oct 12- nov 8

 Dan got home from an overnight trip to Milwaukee and we just hung out as a family.  Went to downtown Ada and walked around, then had ice cream. 

 This fall has been the most beautiful few weeks that I can ever remember.  The trees in our yard are such bright colors right now, with never ending blue skies and sunshine.  I love this weather :)

 We've been trying to set up a girls night for a while now, and Meg was finally able to make it to Grand Rapids for the night.  We went to the piano bar and had a blast. 

 Meg and Nate hung around Saturday for a while and the boys played outside since it was another gorgeous day.

 Dan and I were feeling generous, so we let Bryce pick out a new toy while we were at Meijer.  Of all the choices he had, he really wanted this random truck from the Disney Cars section.  This truck wasn't even in the movie (that I can recall), but he HAD to have this one???

Hung out with the kids in the backyard this afternoon.  Tried to rake up some leaves for them to play in, but Bryce kept plowing his John Deere tractor through them pushing leaves all over the place.  They had fun though.

Today was a little gloomy and overcast.  Definately a grill cheese/tomato soup kind of day.

 Bryce really enjoys going to the library.   Of course he runs right to the toys when we get there, but eventually I persuade him to pick out some books too.  He was super excited this time to find a book from the same author as "smash, crash" 

 Went to Muskegon for the evening so Dan could get a few things together for a busy work day on Saturday.  Went out to dinner with Tom and Pat and caught this picture of the moon just as were about to leave.  This picture does not do it justice.  The moon was so huge and crazy bright.

 I continue to find silly things like this around the house.  Sydney likes to put toys in all sorts of places.  {...and for the record...YES, those are tassles on my husbands shoes....and YES, he is only 30...and YES, I highly disaprove of these}

 Went for a nice walk around downtown today.  We went down along the river which was something we've never done in the 10 years we've lived here.  Dan enjoyed it since he is always in such a rush while he's downtown everyday, he never gets to actually look around.  The kids seemed to like it.  Bryce loved looking over the bridges at the River.

 Date night :)  Dan and I went to the Winchester in EastTown.  OMG...so good!  We branched out and ordered some things we wouldn't normally get.  The left is Macaroni and Cheese with Buffalo meat, raised locally in Nunica.  {I know...but it was ah-mazing}  The right is pad tai noodles with grilled chicken. 

 NML hosted a super cute halloween party for the kiddos to trick or treat around the office.  Bryce got to practice his "trick-or-treat" and show off his bee costume.  Syd just ate her sucker and went along for the ride.  {they were nice enough to serve some wine for the parents too!}

 Kids and I went over to Ga-Ga and Papa's house for the night on Friday {stampin up party at Beth's house} and Dan did docks all day Saturday.  Aunt Cathie was nice enough to give Bryce the Bob the Builder toys she had.  He was in H.E.A.V.E.N!

 Happy Halloween!  It was a little chilly, so being the East Side G-Fab girl that I am, I insisted Dan drag the fireplace out to the driveway and pass out candy there.  It was great.  The kiddos did pretty well, but didn't last all that long.  Two of the Nieuwenhuis kiddos made it in the picture with us.  We also had the Ferris' over for pizza and trick or treating.

 To my shock and surprise, Dan took the day off of work to hang out with us, and actually suggested we go look at new cameras.  YAY!  Finally got my DSLR that I have been drooling over.  I have sooooooo much to learn.  Could not be more excited! 

Voting Day.  Can I say how excited I am that the comercials are done?  UGH!

 Our nightly ritual with Bryce.  At bedtime we let him hang with us and watch a show (almost always BOB), then we give him the countdown.  "5 more minutes" 

 Silly girl jumping all over the "naked" couch cushions while I washed all the slipcovers.

 First snow of the season.  Ok, it only stuck for about an hour.  I am not happy about seeing this.  Not one bit.

 Hung out at Ga-Ga and Papa's house again for the night.  Nate and Maddie were also over and the kids were eating ice cream and watching Yo Gabba Gabba.

 Dan and I went to the Lion's Game v. Jets today.  Kids stayed with Mom and Steve.  Had fun on our little date with no kids.  Met up with several of our neighbors who caravaned to the game also.

Sydney kept sitting on the potty, which of course made Bryce want to sit on it too.  If only they would actually use the darn thing.

Sept 20-Oct 11

Lazy day around these parts.  The only thing we did all day was drive to the library to return some books.  Yep.  That is my life.

running errands today.  my view from the drivers seat :)

feeling super fat and ambitious.  decided to give p90x a try.  after two days, I decided this would not continue.

caught Bryce drinking his milk right out of the bowl.  isn't it funny how kids do things without ever seeing anyone else do it, but this is exactly what Dan does.

hung out while Dan cut the grass.  Bryce found this piece of wood on our deck and said "mama, I build somfin".  me..."what are you building?"  Bryce- "a house".

yucky, rainy day, but it was still super warm.  felt bad keeping the kids in the house all day so we hung out in the sandbox for a while.  LOVE that we decided to put it under the sunporch where it stays completely dry in the rain!!

Went to Amy's house for a big cooking day.  Made lots of soups, pot pies, and things to freeze for the winter!  Yum.  click here for more pics

these two looked so cute reading a book together.  Terrible picture, but I didn't want to interrupt the little engine that could.  Bryce is loving this book lately!

