Old Turkeys, New Turkeys, and Tasty Turkeys

Not sure what I am more proud of......the fact that my sharp, gorgeous, amazing Grandma hit 90 years old, or the fact that we pulled off a huge surprise party for her. Dad came to me in the summer wanting to put together a surprise party for Bob and Grandma in Missouri. I took the task and ran with it. I think Grandma would have been surprised walking into a room with all her family, let alone 50 other close friends and family members.

Grandma loves her ice cold coke, so I went with the Classic Coca Cola theme. Seeing as she is a classic, timeless woman. We told her we wanted to surprise dad with a professional photo of her for Christmas and we needed she and Bob to get all dressed up and go to the Lion's Club for the portraits. When she walked in, she was literally speechless seeing old and new friends, her only child, and all of her grandkids saying happy birthday. The party was Fabulous- yummy food, easy going music, homemade jelly, and family portraits.

The smile never left her face. The party meant more to her than any of us could have ever imagined. She still gets excited when she talks about it. It was certainly a Classic event! And I am so glad my children got to visit Rolla, even though i'm sure they will not remember it. A lot of childhood memories for me in that small town, hopefully she will live 10 more years so they can make their own childhood memories there.

Hanging out at Grandma England's House

Laughter at Great Grandma's

Steak and Shake with the Birthday Girl

I am not sure what depresses me more.... the fact that I can't remember what all milestones my children attained in November, or the fact that I can't remember what was going on 3 months ago. Man my memory has turned to mush since I had babies. I used to remember everything, and now I can't remember what I did a week ago. Thankfully I take lots of pictures.

Painting with our Hands and Feet

Looking like quite the little Lady

No more Crawling for Austin

My Little Cuddle Monkey

Doing Big Boy Things

Thanksgiving started out with a feast at Preschool. Was adorable watching the kids sing turkey songs all dressed up (brings back my own childhood memories of wearing paper bag vests), and talking about being Thankful. Ashlyn wrote on her school papers that she was thankful for "Mommy, Daddy, Austin and Bailey". Made me smile, especially when I saw other kids wrote things like "my bicycle", or "pizza".

We then shared a busy Thanksgiving Day with both families. Spent the morning and afternoon with Matt's parents, and then headed over to my dad's house for dinner. Justen, Jenn, Ashley and Nick all came to town, so it was nice having family in town this year. I am always thankful for the blessings in my life like our parents, health, friends, being home with my kids. But when I dig deep, I am thankful for being who I am. I feel like I have matured leaps and bounds in the years since my mom passed away. I have learned what in life really seems important, and I focus more on the big stuff and less on the mundane things. I am proud and thankful of WHO I AM, and who my parents helped me to be!

Ashlyn's 3 year old Preschool Class

Ashlyn and Caroline

Gobble Gobble!

Oooo how we love October!

It is certainly NO secret that I love October, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. Candy, costumes, parties, and lots of sunshine. Hard not to love this time of year.

Ashlyn was mastering her bike skills, while Austin tried to master walking. By the end of the month we finally had the hang of both. Our summer tans faded, but the hustle and bustle of Fall kept us fully entertained. We picked and carved pumpkins, went on a hayride, had apple cider slushies, was in costume as often as regular clothes, and ate a few too many candy corn pumpkins (YUM).

At our house you'll likely find us making pumpkin stain glass windows, singing Halloween songs, baking pumpkin bread, taking wagon rides up to the pond, and having dance parties. Not sure who likes to dance and be silly more, Austin, Ashlyn or mommy! Daddy thinks we are weird, but we love being silly. Austin is my little boogie king, he's moving and grooving all the time......i LOVE it!

Road Warrior

Ashlyn's buddies Caroline and Cole in the corn maze

LOLCP Barn and Bunk Field Trip (making a scarecrow)

Princess Ashlyn, First trip to Windmill Farm

Hayride through the woods with Faith and Christian (so fun)

13 months.....And He's Off

I have a climber! His favorite pastime is pulling all the books off the shelf

Why not, the Dryer seems fun

Climbing and keeping busy as usual

Ashlyn's preschool Halloween party (she was sleeping beauty)

LOLCP Halloween Party 2011

Hanging out with dad while celebrating Mimi's birthday

My sweet as an apple Snow White (and doll), showing off her Jack O' Lantern

Halloween Day

My Zoo Crew ready for Trick or Treat

Cutest Zebra in Town!

Daddy duty- pulling the wagon through the neighborhood

That is one sweet Cheetah!

