Thanksgiving 2013

This was our year to be in Arkansas for Thanksgiving. We were happy that it worked out for my mom's side of the family to come to my parents house, too! Now that everyone is married, there are lots of schedules with parents and in-laws that get juggled around. But we made it happen this year! And the result was lots of fun for the kids and adults.

Before any trip, I make sure and get caught up on all our laundry so we come home to empty baskets. Isaac is not so helpful with this part of the packing. :)

Now that we have conquered Hailey's car sickness, our road trips aren't so bad. The kids do amazingly well on this 8-9 hr. journey and Marc and I enjoy the break in the car.

Though we are always ready to get out of the car by the end!

Watch out! Bailey's in the mix now!

Pictures from Thanksgiving Day...

 Isaac loved his first taste of turkey. He gobbled it up!

After Thanksgiving, we headed to Fayetteville to look at the lights on the square. There was fun music, fresh popcorn, and the kids even took a carriage ride with Nana and Papa D. Papa D got suckered into buying light-up swords for all the kids. :) They loved them!

Isaac was worn out and fast asleep by the time we got home.

Enjoying some last bit of loving before our van headed home to Illinois.

Bailey's sweet little arm was tucked around her cuz. Too cute.

How old am I??

I can't keep track of my age these days. It must be a sign I am getting older. For the past few years as my birthday approaches, I have had to ask Marc to confirm my age. I think because Marc is nine months older than me, I am always thinking I am a year older than I am. This year I turned 32 (and yes, I had to just ask Marc how old I am before I could type that. I am not even kidding about this problem! You would think I could just do the math.). Our kids love birthdays! The birthdays in our little family are evenly spaced out so there is always a birthday on the horizon to keep them anticipating.

The kids were very excited for a flower delivery sent from my parents

Marc wanted to bake something with the kids this year for my birthday. He took them to the store and let them pick out what they were going to make. Then they went to work in the kitchen and I was NOT allowed in. At times, it sounded as though Marc could use some help, but he managed to pull it off! The kids had a blast and I was elated to find out I was getting to eat green and purple rainbow sprinkle cupcakes for my birthday, Eli and Hailey's favorite colors. :) Haha!

 And of course they picked out the white icing with rainbow sprinkles mixed in! Love these little ones. :)

After dinner and dessert, Marc sent me to the couch to relax while he cleaned up the kitchen and the cupcake mess. I think I understand now why El's preschool teacher requested any baked goods OTHER than cupcakes for the children's birthdays. :)

What a fun birthday! What will year 33 bring???

Halloween 2013

We nearly missed the cut-off for carving a pumpkin this year with the busyness of life. I'm glad we finally "carved" out the time because we had so much fun. Eli still doesn't like to touch the insides of the pumpkin. :)

I might say this every year, but I love the pumpkin carving kit Marc and I bought our first year of marriage. I found it on sale after Halloween at Restoration Hardware. I don't know if they still carry them anymore, but it has been so useful and durable. It is fun to have something familiar to bring out year after year. :)

 Gotta keep those seeds. They taste yummy toasted!

 The finished product

This Halloween was a wet and cold one! We had to change plans from a family gathering at Marc's aunt's house to an indoor church festival where we could be out of the rain. The festival was held at a shopping mall so we were still able to do a little trick-or-treating at each of the shops that were participating.

Eli and Hailey both picked out their costumes by themselves this year which was fun for them and me!

There were tons of fun games to play at the festival and, of course, a candy treat at the end of each one.

Isaac had a lot of sights to take in!

Mama Reenie and Papa were able to come over to Peoria for a little bit to see the kids all dressed up. Eli and Hailey loved showing them their costumes!

We finished off the night with dinner at Flat Top Grill since kids ate free that night! What a fun night! I thoroughly enjoyed ransacking the kids' candy after they went to bed. :) Happy Halloween!