Cousins, cousins and more cousins!!

When my sister Emily called to say she was going to be in town for a week while her husband was away on business and during the first week their home would be on the market, we were all excited to get everyone together!  There were fun times at Grammie and Grandpa's house.

Fun times at parks.

Aunt Emily, Ivy and Flash, the dog with D.

Cute cousins.

Cute brothers helping each other.

And fun on all the great playground equipment!

We also spent time at the creek!  Look at all those kids!!

Uncle Michael demonstrating his expertise at skipping rocks.

And then there was Flash.  All I'm going to say is that he was very comfortable among the rocks, and Emily wasn't too happy with how he was showing his comfort!  After a short time he was relegated to his leash back in the trees.

After our visit that day, the creek will never be the same!

It was wonderful having so many cousins to share it with!  We'll be looking forward to the next time!! 

Halloween Fun--Part 2 Grammy's Halloween Party!

Every year Grammy HB has a halloween party for the grandkids.  We missed Ellie, Anna and Jonny this year as they have recently moved to Arizona, but we still had fun with Amanda, Ethan and Ivy!!

To begin, the kids made quesadillas.  They used tortillas that had been cut into the shape of a pumpkin and placed triangle shaped pieces of cheese on them to make a jack 'o lantern before they were melted.  Wise and cute.  Always good to start with some healthy food in their tummies when you know that candy will be the main source of food for the next few hours!

Grammy then brought out the bubbling Witch's brew!  What child isn't impressed with all those bubbles and smoke?!  (Aunt Jaymee played too!!)

Then it was time to bob for apples!

Everyone retrieved their apples!

Even if they didn't bob for them!!

Then there were the games.  Have I mentioned how creative my mom is?  I am always so impressed with the things she does.  It makes me so happy thinking of all the memories the kids will have.  I love you mom!!

The pumpkin push:  Grammy demonstrates:

Our oldest and Ethan go next.

Followed up with our middle son's creative pushing methods!

Then we headed inside to decorate pumpkins,

and make ghosts!

More games like halloween bingo using halloween marshmellows, listening and following directions from a stories and other fun things!

Matching socks for cousins!!

Retrieving parachuting skeletons from the halloween tree...

with permission to drop them from the balcony!

Many other games were played too, but the pinata brought Grandpa into the picture!

Take a look at his expression as our oldest really hit that pinata!!

We then decorated cupcakes with spooky things and ended the fun by trick or treating to the upstairs bedrooms!

Does it sound like a fun party?  It was!  The kids loved it and I love watching the kids have fun with cousins and Grammy and Grandpa!  The only thing that could have made it better would have been our youngest being there.  Unfortunately our house has been dealing with the flu.  Our poor little guy missed the party because he was just too sick to make it.  Next year sweetie!  You can join the fun next year!

Thank you Grammy and Grandpa!!  Happy Halloween!!  We love you!

HB Cousins

This is the first complete HB cousins picture that has ever been taken. There is a huge story to be told there, but for now all I can say is--how awesome is family?

Another day on the break...

One of the surprises we finally got to share with the boys during spring break was that their Aunt Christina (Texas) was going to be in town for a week!! These boys love their aunt and are excited for any time they get to have with her--especially our oldest. He loves the one-on-one time that she always shares with him, looking over drawings, talking about school/bus rides, whatever the topic she always shows sincere interest. Even though our oldest is just a kindergartener, he can tell when someone really cares and is listening. Christina always does. We love Christina and will always be happy when she comes to our part of the world!!

When decided to go to OMSI with Christina--somewhere we love to go. We even met up with more family (Aunt Jaymee, Amanda, Ethan, Ivy) that had the same idea we had! I guess when the rain is coming down we have a few options...get wet, or stay dry. We chose to stay dry today!

Our middle son was fascinated with the air pressure balls and tubes.

Then he was on to the water world!

Our oldest was having a great time with Amanda exploring all areas. I caught up with them in the sand lot. Cute cousins!!

And how did I actually get to take pictures you ask? Even after forgetting my camera at home??!! Wonderful Christina played with our youngest for most of the time. Thank you!!

Staying dry was the right choice today!!