making sure that he is holding Baby Rinks the correct way:

Look how proud he is of Baby Rinks...

So sweet...

We had a great time visiting with our friends.  And it was extra special that Lincoln got to take part in holding Rinks & playing with him.  And might I add...Rinks never made a peep the entire time he was over at our house.  He never cried when Linc held him & "tickled him", never made a sound when Levi screamed in his face & threw a stuffed animal at him (all in love, I promise) & never even seemed to mind the utter chaos that my sons caused in our living room.  Yay for laid-back babies!  He's such a champ!  

Hope y'all are having a good fall season.  We certainly are!

Until next time...

First Day of School

Today was Lincoln's first day of Pre-K at Walker Memorial.  He's now going 4 days a week & he couldn't be more excited.  He woke up this morning all ready to go.  

We took pictures before we left, out on the porch, walking in, & settling into the classroom. Here are a few:

Here he is showing off his Bumblebee Backpack.  He is very proud of this:

And here is his paper airplane that Ben made for him this morning.  He thought it was the coolest.

Dad & the boys.  Look at Ben's bedhead.  Ha.

Walking into school.  This is the 4th year he's gone to Walker!

Even sweet Levi had to take part in all the classroom action:

Lincoln looking at his classroom & at all the toys:

And here he is giving his BFF Emmachelle a morning hug:

So here's hoping that his day went well.  Yay for school!

xoxo

Texas Trip

The boys & I went to Texas a few weeks ago to visit my mom & dad (Mimi & Papa).  When people ask what we did, I truly say, "not much...just hung out."  I'm serious.  We left the house one time, only to go to the Wiggles Play Center.  Every single day while we were there, we hung out by my parent's pool, swam, listened to music, enjoyed great food & wine (thanks Mama!) & spent great quality time together.  The boys loved it.  And so did I...it was fantastic.  

One especially perfect thing that happened while we were there was that Lincoln had his very first fishing trip with Papa.  My dad took him out in his golf cart to the "lake" (AKA the pond near Hole 5 on the golf course) where he taught Linc to put the worm on the hook, cast the line, & wait for the bite.  Here they are leaving for their trip:

And sure enough...Lincoln caught his very own fish!  Here he is so proud of his catch:

And here's Linc watching the fish flail on the ground...he was very concerned.

Here are some other pictures of the kids during our stay that were really sweet times:

Yummy watermelon with Papa:

Here's Levi showing off his doctor's glasses that he wanted to wear all the time.  He sees me wear my sunglasses on top of my head so often, that he believes that is how a person wears glasses all the time!  Hilar.

Mimi & the boys enjoying lemon halves.  I know, totally random.  But my mom was cooking & had an extra lemon.  Lincoln said he wanted to try some, & he ended up loving it.  Then he played with the rinds, & here we are.  Enjoying the lemon halves as head phones.  

I can't believe school starts in just 2 short weeks.  Linc will be in a pre-K program 4 days a week.  I can't believe it!  He's going to love it.  He has been missing his classmates like crazy this summer.  

Talk to y'all soon,

A Terribly Cute Lincoln Conversation

BACK STORY: Last night as the boys were bathing, I was sitting on the couch watching TV.  I then heard Levi struggling, coughing...and I knew he was caught up in the water.  I raced into the bathroom, & literally slid (think sliding into home-plate) all the way into the bathroom & directly into the side of the tub, to catch him in time.  I was able to catch Levi on his side before he was under the water, thankfully.  In sliding across the floor, however, both my knees slammed directly into the edge of the tub.  This hurt my knees so badly that I cried for the next 10 minutes.  Both boys at this point were beside themselves.  Levi was screaming (mainly b/c I was moaning & rocking back & forth...ya know when things just hurt like fire & you don't know what else to do??...and you find yourself doing repetitive movements?...), & Lincoln was crying.  This conversation ensued:

Me: "Oh my gosh, this hurts so bad."

Linc: "Momma, are your legs broken?  What's happening?  What's wrong?"

Me: (moaning) "Oohhhh, I can't think straight..."

Linc: "Oh no.  MOM.  I think we need to go to the hospital.  You need to go see Dr. Lightning McQueen.  He will put a band-aid on it & you will feel all better."

Me: "That sounds like a great idea."

Linc: "Then we will come home, & I will tuck you in your bed.  I will crawl up in the bed with you & we will eat waffles.  Wait, no--waffles are too sticky.  We will eat bananas.  Wait, no--bananas make my poop hard.  I've got it!  We will eat peanut butter & jelly sandwiches together & we will cuddle.  And you will have a band-aid on your boo-boos.  And you will be all better by the morning time.  OK, Momma?  Is that a great idea?"

Me: (laughing) "Yep, that sounds fantastic."

Linc: "What a great plan."

Have a good weekend!

Disclaimer: My story kinda made it sound like the couch was way far away from the bathroom.  It's literally just around the corner.  I don't put my kids in the tub & then go for a run or anything.  Just sayin.  

More pics of our park day...

"Sweet Baby Liam" (as Lincoln likes to call the nearly 18 month-old...)

Levi sliding down the slide.

One-handed on the handle-bars!

Scared.

Excited.  And kinda scared too.

Daddy & Baby.  Are they twins or what?

Awww...
Handsome 4 1/2-year-old...


What a sweetie-pie (Lincoln's term of endearment for Levi):

Going through the tunnel.

I hope your Saturday was just as fun & joyful as ours was.

xoxo

If you need a reminder of what pure delight is...

then let me bring you up to speed.

We all went to Dragon Park this morning, & boy, did we have fun. We met Lindsay & Liam there, & we all had a picnic lunch & played.  It was a great time.  Here are some photos of our day.  

P.S.  I have no idea why my font is sometimes underlined or in blue color, but just go with it.  

my fantastic firecrackers

We had a fabulous Fourth of July. Bicycle parade, pool, tacos & fireworks in our front yard. What a way to celebrate the holiday. The boys are snug in their beds. Here are pictures of our day.

Preparing to leave for the parade:


Silly faces:


Me & my firecrackers:


Helmet? Check.


Waiting for the fire truck to start the parade.


Keeping up with all the bike riders.


Levi joined in the fun as well. But he chilled out in the stroller.


Later in the evening, we sat out on our front porch & lit fireworks.











Awesome day. Happy Birthday USA.

Here's my little butter bean...

I just want to eat him up.


Happy Smiles,