Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. My house looks like a tornado came through a toy store, but hey the kids have been having a blast. They were very happy with what Santa brought. Here was the seen after the gifts were opened.

We've been completely lazy this week. We did venture out for dinner last night--we went to Outback to celebrate our anniversary--thanks Dad! It's hard to believe we've been married 9 years now--where does the time go?!

Here are some random Christmas pictures. Sadly, I didn't take any Christmas Eve, which makes me really sad since that's when we spent time with family. The first couple are from when we went down to Naples to look at the lights--one of our favorite holiday activities.

Here is Santa--you can see Brendan was only slightly happier than last year--LOL!

These are Christmas Day. The boys got new bathrobes, with their names on them. Yes the Disney store got a big chunk of our Christmas budget with all their good deals on personalized items.

And for all the calls, cards and gifts--THANK YOU!! We are so lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful family!!

Halloween Fun

Here's the boys in all their trick or treating glory. Don't you love the dirty face?! You'd think their monther would wash them up before sending them out--geesh! No theme this year. They were both going to be Spiderman, but when I went to get the costumes, Brendan fell in love with the James the Train costume. He's such a cute little engineer.

All done--time to enjoy the candy...

Look at that look of concentration...

Pumpkin Carving

Pumpkin Carving--Mike got to do the honors.


Austin designed his pumpkin


The Tigger came from a pattern
Here they are all lit up (sorry they're a little blurry)

Pumpkin Patch

THe boys had a blast picking out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. Even though it was smokey outside, that didn't stop them from running around like crazy. We opted not to do the corn maze because it was nearing dark, and Mike and I didn't have much luck the last time we did a maze--LOL

Shoreline Village

Last Sunday, we took the boys there to ride the Carousel. Of course, silly us, we only had enough cash for the ride and parking. I was not about to pay $6 to get cash out of the ATM. The carousel was fun, but boy is it a short ride! That's probably for the best though. Brendan wasn't too sure about it.

Since we were already feeling bad about not having money for games and treats, we caved when the boy wanted to walk to the lighthouse. We walked ALL THE WAY AROUND the marina to the other side to the lighthouse. It was a beautiful day, but very warm. The boys did pretty good since it was so hot and a long walk. Austin whined a little on the way back, but I told him no way, it was his idea to go. As you can tell, Mike was a little cranky about it though ;-)

What a crack up

Brendan must have a lot of Grandpa Mosteller in him. His new passion is cars--no not toy ones (although he love those too). He is obssessed with knowing every type of car we see. It all started with our car--"H-car, Honda". Now he knows "Ford Car", "VW car", truck, and of course, Chevy, pronounced "Shovel car". If we pass one he doesn't know, he says "What that car, Mommy". When I tell him, he says, "ok-yeah". It just makes me laugh!

Life's Journey

Saw this quote today and had to share. I thought it was beautiful

"Life's journey is circular, it appears. The years don't carry us away from our family...they return us to them." Michael Marriott

Bakeless Cookies

1 Cube Butter
2C Sugar
1/2 cup milk
Bring to a boil

Add
1 tsp vanilla
3tbsp cocoa ( my mom only uses 1 1/2)
3/4 cup peanut butter
3 cup oats

Spread in pan and refridgerate

Enjoy!

Feeling so blessed...

After the crazy week we just had. Being around the whole family, even in a time of sadness, makes me realize how lucky we are to have such a wonderful, support system. The kids had such a wonderful time playing together and I loved seeing everyone. I hope we can do this again soon for a happier occasion! Hopefully you all got the pictures I sent through Costco. If you didn't, let me know and I'll re-send them. I'm anxious to see the ones that everyone else took!



I hope everyone made it home ok and without too much drama. I was actually sick yesterday, so Mike, wonderful hubby that he is, did all the laundry (I think we had 6 or 7 loads) and took care of the kids. I'm feeling much better today and ready to get Austin off to school and get some things done around the house.

A friend of mine sent me the most beautiful song yesterday and it brought me to tears after the week we've had because it just rings so true. Time just moves so fast. I hadn't heard it on the radio yet. It's called Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney. Even if you don't like country music, you have to hear the song and watch the video. It's just so true. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ySSg4QG8g Warning--grab the kleenex!

Here's a few of my favorite pics from this week (ok more than a few--LOL). I love that in the pictures there is so much love and laughter--that's what I want to remember:

Austin's First Day of School

Austin started school on Monday and what a bittersweet day for mom. He's been in preschool, but it's just not the same. He was so excited and is loving school. I on the other hand, just can't believe he's this old. Brendan took it worst of all. Poor kid asked to go get Austin every 20 minutes that first day. The second day was actually much harder for me. He wanted to take the bus. Let me tell you putting him on that bus and watching him go away was tough. It was much easier for me to walk him into his classroom the first day. Anyway, he's loving school and his teacher is awesome. She does a lot of neat things with the kids and Austin adores her.
Here's a few pics from the first day: