Painting Pumpkins

We never made it to the pumpkin patch this year.  First, Gavin got sick and missed his field trip.  Then, Jarrod got sick and we couldn't make it when we were going as a family.  And, let's not forget to mention that this would've been the first year since moving here that we'd have to do the pumpkin patch without the Faminis, so I really think it just wasn't meant to be!  Instead, I picked up some pumpkins at the store.  One large one for carving, and a couple little guys for the kids to paint.  They enjoyed it!  Gavin really got into it...he loved his Superhero Vampire!
 

 

Way back in September....

You know, before all the germs attacked our house???  Geez, it feels like forever because it has been forever.  I have no intention of letting this blog die.  This is how I capture our lives and document it for everyone to look back on, and if I don't blog I won't have anything to print into our amazing family blog books!  Thank you, Tori, for reminding me to make this a priority.

At the end of September, right before Riley spiked a bit of a fever and started out downward spiral, we headed to Crystal Bridges for one Saturday morning.  It was a beautiful day to walk the trail and we just loved our family time together.  I, on the other hand, hate that I've been lacking at my time behind the camera, because it definitely shows.  I just went through and deleted a ton of photos that were blurry or completely blown out because I feel like a newbie again when I'm trying to snap photos and all the settings are off.  I need to make that a priority, too, and not just rely on my iPhone and Instagram.

The turtle and the rabbit are always favorite stops on the walk...  The rabbit was in the sun though and hot, so we decided to hop on the turtle for a little photo opp.

There were beautiful flowers to stop to smell!

Gavin loved that he was finding leaves as big as his head!

I love shadow pictures! :)

We just love how beautiful this trail is...and I loved seeing this plaque at the start of our walk.  I'm looking forward to walking here with Amy, Harper and Maggie this spring.

 

Then, we stopped into the museum for some play time in the children's area.  Puppets are always our favorite!

Sick Days

We've had a rough couple of weeks around here.  Almost two weeks ago, Gavin came home from school one afternoon with a fever.  Of course, because all kids seem to get sick right before a big event, the timing sucked and he had to miss his very first school field trip.  They were headed to the pumpkin patch and Daddy even took the day off to chaperone.  I felt so very bad for him.  Well, his fever just kept coming and going, and after we thought he was ok to go back to school, I got a call that his fever was back and I had to do my first mid-day pick up from the nurses' office.  He spent a lot of time sleeping...

When we finally got him better (well mostly...he still has the cough!), we were able to head to Costume Carnival at school.  It's events like this that make me love my life even more...I got to spend that Thursday afternoon at school decorating the classroom's booth for the event.  Mrs. R always has the 'Boo-tique Nail Salon' and it was a lot of fun to work my time slot that evening painting little girls' nails.

And, gosh...aren't these little ones so adorable!

Now, we've spent the last couple of days taking care of a sick Jarrod!  Seriously, he rarely gets sick...so when he's down, you know it's bad.  

On a positive note, I've officially earned the trip to Cancun with Tastefully Simple!!

I'll be honest...when I first started with Tastefully Simple, I didn't think earning trips was really attainable.  I assumed only the consultants that were partying 4-5 nights a week earned these trips.  But, I put my mind to it, and work my butt off...and by only partying about once a week, I did it!  Jarrod and I don't even do 'date nights' and now we're getting to go to this amazing resort for three nights, all expenses paid.  I'm so thankful for this awesome company.  Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd love what I'm doing so much.

Now...if we can just get everyone healthy, we're looking forward to spending a couple days in Kansas City with the kids later this week (thank you, October break!) and we're counting down the days til we drive back to Ohio for Thanksgiving.  So much to look forward to!  October, November, and December are definitely my favorite months of the year. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday