The first snow day of the school year...

Yesterday, it started out raining. A few hours later it was sleeting and then an hour later big, huge snowflakes falling....gotta love Indiana weather. Thankfully, the kids made it home safely from school and immediately headed outside to play in the snow. As much as I don't like snow, I had to admit that this particular snowfall was beautiful. It was perfect for making snowmen, since the snow was so wet. It continued to snow until we had about 8 inches. Luckily, we didn't lose power, but a lot of people did from the ice and heavy snow.

The downfall was they cancelled school today and Jayden missed his field trip to Amish Acres to see the Christmas Carol play. Also, I had 2 doctors appointments scheduled (of course this always happens to me) today,but Jarrad was kind enough to stay home and watch the kiddos. I have to admit it's nice to have all the kids home and getting to watch them enjoy playing in the snow. I remember how much I loved it as a kid. Of course, we may be in school till the middle of June at this rate.

Talan's snowman

The neighborhood looked so pretty.


Kylen helping with Jayden's snowman

Jayden and T having a blast.

This was my view from our living room...beautiful!

Kylen helping build the snowman.

Yay for snow days!

Happy 35th Birthday, Jarrad!

On November 18th, Jarrad turned the big 35! It's crazy to think that I met him when he was only 22. Jarrad actually took the day off of work and my gracious parents took Ky for the day, while we headed up to Ft. Wayne. We went to see Breaking Dawn and then went out to eat at a place called Tilted Kilt. The food was good, but the atmosphere was not quite exactly what I was expecting...let's just say it puts Hooters to shame.

After eating we headed home, and got there 5 minutes after the boys got off the school bus. Then we had our little birthday party for Dad! Talan was probably the most excited because he loves caramel pie! Jarrad is not a fan of cake, so I make him caramel pie every year. The kids made him homemade cards and we got him new pedals for his car. All-in-all, it was a great day!

Happy Birthday Jarrad!!! We love you!

Honor Roll and Citizen of the Month!

October was a good month for Jayden. He was on the A-B Honor Roll...he got a B plus in English and the rest was all A's. He was also the Citizen of the Month in October. His teacher told me she has never enjoyed having a student in her class as much as she enjoys Jayden. That's saying a lot since she's about to retire. According to her, everyone in class loves him. She says, "what's not to love?" There' s nothing better than hearing that about your child. Of course, I always say he saves his bad behavior for home. Either way, we're very proud of him and the great boy he's becoming! He really is thriving up here in Warsaw and that helps us realize we made a good decision by coming up here.

And, for being Citizen of the Month he got to eat pizza with the principal for lunch!!! Way to go J-man!

Trick or Treat!!!

This year for Halloween Kylen decided to be Bumblebee for our church's trunk or treat and a Firefighter for actual trick or treat.(We already had the Bumblebee costume from a previous Halloween). Talan was Darth Vader and Jayden was Boba Fett. As usual, the kids got way too much candy and so I help them out with that when they go to bed at night. :)

It ended up being a really great night for trick or treating! I was so happy because it was raining in the morning and who wants to walk in the rain for two hours?

Pumpkin Carving

Our annual family pumpking carving day. We did this the day after going to Knollbrook Farms. We carve pumpkins every year. This is the kids favorite part of Halloween time, except the candy of course. :) Jarrad and I on the other hand, usually end up with carpal tunnel and a big mess. But, it's worth it because we end up with some great memories.

Jarrad prepping Ky's pumpkin to be carved.


The boys gutting the pumpkins.

Yes, I even got in on the action. Don't you love my shirt I have on? I've only had it since I was 15 years old.

Crazy Jayden...love this kid

Talan is loving life. He cleaned his out all by himself.

Kylen having fun.

After lots of hard work...Ky bat kitty pumpkin.


T-man's Grim Reaper

Last by not least, Jayden's evil pumpkin.

Happy Halloween!!!!

Kylen's Preschool Parade

At Kylen's preschool for Halloween, instead of dressing up they have the kids take home a picture to color and decorate themselves. Then, they make hats out of them and do a little parade for the parents to see. It's really adorable. Kylen is very much a Mommy and Daddy's boy and he sometimes cries at school, so I was hoping he wouldn't cry when he saw me. Thankfully, he didn't.

Here's Ky as he is parading around the church



Here he is with his class.




It's so hard to believe my youngest is in preschool already!

Knollbrook Farms

A week and a half ago, Jarrad and I took the boys to a place called Knollbrook Farms. It is a huge farm that has a pumpkin patch where you can pick your own pumpkins and a corn maze along with lots of other activities for the kids. We went here last year and the kids loved it, so it will probably be a tradition for us while the boys are young.

The weather was so nice the day we went and the boys found some huge pumpkins. I think the pumpkin sling shot was the boys favorite...Jarrad actually got free candy because his pumpkin landed in the intertube that floats in the water. It was a great time. I absolutely love fall!

The boys walking through the corn maze

This is the boys doing the "cowboy dance" It's a family inside joke, after watching Jayden's music recital a few weeks ago. Ask Jayden to do it sometime....it's hilarious

More of the "Cowboy Dance"

Look how big my J-man is getting!


Kylen has grown so much!

Talan is getting to be so big!
I loved this pic of Ky


Here's part of the pumpkin patch

This is a 50 foot slide that the kids love.

Here's T-man.


The finally found their pumpkins.

Here's Jayden doing the pumpkin sling shot

My little men.

So here's to next fall and I can't wait to see how much they will have grown!

Doug

Hi my name is Doug.

I'm a pitt/lab mix and i'm the sweetest dog around. I was rescued from the pound and I love it in my new home. I only get into trouble when I try to eat my owners' stuffed animals and dig in the landscaping.

He is such a loving dog and yes we now have 4 dogs! It can be crazy, but I still think it's much easier than having another baby. :) Once he is better trained, I think he will be the best dog we've ever had. He is wonderful with the boys and they love him so much.

A FALL PHOTO SHOOT

My boys and I

Crazy faces with Dad


All of my boys

Kylen 3 years old

I love this picture of him

Talan 5 years old

He asked me to take a picture of his mean face. :)

Jayden 8 years old

My three boys

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to take some pictures of the boys since the leaves in our woods were changing colors. I think they turned our pretty well considering they were tired of taking pictures after about 5 minutes. I haven't edited them, but will try to later when all the boys sports are done. I just wanted to post and show how much my family is growing up. I'm so grateful for my family!

Ps. There is a new addition to our family. His name is Doug and I'll post pictures soon! :)