Happy Halloween!

So I am totally not into 80 degree weather for Halloween...but at least I didn't have to worry about the little ones getting cold tonight. It was weather warm day for a chili cookoff, but the neighbors congregated and had our 2nd annual "Chili Cook Off." Lisa's chicken and white bean chili took home the prize (recipe to follow - I have to get it first). We were a little hurried in getting dressed to get out and Trick or Treat, so that is why I don't have a good picture of all three of the kids together...they were totally not interested when we finished either (two only wanted candy and one only wanted a bottle).

This year was very different than last year. Drew has finally figured out that the more houses that you go to, the more candy that you get. So needless to say, Kevin and I could barely keep up. He was literally running from house to house. Ellie wanted to eat each and every piece of candy as it was placed in her bucket. I loved watching the two of them and their little Trick or Treating ways! Emmy was as good as gold and slept the whole time (well, almost)!

Drew and Ellie are all ready to go get some candy!

Emmy looks a litte unsure of this whole "costume" thing!

Trick or Treat!!!

Snug as a bug in a rug!

Pretty as a princess!

finally home and ready to dig into the candy!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Love to all!

Halloween Parade

Drew's class had a Halloween parade today and IT. WAS. ADORABLE! We watched all of the little kids march around the building in their halloween costumes. There were so many cute little princesses, pirates, pumpkins, superwomen, batmen, and one handsome little RED DRAGON NINJA!


So, about the costume. About a month or so ago, Kevin and I started talking about Halloween costumes. I thought it would be adorable to have Drew and Ellie be Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. I thought it would be the cutest little coordinating brother/sister costume. Kevin would have NOTHING to do with that. And I mean NOTHING. He wouldn't even entertain the idea by letting me show him that there were some really cute Peter Pan costumes and they weren't all "dorky" (per his terminology). So I decided that since Kevin was so picky about what Drew was gonig to be, then he would be "in charge" of Drew's costume. Two weeks later, he brough home a Bumble Bee Transformer costume. I think, given the right costume, a Transformer would have been great. But no! This costume was a nylon jumpsuit with a transformer looking body printed on it. No three dimensional pieces like on the nicer ones, just one dimension, flat transformer. The costume didn't even have anything on the back. So it was a transformer from the front and a great jumpsuit from the back. I HATED it! And of course Drew LOVED it! What's a Mama to do? Let her son trick or treat in a costume that is totally NOT cute but that he loves...or convince him that he LOVES something that is much cuter ;0) We will see what happens about that on Saturday? So anyway, Drew had to have a "potty friendly" costume for his Halloween parade. A one-piece jumpsuit - not so much. So last night at work, I got him a red dragon ninja one that was two pieces so that we were in compliance with the "potty friendly" requirement. It was $6.99 at Target and looks a little better than the Walmart Transformer (yet again, Target trumps Walmart). Still, would not be on my list of Top 5, but it would work for the parade. I showed it to Drew this morning...and he LOVES it! So he had no problems ditching the transformer for the Halloween parade at school. We will see what he ends up in on Saturday!

Here is the Turtle Class


An attempt to get a good picture of Drew and Ellie. Look at the face on Ellie - what happened to my "cheeser"


They tossed apples in the trees...


Pinned the tail on the cat...


Flipped ducks...

and balanced the pumpkin on the spoon.

It was a really cute Fall Festival and Drew couldn't have been any happier about his day at school :)

By the way...Kevin now has NO recolection of our Peter Pan/Tinkerbell conversation! Today, as I was talking with him about costumes he claims that conversation never happened. I can't decide if he is just trying to be funny or not, but he swears that I never suggested that and that I never told him that he was "in charge" of Drew's costume. "So they could have been Peter Pan and Tinkerbell?" I ask him today on the phone. His reply, "I don't care Liz!"

Oh. My. Goodness. Did I mention how STRESSED OUT Halloween costumes make me?

Love to all!

