Audrey Lately

Audrey makes me laugh.  She is so creative, I just love her.  Her and Phoenix have been into Legos lately, one night she decided that she wanted to make a toilet out of legos.  I smiled at her and told her I was excited to see it, but I had no idea that she would do such a good job.  She made an entire bathroom!!  I don't know if my pictures do it justice, but it really was amazing.  And she whipped it up in no time!  

Another things that makes me laugh (and cry a little) is Audrey's spelling.  It's bad.  Real bad.  I wasn't sure how it compared with other second graders, but it seemed...shall we say "below average" ?  I had a parent teacher conference and I asked her teacher (who is wonderful) how I can help her with her spelling.  Her teacher got a look of genuine sympathy on her face, and truthfully said "honestly, some kids have it, and some kids don't".  It made me laugh, and I was kind of relieved.  I obviously always correct her spelling, I try to help her sound it out on her own, we do her weekly spelling words, and yet, a lot of it has not sunk in...yet.  I still have hope...but it was oddly comforting to know that "some kids don't have it".  That said, it would be easier if she did "have it", and we will continue working on it...daily.

The Pumpkin Farm 2013

We got to go to the Pumpkin Farm with Trav's family!  It was a brisk autumn day, and it wasn't crowded at all.  Everyone had a great time!

Check out the teeth on this goat!!

The kids went down the slide as many times as they could, as fast as they could.  They slept good that night!

This picture of John...hilarious!

Even Grandma and Grandpa tried it!

Audrey and Brighton rode down together almost every time!  These two cannot get enough of each other.

I am still finding corn kernels around our house!!  Sweet reminders of a fun day.

At first I thought that Bright was holding hugging Phoenix, and then I realized that he was actually holding him back from running into the corn house (they had to wait for their turn).  What a good cousin!

Travis...just pondering the meaning of life.

All of the kids squeezed into one seat for the train ride!

I love their matching smiles!  Audrey lost her first top tooth while they were visiting (but before Brighton came), she was not thrilled initially.  Losing teeth is very scary for her, and she was worried that she wouldn't be cute after she lost it, she also noticed that saying the "f" sound was difficult.  After a few minutes, she calmed down, I reassured her that she is even cuter now, she put on a brave face, and has been smiling ever since!  Especially when she saw Brighton's smile!

I think the Hay House is my favorite...

Whenever Jared and Travis are in a situation where they can buy a funnel cake, they do.  Travis couldn't believe how fast Audrey was eating his funnel cake!  She was like a machine!

Every year we go to the Pumpkin Farm, and every year we make new and wonderful memories.

Andrew Family Visit

Almost everyone from Travis's family came out to NC to visit us a few weeks ago.  We got to meet little miss Claire!!  Only 3 months old!  She reminded me so much of Audrey, so sweet, good natured, and a really good sleeper. 

Grandma brought a bunch of fun things for the kids to play with, including this foam stuff.  It is fun!  Audrey made her and Uncle John holding hands (I think she still has a crush on him ;-) ), her and John had fun for quite a while making different things.

Travis walked by his parents room and noticed that Claire and Grandma were both taking naps!  SO cute!!

Jeff (aka Grampa) turned 60 on October 10th, but none of us were there to celebrate, so we had a little celebration.  

I love this picture with the grandparents and all of their grandchildren!  So precious!

I laugh every time I see this picture!  Claire's face is priceless!!

The week was non-stop fun!  We hit up the Pumpkin Farm (more pictures to come), the science museum, Ender's Game (very good by the way), and we got to go go-karting.  We also played games almost every night.  Seeing almost all of Travis's family and almost all of my family within the last month really makes me wish that we lived closer to ALL of them.  Both me and Travis were blessed to grow up with very loving and devoted parents, and now we have very fun families to get together with.  I feel like I have been on a "high" from getting to see so much family, I miss them all.  

Halloween 2013

I got the idea to have us dress us as Alice and Wonderland characters almost a year ago.  Naturally, I did nothing about that idea until about a week before Halloween (I was fairly busy in the last two months).  I have wanted to make clothing of some sort as a challenge for myself, and making Audrey's costume was the perfect excuse.  It turned out exactly how I was hoping it would.  For Phoenix, it worked out that a lot of his costume was straight out of his closet.  I made the simple yellow vest, and his bow tie.  That bow tie came together about an hour before the party, talk about crunch time!

We hit off our Halloween festivities with the Marbles party.  It was even better this year!!  

The original plan was for me to be the queen of hearts, and for Travis to be the mad hatter, but those were two costumes that needed a lot more time.  Spur of the moment I decided to be a lazy Cheshire cat (do you see my cat ears??), and when Travis saw that I was (kinda) dressed up, he felt left out...so I hastily put together a card shirt for him.  Better than nothing, right?

A few days after the Marbles party, we went to a friends house for a little kid party.  Audrey was tracked out, so she could come!

I ordered the bunny ears off of amazon, much better than a headband!

This was honestly the best group shot...no joke!

We went trick-or-treating with our friends in their neighborhood.  The kids were so happy to be with each other!  

Audrey and Mazie loved that their dresses were the exact reverse of each other!

When the night was over, I took a pumpkin filled with candy and breathed in the delicious smell of Halloween candy.  It took me right back to my childhood.

Last Game

Soccer season ended a few days before Halloween.  Audrey really enjoyed soccer this year, and Phoenix was fine with it.  Both kids improved thoughout the season, but only time will tell if I have a soccer star on my hands.  It is a fun activity for the kids, and as a parent, I really enjoy watching the games.  

Phoenix was on the same team as his best friend, Ace.  

He was so excited about his medal, he ran up to every random person he saw to show them.  It was adorable!

I think Audrey's favorite thing about soccer is sitting on the blanket and talking with her friends.  This girl is social!  

 Au Revior soccer!  Until the spring...