Mummy Cookies Oct. 27, 2010

Nicholas had to bring in snack today at preschool and the theme of the day was Mummy. We don't HAVE to do a snack that relates to the theme but I wanted to and came up with this cute idea to make mummy cookies. I am so glad Chad was home to help me because we were up until just after midnight decorating these. They turned out really cute and were a big hit. There are none left. He also has a Halloween party on Friday and I am making vampire cupcakes. I will post pictures of those later:)

Sunnyside Gardens October 22, 2010

We got to go on another field trip with Nicholas' preschool class yesterday. Sunnyside Gardens is in Saratoga Springs. It was a fun little pumpkin patch. First we got to go on a hayride into the woods. They had a bunch of spider webs and all kinds of other things set up for us to look at on our ride. Then we each got to pick a small pumpkin to bring home. Thankfully they were small because I had to carry them the rest of the day. Then in the center of this place is a small area with LOTS of pumpkins and tombstones with jokes on them. Also some big displays of famous books. All around this area was a small train that we got to go on. Anyone who knows my boys knows that they LOVE trains. Nicholas said this was his favorite part. After we ate lunch we went inside and saw more trains (much smaller though) and they even had a butterfly exhibit. Lastly we got to walk through the "Pumpkin Hall of Flame." Probably about 200 pumpkins that were carved into various things. I saw Piglet, Elmo, Darth Vader and even Edward from Twilight plus so many others. It was really neat to see but the pictures don't do it justice since the flash lightened everything up. All in all, it was a really fun day with my boys. Jacob was asleep before we left the parking lot and Nicholas has not stopped talking about it and wanting to take Daddy to go see the train. Here are some pictures.
View from our hayride

Linus and Charlie Brown

Pinky and the Brain

Some of the really cool book displays

Chad did a project in elementary school on this book. I had Nicholas pose with it.

Edward Cullen. It looked really cool. the picture really doesn't compare. Piglet

Marie's Birthday/Baptism Oct. 19, 2010

My niece Marie turned 8 this past Tuesday and she got baptized. Now this makes me feel old because Chad and I started dating when Chrissy was pregnant with Marie! Even so...it was such a great day. Chad got to come home (for exactly 21 hours!) He got home late Monday night and Tuesday morning the boys were SOOO happy to see him. It was sad to break the news to them that he was leaving that evening but they soaked up every little bit of time with daddy until then. Chad brought home his motorcycle (on a trailer) because well........lets face it, its October. He really enjoyed riding it this year but winter is almost here and it is easier to get it put away now then to wait until December when we will most likely have snow on the ground. Chad took one more ride around the block and then brought it back to the shed. The boys each got a chance to sit on it and rev the engine. They did NOT want to sit on it at first which was kind of funny but when they did we had a hard time getting them off of it. After we got that done we headed up to Chrissy and Dave's house to get ready for the baptism. We went to the church for dinner and just about the time they were planning on starting the baptism, the fire alarm went off. We all had to evacuate the building while we waited for the fire trucks to arrive. This actually happened a few months ago at church and Nicholas has not stopped talking about the fire men. He is even going to be one for Halloween. He got really scared on Tuesday though and the only thing that calmed him down was Chad holding him. We went back in and had the baptism. Chad's nephew Brian was also ordained as a teacher as well. Everything went really well. They are such great kids. Chad had to leave after the confirmation so we walked out with him to say goodbye. After he left, the boys were done (especially Nicholas) and just wanted to go home and go to bed. It was a great day and I'm glad we got to spend time with Chad. Happy Birthday Marie!!!

6th Anniversary and Family Fun!! Oct.8-Oct.11

Chad and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on Friday Oct. 8. I went to NJ by train to see him and then after he was done with work on Saturday we drove back to NY. We went out to dinner and had a relaxing evening (with no kids!) Saturday I got to spend the day in a VERY quiet room and worked on file folder games. it truly is amazing how much you can accomplish when your not answering 3000 questions or stopping every 10 seconds feed, clean up, change a diaper (and so on) after 2 adorable but very active little boys. There were moments when I could hear myself think! Truly amazing!! We left NJ around 4pm and got home just after 8pm. The boys were excited we were home (although they did have fun with Aunt Shell) and very happy to see Daddy. Sunday morning Chad let me sleep in and made french toast with a little help from Jake. We had a busy day and then had Eric and Rachael and Glenn and Martha over for dinner. It was a fun night and its always nice to see family. On Monday we went to a place in Glens Falls called explore. It was AWESOME! It was a huge indoor play area. It had a ball pit, a huge climbing area with the biggest tube slide I've ever seen, a castle, a pirate ship, a very large play kitchen area, a music room with lots of instruments and a water table area. We all ran and played for about 2 hours and had a blast. Afterwards we went and got pizza for lunch and went to visit Chrissy and the kids for alittle while. We were all so tired we each took a nap at her house. The boys always love spending time with their Daddy. I'm not sure who fell asleep first that night...us or the boys. It was a really great weekend and its always nice to spend time together as a family.

Palmyra temple

On our wedding day. (its a picture of a picture which is why it says todays date.)

At our reception.

Last year at the Palmyra temple.

Jake being a big helper.

Explore fun!!

wresting with daddy.

Apple Picking at Bowman's Orchard. Sept. 29, 2010

On Wednesday, Nicholas had a field trip to Bowman's Orchard to go apple picking. Jacob and I went with him and we all had so much fun. First we got to go on this hayride from the parking area to the orchard. Then we took a quick tour of where they wash and store the apples. After that all the kids got a small bag so they could pick their own apples. These bags could hold between 4 to 5 apples each. Nicholas and Jacob got a little ahead of themselves and picked more than we could hold. There was a pumpkin patch next to the orchard that the kids got to play in for a few minutes. Nicholas wanted me to buy a pumpkin but since I was out of hands to hold things I told him some other time. Next we had snack. The boys each got a cider doughnut and some apple cider. Then to finish up the trip the kids got to play on this awesome playground that had a tractor, fire engine and a train made out of wood. I think Jacob was so excited to play with other kids and not be home alone with mommy. The kids played for about 45 minutes and then we went home. Jake fell asleep in the car before we got out of the parking lot. Nicholas could not stop talking about how much fun he had. A bonus for me.......Nicholas was such a big helper for me the rest of the day. There were times I was like "WOW!! I can't believe this." For anyone who knows Nicholas you know that he is a pretty big helper anyway BUT that day I didn't have to repeat myself or explain why something needed to be done. He just wanted to help me and spend time with me. He is such a sweet kid. Both kids fell asleep that night and not once did they whine or get out of bed for anything. It was such a great day and I'm so glad the boys loved it too.

There were a few apples that got bites taken out of them.

Jake sat here for probably close to 10 minutes just looking at the kids playing.

Nicholas insisted on finding himself the perfect pumpkin.He had to show me how strong he was.

Nicholas climbed all the way to the top.

Jake was having so much fun on this fire engine.

he really liked the animals we got to see there. A baby calf and a baby goat.