There's a Tent in our Living Room

We are not exactly what you'd call outdoorsy people. In the 7 years that Vince and I have known each other, neither of us have gone camping or done anything else that would be considered "rouging it".

However, a few months ago Grafton and Vince started talking about camping out in the backyard. The problem was that we didn't even own a tent. I asked Vince if we had one would he really use it and he immediately said, "Yes I would!" This gave me the idea for his birthday present.

Last week while Vince was in Portland the boys & I headed to Target and picked him up one and we gave it to him this morning. His birthday was actually on Thursday but Vince & I were on his birthday trip at the time and so he got it today.

Both Vince & Grafton were so excited they had to set it up right away!

It's a little too cold right now to use it outside, but I think we're going to have an indoor camp-out in a couple of days.

Guess Where We're Going

On Tuesday Vince & I are leaving the boys with my in-laws, having my brother-in-law stay at our house with the dog, and we're taking a trip by ourselves to celebrate Vince's birthday.

Here's a hint to where we'll be.....

We can't wait to walk hand-in-hand, eat meals with uninterrupted conversation, and sleep past 7 a.m. It has been a long time since I've been this excited for a trip!

Wish I Were There

Vince left early Wednesday morning to drive out to Portland, Oregon with our close friends who have moved there to plant a church. While I am not at all jealous of their long 2 day drive in a car and moving truck, I do wish I were there to experience the Fall beauty.

Laundry Interrupted

On one particular morning I was being productive and getting some laundry done. While I was trying to change loads I was interrupted by this....

Once I got Deklan out of the dryer and went to put the clothes in the basket I found this....

At least they're cute interruptions!

First Soup of the Season

The last two years I've had a tradition of making soup about once a week from mid October-February and I never make the same soup twice in a season. To start the tradition this year I decided to use a white chili recipe I recently found in a magazine. (If you interested in trying it yourself, you can find it here http://www.parenting.com/recipes-gallery/Recipes/One-Dish-Wonders-1000016903?cid=enews090809)

To get things started off the right way, I invited some family over to kick off our season of soups and try my new recipe. I served it with corn bread and then we made smores in the backyard for dessert.

Next week I'm thinking about making chicken and dumplings. I have a superb recipe for that!

Dairy Farm Field Trip

Yesterday the boys and I joined our Mommy & Me group for a tour of a local dairy farm. The weather was beautiful and it ended up being a perfect day for this type of event.

We started our tour out by sitting on hay bails and learning about what cows eat, how they feed the babies, etc. Then we went on a hay-ride around the dairy.

The next part of our trip was going to the petting zoo area to feed and touch the animals.

Deklan spent all but 45 minutes of our day in the stroller and was perfectly content to sit back and watch the animals and kids.

At the end of our tour we sat down at picnic tables and ate the lunch that we brought. We also had ice cream that was made right at the farm. Grafton had Cotton Candy flavored ice cream and Deklan and I shared Pumpkin Cheesecake ice cream. It was delicious!

After lunch everyone but us and one other family left. We ended up staying for another hour so that Grafton & his friend could pet and feed the animals without all of the other kids in his way.

It was a wonderful day!

Learning to Compromise

This evening Vince and I took the boys to the mall to have dinner and get a little Fall clothes shopping done. One item on our list was sneakers for both of the boys.

I prefer simple black or navy blue shoes so that that they match most of their jeans and shirts, no matter the color or pattern. However, my strong-minded and not easily persuaded three-year-old fell in love with the most gaudy Transformers shoes that even light up when he walks.

I'm taking my Mom's advice in "choosing my battles" and decided if these are the shoes he loves, who am I to make him wear a nice, boring pair. Not to mention the fact that Vince also encouraged me to let Grafton get the pair he picked out.

I knew this was the right decision when were leaving the store and Grafton said he wanted to go to his cousin Levi's house and show him his new shoes. He is very proud of this new addition to his wardrobe.

I just hope I can talk him out of wearing these to church!

Fall Festivites

I think I've mentioned this before, but Vince and I host a group from church called YAC+ (Young Adult Families + Kids). We meet once a month at our house, and once a month for some type of activity.

On Friday we had our 4th Annual Chili, Cornbread, and Smores night. It was a beautiful evening and we were able to spend most of our time outside. We had 52 people at our house that night.

Grafton had a lot of fun playing in the yard with his friends.

Deklan filled himself on cornbread muffins while sitting on his Uncle Tony's lap.

I ate the hottest bowl of chili ever and it literally caused me to have blisters on the back of my throat! (There had been some girls with me at the table prior to this picture.)

The best part of the evening was definitely making & eating the smores!