Mom came into town and we took the kids downtown to Art Prize.  click here for more pics

road trip to Pittsburgh to visit Jeff, Emily and Ben

spent the day at the pittsburgh zoo.

lunch with the {other} petersons before we left town

man...i don't know about this girl.  She loves to dance, and she loves to climb on things.  bad combination

went to Klackle Orchard with the kiddos, Cassie, and Ben.  click here for more pics

surprise 30th birthday party for my friend Amanda

my two cute chubby babies :)

yay!  Happy Birthday Sydney!  Click here for the birthday recap!

Sydney's one year well visit.  waiting {as best as we can} for the dr. to come in. {as you can see, syd has markers in her hands, and bryce was twirling on the dr.'s stool.

Week of Sept 13-19

As you can see from the shopping cart, we were out of many essentials, so family trip to our favorite place...Target!

These kids love jumping all over the couch.  It is a fantastic way for me to sit and finish my coffee in the morning and maybe even have a little computer time.  I give Syd lots of credit for all the crap she takes from her brother.

I bought these shoes 6 days ago, and there is already a giant hole in the toe.  Sydney has been walking so well lately (with and without her walker).  I saw them sitting by the back door and had to get a picture because of how cute and tiny they are.

I have NO idea why this is my POTD... Poor Bryce gets slim pickins for lunch everyday, so I actually used the oven for once and whipped up some fancy pigs-in-a-blanket.  Only the best around here.

I gave Syd the spoon and let her feed herself breakfast this morning.  To my surprise, she did great!

Dan was a groomsman in Brent's Wedding today.  Took the kids to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the night.  It was so nice, and weird, to come home to a child-less house.  Even better...waking up in a child-less house! 

Sydney is actually starting to walk more than crawl these days.  It's amazing how much more confidence she has gained over the last week.  {I do dress my children occasionally, despite all the naked pictures}

I participate in Project Life Tuesday over at the Mom Creative.  click here if you would like to see more POTD's :)

Sept 7-12

Click here to check out more Project Life pics :)

Spent most of the day cleaning.  It was necessary.  The floor was looking very neglected.  {and it kind of felt like you were walking along a dirt road while in bare feet}

The slightly cooler weather has gotten me in the mood for fall.  Decorated the house with my fall stuff, and made a few new things to put out.

Hung out with Amy and the kids for the afternoon.  Bryce was in heaven playing with the boys cool toys.  Thankfully the four-wheeler was not charged.  We even went home with some "new-to-us" tractors for the sandbox.

Went to Meijer for a few things we needed before heading to Mackinac for the weekend.  Picked up a new backpack for Bryce and he wore it around the store.  I snapped this picture of him in awe of all the "Cars" stuff and monster trucks conveniently at eye level.  {this was moments before he took off running and made me look like WT Mom of the Year}

Vince, Jeff, Dan and I right before our 8 mile race around Mackinac Island.  {...and no need to tell me I look like a boy.  My husband was nice enough to have told me already that morning.}

Once again, an absolutely gorgeous day as we are packing up to leave.  Great weekend in Mackinac with the Peterson Family. {minus J, S, and the girls :(  }

August 30- Sept 6

This boy amazes me and scares the crap out of me at the same time.  He was playing at the park, and as quick as he is, I looked up and saw him at the top of the really tall slide.  He didn't go down, just climbed up and down the stairs? 

Missing Wed and Thurs

Bryce and Syd are really into stripping the couch and jumping all over the place.  Syd thinks she's pretty cool because with no cushions, she can get right up on the couch.  I love this because I can get things done (by that I mean facebook/email/blog) and they are in heaven. 

I mean Sept 3rd...need to fix that pic.  Went shopping at the Tanger Outlet Mall.  Dan found tons of great sales on such much needed casual stuff, and I did a little damage at the Coach store.  Yay! :)

Saturday 4th- Kids pictures at Mom's house. 

The weather was beautiful so after naps, we took the kids out for another bike ride.  We have a great trail near our house that we can ride to.  I LOVE that the bike trailer is on Dan's bike, not mine.

Spent much of Labor Day Monday in the house because of the rain.  I bought Mums on Sunday that we didn't get around to planting, so we got them in when the rain let up on Monday.

August 23-29

Our 7th anniversary. Hard to believe seven years have gone by?  Dan got me flowers...which he NEVER does.  That deserves a POTD (picture of the day)  Here is how we celebrated.

Feeling kind of crafty today.  Trying to finish up my "P" cluster that hangs in the upstairs hallway.  Dragged my supplies outside while Syd napped and worked on my project.  Here is the finished photo:

Ended a beautiful day with a beautiful fire, and even more beautiful s'mores.  {although slightly blurry}YUM

Why do these kids want to go outside at like, 8am?  I barely have 2 sips of coffee by then.  I'm not going to lie...I occasionally send them to the garage to play :)  {under close supervision, of course}  Notice the baby's pajamas and filthy feet...whatever.

In honor of Vince making it to 34 and not dying (his words, not mine) we went to San Chez to celebrate his birthday.  I love having an excuse to wear normal clothes and hang out with other adults!

Took the kids for a nice 6 or 7 mile bike ride.  This was the first time I've used my bike since before Bryce!  The kids did great {as soon as they got their suckers}.  It was a nice afternoon.