Young Life, Halloween, Play group...Wow a busy week!

We have had an amazing week! It has been jam packed with loads of fun! Mondays are typically PJ day, one of our favorite days. The boys and I stay home all day in our PJ's, make crafts, bake, play, color, and of course sleep. This Monday our sweet friend Jaden came to play with us. We made a fun craft with all the leaves we collected on our walk (same walk as the dead squirrel). Dylan learned how to feed himself oatmeal, which he of course loves! Now won't let anyone feed him! Wednesday is our play group day. It was at our house this week. It was a small group this week, but we had a blast with Bryce's best buddy Tait! We danced on the table, played with stickers, jumped about in the castle, and wrestled like crazy! Wednesday night was All City club for Young Life. It was great! All the schools in the city come together and have a HUGE club. It was a country theme, so kids came in cowboy hats and boots. We had great country music led by Dustin and his sister Ashley. Hilarious skits put on by many of the staff and ended with an amazing talk given my dear friend CC! It was so much fun being a part of that night where kids got to hear about Jesus being the life of the party! Friday night we were all off to Angie's house for our first annual (it will be annual right?) Halloween party! It was great, about 500 hundreds screaming kids running around on a sugar high!!!!! Ok, really, it was fun to watch the kids make spider webs out of Q-tips, decorate cookies with way too much icing and sprinkles, and games where they got to THROW stuff (my boys fav. Thing to do). And how cute they looked in their costumes. All our boys were of course Ohio State Buckeyes!! Dylan learned how to climb on and off of his new horse! He was so proud! (Thanks G-Ma for the cute horse, he loves it!) Enjoy the pictures (sorry, I just couldn't leave them out) Hope your week was as fun as ours!!

Fun Pictures

Dylan LOVES to climb inside anything he can find. He pulled out all the clothes in the drawer and made himself at home. Ty and Bryce playing so nicely together ( I took this picture b/c it was the first time all that morning they had played nicely) Daddy and Bryce driving at the ranch and the boys at the "ghetto pumpkin patch" located between McDonalds and the BP!!

Boys, Boys, boys....

Hello friends, thought today we would just give you a few of our favorite quotes from this week! It sure has gotten a bit chilly down here, not sure what is going on....the boys love to take walks, so this is the perfect weather. Tuesday morning we were walking when the boys saw a dead squirrel in the road. After we talked about it for about ten minutes, we decided it is best to obey our parents and not play in the street so we don't "get deaded" by a car like the squirrel. When Daddy got home, we took another walk and they boys just wanted Daddy to see the dead squirrel, so as we were coming up to it, we noticed the poor thing had been run over again. Ahh, it was really nasty, but the boys loved it. I was so appalled, but Dustin kindly told me that it is a boy thing. Oh my, do I ever need a girl!! Wednesday morning the boys were doing a wonderful job playing together. Dylan was napping and I was getting some much needed cleaning done. About an hour had gone by and I was thanking Jesus for what great kids He had blessed us with when I hear two screams. I go in to see what the problem is. 1)Bryce: "Ty bit me" Mommy: "Ty, did you bite?" Ty: " I did not bite him Mommy. I tried to, but he wouldn't stop moving!!" Ok, so how do you NOT laugh at that. 2) The boys love to play the matching game. I over hear them talking about who won that time. Ty: " It was a tie" Bryce: "It was? Yeah!" Next game...Ty: " It wasn't a tie Bryce" Bryce: "It was a Bryce?" Ty: "No, not Ty, me, but a tie. It means we got the same score!" Ty and I were both cracking up!! 3) We were all sitting around coloring and putting stickers on paper when Tyler had a sticker with hands. He looked up and said "mommy can you write 'praise Jesus' on the hands, because when I get to heaven I am going to praise Jesus all the time." 4) Mommy: "Dylan say mama." Dylan: "Dada!" Oh the joys of boys. They can put a smile on our faces and a smile in our hearts. Thank you Jesus for the blessing of our precious little boys.

ok, lets' finish the Ohio tour trip

So wednesday, we are off to cincinnati to see Papaw and ALL the cousins! The boys were so excited to see everyone. It was fun to be home and be with my family. On Friday, we went to see the Senff kids, it was wild, but fun!! Saturday we took our first family trip to Kings Island!! Thank God for the good weather, it was perfect. The boys enjoyed riding all the rides, expecially the roller coasters. Saturday night, Dustin watched the bucks game with my Dad, while I went to a wedding with my dear friend, Devon! It was so great to catch up on life, as she lives in Tennessee. Sunday morning, we were off, back to NC........ enjoy the pictures! Dylan with Papaw, the boys at Kings Island, some of the cousins, and Devon and myself......

Happy Birthday Dylan!!

