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.

School Days

Jonah is officially a big kid. Today he started a year of preschool for 2 hours 15 min a day for two days a week and as you can tell, he was excited! So excited, in fact, that he managed to stay awake most of the night in anticipation. But, this morning finally came, he picked out the perfect shirt, put on his backpack, and off he went.

Abby refused to be out of his first day of school pictures at first, but who can blame her. Look how gorgeous she is!

The solo pose.
It was a very rainy day, so we didn't manage to get a picture of Jonah in his backpack on the front porch as planned. A garage pose will have to do.

Jonah showing off his very own backpack/coat hook. And as you can see, his teachers this year are the very lovely Miss Kelli and Miss Stacy.

Cousins Ethan and Lexi are in the same preschool, but different class. So cute.

Jonah walking into the room and finding his name on the carpet...

Jonah was very excited to be sitting on the dog. Everyone said "bow wow" when it got to him he said, which was awesome.

And here he is at the end of class, so excited to tell us all about his morning.

I suppose this is the beginning of the fast track of his growing up! And I only managed to drive by once peeking on him. :) We are so proud of Jonah and the big guy that he is becoming. It is our prayer that we would be the parents that God desires for him and that he would grow "in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Love you, Jonah!

Nyffeler Sweet Corn

Nyffeler Sweet Corn is the best veggie known to man. If you don't believe me, come over sometime in late July/early August and see for yourself. We look forward to eating it every summer and this summer was no exception. Mommy even took the time to blanch and freeze some so we can enjoy it into the fall.

Usually we just pick it up at the farmer's market in Columbus, as seen below. Hudson and Jonah are stocking us up.

But this year we were able to make the special trip out to the farm (which happens to be just down the road from the farm my dad grew up on) and pick some ourselves. Oh my goodness was it delicious. And fun! Jonah still talks about his farming experience.
Jonah the farmer.

Abby is making good headway on her raw ear of corn. After my cousin Mark insisted we all take a bite of it raw, she wouldn't stop munching it.

Abby finished it off by the time we got home. Wow, she's cute.

And Jonah also got to catch butterflies with a net, which he thought was the coolest thing ever. I'm investing the $2 into two of these for next summer. Hours of entertainment!