Meet Sophie

The kids have been expressing interest in a pet for the last year. We held firmly to "not now" until we found this adorable kitten in our front yard last Sunday evening. Sophie is about 2 months old, very cute, playful, and cuddly. The kids are having so much fun with her and we are trying to teach them how to be gentle and kind.

Galena Weekend

This past weekend, Brian and I hung out with Jeff, Charity, Jeff's mom, Carol, and his sister, Jennifer, and her husband, Jeff. On Saturday afternoon, us ladies went into downtown Galena for some jewelry making at Galena Beads, lunch, and massages. We shopped and then headed back to the Inn to reunite with the guys. That evening, Jeff, Charity, Brian, and I went out for dinner at 111 Main. The next morning we went to church and had lunch before heading home. My parents watched the kids so we could have this nice getaway.

Halloween 2011

Brecken and Micah stopped by to kick off trick-or-treat.

The Lobdell, Johnson, and Jones kids

The kids were hesitant at this spooky house and rightfully so, a werewolf answered the door!

Leah boldly proclaimed, "I'm not scared!" and led the way.

There are a myriad of Halloween events in our area and we can't stop ourselves from hitting them all. Our kids love Halloween. By the time Oct. 31st rolled around I thought trick-or-treating might be anti-climactic, but it wasn't. We went trick-or-treating with the Johnsons in their neighborhood and had so much fun. Jadon said "This is the best night ever!"

Trunk or Treat

"God is my Hero!"

Us girls head out on a hay rack ride.

For Trunk-or-Treat at Harvest Time this year, Deb, Amie, and I decorated her truck to look like a fishing boat from biblical times and we dressed up as disciples. Our sign read, "'Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.' -Jesus". As kids came by we had them swing their line into the boat and one of our kids would clip on a candy- reverse fishing. This seemed to be a big hit and I have to give all the credit to Deb. Amie, Kylie, and Dylan joined us for the weekend.

Jadon's Halloween Party

Here's Jadon with his two buddies, Henry the Robot and Ben the Alien.

Jadon had his class party on the Friday afternoon before Halloween. He dressed up as Luke Skywalker. The kids paraded around the school, had a special treat, played a short game, and read an interactive story with Mrs. Brenner. I am the room mom for Jadon's Kindergarten class so I enjoyed helping with the party and working with some of the other moms.

Leah's Halloween Party

Leah is the child facing the camera.

Leah goes to Kiddie Kampus preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30-10:30. It is part of our high school's career center, so Leah has 2 seasoned teachers and lots of high school "student teachers". With all the helping hands, they do a lot of neat things and Leah loves it. They planned a fun Halloween party including games, a treat, and trick-or-treating around the career center. I came just to watch and spend some time with Leah. She dressed up as Darth Vader, but was too self-conscious to wear the mask.

Fright Fest

We saw a short musical featuring singing and dancing zombies- not too scary.

A few weekends ago, Brian and I attempted a date night at Six Flag Great America's Fright Fest. However, it was too crowded and we left to see a movie instead. The next day we took the kids and it was much better- there's no line for little kid rides and they enjoyed all the Halloween decorations and costumes.

Selmi's with Leah

In early October, I took Leah to Selmi's Pumpkin Patch, a local farm and petting zoo. We met up with Brenda and her daughter Emma, as well as Julie and her son Eli. In playdate situations, Leah still clings to me quite a bit and doesn't play a whole lot with the other kids, so her and I ran around the pumpkin patch and had more of a mother/daughter morning. Since Jadon's started full day school, I have really spending one-on-one time with Leah. We had a nice fall day together!