Turner Farm

The day before Halloween, the neighborhood kids went to visit Turner farm - thanks to Holly for planning the outing. This was a very educational trip for the kids and parents for that matter. First, we loaded two wagon-fulls of kids and adults and headed out for a hayride to the turnip patch. The farmers proceeded to tell us that it was mating season for the sheep and that they needed turnips for energy (or something like that). They let the kids loose in the patch and they found a ton of turnips - the boys loved this part. After we picked the turnips we headed out to feed the sheep. The sheet were very friendly, but the farmers told us not to make too many sudden movements because it could literally scare the sheep to death. Seriously? We were with like 14 kids under the age of four... Luckily no sheep died that day and they seemed to enjoy eating the turnips. I am sure they will be good and pregnant soon. Next we went over to see the momma pig and her little piglets - they were so cute. Finally, we went to the pumpkin patch and although it was extremely picked over - we managed to get some cute little pumpkins as souvenirs.


Boys feeding the sheep.

That's a big one Alex!

Alex and his best friend Jonathan.

So happy, he got a lot of turnips...

Evan got up close and personal with the sheep - HERE SHEEP, HERE!

Hollywood Studios - Day 6

You might ask - what happened to Day 5? Well, Day 5 we took a break from the parks and just hung close to the house. We had finally figured out how to turn on the heater for our house pool, which made the water warm enough to swim in. The house came with a ton of pool toys, so we swam around all morning. Alex was super-brave and just jumped in with his float - he does pretty good, still can't swim though... Evan is still pretty timid in the water, which is complete opposite of how he is on the ground! He usually isn't afraid of anything. Thursday evening, Christie's aunt that lives in Florida came over and offered to watch the kids, so that we could have an adult night out - how nice of her! We went to Downtown Disney to eat dinner at Fulton's Crab House and then we walked around for a few minutes before we hit the Ghirradeli's up for some treats! Thanks again Aunt Patty!

On Friday, we went to Hollywood Studios in the morning. This was our last day and we were all really tired. We wanted to make sure we did as much as we could - but some of us (including myself) didn't have it in us. We did get to see Lightening McQueen and Mater and again - Evan was the most excited. Alex was again pulled away by security when he tried to drive Mater - maybe that is a good idea for a new ride, but wasn't an option at the time. We walked around until it was time for lunch with the Playhouse Disney Characters, Handy Manny, Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso. The kids really enjoyed the character themed meals, however, it was a process. We dreaded when we saw them waddling over to us because we had to take our places with the camera, video camera, signature book, then we had to try to get the boys to look at us and not the characters to take pictures. The food was good, but we sure couldn't enjoy it! After lunch, we went to meet the Sorcerer Mickey and to see the Little Mermaid show. By this time, the boys were done, but I insisted on us waiting in line for 90 minutes to ride Toy Story Mania. It was a fun ride, however, a big mistake because they were so mean and tired that they refused to nap when we got home, so that made for a long last night...

OH - the Sorcerer's Hat picture - has a story... The entire week Alex kept saying he wanted a Sorcerer's Hat - it was this huge hat and there was no way I was buying it. I had wanted to get the kids the Mickey's ears with their names on them. Well, I thought Alex would be super-excited that I got him the Mickey's ears hat that had a Sorcerer's Hat on it, but no - he hated it and wanted the Mickey's belly hat that I got Evan. Normally, I would have been okay with them switching, however, they were personalized. Drama! So then, I thought that I would redeem myself by getting Alex a Mickey wearing the Sorcerer's costume and I just bought Evan the plain Mickey. I was so excited and just thought he would love it, but he threw it on the ground and grabbed Evan's from him, so know Evan has the fancy Sorcerer Mickey and Alex has the plain one - I can't win. Moral of the story: I should have just bought the big Sorcerer's Hat and called it a day. I took a picture of the Sorcerer's Hat to remind of me...

Magic Kingdom Part II - Day 4

So Magic Kingdom Part II, was the day we decided to just go back in evening to catch the parade and fireworks show and also, most importantly - we had to find Buzz. We laid around all morning, went to the pool for a little bit, then naps, then we were ready to go. We found Buzz pretty quickly and got in line - Alex was in a state of shock the whole time. Evan was hilarious - if you haven't seen it - check out the Flip Video that captured the excitement of meeting Buzz that I sent out - hilarious. After security pulled us off of Buzz, we went to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride and had dinner at Cosmo's Cafe. We searched high and low for the best spot to watch the Electric Parade and the Fireworks - what a mess. We didn't get the best spot and Alex was being a brat, so we only stayed for the parade and then we tried to beat the crowd and watched the fireworks as we walked to the car. All-in-all, a very good day!

Magic Kingdom Part I - Day 3

We knew we would never make it a full day anywhere with the kids, they are just too young and still need their naps and the adults needed their pool time too... So, we split the Magic Kingdom into two different days (thanks to Christie, who planned this all out perfectly). We started the day bright and early by getting to the park around 7:45am - we had the best parking spot since the park didn't even open until 9am. Christie had made us reservations at Crystal Palace in the park to have breakfast with Winnie the Pooh and friends. We met Winnie the Pooh, Tiger, Piglet, and Eyore. We then headed up to the ride area and was able to get on the Peter Pan and Snow White rides right away - the kids really enjoyed those. I was super-bummed that the It's a Small World ride was closed - I was looking forward to that. Then we waited for the Dumbo ride forever and I am not sure why. After that, we went to meet the Disney Princesses - Mackenzie and Katie loved that! We tried to find Buzz Lightyear and Woody, but Buzz was hiding and Woody's line was way too long and in the hot sun, so instead we went to the castle and caught the end of a super-high-energy parade and then set up camp to watch Mickey's show at the castle. It was a fun-filled day!

