Feliz Navidad!

Holiday Outing...

We took advantage of a few days off Luis had to go downtown and take in some of the holiday fun. We got to see the gingerbread display and Kalaidascope at the Crown Center, see the amazing lights of the Plaza, and visit to "Dinosaurs Unearthed" exhibit at Union Station. We even got to eat a few grown up restaurants. Yeah! :)

Christmas Concert

Ben's school concert was yesterday. He was a little nervous in the morning, but we agreed that we'd go out to celebrate at the local ice cream parlor afterwards. The "glitter gloves" were the highlight!

Ben's Birthday Bash

Well, they came, they tore the place up, then they left.:) That would be Ben's birthday friends. Actually it was lot of fun. He had a Toy Story theme- which Sophia really got into the most.

Countdown to Thanksgiving...

We are getting excited for our trip to Savannah next week. It will be awesome to have the cousins all reunited and (hopefully) enjoy some warm outdoor time, too.
The cold and rain here have meant more indoor time here, which ultimately means ALOT more refereeing on my part between Sophia and Ben.:O The sign here, in fact, was created and posted on Ben's door this week...he explained the line through his sister's picture means "No sisters allowed." Nice. Sophie has taken a greater interest in the Noah's ark and Sammi lately. Ben- Star Wars all the way!

The Latest...

Ben's class had a week of cooking and he proudly wore his chef hat home.

May the Force ...

Poor Ben & Sophia came down with the stomach flu leading up to and on Halloween, so it was touch and go all day. They rallied at the end and we ended up taking a loop around the neighborhood and they had fun. Sophia REALLY got into character as the Fairy Queen and Ben got excited to meet all the other Star Wars characters on the road.:)

Leaf Fun

We visited the same tree we took pictures of Ben four years ago when we used to live here. It was the same brilliant yellow and they had so much fun throwing the leaves around.

The Pumpkin Patch!!

It was an amazingly warm and sunny afternoon when we found this great farm. They had a litter of kittens sleeping and strolling all over. Both the kids were crazy about them. Sophia took them (or tried very hard to) on wagon rides. Ben kept putting them in the old chicken coops. PLUS, there was a little corn maze and a huge mountain of hay to conquer. Pure. Joy.

MSG

Luis was promoted to Master Sargeant today...and Ben was the one who did the honors. It was an exciting moment for us all:).

Halloween Fever...

...has begun. Sophia is following her brother's lead and getting WAY into everything to do with Halloween. Costumes have been discussed, researched...pumpkins already painted. We are holding out on any outdoor decor until October 1st, I just have to put my foot down somewhere! Ben has many many ideas for that prject. We recieved a box full of goodies from Em & Tyler and Sophia put tgether this get-up immediately. :)

September Garden...

The garden, specifically the Cosmos and the Morning Glory, have done extremely well this month and we are really enjoying it.

Powell Gardens

We trekked over to the Powell Gardens last weekend when my friend Stephanie visited us.:) They had a Big Bug show, a silo you could climb up to view the gardens and much more. A sweaty, but awesome day together.

Puerto Rico Memories...

We enjoyed seeing all our friends & family during our visit to Puerto Rico.

Ben & Sophia Make a Video

I had to post this one, it just cracks me up:)

A Praying Mantis!

While watering tonight, Luis discovered a grasshopper, and then...a praying mantis. The bugs were collected, documented and (reluctantly, of course) returned to the wild. It was an exciting evening for our budding scientist!

Garden Time...

The garden has really come into it's own this past week- the kids have enjoyed picking the peppers and lettuce we eat, plus it looks like the tomato plants are going to be awesome this year!!
Ben took a "photo shoot" with his dinosuars out there yesterday:).

Happy Birthday!

Our little girl is two today. Sigh. All week long I've been asking her, "How old are going to be?" to which she always replied, "Cake!" :) So, needless to say, the cake seemed to be what was most looking forward to...though balloons came in a close second place.