Sunday Memories

These pictures are from a couple weeks ago - We went to Great Grandparents for dinner after church. This is such a fun memory for me and hope that it continues for Caden and Allyson too.

For years, I can remember going to grandpa and grandma for dinner after church. Of course, as our families get larger and busier, this tradition has not been as often as it used to be, but it is still a fond memory. It is so much fun for the cousins to get together and play and as we get older sit and visit and watch our kids play.

Point of Grace concert

On Saturday evening, I had the privilage of going to the Point of Grace concert. Some friends called me earlier in the week and told me they had won free tickets and weren't going to use all of them and I could have one! I was so excited. It was a great concert, and a great night out for me because Broc was gone from Thursday to Sunday evening working at Cursillo, so it was just the kids and I.

I like Nerds!

One of the favorite candies that Caden and Allyson received for Halloween was little boxes of Nerds. (Not really a favorite for mom - they get all over)

The other day Ally really wanted some, so I told her to be very careful because they like to jump out of the box - she thought that was really funny and keeps telling me "they like to jump up and down" and also "I like to jump with them"

Trick or Treating (Finally)

Trick or treating at G'pa and G'ma.

The day, for the kids, started out by going to daycare like usual, except they went dressed in Halloween costumes because they were going to go trick or treating with their daycare friends at the hospital (where I work) and to the nursing home next door and also to the bank that is on the other side of the daycare. They were both so excited to go, but then were a little disappointed when they learned that mom wasn't going to go along with them. Both kids were very happy to see me giving out treats, but then didn't want to leave me. Some tears were shed, but thanks to some great, loving daycare "teachers" they recovered just fine.

After daycare, we went to some of the local business and then met Dana and the boys to go trick or treating with them for a little while. It was a chilly evening and Caden wasn't feeling very well, so we didn't go very long, but received plenty of candy!

The Golden Compass movie

I have heard this from a couple different friends and wanted to share with you.
Snopes.com even says it is true.

There will be a new children's movie coming out in December starring Nicole Kidman. It is called The Golden Compass, and while it will be a watered down version, it is based on the first in a a trilogy of childern's books called His Dark Materials where in the end the children kill God and everyone can do as they please (it is anti-Narnia). It is written by Phillip Pullman, a proud athiest whose objective is to bash Christianity. I know that I will not be lining up to see this movie - and hope that this will encourage you to do some homework before you go, or especially before you would take you kids.

Peeling Eggs

Both kids love eggs and when we were on vacation, that was what they wanted from the breakfast selection (along with cheerios {Fruit Loops}). I was making egg salad and the kids wanted to help peel the eggs. I did plan ahead and boiled a couple extra eggs that what I needed for the egg salad - which was lucky because both kids ate about as much as they peeled. Allyson would have eaten all of them if I had let her.

Play Doh or Bread Dough?

Grandma Kay was going to make monkey bread the other night and Caden and Allyson wanted to "help" so grandma gave both kids a little bit of dough to take home and make their own. The kids thought it was Play Doh and played on the table with it for about 45 min to 1 hour.

We did not make monkey bread out of it after that - but we sure had fun!

Tractors

On Saturday afternoon, Broc was asked to help out a friend in the field driving grain cart. He took Caden along to ride in the tractor. Allyson and I were able to go out and visit and get a few pictures. They both thought it was a fun time. Thanks to Brandy for allowing us this opportunity. (Carey - does this look familiar?)

Virginia vacation

Here it is! Most of the pics have explanations under them.
On Thursday, we slept in after a busy day of flying. We then went to Cox farms which is a 10 acre pumpkin farm with lots of slides, animals, hay rides, bale forts, and lots of other fun things to do. The kids and the adults had fun. Then we had a cookout at Chad and Amy's that evening.
On Friday, it was a little rainy (much needed there) so we went to the Luray Caverns and then drove on Skyline Drive to Shenendoah National Park that drives through the mountains. It was really pretty. As we got closer to the top, it got really foggy (cloudy) and we couldn't see anything, but it was really neat to be up in the mountains and see God's majestic powers through nature.
Saturday was wedding rehersal.
Sunday was the wedding. The location of the wedding was in Leesburg, Virginia at Raspberry Plains. It was at an older home that you can rent and have your wedding there. It was beautiful to look out and see the mountains and the temperature was in the 80's so just a great day! Allyson told Amy that she was "a princess" in her wedding dress. At the wedding dance, the traditional first dance of the couple was going on, and Allyson and Zander decided it was their turn to dance. It was very cute until Caden got a little jealous and decided that he should be dancing with his sister instead.
Monday we went into DC - Grandma Mary stayed back to watch the kids (thanks g'ma!) so that we could go and not have to worry about them getting tired of walking. We saw lots of sights and walked what seemed like about 10 miles. It was really neat to see the sights up close - it just isn't the same to see pictures. Caden and Allyson had a great time playing with Chandler while we were away.
The kids loved riding the "alligator" (elevator) at the motel. The kids were also disappointed that we didn't get to ride in uncle Chad's "taco" (Tahoe) while we were there. Maybe next time!
This was such a fun vacation and we hope to go back again when the kids are a little older! Thanks to Chad and Amy for being such great hosts! We appreciate all you did for us!
Also thanks to Grandpa Wayne for driving us around!

We are back!

Wanted to say that we are back from our vacation and I am working on a slide show with some pics of the highlights of our trip. That should be posted very soon.
For now, I wanted to leave you with a taste of what is to come... This is a picture of Broc and I with the Washington Monument in the background. This is one of the first things that we saw as we were flying into DC last week. We were able to see this sight with lights around from the plane. Even Allyson commented on the "big tower".
For now, just know that I have been busy wading through laundry and beetles. (Back to reality)
While in Virginia, we had 80 degree weather and no beetles. We could sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather without the bugs!