Animal Kingdom - Day 2

This might have been my favorite day at Disney. I really enjoyed the safari ride and all the shows we saw at Animal Kingdom - The Lion King, Nemo and It's Tough to be A Bug. I also enjoyed meeting the characters at Camp Mickey on the character trails. For some reason, it wasn't crowded at all and there were no lines!

Disney Vacation - Travel Day/Day 1

Well we made it to Orlando yesterday with four kids three and under with no problems. After one of the most painful rental car experiences ever, we had made it on the road for the thirty minute journey to our rental house TWO HOURS after landing! I thought we were all going to kill each other - oh and we had missed nap time too - bad idea. We finally made it and absolutely love our house. After a trip to the grocery store we came home with the biggest mound of groceries I have ever seen - we just relaxed and let the kids make pizzas for us for dinner.

This morning we woke up, made the kids breakfast and could not keep them from the pool any longer! Even though we have a pool in our back yard, we walked the kids up to the neighborhood pool to check it out. It was a zero entry pool so the really enjoyed splashing around there for a couple of hours before we were all spa shed out and needed to head back to the house for lunch. We convinced the kids to lay down for their naps promising them that they would see Mickey tonight! Our plan is to go to dinner at Chef Mickeys tonight for our first Disney experience as the kickoff to this action-packed week!

Fall Update

I feel like I have been so busy the last month, that time has just got away from me. I wish that I could post more often, but usually I opt for sleep. Hope you guys enjoyed the recent pictures of the boys. They are growing so fast and are the best kids ever. They had their 3 year and 19 month checkup (we were a little late so that the appointment could be the same day) on August 26th. They both were doing great with their growing and skills.

The doctor was impressed with Evan's speaking skills, I still think Tim and I are the only ones that can understand him, but he sure does have a lot to say and he says it with passion. He also loves to point his finger to let you know he is serious. He also has mastered the skill of climbing out of his crib (which my little Angel Alex NEVER did before we moved him to his big boy bed). He doesn't do it all the time, but this is something that we didn't want to happen so soon! We think he will be a breeze to potty train, since he is so interested in Alex potty training. He still tries to go to the bathroom everytime Alex does and he sits on the stool and goes "potty" himself. He also pees on cue when asked, this is not a good thing, since he has had his diaper off in front of the potty a couple times and just pees in the floor. Oh well, I think he will get it when the time is right. It would be nice to not have to change diapers for awhile though! Evan is just 2 1/2 inches shorter than Alex - which is crazy! He is 95 percentile in height, doesn't get it from me. He is still just average weight... He can name all his body parts and count to at least 10 (thanks to Mary's time out routine). He has been in time out a lot over the past few weeks, mainly because he takes his clothes off at naptime and laughs histerically, again, doesn't get this from me. Overall he is a good boy!

Alex has also grown up so much in the past few months. We are so proud of him for his potty training - since May, he has done great. No accidents in public YET - he must have a bladder of steel. He also rarely wears a pull-up at nap/bedtime. The doctor said this is great for him to be able to do that. We are still working on getting him to use a "grown-up" potty, for now he will only go in the frog potty. Oh well, I will take it. The doctor also informed me that I may be pushing him a little too hard when I told her we were working with him to write his name - whoops, I will have to get on Mary for that one. He also has taken a great interest in spelling and asks me how to spell everything. He is getting good at trying to figure out how things are spelled by the sounds of the letters. In his spare time, he watches Toy Story 1 & 2, Cars, The Lion King, The Lorax or Green Eggs in Ham. He loves Buzz Lightyear and even though I really wanted to dress them up as Star Wars characters for Halloween, I might just have to do Buzz and Woody - it is time appropriate and so trendy right now... Alex has also mastered jumping off every piece of furniture or really anything that gives him height - his favorite jump is from the ottaman to the couch. Then of course Evan tries it and falls flat on his face. Great example to set for your younger brother - Alex! Alex is a great big brother to Evan and has made progress in the area of sharing and tattle-telling vs. taking matters into his own hands (i.e. biting/pinching Evan when Evan takes a toy away). Never a dull moment at our house!

We are all preparing for this busy fall we have coming up that I am SO excited about. We have Disney in mid-October, with Krista's wedding kicking off the month of November. Throw in a couple fun weekend trips, not-so-fun work trips for both Tim and myself AND my busiest deadline of the year, and we are to mid-November - just in time to start the Holiday Season (my favorite time of the year). I plan on taking three weeks off between now and the end of the year, so I am definitely looking forward to spending time with Tim and the boys and as many friends and family as possible!

Hope you enjoy the new pictures and I will do a better job of posting more regularly :)

Oktoberfest 2010

We went down to Oktoberfest again this year with the Reckman's and had good time. Got a few good pictures of the kids too... The were mesmerized by the German band! Notice how Mackenzie and Katie both smile sweetly for the camera and Alex and Evan glare at me.

Driving Daddy's Car

Although Tim and I hate when they do it - the boys love to "drive" their cars. Alex gets to actually drive and Evan is the passenger. At least Evan knows he has to wear his seat belt. They push every button and we usually don't fix it all and leave the hazard lights on and realize it later...