Fall, Baby!

This weekend we headed down to Grandma and Papa's and did all things autumn. It was room temperature outside.  Perfect. 

We don't have big trees in our yard.  No trees, no leaves.

But Grandma and Papa do.

Grandma's azaleas are blooming...

Check out these puppies!

And then.  Off to the pumpkin patch! It's the place to be, you know.

Lift with your back, Nate.

Brooke told us she was going to pick a teeny tiny pumpkin.  And she did.

Snack time!

And then the corn maze...

...and sand.

A sweet fall weekend with Grandma and Papa. 

Surprises, Friends and Very Nice Husbands

I have a very nice husband. 

This weekend, my very nice husband surprised me with a little spa facial and pedicure for my birthday. 

But that's not even the nicest part.

When I came home from my spa trip, Brooke ran up to me and yelled "Surprise! Happy birthday, Mama!"

I walked in the door and around the corner...

"SURPRISE!"

Our best college friends that we don't get to see nearly enough of were there to surprise me for my birthday!

I had no idea.  Absolutely no idea. 

I mean, it was a little weird that Scot wanted to make sure the house got vacuumed.  That's usually not on his radar. 

But still, no idea.

Our sweet friends brought their beautiful babies.

Our friends are the greatest.  They brought me a plant "because when you're old you get things like houseplants." They convinced me that I looked just fine even though I was post-facial and makeupless at my own birthday party (pretty sure I had a nightmare like that once). And no one rolled their eyes when I said lame things like, "I have to take lots and lots of pictures for my blog!" 

This is Mike.  His idea to surprise me was to leave all the kids in the living room with a note that said the adults all went out to watch the ball game. 

Anyway, we talked and laughed and caught up.  We got our play on. 

This is Grace.  Grace is turning 8 this week, which is way cooler than turning 33. Happy birthday, Grace! 

Birthday candles and cake and ice cream. 

Being old is awesome, so far.

Thank you, thank you to our friends for loading up and heading all the way out to the boonies to see us.  We had a great time and we love you all!

And thank you to Scot, my very nice husband. 

Brotherly (and Sisterly) Love

Yesterday the kiddos were sitting on the couch together.  And they were happy.  And I've hardly ever gotten a picture of them together and happy. 

But I finally did!

See?

Okay, Brooke, give Nate a kiss!

Um...wow.  Okay. 

In other news, Brooke decided to pedal her bike this week.  I say decided to because she's been able to for a while now, but has prefered Flinstones-style.  

She may be a little stubborn.  Must come from her father's side.    ;-)

More Pictures

Hi, I'm still here.  Between sick babies and just general busyness I haven't had a lot of time to do super-important things like update my blog.  I have been taking more pictures, however.  Here are a few of them. 

Random cool-looking flower in my neighbor's yard.

This would have been better without the hair in the mouth.

Mean face. Sca-ry.

Nathan loves him some sticks at the park.  Always a few steps behind the big sister.

I love the leaves right now.  They're just starting to turn.

More leaves with the moon still in the sky.   

A rare picture of not the back of Nate's head.

Our burning bush is starting to simmer.

Ahh...there's his face and a smile, to boot.