October 2014

The artist herself. Valerie did shoots for Homegrown and each family had a tremendous story.

Us ladies from the hood supporting Valerie. 

Izzy with one of her classmates during the Halloween parade at school. 

Photo booth at Val's house. She invites kids from the neighborhood to get their pictures taken before they go trick or treating. 

Izzy and Minion Fin.

So this little girl loves to be in her swim suit. This is one of two times she put it on in October. 

There is no owie there. It's a fashion statement. 

Our Halloween costumes.

Izzy enjoying the wonderful weather we are having in October. The girls played while Mark and I carved pumpkins. 

The Smith boys came over to play and Addie put on her suit. She wanted us to put up the pool and didn't understand when we said it's October and too cold to put up the pool. 

My little poser. 

Let Halloween begin.

Addie, Izzy and Livie at Small Miracles

Our good friend Livie.

Eating soup before the candy. 

Elsa, Anna, Elsa (Ella Mulligan)

Hudson Smith and Izzy.

They thought they were going to get a ride in the Harley. 

My dear friend Heather. I wouldn't be sane without her. 

Our pumpkins.

Handing out candy.

Gamma and PopPop came that weekend and PopPop helped with some art. 

The Fall is setting in with beautiful colors and leaves falling, but we are still enjoying gorgeous weather. We have definitely been spoiled. I will take it while we can.

Izzy is enjoying school and seeing her new friends daily. She had a little friend over for a play date and it was a good time. They played school in the tent in the back yard. I'm sure this is one of many to come. Izzy has also informed me, that her little friend is handsome. She likes his mohawk the best. Does this mean I am in trouble? Already? We had a first parent teacher conferences this month and Izzy is right on track. Even excelling in some areas.

Addie is going through a rough spot. Mommy is the only one that can do anything for her and home watching cartoons is the only place she wants to be. Drop off at school has been heart wrenching.  I don't know if it's because she is approaching three? I hear sometimes it's not the terrible twos, but the terrible threes. I think that is where we are headed. She's also had a set back in potty training. She was doing so well. Now she's having accidents again. I hope this phase doesn't last long.

Mark and I have just been busy with work, football and life. I did get a chance to hang out with some friends that I hadn't hung out with in a long time. It was great to catch up and just talk about life like we use to. The following week we went to our annual Halloween party at the Camp's. It's always a fun night. Mark went as Jesus and I went as an angel.

Halloween was the coldest night of the week, of course. Mulligans came over and we made chili and chicken noodle soup and set out to scour the neighborhood for candy. We made it around the big block and called it quits, because it was so cold. The girls enjoyed handing out candy when characters would come to the door. Izzy went as Elsa and Addie went as Anna from Disney's Frozen.

Hope this finds you all well. Now into the holiday season. My favorite!
A

September 2014

Izzy and Addie introducing Max to some new friends. 

Our photo shoot with Max on the trail behind Val's Mom's house. 

Addie was telling me, "No more pictures." 

Addie, Izzy, and Max.

Izzy, Maia, and Addie. Friends forever. They even fight like sisters. 

These next two pictures are the epitome of how my girls are. Izzy is always trying to be prim, proper, and perfect, and Addie is a bull in a china shop. 

Max also went to Lazlos with us and Izzy drew our family picture with Max in it.

My two favorite girls. 

Cowboy day! Notice the boots on the wrong feet. 

Bellevue Berry Farm and Pumpkin Patch. 

Zip line. 

Relaxing for a couple of minutes. 

We spent the majority of the time on these slides.

Our dear friends, Heather and Ella.

Hay rack ride to the pumpkins. 

Picking the perfect one. 

Well the football season is in full throttle and Mark is loving it. The weather has been great and it's good to see friends that you haven't seen in a while. It's amazing what Nebraska Football can do to one's spirit and the people it brings together. It's quite the phenomenon. I managed to go to a game with Mark. We went to the Miami game and I had so much fun. I use to go to them all, but with two little sweet hearts at home I have a hard time leaving them all day.

Izzy continues to make the birthday circuit. She went to our friend Avery's birthday at Sempecks and then to Finn's birthday at their house with pizza and fun. It is so great to have these dear friends. Izzy has also kept me on my toes. She calls my bluff and will definitely challenge me. One day I was going off on how I had been working and cleaning all day and I hadn't sat down once. Well, Izzy remembered I ran to Target and she goes," Well, you sat when you were driving." I just hear Mark off in the distance trying not to spit out the drink he just took. She had gotten me, I did sit when I was driving. Dang, she's too smart for her own good. She also continues to well at school and has gotten many awards for moving her clip up the board. She even got to take the class pet home. Max the Moose (stuffed animal). Many of the pictures above are from our adventure with Max.

Addie also continues to entertain Mark and I with her stories and wit. I called her crazy one day and she made a point to tell me, "I am not crazy, I'm too pretty to be crazy." It was classic. She also had cowboy day at school and loved dressing up. I think her favorite part was the stick horse that neighed when you push a button.

This year we went to the pumpkin patch early to beat the crowd. We went to the Bellevue Berry Farma and Pumpkin Patch. It was great. The girls loved the zip line and all the slides. The best slides were the big bouncy ones. We went through the corn maze but it was unsuccessful due to improper foot wear. Izzy got cut by one of the stalks and then she was upset. Nothing that a Band-Aid couldn't fix. After the pumpkin patch we went to the Mulligan's for a picnic dinner and watched the Huskers play. Izzy had her first sleep over. I went to get her the next morning and it was a success. Thanks Mulligans.

Can't wait for October. Beautiful weather and I love Halloween. Until then.