Mr. Toothless

Sutton has been loosing teeth like crazy!!!  I think his smile says it all!

Choices, Choices

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we headed out through the mud to get our Christmas tree.  It had rained all day Friday, so we knew the tree farm would be a muddy mess and we were right!!  That didn't stop us though!

A Weekend Get Away

The weekend before Thanksgiving we headed out with our friends the Wonders for some fun in Chicago.  We left on Friday night and spent the night in Michigan City Indiana.  The next morning we woke to quite a bit of snow, which helped get us in the mood for the Christmas parade that would be taking place in Chicago that night.  We then headed to the commuter train to finish our trip to Chicago.  The closer we got to Chicago the less snow there was and by the time we got to Chicago there wasn't any snow and unfortunately it was raining.  After getting our things settled in the hotel room we walked around a bit.  Lots of vendors had booths set up with free food and gifts.  The kids filled a large plastic bag with freebies!  After everyone was soaked to the bone we headed back to the hotel and the kids did some swimming.  It was then time to head back out to watch the parade.  We should have headed out a bit earlier because there were LOTS of people there to watch!  By now the weather had cooled down quite a bit, needless to say we did not make the entire parade  due to cold toes!  It was then time for some Chicago style pizza, yum!  On Sunday we headed out to the Christkindlmarket, an open air market similar to those in Germany.  Then it was on for some shopping at the Lego store.  While shopping we realized we had the wrong train departure times and had missed the train we wanted to head back on, ooooops!  So at that point we headed back the way we needed to, found some food and drinks and waited until the next train.  I was thankful the next week was a short work/school week because we did not get home until 11:30 p.m. 

Sutton's Turn Again

Sutton's last top front tooth has been loose for what seems like forever, but in usual Sutton style he would not pull that tooth out!!  We happened to be out of town in Michigan City Indiana when he got bumped in the mouth by Leland, which helped get that tooth out.  Nate finished pulling it and said he had to agree with Sutton, even with it being so loose it was still hanging on pretty good.  Since we were at a hotel we put the tooth in a cup and left it by the sink.  When we left to head for Chicago the next morning we left the tooth by the sink.  Later that day Sutton remembered his tooth.  I called the hotel and asked if they had found a tooth in a cup.  The man who answered the phone repeated " a what in a cup?"  Thankfully by the time I called they had not cleaned the room yet.  When we came back through Michigan City from Chicago we were able to retrieve the tooth!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

My grandma turned 85on November 10th.  We took her out to dinner at a restaurant that recently reopened right down the road from us.  I made a new pumpkin cake recipe that is definitely a keeper!!

Poison Ivy

Well we thought there was nothing better than jumping into a pile of leaves on a nice warm fall day, that is until we came down with poison ivy!!  Sutton ended up with it the worst.  Of course the itching was the worst and he couldn't wait for new patches to quit popping up.

Leaves, Leaves Falling Down!

There really isn't much better than a warm fall day and jumping in the leaves!!  Chester even got in on the action.  He thought it was great fun hiding his ball in the leaves and then looking for it!

Halloween Fun

Sutton decided on a costume early this year.  He wanted to be a black ninja.  This was an easy order to fill.  Leland on the other hand took forever to decide on what he should be.  He finally decided on a turkey hunter.  This was also an easy order to fill since he already has all the gear.  One of Leland's buddies went trick or treating with us this year, fun was had by all.  The boys have already discussed costume ideas for next year, it involves the whole family, including the dog!!  We will have to see if we can talk Nate into it!

Party Time

The kids lucked out this year and had a half day on the day of their Halloween parties.  I helped plan Sutton's party.  The kids enjoyed pumpkin bowling, spider races, building structures with candy corn and toothpicks, candy corn toss, making monster mix, and a vampire teeth and marshmallow race.  We opted for healthy snacks.  The kids had pumpkin face clementines, cheese stick ghosts, apple nachos, and a steaming witches potion with juice.  Leland's teacher had the kids plan the party, which I thought was a good idea.  They decided on a scavenger hunt and watching a Halloween movie.