Fall Holiday...

Halloween Festivities.

Wade and I went to Chicago (another entry yet to come...) and we got back to St. Louis the afternoon of Halloween.  We hadn't yet carved our pumpkins so we put off the unpacking and did what needed done.  Pumpkins carved and pumpkin seeds roasted....check.  

This year Riley did hers entirely on her own.  She drew out her design, she gutted, she carved... 

Well, she did get a little help.  JP was very helpful in helping her make a big mess. 

Sampson to the rescue.  God love that dog.  He cleaned up anything he could get to...

 

Costume changes and trick-or-treating...check.

Annual "dressed up" kids picture...not so check.

This is the best I could get...JP was uber cooperative, as you can tell.   

Once again we celebrated the Wilson Christmas early, to ensure all of us could be there.  We took the kids to the Transportation Museum which we was fun for all ages.  The picture I took of the group of kids isn't very good...but I like this one below...love that you can see the boys exploring up ahead of the group. 

This.  This is my favorite picture from the whole darn weekend.  These 2 really got to spend some good bonding time.  The girls usually dominate in these get-togethers so I really loved that everyone had a friend to buddy up with and no one got left out.  These two were like peas and carrots (name that movie...)

Meet my nieces and nephews...

That's Aiden rocking out to the Dora guitar.

Garrett is the elusive picture subject.  He's hard to capture.  He was enthralled with playing here so I did get a sweet picture of him playing.

Kate' and Kelsey opening their Christmas gifts.  Love the excitement on Kate's face!

Miss Violet...the youngest of the group...isn't she just adorable?

Grant. This one might be our performer...he was cracking us up at dinner (video).

This still makes me smile...love how he was so happy to entertain us.

  Love watching the dynamics of different families and the similarities/differences.  For the most part all the kids got along really great.  Sure there were a few disagreements, but all in all, they got along, they respected each other, and they truly enjoyed being together. 

I really have loved watching my brothers turn into fathers and am so happy for the families they've all created.  I know I say this a lot, but I feel so truly blessed!

Lil' Punkin'

In the interest of simplifying my life I wanted to try to get caught up here on the blog.  So here's a real quick synopsis of our pumpkin patch outings. Hopefully it will jog my memory when it comes time to scrapbook it. We had three trips to the pumpkin patch this year.  One with Cade's class, one with Brooke's, and one as a family.

JP was really ready to get out at this point and get his own pumpkin.  Which we let him do...

Of the different places we tried, this was our favorite.  They had a playground, bouncy, hay mazes, and lots of other fun things for everyone.  The kids had a blast (literally).  This is them doing the "Pumpkin Chuk'in" where they blast a little pumpkin at a target...  

My Lil' Punkins...

Really enjoyed this pumpkin patch.  Got some local goodies...honey, relish, and watermelon rind jelly...which none of us had ever had, so we just had to try!  It's umm...interesting.

Went to Grants Farm for their special Halloween night with one of my oldest friends. We all had a really great time.  Here's a pic of each kid...JP didn't cooperate but here's the other 3. 

Paparazzi

Paparazzi Mom.
Lots of pictures that I just haven't had the time to post, but love them for different reasons. Thought I'd throw a few out tonight. Have some adventures to post next time (Halloween, Pumpkin Patch, Holiday Get-Togethers, Vacations, etc...)

But I'm falling way behind and just wanted to post a few.

This is what happens when you have siblings to pester you.

Brooke! Get out of my picture.

Cade!!! GET OUT OF MY PICTURE!


OK Mom...take my picture...just me please! Hurry!


How we spent every Saturday, every Thursday, and a few Sundays for the last 3 months.
(side note: JP was WAY under dressed this particular day...can you tell by his "I'm freezing" face?) We bundled him up with a blanket, but he wanted his arms free to snack.




The little one adores the big one.


This picture is from Brooke's birthday back in August, but I just really love it.
(Brooke, cousin Kelsey-3 weeks her junior, and Grampa)



Wade and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary. We got all dolled up and went downtown to have dinner at the top of the Millennium Hotel. It has a restaurant at the top that rotates in a complete circle so you see the entire city. It was wonderful. Really enjoyed being with Wade (AND) not having to cut up anyone's food, while actually sitting down for an entire meal and getting to eat it while its still warm. Had a picture of us, but frankly I look terrible and I control the blog...so no one will ever see it!


Big Pimpin' JP



One of my favorite pictures of Riley. She's really a beautiful little girl inside and out. Oh sure she's giving me gray hair and major paybacks for how I treated my mom...but I love her "to the moon...and back".

Go Cards!

Cade lost his first tooth, followed shortly by his second tooth. Third is now wiggly.

Just love this pic of Brooke.

I mean seriously... he could talk me into anything.