Abby is 2!

Little Miss Abigail has turned 2! We had two celebrations for her, first a family celebration on the big day. She and Jonah wasted no time devouring a cake (with Daddy's help... Mommy was actually gone for the cake eating).

I'm not sure what was said to cause the arm raising, but I'm going to guess that it involved something along the lines of "Mommy is gone, so who wants to eat the entire cake in one night??"

A few days later we had Abby's extended family party at our house with all the cousins. This is what present opening looks like when you have 10 cousins and a brother to "help".

Ryan also turned 9 a few days before Abby, so he shared in the party too.

Happy birthday you two!

Giving Thanks

We spent Thanksgiving in Ohio this year and there are loads of pictures, so we'll make this quick.

Because of a Southwest sale saving us a couple of hundred dollars, we ended up flying out pretty early this year on my birthday. No better way to spend your birthday than 10 hours of traveling with two sleep deprived kiddos, right? Regardless, Mimi had a cake all prepared for me when we

arrived and just needed Jonah to help with the finishing touches.

A few days into our trip, Mark and his family came to visit for a night too! It was so fun to see Mark, Steph, Eli, Toby, and Ish, that we were having too much fun to take pictures... whoops!

Helping Mimi cook for the big Thanksgiving feast!
What a helper.

This picture cracks me up. Playing a lot of piano can make a kid thirsty!

Jonah remembered last year how he rode on a big train in the mall, so this year we had to make the same visit.

In the middle of the trip, mommy and daddy got a much needed 3 day getaway to Niagara Falls, which was about 3 hours away from Brian's parents house and my actual birthday celebration. :) We stayed on the Canadian side and since we were there in the off-season, we got a great rate on some amazing rooms!

This is the hallway walking into our room... it was huge! And had a hot tub and a shower with 4 shower heads!!! We were spoiled. :)
The first night we were there we went down to take a look at the falls lit up.

The tourist trap right next to the falls.

Beautiful!

Did I mention breakfast in bed was included in our room rate? So fun! And yummy!

We also got to eat at many delicious restaurants in a small town nearby called Niagara on the Lake. It was very beautiful and full of vineyards. This one here that we ate at is the best meal I think I've ever had in my life. Brian loved his food too.

This was our view while we ate.

Another delicious restaurant.

We also went horseback riding around the vineyards and in the woods. It was very fun and something we certainly don't do in our normal day to day life.

The falls by day.

And, for all the Office fans out there, we had to visit a site from the big wedding episode. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the church is actually in LA, so the hotel they stayed at will have to do. Here it is.

Brian and I decided that next to our honeymoon, this is the best trip that we have ever taken together alone. So much fun! Thank you Mimi and Papa for letting us get away! We might take you up on it again sometime... :)

This and That

This is our month of October in pictures. :) Well the parts we actually took pictures of...

Brian played against a Harlem Globetrotters spinoff team, which happened to be his first time playing basketball in a while. Thankfully, he did not get de-pantsed.

Then it snowed out of no where and not only did it snow, it snowed enough for Jonah and daddy to make a snowman mound! Pretty cute actually.
We also went to Vala's pumpkin patch, where Jonah rode a pony and loved it.

What a big guy.

We also rode a train...

And rode a bike race car...

jumped on a blob...

and watched pig races.

These two are fun.

We also went trick or treating three times, two of which were at shopping areas, as seen below. Jonah was a UPS guy and Abby was a turtle. Jonah actually won "best costume" for a costume contest at one shopping center. He was very proud. :)

Then, we carved pumpkins! Here is Jonah's drawing for inspiration.

Next up, Ohio! We will be in Ohio over Thanksgiving visiting family and Brian and I will even get to have a little getaway to Niagara Falls for a few days in there. So excited!!

"Real" Family Pictures

After five years of marriage and two kids, we finally got around to having professional pictures taken. We are very happy with them! What cuties. Sorry for the overload... these are for Grandparents picking.

New Traditions

On a beautiful, early September Saturday morning Brian, the kids, and I went to Ditmar's Orchard to pick some apples. We had never gone before, but I had an itch to go apple picking, looked this place up, and off we went (without the camera... whoops!). The kids absolutely loved it. We rode a tractor, picked a couple bags of apples, ate some apple pie, and decided then that we must come back the next weekend for the Hot Air Balloon Festival.

The next Saturday night we came back for the festival (with camera!) and two new family traditions were born. One, picking apples at the orchard each September, and two, this festival! Jonah has always loved hot air balloons (I think I blogged about a year ago about Brian and him making a paper mache one to hang in his room) and of course Abby is intrigued by them as well.

We got there just in time for liftoff.

Reed, Dana, and the kids came too. I think this picture is just hilarious. Look at Elise smiling sweetly while attempting to force her brother's head. :)
We waited in line for a while to take a tethered hot air balloon ride, only to discover that Jonah was too young. Elise and Aunt Dana got to enjoy one, however.

Eating some leftover pizza. These two are fun. Seriously.
Just taking it all in.
And then they couldn't take it any longer. They had to get up... and dance. And with this bluegrass music, who could blame them. You can't resist a steel guitar.

While the balloons were off and on their way back (via truck), a chili pepper balloon was filled up to show off.

To the non-balloon fanatics, each balloon operator has their card to give out showing a picture of their balloon with stats. Jonah has two so far.

Waiting for the balloons to fill back up for the big glow.

It was definitely worth waiting for. Beautiful!

We had one of our most fun family nights together of all time and are excited to be establishing traditions that will keep adding to our young family memories. We are blessed!

Happy Birthday, Brian!

Last month, Brian had his 29th birthday (one year away from the big 3-0!) and the kids and I surprised him with a special treat. The zoo had a once a year evening called Critter Ride and since we bought our bikes and bike trailer earlier this summer, Brian has frequently told me that family bike rides are his favorite family activity. So why not at the zoo!

It was fun to see the animals in the evening when the zoo is usually closed. This grizzly, who is usually hard to find, was particularly interested in what we were doing there so late. The most fun though, was watching the lions run along the fence at us as we rode by on our bikes. They definitely thought we were prey and were hoping for a hunt.

The kids love to ride in the trailer. Jonah was in charge of the map.
They had food scattered around the zoo and you would ride to each station to eat another treat for dinner. Here, Abby is enjoying an apple.

Hanging out on the rhino.

And at the fountain. The kids had a blast seeing the zoo from a different perspective.

And since it was for daddy's birthday, we had to stop at Zesto on the way home.

The kids enjoying their treats....

and then getting a little crazy.

We love you daddy! Thanks for being such a Godly husband and father.

Jonah's First Homework

I am Special!

My Name is Jonah

All About Me:
I am 3 years old.
My favorite color is red.
My favorite thing to play is basketball.
My favorite food is vegetables (like carrots).
My favorite song is Holy is the Lord.
My favorite movie is Finding Nemo.
My favorite activity is to play basketball.

My Family:
I have 4 people in my Family. Their names are Daddy, Mommy, Jonah, and Abby.
What my dad does at work: He works on his laptop computer.
What my mom does at work: She doesn’t go to work.
The thing I enjoy doing with my family is to play sports, paint, go shopping, pick apples, go to church, giggling and tickling, and movie nights.

My Pets:
I have an (imaginary) pet dog named Flash.

What I like about preschool:
When I’m at preschool, I like to play with my friends, play outside, cooking stuff, playing with puzzles, and play-doh.