Random Family Outings

A couple of weeks ago Jeremy got off work early and after we picked Joseph up from school we headed to the local peanut factory. Since none of us have ever experienced this sort of thing we didn't know exactly what to expect. We walked into this huge building that has MOUNTAINS of peanuts inside. We stayed just long enough to let the kids try mountain climbing and then we bought some delicious peanut brittle and choclate covered peanut clusters! YUM!!!

Janie wasn't too "nuts" about climbing or even touching the peanuts really so we've only got Joseph and Jessie in these photos.

Last Sunday we went out for an afternoon drive and ended up at this place called Hick's Mountain. Well, who wouldn't want to stop there for a looksee????? It was a nice surprise. Just a little shoreline to walk along and some beautiful views of the sunset over the lake.

It isn't always easy to get all three kids looking at the camera at the same time and so by the time we finally did Janie had slid halfway down the rock! Next time we'll go a little earlier, take a picnic, and maybe even snap a shot of the whole family.

Finally Four!!!!

Jessie's 4th birthday has come and gone and I'm just getting around to blogging about it right now! Actually, it was one of those things where the pictures were on the laptop and I had to convert them and transfer them from one computer to another. I usually end up procrasting when it requires that much work:)

Jessie was actually sick on her birthday, but a couple of days later we had a party for her with her friends and they all had a blast.

These are photos from our little family party. Jessie is displaying one of her gifts for daddy to take a picture! Does she look happy to you?

Here she is blowing out her ONE candle. We took cupcakes to her school because it was her snack day (since it was her birthday). She didn't get to go to school that day because she was sick, but we saved enough cupcakes for our family and she had just enough energy to blow out her candle.

She also had enough energy to try on her new make up!! She always has energy for that!! It was so funny to watch her putting this eye stuff on without a mirror. Needless to say, she looked BEAUTIFUL after that makeover!

Here she adds the final touches with this fancy lip gloss!

What would we do without our Jessie? She is such a character and our home would definitely be VERY quiet without her! We love you Jessie and we're glad that you can wear a size 4 shoe now since you're four years old. She keeps telling everyone that now she can wear a size 4 shoe!! Funny Girl!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is always an exciting time of the year. It seems to usher in Fall and all of the beauty that accompanies the season. The kids have been asking me for months what they should be for Halloween. We've spent time looking at and picking out costumes and finally the day has come and gone. What fun we had preparing, dressing up, going to parties, and EATING JUNK FOOD!!!! And of course, the kids are thrilled to have their bags of candy.


Here are a couple of shots of the kids in their costumes just before we left the house for trick or treating.

Joseph was a Power Ranger for the second year in a row. Different costume this year. The funny thing about his choice is that he has never even seen Power Rangers, but he just likes the looks of the costumes I guess. He had a blast running from house to house with Jessie and his friend, Amelia.

"Stra-ba-ba-ba-ba-berry, Strawberry Shortcake!" After 1.5 hours of going back and forth between costumes online, Jessie finally decided on this one!! The hat came with hair hooked to it, but of course she didn't like it. I cut the hair out, put her hair in rollers, and sprayed it red. The only problem is that after running around at school all morning she kind of lost the curl. She could have gone without a costume and had just as much fun!!

We figured that since Janie spends half of her time crawling around on her hands and knees, meowing at us, that a cat costume would be appropriate! She really enjoyed trick or treating. She ended up spending much of the time in the stroller observing the other kids, but she still got her fair share of candy thanks to Joseph and Jessie taking her bag to each house.

She looked over at me during church on Sunday and said, "trick or treat!" I'm so glad that her voice is partially gone so not too many other people heard her.

All in all it was a fun holiday and we have some serious working out to do before Thanksgiving comes!!! AAAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!