Frozen Cheeks, Noses, Fingers, and Probably Toes

We decided to brave the cold temps to watch a local Christmas parade. Despite the cold temps the kids had a good time. They especially enjoyed all the tractors that were decorated with Christmas lights.

Let The Decorations Fall Where They May

It was lots of fun to decorate the Christmas tree this year with, especially with Leland. He was very interested in looking at all the ornaments. I finished decorating the tree after the kids went to bed and the next morning Leland looked at the tree in amazement and began pointing and saying "I really like this one momma!!!", as he looked at most every ornament on the tree. Winston also decided to be a part of the decorating this year. He for some reason decided that he liked that fake berries that are on the tree. He liked them so much that he decided to eat 3 strands of them. He of course always left the metal pieces that connect them together, smart dog huh? It seems that there is never a dull moment at the Kapnick household!!!

Not Your Average Sleeping Gear!!!!

Sutton has recently decided that it is necessary to sleep either with his sun glasses or a hat these days. The hat he is wearing in this picture was actually worn from 9:30 am until after he went to sleep about 8:30 pm last Saturday!!!! He sure is able to keep us smiling.

Oh Christmas Tree

We were told about a fun tree farm by our daycare lady, even though it was about an hours drive we decided to give it a try. At the farm there were all kind of farm animals that were set up so the kids could pet them. Sutton found a hole in one of the boards and found it much more interesting to try and put the straw into the hole than to feed the animals. The highlight of the trip for both of the boys was riding in the wagon begin pulled by a John Deere tractor to take the Christmas tree to the barn to be wrapped, imagine that!!!

Nice Shoes!!

It is scary how good both of these guys are getting at walking around in my shoes, particularly my high heels!!!!! At some point in time we will probably have to break the news to Leland that high heels really don't match his monster truck shirt.

Annual Visit to Grandma Rosie's and Poppa Pete's

Kathy's family celebrates Christmas on Thanksgiving so that Pete and Grandma can enjoy warm weather in Florida for the winter. After dinner with Nate's family we made our way to Pete and Grandma's. As always it was nice to see them and we even made it there before the rest of the crowd left this year. Sutton found a massager and he just couldn't get enough of it, crazy kid!!

Combining Take 2

Leland reminded us daily that he wanted to go back to Pete's to ride in the combine. He also reminded us daily that Pete wanted him to come back when he was harvesting corn. So that is what Nate did, took Leland back for round 2 and Sutton for round 1. Harvesting corn was enough to put Sutton right to sleep!!!! While Sutton slept Leland enjoyed every minute!!!

A Day Of Exploration

Awhile back Nate took a vacation day on a Friday I had off. We decided to take the trek to a children's museum in Saginaw. The kids had fun exploring all the different areas. The favorite area by far was the water area. Of course we had not planned ahead and brought extra clothes so we dried them under the hand dryers the best we could. Other than the extremely long drive the museum was a blast.

Harvesting A Little Boy's Dream

Leland had the opportunity to go combining with Pete. He could not have been any happier or excited about something!!!! He was decked out in his John Deere hat and his John Deere boots. When he rode, Pete was still harvesting beans, so Pete told him he would have to come back when he was harvesting corn. Leland was not going to let us forget that Pete wanted him to come back. Everyday until he got to go again all we heard was "I want to ride in Pete's combine".

Old McKapnick Had A Farm

Leland decided awhile back that he wanted to be a farmer for Halloween. He then decided that Sutton should be a cow. He also thought that Nathan should be a rooster and I should be a pig. Well, part of his wish came true, Sutton was a cow. We started the night off by going to family who live near by. We then ventured to our old stomping grounds for a small trunk or treat. We finished with some houses in our old neighborhood. The kids got way more candy then they need, but Nathan and I have been doing a good job of helping them to get it eaten!! Hey I bet you have never seen a cow that drives a lawn mower!!

Pumpkin Guts

Pumpkin carving, oh what fun!!! Leland did a good job with helping to scoop out all the guts. He was certain not to touch any with his hands though, he would only touch them with the spoon. He also directed Nathan as to what shapes he wanted everything to be. He then had fun stuffing his pocket full of pumpkin seeds!! Sutton, of course, lost interest fast and was off riding his bike before we barely had the top cut off the pumpkin. I guess I can't blame him. He wanted to help cut the top off and before I knew it he was grabbing the knife blade. Thankfully he only had a very minor cut on 1 finger.

King Of The Queen Size Bed

We finally made the big bed switcharoo last weekend. Leland is in a really big boy bed. He is sleeping in our old queen size bed. Nathan couldn't justify buying a toddler bed for the short time he would be in it. Moving Leland to the big bed also meant moving Sutton, so now Leland is in the big blue room and Sutton is in the yellow room. So far so good. I am surprised that Leland has not tried to get out of the bed on his own yet, he waits for one of us to come and get him. I am sure this won't last long though!!!

Horsing Around At The Apple Orchard

We didn't pick the warmest day (at least the sun was out), but we did do some apple picking. Kapnick's Orchard had their annual apple festival on October 11th. There was all kinds of fun things to do: pony rides, jumping in a big blow up pumpkin, a petting zoo, and of course fair food (which about broke me). I paid $14.00 for 2 corn dogs and a small lemonade, I am still in shock!!! We took a hay ride out to the apple trees where we picked only a peck, but now Leland can say he picked apples!!

Farm Fest

Awhile back some local farms in our area put on a farm fest. They were giving tours of different types of farms. This was right up Leland's alley. We ended up only being able to go to one because Nate worked that Saturday. So we picked one that we wouldn't be able to see everyday, a Texas Long Horn farm. The boys were able to sit on lots of different tractors. We also took a wagon ride to the pasture to get up close and personal with some of the cows.

Got Sand?

The weekend after Labor Day the boys and I went with Nate's mom and step-dad to Mears (Silver Lake Sand Dunes) for the annual apple festival. Poor Nate had to work, so he got to stay home. It was tough, but we had a great time without him. The boys enjoyed the time they were able to spend at Lake Michigan digging in the sand!! We finally got Leland in the razor, but it wasn't easy. Which surprised all of us because usually he is all about riding motorized things. When he did finally get in he wouldn't ride with Dean, but he would ride with Kelsey (she is from Indiana and the niece of some friends of Dean and Sue's). He even went up test hill with her!! On the other hand Sutton was begging for a ride from the time he saw the razor on the trailer!!

Good Times

It is so nice to see them getting along!! At times it seems that moments like these are few and far between, but they are definitely coming more frequently.

How Many Dum-Dums Can You Eat In One Day?

The last Friday before I returned to work the boys and I went to my dad and step-mom's house. We had plans of spending the day at a park. However, mother nature had other plans, it ended up raining much of the day and it was rather chilly. So we decided to take a trip to Bryan Ohio to visit the Spangler Candy Company. The boys were thrilled to see free suckers located throughout the candy shop. I stopped counting the number of suckers they ate, it's a good thing dum-dums are small!!! We took a trolley ride through part of the factory, hence the stylish hair nets!! After the candy buffet we headed for some lunch at Sonic. Leland was even kind enough to share and feed Sutton, isn't that what brothers are for? After lunch we headed back to my dad and Kathy's house. Sutton had fell asleep so Leland picked pumpkins from the garden by himself. Thanks for the great day dad and Kathy!!