Train Day!

On our day off of school this week, we headed with our friends to a fun park that has a ton of retired trains.

The boys were SO excited!

They got to climb on a lot of trains and explore!

It was a little chilly but then warmed up a ton!

We also got to ride a train around the park, which they all loved.

Clearly, it was naptime for two little boys, who both left the park in tears.  Ha!

Christmas Party!

Our friends, Lori and Angelo, hosted a super fun Christmas party that Mike and I attended.

It had been a long day and it was SO great to go out with Mike and just have fun!

 There was yummy food, a white elephant gift exchange and... karaoke.  

Mike's favorite.  :)

 The boy sang and sang and sang.

I watched.  From the couch.  :)

What a fun night!!

And sorry for the grainy pictures... iPhone failed me!  :)

Polar Express

Last month, we headed out to Arizona with our buddies and rode the Polar Express.  It's a book, a movie, and an experience.  :)

What an amazing time.  We made so many memories and had a blast.

 Mike and Grayson are kinda inseparable.  :)

Grayson and Maddie.

Maddie and Emma.

Grayson and Landon.

Dynamic duos, for sure. 

Remote (but beautiful!) cabin, early morning hikes, matching jammies...  Surrounded by friends. 

The train we took to the North Pole did not disappoint.

Maddie still sleeps with the bell that Santa gave her.  She shakes it gently and reminds us that she still hears the jingle and she still believes.

Love this season... Both the magic and the age.

Polar Express next year, friends?  :)

Long Weekend

We had such a nice, relaxing Labor Day weekend!

There was some wacky weather here (Grayson and I went out for a walk one evening and it rained on us!) but we still had fun being out.

My sweet, big-headed baby outgrew his hat, but we snatched Landon's matching one for a quick picture. :) In fact, he's also wearing one of Landon's shirts in this picture, too!

Grayson loves his Rachel so much! Actually, he smiled at her about 2 days before he smiled at me. Ha!

Silly girls got to dress up in lots of fun clothes.

Oh Maddie.

A mix of sass and sweetness, crazy and calm.

She goes back to school at the end of this week and I'm really feeling anxious about it. New teacher, new room... I'm sure it's just a matter of getting in a new routine.

Oh friends.

The fun they have together.

I hope you all had a good Labor Day weekend, too!

Watermelon Tour

Every year, we head out to the nearest farm for a wagon tour. We get to sample all sorts of fresh from the farm fruits and veggies, learn about farming and even get to bring home some watermelon of our own.

Miss Emma and Maddie were twinsies in their cute white dresses. I remember dressing the same as my best friend when I was little and it was always so fun.

It's a rare shot when the moms get to be in the picture! :)

Mike eating his one and only, annual carrot. Ha!

Maddie was mad. We made her try everything they cut up for us, including squash and zucchini, which she can't stand.

Everyone loved the yellow watermelon. So sweet!

And sweet Grayson just slept and slept and slept. You can kind of see him peeking out in there.

Our take-home watermelons.

Love these girls!

We can't wait to go again next year!

Slip and Slide!

Our friends invited us over for a slip and slide playdate and we had so much fun!

We've been friends with all these girls for almost four years now and it's always fun to get together.

Maddie and Lilly took a while to warm up to the slip and slide but eventually made it over there and got wet.

Sweet Grayson slept the whole time, waking up only at the end to eat. :)

Maddie and Angelina :)

Isn't this a cool picture?! Love it!

Thank you Becci and Sophie for hosting a great (and hot!) day!

First Beach Day of the Year!

This morning, I had another NST and ultrasound. Everything looked really good and we even got to see his very chubby little cheeks! My due date is the 15th but if he hasn't come by then, they'll induce soon after. I am SO ready to meet this little guy!

Anyway, Maddie came with me to the appointment and was such a good girl. The appointment isn't very fun for a three year old, but she was such a trooper.

So once we were done, we headed to Chick-fil-a and had lunch with our friends. Then, as an extra treat, we took a trip to the beach!

She was so excited and had so much fun!

How cute are Evey and Maddie?!

They raced, splashed and searched for shell after shell after shell. :)

Henry was there, too. :)

Such a fun day! As soon as we got home, I collapsed on the couch, even though Maddie still had enough energy to dance all around the house!

A Day at the Petting Zoo

Earlier this week, we got together with our friends and headed down to a super cute (and super clean!) petting zoo.

Each girl (Maddie and Emma) got a basket of vegetables that they could use to feed the numerous bunnies, guinea pigs, goats, pigs, sheep.... The list goes on. :)

She loved holding the guinea pig!

The goats were a little, um, aggressive, so we tried to keep a safe distance. :)

Emma and Maddie, both unwilling to look at the camera and smile!

They also got to ride the train...

and ride the ponies!

This was a deal that we scored through Groupon and it was at such a discount. I'm loving all these sites that offer fun things for way less than half price. Such a fun day (with beautiful weather, too!).

Random Cell Phone Pics :)

I have some cute pictures from my cell phone and even though I post them on Facebook, I thought I'd blog them too. I'm so thankful for a camera phone, since I can take pictures throughout the day, without lugging around my big camera.

Maddie's new favorite show is Jake and the Neverland Pirates, on the Disney channel.

Mike gave her some special paper and she immediately wanted to draw all the characters from the show. :)

We had our first ever parent-teacher conference and it went so well!

The teacher is a sweetheart and had so many great things to say that afterward, we went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. She loved it!

She's also started staying an extra hour on Thursdays so that she can eat lunch and play with her friends. I was hesitant to do this (even though it's only an extra $4!) because I thought it'd be too long of a day, but she actually gets mad when she doesn't get to stay long on Tuesdays!

We're still teaching Sunday school once a month and Mike is so, so good at it. As my energy level drops, he's just stepped up and the kids adore him. :)

Maddie got to celebrate her friends' 4th birthday (sweet twins Mia and Jacob!) at a cupcake place. She loved it!

I got to celebrate Spring with a crafting night with girlfriends! My friend Amy hosts these once a month and it's so fun to get together and make cute projects.

And finally, Grayson's artwork got hung above his crib! I've actually rearranged it since this picture was taken (surprise, surprise! haha) and I think it turned out great!

I think that's it! Well actually, there's like, I don't know, 20 more, but I won't bore you all. Ha!