pumpkin carving

We decided to get some pumpkins this year and carve some faces.  We weren't really sure how it was going to go, since Brenna hates getting dirty, but we were pleasantly surprised that she even grabbed a spoon and helped me clean some guts out.  

Brenna was really interested in just rolling the pumpkins around.  Jace just looks threatening ;)

 As I'm sure it goes in 99% of pumpkin carvings...Nick did all the work!

 Brenna's pants were a disgusting mess as she was slipping and sliding all over in the pumpkin guts on the tarp.  She actually though it was a great time!

Our masterpieces.

our "camping" trip

Nick and I decided to go 'camping' with the kids.  We've had a tent and 90% of the supplies that we've never used.  So, we set the tent up and unrolled the sleeping bags in the backyard.

Brenna got a kick out of snuggling in the sleeping bag with Nick.  She loved falling asleep and waking up with him (every 5 minutes, trust me, no actually sleeping occurred)

Jace just wanted to climb on me.  

 Silly kids

random fall catch up

With the start of fall, we've been getting outside a lot more, which Jace and Brenna love. 

 This is really the first time Jace has been able to explore.   He started off really unsteady but quickly mastered the little hill and rarely falls.  He is so patient with himself, trying new skills over and over and over again.  He doesn't have a lot of fear of falling.  He knows where his belly is and will gladly show it to you.  He really gets a kick out of eensy weensy spider and (unlike Brenna who would only want you to sing it)  he loves doing the hand motions.  He's also a fan of wheels on the bus.  He can 'cheers' with his cup and doesn't understand that it is not something you repeatedly do.  He still trows food, but not nearly as much as before and has stopped throwing his cup.  He says 'Hi' is the softest, sweetest voice.  And I think he's working on 'milk.'  He has 6 teeth, and another slowly coming in.  He loves to have his teeth brushed!    

 Brenna loves digging in the garden, chasing after Bella and running after Jace.  She was trying to spy on the neighbor who was mowing his grass.  Her language is just incredible...she actually used the word 'frusterating' correctly in a sentence yesterday.  She is very polite and says 'please' (most times) and 'thank you.'  She loves the alphabet and recognizes letters, although not specific ones.  She still loves movies and is getting into acting me out.  We play Frozen often.  She still changes her name and yesterday wanted to be called 'washing machine' for the entire morning.  Nick was big-super-washing machine, Jace was little-washing machine and I was mama-washing machine.  I'm not sure where she comes up with these things....

 A man needs room to breathe....

I love baby naps

A throw back from our pumpkin patch trip last year.  We didn't go to the same farm as we found one about half the distance away.  It would have been cute to try to get this picture again.  Actually, we probably would have killed ourselves trying to get it and ended up with crying kids.  So, really it worked out better this year :)

Pumpkin patch

We had a beautiful 3 day weekend with Nick and took advantage of the nice weather and the chance that not many people would have the day off.  We went to a pumpkin patch and had a great time!

As more of Jace's personality comes out....this is a "which way do I go?" look.  As in, I'm outta here.  Catch me if you can!

Pretty much the only way to contain the curious little guy.  He's short enough that he could walk right under any ropes and he is so quick.  Something catches his eye and he is running.

Kids really got a kick out of the goats.

Family fun in the maze.  Surprisingly no one became frustrated or cried.  

This is Jace, making a break for the water.  

Brenna loved the pumpkins and they had a huge supply of little ones she could pick up.

 Brenna got to check out the turkey, but she kept asking where his face was.  I explained the turkey had a blue face.  I think her mind was blown.

We tried to get a picture of Jace hanging, but he can't quite hold on.  Or maybe he can't focus long enough to hold on....hehe.

 

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It was a little windy, as you can see by Brenna's hair.  She got a kick out of the wind.  Jace just wanted to run.  

Smore's? No thanks.

Now that fall is here and we are getting the brisk 80+ degree weather we've been looking forward to all year, we thought it would be a great idea to make some Smore's.  When I say 'we', I mean 'me' but Nick went along with it and even bought the supplies.  You can see how thrilled he was attempting to cook the marshmallows.  They never really warmed beyond air temp, which was fairly warm, but not enough to make them properly.  

So, into the microwave they went.  The end result... picture perfect smore's.  We used a Hershey bar for the kids and a Lindt chocolate with chili bar for ours.  They were awesome! 

The kids were excited and curious.  You can see on their faces....Jace was thinking "Yes!  Let's do this!" and Brenna was more "You say there is chocolate in there, but it looks messy...."

After Brenna's first attempt at a bite, and the crumbs began to fall....she completely lost it and Nick kindly took her inside to try to help her eat it without her getting messy.  She did not ask for seconds.

Jace, on the other hand, didn't mind a bit.  He was actually more frustrated that the marshmallow (which, by the way becomes very rubbery when heated in the microwave) would spring out of his mouth due to the consistency of the marshmallow.  

 He got a few bites and certainly did not mind the mess.  Actually, he was pretty clean considering...

We will not be trying this again until 1) we have a fire to properly melt the marshmallows and 2) the kids can feed themselves.  :)