Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! We hope you had fun trick or treating! Matt took the kids around the neighborhood and I got this photo before they headed out! They had a great time but the boys really wanted to sleep with their candy...or try and get it open and eat it! Sorry boys, not going to happen!
And we got one photo of Mason in his costume. He kept it on for less than a minute yesterday (when we got this photo) and about 30 seconds tonight. Oddly enough he left the bandana on but wanted nothing to do with the hat or vest. Maybe next year!

Halloween begins!

Today we went to a local zoo for the 19th annual Zoo Boo. It is a fun event that includes games, prizes, and a haunted house. Before leaving the house we got the kids dressed up which made Anna very excited because she loves Cinderella and that is what she is this year.

Here is Anna in her Cinderella dress, she has the white princess gloves and glass slippers on too.
Olivier is a fireman!
And here is a silly photo of both of them before we left.
When we arrived at the zoo we were greeted by John, Rachel (and soon to be Sadie!), Julie, and Andy. Moments later Joe, Heather, Lina and Audrey arrived. Made for a lot of fun! We stopped at the first game and got almost all of them in one photo. Lina is really hard to pick out because she is in front of Julie. I think Audrey is the only one who didn't make it.

Joe was able to take a family photo for us! Yeah! We don't get too many of those!

Olivier was checking out the tiger statue with Daddy.
And Mason was not into the costume this year. We won't spoil what he is in the hope that we might get a photo of him in costume over the next couple of days! We shall see!

Warm hats

It was a chilly morning so we put the boys warm knitted hats on and they were very happy to wear them! Can you tell?
And when I picked them up and got their hats, they had to put them back on of course. I got this photo of Mason getting some love from Daddy. He is getting better about not being such a mama's boy.

All in a fun Sunday!

We took the kids to the Giddy Up Round Up (I know it sounds like we are Cowboys and Cowgirls!) but it was a lot more than we expected! We got to meet the horses from the Sheriff's posse unit, Cal Fire, the CHP, and the County Sheriff. The kids got all kinds of goodies (including more fire hats, can't seem to have enough of them around this house). We were so excited that the kids could get on one of the Cal Fire trucks because they all love them (especially Olivier). I think he was a bit overwhelmed that he actually got to go on the truck and got very nervous!

Exciting times on a real fire truck!

We also got to ride on a steam train. The train is the original train that was used at Disneyland! Very cool! It was rather loud when you weren't riding on the train but not all that noticeable when riding.

And here is the train car we got to ride in.

We did have to wait for a while before it was our turn on the train so the kids went to sit in the shade because it was very warm! We all should have worn shorts. We found plenty of cool spots to sit and there was plenty of water.
We got on the train and Mason was not sure at first. Anna was very excited!

Olivier was very excited but I think he was really worn out and was happy to take a train ride resting in Daddy's arms.

And to show how tired they were, this is what they looked like on the car ride home. :-)

Later that afternoon we were playing out in the backyard and got some photos of the kids. Mason loves the slide!


Here are all three kids in one shot and it wasn't even planned! Wow!

Getting pumpkins ready!

We have been getting our pumpkins ready for some Halloween fun! The first project was to get Anna's pumpkin ready. She helped empty out the seeds and clean it out.


Next she helped push the pegs into the pumpkin following the design.
And the finish product, a beautiful pumpkin that lights up!


For the boys we got them Mr Potato Head pieces that are made to go on a pumpkin. Olivier had a witch pumpkin and is pushing the pieces in with Daddy.
And Mason is helping with his pumpkin. He really liked helping!
And here are the three kids and their creations.
Sitting outside waiting for some visitors!

And this is what Anna's pumpkin looks like in the dark.

Anna's joke

Tonight at dinner Anna told us a joke that went something like this:

"If I eat all my peas I get a half a Reese's. If I eat all my dinner I get one Reese's. If I am sweet and eat all my dinner I get two Reese's."

We were holding back laughter about how strange that was to say and looking at each other, when Anna said:

"I was just making a joke!"

Silly girl wanted to see if she could sweet her way into getting two mini-Reese's.

Pumpkin patch

Today we took the kids to a local pumpkin patch and had a really nice time. They were all in fairly good moods, they listened to us, and of course there was lots of fun! First thing first though, we picked out the pumpkins we are going to decorate, one for each of the kids and one for Matt and I. Once the serious business was over it was off to the other fun stuff!

They had this cute cut out and with some help from Daddy, I got a photo of all three kids peaking out.

They had a saddle on a bale of hay and Anna wanted a ride. Since it was so sunny, Daddy provided his sunglasses to keep the cowgirl happy!

Olivier and Mason also wanted a turn to ride. We love the smiles!


And in addition to the large pumpkins that will be decorated, we got three little pumpkins for the kids to hold. When we got home I wanted to catch Olivier saying "pumpkin patch" on video because it was too cute! He was repeating it over and over after we mentioned it the first time this afternoon. He is really expanding his vocabulary and repeats and uses words in new ways every day. Reminds us a lot of Anna. Mason is using his words more and more and seems excited when he sees our excitement when he does talk.

Hope you enjoy Olivier's sweet version of "pumpkin patch". :-)

Happy 2nd Birthday Natalie!

Our niece Natalie is 2! Wow! The kids had a great time at her party and enjoyed bouncing in the castle bounce house! Especially at the end of the party when Grandpa was bouncing with them. Does it get much better than that?

Before we left for the party we put sunscreen and hats on the boys. Mason really wanted to wear the fireman's hat and this is the silly look that resulted!


I got very few photos of the kids at the party. It is a juggle chasing after three kids at a park! They each had their own agenda of what they wanted to do!

Natalie had an Elmo party and her mom made adorable cupcakes! So creative! And I think all the kids agree, yummy too!
And this is a photo from yesterday, all three together and happy. Yeah! :-)

Playing around

There is an elementary school not far from the house and we have taken the kids over there a few times. There isn't a ton for them to do but there is a good slide and a safe area to run around. Sometimes just getting out of our yard makes a world of difference!

Anna's hair went crazy with the static from the slide!

Olivier loved playing in this tunnel. He also continues to be our dare devil and tried (and was fairly successful) to climb the rainbow bars.
Anna had fun pulling Mason around in the wagon. It is quite hard to do because of the trailer and making turns but she was getting the hang of how to do it without having to back up and make the turn again.
Mason's getting upset, not understanding why he couldn't walk in the tunnel!

And a few photos from this morning of the kids in the swings in the back yard. Olivier was a hard one to get.
Anna and her crazy hair!
And Mason, great smile on the first try! Wish it was always this easy!