Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving is always so special to us because there is so much to be thankful for. We had two awesome Thanksgivings this year, and each of them were among the sweetest and most loving people.

During our Thanksgiving holiday, we celebrated the life of our Aunt Kathy who lost her battle to cancer. She was an amazing, selfless woman, and she has inspired me in so many ways. She was truly loved and will forever be missed.

Handprint Turkey Cookies II
They turned out a lot better than last year! =)

PIE!

I love this picture because it is our norm:
Brock is always mad at something, Ella is always making silly faces, and Sophie seems to be the only normal one (for now).

Papa, Grammie, and the kids

Uncle Adam with the kids

Uncle Adam with his baby

Ella had to wear my veil when she saw
me wearing it on our anniversary.
Brock giving the girls piggyback rides

Sophie v. Potty

Sophie has taken an interest in using the potty, so we are in potty training mode full-force. This was the age when we potty-trained Ella, and she was so easy compared to Brock. As long as I make sure to take Sophie potty every half hour, she goes and does awesome! However, I sometimes get tied up doing other things, and we end up with potty pants. Luckily for my carpet, we have nifty training undies that are so thick that the potty doesn't come through.

Pull-ups never worked for us. With all three of our kids, they had to feel that they were wet and couldn't stand to be in potty pants. It has worked for us all three times. It makes for a bit more laundry, but it seems to be what works for them.

Chex Mix Deal

If any of you are fans of Chex Mix, you really can't beat this deal:

Super Saver has the 8.75 oz. bags of Chex Mix on sale for 4/$5 ($1.25 each). When you print out two of the Chex Mix coupons HERE, you get these bags for $1.00 each. And if you're not close to a Super Saver, you can always price-match at Walmart.

To print out two of the same coupons from www.coupons.com, you will have to click back on your browser and refresh so that they print again.

Hope you enjoy this deal as much as I do! =)

Veterans Day

Happy (belated) Veterans Day to all of you who may be veterans or are currently serving. Your service is honorable and much appreciated!

Hope you had a good day, Dad! I am so proud of you!
XOXO -- the black sheep

Halloween and Anniversary 2010

Halloween 2010

Kitty, Snow White, and Mario

Carving Pumpkins
Ella took one look at Brock and Sophie and decided not to carve hers.

The kids raked in so much candy. Thankfully (for Mom and Dad), their bags were full of chocolate.

Random Sophie Pic:
Sophie loves Ella's princess slippers.

Anniversary 2010

Tomorrow is our 7-year anniversary! We celebrated by going to Ameristar this weekend, and it was SO fun! I finally got to play roulette, and it was everything that I dreamed it would be and more! =D Now I am excited to try craps and black jack. Chad is pretty good at black jack, so maybe I can take a few pointers from him. =)
Needless to say, Lady Luck was on our side, and we can't wait to go back!

Whirlpool in our living room!

Dinner Date

Things Keeping Us Busy

Here's a cute story about Brock. Now, keep in mind that my stories are much funnier if you hear them first-hand, so this might be one of those "you just had to be there" kind of moments.

I went and ate lunch with Brock today at his school. He was so excited for me to come, and I was just as excited to be there. Not only was it tons of fun, it melted my heart when his classmates had to give me a hug before I left, and one boy even asked if I was going to be his new teacher. I told him, "Not today, but maybe someday I will be." =)

Anyway, back to the story. So, when Brock was getting out of the shower tonight, I asked a few questions about the day:

Mama: "Did your classmates think it was pretty neat that I ate lunch with you today?"
Brock: "They were confused. They were thinking, 'Who is that weirdo?'"
Mama: "Why would they think I'm a weirdo?"
Brock: "I don't know."
Mama: "Do you think I'm a weirdo?"
Brock: "No, I love you! You're my mom!"
Mama: "Then why would they think I'm a weirdo?"
Brock: "I don't know, Mom; they're just weird kids (said in such a nonchalant tone while shrugging his shoulders)."

I couldn't stop laughing. I know, you are probably that it is one of those "you just had to be there" moments. =)

Time for your bath, Baby Bears.

You sit here and watch.

Baby Bears Swinging

Sophie in a blankie

Ella loves to dress herself, especially when she is supposed to be sleeping and plays dress-up instead. She woke up one morning already dressed like this:

Brock practicing his schoolwork.

As soon as I put her jeans on, she had her hands in her pockets and kept them there for the majority of the day. Just walking around with her hands in her pockets.

Playing Spiderman and Mary Jane. It's hilarious because whenever Ella plays Mary Jane, she always has to have her hair down so it's long and flowy.

Our Three Bears

Don't feed the angry bear!
Trouble

As I look over at Sophie, who was sitting ever so quietly in the dirt, I notice that her sister is dumping shovel-fulls of dirt on top of her, but she thought it was okay because they were playing a game. Huh.
The "regular" looking cookies have carrots and cauliflower in them, and the chocolate ones have broccoli and sugar snap peas in them. They are very delicious, and the kids love them! I will probably have to delete this post when they learn how to read, though.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

Last Friday, Amanda and I ventured out to the pumpkin patch with all the kids. We got there right when it opened, so it was nice not to have to fight a crowd, but by 10:30, the place was packed! We brought along a picnic lunch for the kids; however, that was quickly ruined by bees attacking the kids' pops, so our picnic was cut short. *Note for next year: NO POP!*

"Look at the lollipops! I wonder what they taste like..."

"Ewww...poopie!"

Everybody wanted a ride around the track.
Five times around a long track, and my legs were burnin'!

Brock and his friend, Teddy.

"Scary Man" on our porch.
Inspiration for this came from my Uncle Gary who used to pretend to be one of these people on the porch and scare trick-or-treaters.