Ok, so we have to skip ahead a little bit.....Will come back to Ohio, because there are some super cute pics I am sure you'd love to see! Yes, it is true!! October 3 has come and gone and with it Dylan turned ONE!!!! Ahh, can't believe that my sweet baby boy is already one! Dylan had two celebrations for his big day! That morning we made chocolate muffins for breakfast, which his big brothers loved. He wasn't too sure. But he LOVED it when we all sang happy birthday to him! We sang it a few extra times throughout the day just to see that huge grin on his cute little face! Then Sunday, the 8th, we had a big bash! His sweet Aunt Angie made his birthday cake since I and Dylan were in Ohio again that weekend. We made it back just in time for the party. Anyway, Dylan still loves doggies, so she made a super cute dog cake and a little dog bone for him! Ah, loved it, thanks Ang!! Aunt Amanda, who is living with us for the month, made the white bean chicken chile, which was perfect! Thanks Amanda. Dylan enjoyed opening his gifts, only to be taken by his big brothers! His favorite gift.......little frogs to put in the tub. He loves them!! Dylan is by far the laziest little guy we have had so far. He CAN walk, but likes to crawl better, but we did get a few steps out of him on his big party!! We love the little booger. Oh speaking of, he has discovered his nose and greatly enjoys sticking his finger up it. Today, he pretended to throw it and then just stuck his finger in his mouth instead. Oh, sweet, sweet Dylan. Dylan is one....let the fun begin!

Continued.....

We finally return to the big boys at lunch time Sunday. It was so great to see them!! We had a laid back night; the boys went with Daddy and Grandpa to the golf course. They love to golf! Monday, we all went to the zoo! We had a great time. Ty and Bryce loved seeing all the animals and asked if each animal would eat them!! Well, they would if we were in the cage with them!! SO we decided it was best to just stay on the outside and watch! The boys got to touch a snake. Ahhhhh, not my favorite thing to do. They were so excited. Ty, of course, asked the zoo lady a million questions about the snake. Such as, will it bite me? Why not? Does it have teeth? What does it eat? Oh sweet Ty! The boys loved the monkeys with the pink bottoms! So funny, Bryce was so sure it was poo poo on their bottoms. The lion was a big hit as well. It was so loud, it was kind'a scary. I have never heard a lion roar before. It was clearly agitated by something, so glad we were on the other side of the cage!! The last place we stopped was the aquarium. They were all intrigued by the huge fish tank, the stink ray, and the manatee. It made for great photo opps!! Tuesday we went to see Great Grandparents. It was so good to see them. The boys loved all of Great Grandpas big cars and trucks! Last night in Worthington......Last night with the kitty and doggie. They loved the cat at Grandpas, even though it scratched and bit them nearly everyday! Wednesday morning, Cincinnati bound........

We are back.........

wow, what a trip! We are finally back to the weather we love!! Ok, so it may take a few entries to catch you all up on our 12 day trip to Ohio. So bear with me as I want to make sure to add pics. And not leave out even one small detail!! Wednesday night we left at 8:30 P.M. after Ty's Bible study. We drove to Charleston, WVA to spend the night to get some rest before we drove the rest of the way to Worthington on Thursday morning. The boys did amazing driving that late, they all fell asleep and woke just as we pulled into the hotel. They were all so excited to stay in the hotel, we were afraid they would never get back to sleep. We made it that afternoon in time for lunch, Donatos pizza, of course, and off to happy nappy time!! Friday Dustin, Dylan, and I were off again. We left Ty and Bryce with Grandma and Grandpa for the weekend while we went to Miami for the weekend 'fest' with our friends!! Seven years strong, it is a time we all look forward to.
So weekend one:
Miami Ohio with ten other couples. We arrive in time for Dustin to play football with the guys and Dylan and I head to hang out with the girls as they paint pottery. First of all, it is FREEZING!! Already missing Charlotte weather! We all finally met up to have pizza and a night of 'sharing'. It lasted four hours, so not even kidding!! It was nice to catch up with everyone and here what the Lord was doing in everyone's life. Sure made Dustin and I wish we lived closer to everyone. There is a great and unique friendship that everyone there shares. The next morning the boys were off playing football again and the girls ran/walked. We made our way uptown to have some famous bagel and deli!! It was too cold and rainy for us all to head to campus, so the girls shopped while the boys watched football!! (so much football) Go Bucks!! It was a great weekend for us to get away, reconnect, and be encouraged. We love the fest, yes even me :-)
Meanwhile, back in Worthington......The boys and the Grandparents had a great time at the mall play ground and cosi! The boys ate as much ice cream as they could while we were out and came home with lots of extra goodies!! They had a wonderful time. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma for keeping them and loving them so well!
Being back in Ohio was harder than I expected it to be. I couldn't help the tears as they seemed to flow nonstop and at the most random times. I knew it would be hard to be at my parents house for the first time since my mom's passing, but I didn't realize how hard it would be just being in Ohio and at Miami. I sure do miss her being around.......