We made it around the whole loop, running, I think she likes trick or treating

I LOVE being a stay at home mom, a job I wouldn't trade for the world. It is one of the hardest, and sometimes most frustrating jobs in the world. But the rewards, and smiles, hugs, and "I love you's" far exceed any bad day. Nevertheless, having a little mommy time is refreshing to the mind and soul. Matt and I got the rare opportunity to travel to New Orleans (kid free) for a college friends wedding. Neither one of us had ever been to New Orleans, so it was an even more exciting trip. My first time flying without kids in 3 years, and it was awesome. I read a book, only had my purse to carry, and even snoozed on the plane. Didn't even mind the2 hour layover in Atlanta. Add to that eating, and going around town on our own terms, sleeping in, and sightseeing. I miss traveling, I miss my friends, I miss that freedom, but in the end......I missed my kids more. Was an awesome trip, but I was soooo happy to be home after it all.

Link to Pictures: New Orleans 2011

A month of many Firsts

September:

Going into Fall, we certainly started things with a bang. We had a month of many firsts! 1st day of school, 1st haircut, 1st birthday and 1st steps. WOW!

The temperature is staying hot, more than cooling off, but that keeps us outside and busy... which we love.

Daddy was proud and excited to take the kids to their first Alter Fest. It is not quite as fun when you aren't drinking or gambling, and you are attending at 5:00 instead of 9:00. Needless to say, Ashlyn has been talking about riding the elephants for months, and dadd was pretty proud to show off his kiddos and talk to them about his Alma Mater.

Alter Fest 2011

Ashlyn had a walk through day, with mom in tow, for her first day of school. We ate a good breakfast, picked out our favorite summer dress, and got very excited to put on our backpack for real that morning. She walked right in and paid no attention to me at all. It didn't bother me one bit though, I was more relieved knowing she was confident to be at school without needing mommy. Bonus that I met a few moms that I connected with instantly, and knew would be nice to get to know better

Her teachers Miss Paula and Miss Carla are sweet, caring, and Love her which is extremely comforting. I'll never forget discussing with my camp counselors how trusting parents are to drop their kids off at camp everyday, since they have no say in who is watching their child.... where as a parent we ask for references, talk to friends, worry endlessly about who babysits our children. Makes me really appreciate teachers, and those that LOVE my child as much as I do.

Excited and Ready for Preschool

First day of School (without mommy)

Having fun playing in the tupperware drawer

Loves doing Art projects and painting

Ashlyn was actually really excited for her first haircut....at Supercuts:) She was smiley, sat perfectly still, and liked getting to wear the big cape. Wasn't sure what to expect with an almost 3 year old. Guess I should have known better, she's a pretty cooperative and well behaved girl. Pictures are worth 1000 words, certainly adorable and happy haircut memories. I think she might liked getting pampered a little too much!

Tried to do a little something special on the day of each of the kids birthdays. We got Austin a cupcake to smash and then opened presents. He was spinning in circles with excitement for the elephant popper uncle larry gave him. It was quite amusing (and all caught on camera). Ashlyn started walking the week of her 1st birthday, so I am curious to see if Austin follows in her footsteps (no pun intended).

Messy Smiles

Opening Presents

The weekend between their birthdays we threw a big birthday party for both the kids. Mommy went all out, splurging on the party. I didn't do anything for Ashlyn last year (since I had a baby the week before), so it seemed ok to go a bit bigger this year- plus it was Austin's 1st birthday. Since I call them both my little monkeys, I ended up doing a "Go Bananas Birthday Bash". We had a house full of friends, kids, and good food. The bounce house was definitely the biggest hit. I wouldn't change a thing, it was a perfect sunshiny/happy birthday bash. Enjoy all the photos here: https://picasaweb.google.com/lindsey.england/GoBananasBirthdayBash?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCPHvztnopai9TQ&feat=directlink

For Ashlyn's birthday, she woke up to a Tiara and more presents. With the birthday party the weekend before, and her preschool birthday a few days prior, the celebrations just kept going for her. I think she was the most excited about getting a highchair for her doll, and a balance bike. Luckily the pleasant Fall weather will continue for weeks, so we'll have plenty of bike riding time. We ended the day with a cake and pizza at Championi's with cousins.

Princess Ashlyn turns 3

Trying out her cooking supplies (thanks to the Bogards)

Kids LOVE the sand/water table from Mimi and Papa

Cooler evenings bring capris and long sleeves. Gotta love Fall!

Mommies little helper feeding Bailey

With 1st words and birthdays, come 1st steps. Austin will take 6-8 steps than fall down, then get up and do 4, then get up and do 2. Followed by frustration and annoyance, and then giving up on walking. Gotta love those wobbly "walk to mommy/daddy" steps. My baby isn't a baby anymore he is officially a toddler. Tear, tear!

Big Boy Steps

On to Apple Cider and Hayrides....