Fall leaves

The perfect fall Saturday happened. It was a nice sunny day where we were home. While Audrey was away on a play date, the other 3 raked leaves with Dad. Ryan lovingly referred to it as the "small hill." He even wanted to go back out late at night to play on the "small hill." The marks on Luke are his tiger stripes. It was an orange day for these three.

Sweetness

After Michael picked 7 reusable bags & one large laundry basket full of sweet corn and then shucked it for me (because he truly loves me!), I had two laundry baskets full of sweet corn to freeze. Much thanks to my wonderful MIL Julie and SIL Darcy for helping me blanch, cool, cut, bag and freeze all this yumminess for the winter.

Before

 After

First day of school 2013

Yesterday was the first day of 4th and 2nd grade for the girls. Luker starts next week on Wednesday. Ryno still gets to stay home with me. The girls are very excited about their teachers this year. Grace's 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Trunkhill, moved up to 4th grade and has retained most of the 3rd grade class! Audrey got Mr. Corsbie. She was a little disappointed to get the guy teacher but is now okay with it. Especially since she has 2 very good friends already in her class. :)

Pretending to be the kittens, who were standing up on the screen watching us.

BOTTOMS UP!

All mines!

Ryan loves his peanut butter & nutella jars. This day he had taken them all out, put them on the table and then wouldn't let me put them away. "All mines!" he says. (Ry has turned 3 but his birthday pictures are currently MIA. Such is my life!)

We also celebrated Luke's 5th birthday! He was blessed with a Ninja mask & sword from us and a great book & cape from RahRah & Poppa Hollywood. He decorated his Dino cake with his cousin Jayden earlier in the day. He had a great birthday!

Iowa to Holden Beach

We were able to join the Hartson family on their trip to Holden Beach, North Carolina. Charity's SIL Jackie's family has a house, right on the beach, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Things just aligned and we were able to go as well. This was the first time that Michael had ever seen an ocean and the first time that either of us had traveled past Illinois, by car, at least. Our children did a remarkable job traveling there and back again.

Sunday afternoon, exploring the beach for the first time.
Periwinkles in the sand, waves to jump on and a kick board to surf on.

Monday afternoon, watching popcorn pop. What a cool thing!
You mean it doesn't always pop in the microwave? A cloudy afternoon, but perfect
for shell hunting. And then oh, what the heck, let's swim in our clothes!

Tuesday & Wednesday - sand castles, legless children, mermaids and mermen galore!

Thursday - the morning before the first tropical storm of the year.

Thursday's dinner - Crab Boil - Crab, Shrimp, Potatoes & Corn on the Cob.
Delicious!!

Friday's waves & wind

Good bye Holden Beach - see you next time!

Spidey, KaTs & Cousins

Watch Grace perform on the piano at Kittrell's Talent Show on Monday, May20th. She was the only student to play an instrument. I know she was nervous but she did very well. Click here.

We have spent the week having a lot of fun at our house. Ryan wants to put on (and then takes off) Luke's Capt America outfit like a million times a day. But he says he's Spider Man. I wish he would let me take a picture of him - he stands with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out. Super cute! :)

These are our kittens Thomas (the gray) and Kallie (the calico). They are a new learning challenge for our family. We love having them and watching their antics. I'm glad we have two so they can play together - when the children finally put them down!

Today we went to Des Moines to celebrate my nephew Devin's graduation from High School. Before his grad party, we gathered all the cousins and got their pictures taken. Surprisingly we got the best picture taken on the very first shot - not bad for half of the group being 4 and under! Grace & Audrey were very excited to see their cousin Kaylea.

Ryan, Sofia & Luke watching a movie at the party.

 The Graduate, Devin Michael Pickering, graduating Sunday May 26th and leaving for Basic on Tuesday, May 28th.

 And me and my cousin Theresa Caraccio Summers. We are the youngest & oldest girls on the Caraccio side of my family.

Potty Training in 3 days

Potty training sucks! Ryan and I have been working on potty training for 3 days. After accident and accident, I decided I was done. I was starting to get really frustrated and it wasn't really productive. So back into a diaper he went, all the of the potty stuff was packed & put away. Except for the potty chair - I figured he could use it to encourage future potty training time.

So about an hour later he comes and says, "I poop-ed." Normally means he's wet. So I took off his diaper and he immediately went over to the little chair and sat down. Imagine my great surprise when he actually starts pooping - in the TOILET! Yeah, gross but WAHOO!!! Gonna stay in the diapers for now but will continue to encourage the use of the potty.

The boys cuddling last night. So cute. Love these guys!