Family, Friends, Fun, & Festivities

I want to start out with a warning: This is a LONG post! I had too many good pictures to choose from this time.

We had a nice visit from my parents and sister a week ago. It was fun to spend some time with all of them and my mom, sister, and I were able to go away for a weekend, to celebrate my mom's birthday...It was my first kid-free weekend since we moved to Tennessee.

Daddy and his two "little girls" snuggling on the couch...


Cassie and I went and had lunch with Wesley at school one day.

Wesley got to wear a hat that day, because he had perfect attendance for the first 9 weeks of school. It is hard to believe that the first 9 weeks is over already, but Wesley is really thriving in kindergarten!

Auntie is teaching Wesley how to do a pirouette...

Wesley demonstrating his newly acquired skill...

Evelyn looking cute after a bath...

Evelyn reading a book...

Bella reading Evelyn a book...

Auntie reading Evelyn a book...

Evelyn listening to Wesley read her a story...

Wesley reading to Evelyn...He has become quite a reader already. He is asking to read to us all of the time and in a special reading program at school.

Wesley's other favorite hobby, as of late...Playing chess. Here he is playing Grandpa while Bella and Auntie watch on...

I had a Halloween playgroup at our house for some of Evelyn's toddler friends...Can you see my little princess hiding behind my leg?

Here are Evelyn and her buddy Jake, eating a snack...

...And, totally mesmerized by Elmo...

Evelyn's off to run errands...Oops...She left baby behind...

Tuckered out from the errands...Let's see, do I have any money left?

My 3 favorite people snuggling on the couch...

Wesley ran in a kids race about a week ago...Here he is coming through the chute at the end...

He looks really excited about getting that medal! :)

All of the kindergartners had to "disguise" a pumpkin to hang up at school. Wesley wanted to do a silly bat pumpkin, so Auntie drew one out for him on a scratch piece of paper. He did the rest of it himself...

Last Friday was Pirate/Princess Day at Tara Oaks...Ahoy Matey!

We went to the Memphis Zoo Boo on Saturday night and had so much fun! Wesley let a tarantula crawl on his hand...

Optimus Prime and a Storm Trooper...Or, Wesley and his friend Connor...

Optimus Prime usually rides a cow, doesn't he?

Our little bumblebee walking behind the wagon...

Very chilly at the end of the night...

All wiped out...

...Time for bed.

Fall Fun!

Cooler air, pumpkin bread, apple cider...Fall has arrived!

My lil' pumpkin loves to put on a "pretty", as she calls it...

Evelyn and Bella playing with pumpkins and various other toys...

Wesley is quite into wooden puzzles these days...Here he is working on the one that Phil made...

And, here it is completed...Wesley is the only one, besides Phil, who can put this puzzle together.

Being goofy...

We went to the pumpkin patch this weekend. We went through a corn maze, went on a hay ride, and got lots of pumpkins!

Baby girl having a snack on the hay ride...

Picture with some of the pumpkins...

Our whole family...We were all muddy from the corn maze. Wesley insisted on wearing his motorcycle jacket that day and Evelyn insisted on wearing her sun hat, even though it wasn't sunny.

My parents came down to visit so my dad and I could run a race together, this past weekend...Here we are after our 10 mile race!

Phil ran in the race, too...You can tell by the way the 3 of us are dressed which one lives in Michigan. :)