Visit to N.C., kids' first football game!

The weekend after Sam's birthday, we took off for the weekend at his brother Dan's house down in North Carolina! Dan and Richelle just recently moved to this region of the country! They are only about 4 hours from us. This weekend was one of Paul's last home games of the football season (he's a sophmore on varsity) so we wanted to head down to see him in action! We figured the kids were old enough to drag them along and I'm glad we did! They were pretty well behaved, for the most part. Started getting tired towards halftime so I took them back to Dan and Richelle's place while Sam stayed to watch the rest of the game. It was a quick trip but still so fun! The kids loved being with their big cousins, and they very much appreciated the boys (mostly Jamie!) getting down and building train tracks with them all weekend.

The marching band was their favorite, of course. lol!

Riding their bikes down Dan's neighborhood:

Trying on helmets, hehe:

The big 3-0! Happy birthday Sam! (November 5th)

Crazy to think I'm married to someone in their 30's now! Even crazier to think that I've known him for almost half his life! We met when he was 16. ha! Happiest of birthday's to my awesome, caring, hilariously entertaining, not to mention, good looking husband! 30 looks so good on you. But I'd be lying if I said I can't wait to join you! I'm not quite ready for the commitment of a new decade quite yet. hehe! Celebrated the afternoon with BBQ and putt-putt golf with the kiddos! Finished off the evening with an amazingly rich chocolate bundt cake!

 

I think it was more entertaining watching the kids in action all along this little course. Still laughing about their excitement about it all, lol:

Video Catch- up

Just some fun videos of the kids these past couple months. Each in their own little world! Ha! Hilarious to see their little personalities!

Halloweenie!

This was our first successful year of trick-or-treating with our kids! The first few years with Ivy, we decided not to because she usually has early bedtime, and we didn't live in a good neighborhood for it.. Then last year, we went with some friends in their neighborhood and ended up having torrential downpours halfway through and had to cut out early. So finally this year we were able to take BOTH kids, in our OWN neighborhood, with ZERO rain. Woo! We had heard of other neighborhoods being "great" for trick or treating but there is just something about staying in your own neighborhood! And I'm so glad we stayed! There were a few other families out but it wasn't too busy at all. So every house we stopped at gave us a handful of candy instead of just one or two pieces! I was so amazed at some of the generosity and kindness of the people in our neighborhood! Some families had made individual goody bags for each trick-or-treater, and some had regular and king size candy bars!  We've got such nice neighbors! It really was nice to see and visit with the people that live near us. My kids had a ton of fun saying hi to everyone and were definitely worn out after walking up and down the hills!

Belle and her pet turtle. Belle even had on some big girl makeup for the occasion! and the turtle was just happy to play outside! Waiting for daddy to get home before heading out:

 

So much candy! 

Pumpkin Fun

The last couple weeks of October, we finally got around to doing some pumpkin crafts. These first few pictures are from painting their little pumpkins from our trip to Fenders Farm. I let Ivy pick the paint colors, hence most are easter pastels. Ha! I helped her settle on some Black and dark purple in there to be just a little more festive. Marshall thought it was super fun. I was impressed at how much he actually painted, and only tried to eat it a couple times:

These next pictures are a few days later when we finally got around to carving our bigger pumpkins! Ivy's reaction to the goop was so hilarious! I thought for sure she would think it was cool but i guess not! She cracked me up. Sam did his own creation and Ivy requested a "girl" face for ours. Did the best I could! I think they turned out pretty cute!

Asheville, NC

 On one of Sam's day off, we decided to drive down to Asheville for the day to enjoy the fall leaves. We wanted to see what the town was like and also drive down to Chimney Rock, the cliffs where they filmed 'Last of the Mohicans'. Anyways, the drive down was absolutely beautiful and the fall leaves did not disappoint! Pretty sure this was peak weekend and I don't think any of these pictures do justice to just how vibrant everything was! It was also so nice to spend some time together. We ate lunch on the river in Chimney Rock and walked around the river and town a little bit. Then we drove back to Asheville and over to the little village near the Biltmore. Couldn't see the mansion of course, but it was still fun! Someday we will go back with just me and Sam and visit the Biltmore together.

 

Scenic lookout on the way back home: