Where did fall go?

Oh, yeah....

It was filled with lots of family time and celebration....

My mom's 60th surprise birthday party....

It was a blast! We rented a tent and lucked out with the only comfortable, non-rainy Saturday night in October. I loved all the white lights and the fabric garland my sister made (you can see it in the tent). In the end, my mom was not surprised that we threw her a party, but I'm pretty sure she was surprised with how nice everything was and how many people came to celebrate! We had a great time dancing and our friends and family generously gave my parents moolah to contribute to their European trip to Madrid, Paris, and London.

Then, at the beginning of November....

my baby turned 3!!!

I cannot believe my youngest is three already!

And all Nathan wanted was a Superman party....
So, I sewed all the boys, my nieces, and nephews Superman capes and made a Superman cake. Apparently, though, the cake wasn't good enough for Nathan....he wanted a cake of Superman flying. You know, the quintessential Superman pose with the one right arm poised above the head. Good luck with that, Nathan....and that night, he had already picked out his next cake....hot wheels. We'll see :)

Finally, we had our annual Thanksgiving pie baking tradition held at my house this year. My grandmom, Betty, began this tradition when I was a little girl and my mom, my sisters, and I have continued it ever since. We usually make pumpkin, apple, lemon meringue, cherry, and coconut custard as our standards. Then we throw in a peach or blueberry or mincemeat pie for fun. This year and last were the first time the kids were really into it. I bought the kids their very own pint-sized silicone rolling pins [a bonus find at T.J.Maxx!] and they all wore their aprons. It was a lot of fun....

And then we celebrated Thanksgiving. It was just my parents, my sisters and brother and their spouses and families and us. It was a wonderful time together at my parents' house.

Now, onto Christmas....

Wordless Wednesday

Five for Friday

1. It's been a while....I guess the craziness of everything starting back up again in September threw me for a loop and this, unfortunately, got lost in the shuffle...my apologies...I've missed being here :) Besides school starting, we've started up with soccer, MOPS, and scooters again. Just when you think life's going to slow down a little, it starts speeding up again.

2. A few weeks ago, I had to run into the store for just a few things and had one of those moster carts where 2 kids can sit in the front together. Well, running into the store for a few things with 3 kids translates into an ordeal. Looking for specific products that you can't find becomes extremely stressful and the lines always move slower. than. you. think. they. should.

By the time I finished up and had all the kids packed back into the car, I was tempted to leave my monster cart rather than truck it to the cart corral. Instead, I saw 2 young high school/college age boys walking toward the store and I asked them if they wouldn't mind taking the cart back for me. Without hesitation, they said, YES, and after thanking them profusely, I sat in the car and thought to myself, "Their moms would be proud!" And then I thought, "I hope my boys would offer to help someone out when they get older..."

3. We've been enjoying some beautiful fall weather. Spending lots of time playing outside and then it's been cool enough for us to have a couple of campfires in the backyard. The kids LOVE this because campfire usually means smores in our house. The last one we had, we had a visitor. The bull from the Amish farm behind our house decided to join us, so of course, I had to run in and grab my camera. It was a little unnerving to think that all that separated us was a measly little wire fence with one little electric pulse running through the top wire. Never had that happen before!

4. We have a little dilemma around here. Nathan will be 2 in less than a month and he only says a handful of words. No, I'm not really worried about that part, though....he is the 3rd born, was a preemie, and I know he'll catch up. The problem is that he's been saying a new word that we can't quite figure out. It sounds like it might be rock or book, because he says it a lot at bedtime when we're in the rocking chair. The real problem is that he's been saying it ALL the time now and it doesn't quite sound like it should. It kind of sounds like a not so nice word that starts with F. Mind you, he does not hear that word EVER, so we know he's not repeating it. However, the general public does not know that and it's a little embarassing when we're at storytime at the library and he just keeps repeating it. Ah, well....the joys of parenthood.


5. Mark thought he had a cold last week. When he was telling me this, Ryan chimed in, "Daddy, is your cold inside or outside?" :)