Buzz, Buzz & Jessie

We were planning to have a Toy Story gang at Halloween, but when the day arrived, we couldn't convince either of the boys to be Woody. Andrew had 2 Buzz costumes given to him for his birthday, and both of the boys were set on wearing them. So we had Buzz, Buzz, and Jessie!

Buzz

And Buzz

And here's our Jessie!

We trick or treated with the Stuckeys and had so much fun! The girls started off in the wagon,...

but then they decided they didn't want to be left out of the trick-or-treating!

Ann Evelyn would pick out a sucker if a candy bowl was held out to her. That is the only candy she's had (thanks to a few recent trips to the doctor) so she knows she likes it!

Then, this is how the boys trick-or-treated... Andrew would knock while Forrest stood in the yard watching. If someone answered with a bowl of candy, then Forrest would run up quickly to trick or treat. He was just a little unsure. :) Good think Big Brother was ready to go. Andrew LOVED trick-or-treating this year.

We went to our church's Reformation Party on Sunday night and had a great time... wore our costumes, played games, visited with friends... a lot of fun!

Andrew won the "Guess How Many?" game by guessing the exact number of ring pops in the jar. He was so proud, and we are set on ring pops for awhile!

Forrest discovered a new love.... Hershey bars!

Here are my 3 "treats" digging for treasure!

What a fun weekend!

Making pumpkin cookies!

I love to bake and always look for a good excuse to make some kind of yummy treat. Andrew is definitely my child... he loves it, too! We made several batches of pumpkin cookies last week - some to eat ourselves and some to share.

Getting started with the icing... Andrew wanted to be first (he's my sweet eater!), Forrest was so interested in those little bottles of food coloring, and patient Ann Evelyn is watching closely, waiting for her turn.

Iced, sprinked, and immediately eaten!

Getting those sprinkles in just the right place.

Mmm... he said he liked it,

but went back to those little bottles! :)

We didn't even let the icing dry... we just ate them up! Ann Evelyn likes sweets, too!

Waiting for Dadda to get home!

Zoo Day

We enjoyed a fun day at the zoo a couple of weeks ago with some sweet friends!

One last time to see the elephants.

Forrest and Andrew in front of the monkeys - only the monkeys are 'monkeying-around' and moved from where they could be seen! I'm surprised that my "monkeys" stayed put! :)

Some of the bigger kids... Forrest, Julia, Rhett, Lizzy, and Lemly

And here are all the babies!

Kathryn, Mary Emerson, Micah, Colt, Henry, Ann Evelyn, and Tate

Ann Evelyn and Tate... Precious!!

Andrew would ride the carousel all day long!

A very fun day! Looking forward to doing it again soon!

Birthday Picnic at the Park

Happy Birthday, Wilson! We loved celebrating your birthday with you. It was a very fun day with our family. Love you!

Pumpkins!

We always love our trip to the pumpkin patch... a fun tradition to look forward to each fall.

A little hayride hug

Andrew was hunting hard. He wanted a "BIG pumpkin".

He finally found the "one" down the field aways and decided he'd have to roll it down. It was heavy!

I think this is actually the pumpkin he picked out for Ann Evelyn.

She thought they made great little seats!

Forrest hardly stopped while we were there. He loved running and playing with his buddy, Ross Harden.

Happy Fall!!

Fun times at the beach!

The beach was absolutely BEAUTIFUL this past weekend! The water was as clear and calm as I've seen in a long time, and the sand was very clean.... such a great change from the oil-speckled beach during the summer. The Lord gave us gorgeous weather to enjoy His beautiful creation, and we had a great time (as we always do)!

This little girl loves the beach! She loves the water and the sand, and she just had the biggest smiles when we went down near the water. The water was a little cool for me, but it didn't bother her. We had to hold her hands so she wouldn't dive in! :)

This funny fellow decided he was afraid of sand crabs on this trip. On our first afternoon on the beach, he told us he saw one. After that, he wanted to be carried or held when on the beach. We finally convinced him to wear his Crocs. This worked sometimes. We are hoping that sand crab fear will be quickly forgotten!

I just can't get over how big this guy looks! He really enjoyed the water with Wilson. He also loves digging holes at the beach and trying to catch little fish to put in the holes that he digs. Andrew has also become quite the frisbee thrower! He and Wilson have a big time throwing the frisbee together. Another fun thing to mention is that Wilson and Bubby took the boys on their first sand crab hunt this trip. (We were hoping that catching a sand crab might help Forrest see that they really aren't that scary after all. I'm not sure if it worked or not. I guess we'll see next trip.) The hunt was a hit though, and I'm sure it will become a tradition with the boys - just as it was for me growing up.

Ann Evelyn was after my camera in this picture. She was coming as quickly as she could trying to grab it - and laughing the entire time!

I had to include this. Funny Forrest would walk to beach in his Crocs but then would sit in the chair while everyone else played. Sometimes Ann Evelyn would climb up in the chair with him. :) In this picture he had said, "I wanna build a sand castle." Here he is contemplating how to do this best since he really can't reach the sand! And I love Ann Evelyn's expression in the background... almost like she's thinking about how silly he is.

We always have fun setting up the pool under the cottage. It's like our own little beach under the house. Ann Evelyn thought she was big stuff wearing her brothers' swim gear!

It was a great trip!

Beach Pictures at Sunset

This is the day...

That the Lord has made!

... We've been singing this song a lot lately. Andrew sings it at school, and Forrest knows it as well, and we love to sing around the house. Of course, we should rejoice in every day the Lord gives us, but hasn't the weather just been amazing this week?!? The Lord has been giving us so many beautiful days this week that it just seems very appropriate to sing this song! We are looking forward to more beautiful weather as fall is upon us.