Kissable

Julianne and Aunt Jessica

Those little round baby cheeks are so adorable it's hard to resist.

Grandma entertains a crowd

This was the scene Friday evening at Grandma's house. The game of peek-a-boo had both grand kids entertained and the puppy (still wearing her Halloween costume) had found a comfortable spot to watch.

Happy Halloween

Julianne in her little pumpkin outfit

Another super fun Halloween at our house. This year Jace was sooooooooooooooo excited. He was buzzing before we even got any candy. He helped me carve a pumpkin this morning with features he had drawn.
This year he really enjoyed Trick-or-Treating. He marched right up and rang every doorbell on our street. Then he came home and spent the rest of the evening at the front door, sorting candy and greeting the kids that came to the door.


Jace sits waiting at the door with treats

As Joel tucked him in tonight, Jace was sad about Halloween ending. "We will do it again on Monday." he insisted. Joel's attempt to explain that we will do it again next year ended with some frustration from both sides.


Vikings with our little Dragons in training

Jumping in the leaves

What a beautiful fall day it was. After spending the last three days subbing in the preschools I was happy for a day home with the kids. Thanks to Joel, I was able to sleep late.  We had a happy surprise visit from Aunt Lea Ann. She was able to get Julianne to laugh. After she left to pick up Lily, we spent the rest of the afternoon outside. I raked the leaves while Julianne napped in her chair and Jace busied himself with all sorts of things. He helped me a little. He got the mail from the mailman and sorted it. He called Grandma Elaine and compared the number of bags of leaves we had raked. He visited with passing neighbors. He drew pictures with chalk on the sidewalk and on the shovel he was using to scoop leaves. Finally, he made some spectacular leaps into the last pile of leaves.

This evening we took a long walk. Joel carried Julianne in the front pack and Jace rode his bike. Then dinner, baths and bedtime. I better go, It's past my bedtime. Goodnight.

We love all the toothless grins.

Great Grandma Courtney

My Mom and my Grandma came for a visit a couple weeks ago. They had adventures on the way here and on the way home and were fabulous company for the days in between. I wish I had taken more pictures but here is the one that I did take.

Julianne with Great Grandma Courtney in their pink sweaters

Preschool field trip

Today I accompanied Jace's class on their first field trip. Jace was so excited to have one of his classmates ride in the car with us. The two boys giggled and shouted at each other in back seat on the way to the farm museum.

The kids were all wearing bright yellow t-shirts that they had decorated. Our group wandered around the grounds of the museum where there were houses and farm buildings set up like a farm from the 1860's. Jace spent part of the tour holding hands with one of his classmate's younger sister. The class enjoyed all the animals and the pumpkin patch. All the kids were tired and hungry by the time we finished our tour and stopped in the grass for a snack. The weather was great and the trip was a success.

These 3 + Me = Family