Party Like It's 1999

Kevin and I had our ten year reunion last weekend and are STILL trying to recover! We stayed out way too late, drank a little too much and had a blast with all of our old BHS friends. We started the weekend off with the high school football game. The Barons were losing 48 -0 when we left at the beginning of the third quarter...some things never change :( But Drew and Ellie had a good time for the hour that we were there...Drew just couldn't understand why our team couldn't score a touchdown (welcome to the club buddy!). We then went out to the Copper Kettle, enjoyed a few beverages, played cornhole and saw some friends from high school. Saturday night was the reunion and I REALLY enjoyed seeing people that I haven't seen in since high school. We danced a lot, talked a lot, drank a lot, and forgot a lot :(

There were about 45 or so "classmates" (we graduated with around 130 or so). So with spouses/partners, there were around 75 or 80 people there. A really good crowd. There were several "superlatives" given:

Most recently married: Jon and Amy (Moody) Bell
Most kids: Chancey Newton (5)
Traveled the furthest: Sir Michael White (14 hours - Chicago)
Been in school the longest: Dr. Angela Elam (currently doing her opthamology residency)

These are all that I can remember - sorry, it was later in the night! But our class has so many individuals that we are so proud of :)

Here are a few pictures from the night!

Class of 1999


Brook, Liz, Amy, Ann


Robin, Lynn, Kevin, Liz, Laurie, Buddy, Angie, Steve, Krystal, Ann, Amy


Amy, Liz


Ann, Liz


The "Late Night" crowd

A little later in the night...you think Ann had fun?

How about me?

Let's just say that 8am was VERY early the next morning! But it was totally worth it.

Here's to another 10 years!

Love to all!

5 Months Old and So Sweet

Emmy is 5 months old today and can I just tell you that she is a SWEETHEART of a baby. She is developing the cutest little personality. She recently started laughing and it is the cutest darn thing ever! I love to hear a baby laugh :) She is drooling a lot too now. If I didn't know any better I would think that she is cutting teeth...but being that this is my third and the other two drooled constantly for about 3 months before they got a tooth, I'd say that she probably won't have any teeth any time soon. Emmy loves to lay on her back and has recently taken a liking to the taste of her little toes :) She still won't roll from her back to her tummy and really has no desire too. She is perfectly content laying on her back and watching the chaos around her (aka: Drew and Ellie).

Since she doesn't have a doctor's appointment this month, I don't know how much she weighs. I am guessing around 15 pounds though - she is a little chunk :)




Couldn't you just eat those little cheeks up?

Love to all!

The Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today, and it was BEAUTIFUL! A perfect day to be outside. Drew was so excited and could hardly make up his mind as to what he wanted to do first.

They started in the maze. It was so cute to see Ellie follow her big brother and he was actually rooting her on saying, "Come on Ellie, this way!" In fact, at one point, he went back to get her and couldn't find her. He had this terrible look of despair on his face and she was standing behind him the whole time (Kevin and I were standing there giggling on the side, because she was litterally RIGHT beside him and he SERIOUSLY had no clue where she was!). But they made it through.

Played in the corn playground...

Went down the GIANT slide (which Drew would have NOTHING to do with two years ago!).

Ellie, on the other hand, got to the bottom and kept saying "More! More!" She loved it - fearless child :)

They jumped in the Haybail Jump! Hay was EVERYWHERE!

Panned for gems...

And picked out THREE...

PERFECT...

PUMPKINS!

Enjoy the last few days of this beautiful weather!

Love to all!

A Party For A Princess

The "Outfit"...(I made it! I usually have the claim of "not a stitch in it, but my mother-in-law brought her sewing maching and I actually did sew the skirt together :)... there is still a LOT of heat-n-bond and fabric glue involved though ;)

The Cake (made this too...did NOT turn out like the picture, but it was still ok- didn't you know that castles had crooked tourets?)

The "setup"

The "Princess"

She's ready to go!

The Family

1...2...3...BLOW!

Happy Birthday Elle Belle! We love you!

Happy Birthday Ellie!

I can't believe my little girl is 2!!! I am not sure that she knows what is going on, but she is loving all of the special attention that she is getting! Two years ago today, we spent the day in the hospital, waiting for little Miss Ellie to arrive. We thought we would have a baby by dinner time when I went in. Let me just say that she took her time and was born at 11pm on October 16, 2007. She was just letting Kevin and I know that SHE is in charge...and so our lives with an "Ellie" began. Ellie is fiesty, yet so sweet. She is tempermental, yet so loving. She is stubborn, but so motherly. She is everything a mother could ask for in a little girl...and more! She has a little grin that just melts my heart!

Today we went to the mall, had a Happy Meal, and played in the play area. It was a pretty low key day since we are having her party on Sunday. But I had to make sure that we celebrated a little bit on the "actual" day. Doesn't every two year old deserve a "Birthday Weekend?"


Happy Birthday Ellie!

"Hey, where's my cake?"

"Oh, there it is!"

Get ready to blow out your candle...

1...2...3...BLOW!


The cake was so GOOD!



Happy Birthday Ellie Bell! I love you!

Love to all!