Halloween 2010!

Whew, it was a very busy past week & weekend for our family! We had Levi's Trunk or Treat at preschool, Ben's parents came in town (yay!!!) and then Halloween. We had such a great time, & I managed to get some amazing pictures of the family. Mike & Sherry were so great to come here & be with us over Halloween & to help us hand out candy to the kids, while Ben & I took the boys trick or treating. We had our annual neighborhood block party in the afternoon, our friends the Schnecks came over to our house & joined in the festivities, & then we all went trick or treating. So fun!

Levi getting ready to wear his costume to school for his Trunk or Treat Party. He had the best time this day.




He thought he could fly:




Ben walking Levi into school:


Here's Levi coming out of the classroom with his classmates in the afternoon for the Trunk or Treat!




Smiley-Joe:


One of the trunks displayed:


Checking out his loot:


The whole class:




Here he is concentrating so hard on looking at MeMaw's pictures that she had just taken of them in their costumes. So focused!


Introducing....HEATBLAST! (for those of you who do not have boys, Heatblast is a character from the popular TV show "Ben10")


Batman & Mommy:


Family Halloween photo:


Here the kids are at our neighborhood block party. We grilled out, looked at all the cute costumes, & got ready to go trick or treating.


And here's Lincoln eating with some of the neighborhood kids:


And here's Lincoln holding baby Claire, looking so proud to have that job all to himself!


Here's some shots of trick-or-treating. Lincoln, Levi, & Liam are all dispersed throughout these next few:








And last, but certainly not the least, I just couldn't resist taking this great picture of Levi & Ben, trick or treating together. I just love this one:


I hope everyone had a great Halloween, just like we did!
xoxo

Things I Love

Louis Vuitton...such a classic. I will love LV until the end of time.


Leopard ballet flats.


Quelques Fluer. The perfume I have worn since I was 18 years old. Smells so good & I get so many compliments when I wear it.


And last, but certainly not the least...these Frye riding boots make me melt. I wear my black riding boots all the time, but I'm needing a great pair of brown. And these are unreal. Giddyup.


Whatcha lovin' lately?

Field Day!

I volunteered at Field Day this morning, & it was awesome. Lincoln had a blast, & it was so much fun seeing all those smiling faces having such a great time. Here are some photos of the morning:

Hello Hawaii!

Hawaii Five-0, that is. Love this show because it doesn't stress me out, it doesn't make me tense, it's funny, has great sets (it being in Hawaii and all), & oh yeah, let's not forget about this one:



Make me swoon, Alex O'Laughlin. Oh dear.
Hawaii Five-Hottie.

Fall Break Camping Trip

It has been Fall Break here this past weekend, so we packed up everyone & went camping! We went to Henry Horton State Park, & had the best time. Our weekend consisted of setting up camp, a great hike where we explored cool caves, spending time down at the creek where we "re-directed" the river, hot dogs & baked beans over the fire, roasting marshmallows & enjoying S'Mores, a night-time spooky hike with our glow sticks, & then ghost stories & watching stars in our tent before we fell asleep. It was such a sweet time with the boys, we loved every minute of it. Even though I slept like crap. Complete crap.

Here are some pictures of our time. Leaving for the trip:





Ben preparing to put up our 8-person tent. HUGE. Ben could fully stand inside it. He's 6'3".








And...the tent is up.


Let the roasting begin! And PS-look at my new pink chair. Since I'm the only girl in my family, I deserve it, I think.




Levi is ready for our spooky hike with his breaker glow stick.


Linc trying to break his:








We are already planning our next camping adventure! Hope everyone else had a great fall break. Talk to ya,

The Bear Card and the First Day of School!

Wow, it's been more than a month since I've updated this thing. Oopsies.
Lots to discuss here & many pictures & videos to post. Today was Lincoln's first day of Kindergarten at Trinity Elementary. He was so super excited to go & meet his classmates. I was excited too, until something inside me snapped this morning at breakfast & I started crying. It hit me like a freight train, & that train has continued racing over me at random points during my day. I have been a crying mess. A friend of mine at the Y came up to me & asked the simple question of, "How did it go this morning?" Tears. Good grief. But alll that to say, Lincoln had a great first day & he can't wait to go back.
Here are some photos of our morning:






Here is a quick video of my first morning breakdown. No lie, we were talking about something so non-significant while Ben was filming, & there I went.



And here is sweet precious Levi getting so sad when he has to say goodbye to his big brother. What did this do to me? Yup, you guessed it. I'm such a crybaby.


Here's Lincoln walking into his classroom for the first time:


All in all, Lincoln had a wonderful time at his first day. I've been praying over him this summer that he would make good choices while in his class, & that God would provide him with some sweet friends. I will continue praying this throughout the year.

In other news, Ben's parents sent Ben a birthday card last week. It's a card that makes noise, & it was a bear in the woods scaring someone. Lincoln thought it was hilarious; Levi thought it was terrifying. Ben took video of Lincoln trying to scare Levi. What ensued was all-out hysterics from Levi. I have never seen him run so fast from something. It was sheer panic. We had one friend watch it, & jokingly claim that he was going to call DCS. OK, OK, it's a little over the top. Half of me wanted to cry with Levi, but the other half thought it was a little funny. I just can't decide. You decide. And please, God in Heaven, don't call DCS.



I've had ENOUGH of this summer heat. The fall decor is coming out soon, just so I can get a change of pace here. No more 90 degree weather! Terrible.
Bring on the Fall!
xoxo