Baby it's Cold INside :)

I got these adorable sweaters for the boys and decided to take some pictures of them in them. I didn't really PLAN on a "photo shoot" per say- but I saw AFTER we took them how funny the boys look. Check it out!

"Hello? Mom? Can we not take pictures right now? I just got out of the bath and I'm freezing."

(Also- notice the extent of my creativity. CONSTRUCTION paper stockings with the worst Christmas Tree I've ever drawn.)

 "chEEEEEEEEEEEse"

 Can someone get this booger out of my nose? I mean, come on... I am FREEZING!"

Henry is so funny. He either has those somewhat blank stares on his face, or he's laughing at something Grant or Ben has done. And by the look on Grant's face, I wouldn't be surprised if that's why he's smiling in this picture. Glad I've got goofballs for children.

I love how different my boys are:

Dark vs. Blond

Pasty vs. Olive skin

Husky (though he's thinning out a LOT)  vs. Skin and Bones

Talks-O-Lot vs. Great Fine Motor Skills

Rocko Mini vs. Ben Mini

These boys really are the best. I love them so much. And I'm sure anyone who gets to spend 5 minutes in the whirl wind of their day love them almost as much as we do.

little men, man, and a snowman

We had our first snow over the weekend and our boys got a GREAT taste (figuratively and literally!) of it. Grant LOVES the snow- and Henry had somewhat of a hard time dealing. I think he was mad that it was hard to walk around. Hope you enjoy a glimpse into our Saturday morning snowman building party. Enjoy!! 

Oh, the JOY of cold cold cold cold snow.

"Really? You want me to LIKE this cold stuff? Eh- we'll see."

My favorite part about this picture is that you can tell we didn't finish raking our leaves. Haha. Later that night, I went to a friend's house who's snowman looked like perfection. Ours, while double sided (you'll see in a minute) was full of fall debris.

"Don't worry, Dad! I'll kill the snowman with my gold club!!!!"

Our snowman is about 7 ft tall. Ben did one side, and this is him sculpting the snowdude's face.

Here is the snowman that Grant and I made (or rather- that I made- as evidenced by Grant running away).

BAH!!! I love this kid.

SMILE!

And here is Ben's SnowDude.

Are you ready to ROCK!!!!!!?!?!?!?!?!

Birthday Boy

Henry is 1!!

It is so strange to think that an entire year has gone by since he was born. Henry is so sweet. He is SUCH a momma's boy. He cuddles, blows kisses, walks all over, plays with cars, loves Apple Jacks, can fall asleep on the floor when he's tired, loves- LOVES his brother and lights up when his dad walks into a room. He can clap, wave goodbye, sign "please" and LOVES pretzels. We are So glad he's in our lives, and we couldn't have asked for a cuter little guy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY HENRY!

Yummy cupcake!! I didn't pull the camera out until after he finished his cupcake.

Who's got two thumbs and loves baseball??

THIS GUY!!

Also, he turns ONE on Saturday. Sigh.

We're loving the CRAZY warm weather this week, so we've been spending a lot of time outside.

Have a happy weekend!!!

:) & :(

New tire swing is fun

 Eating sticks is not.

Fall fun

Some cute pictures from our days this week.

Henry loves playing outside. He has COMPLETE meltdowns when we come inside.

Grant loves his bike! And Henry loves the swing.

I could push him all day long in that thing, and I think he'd love it just as much!

This is awesome. I caught them BOTH reading books- back to back.

After getting the oil changed and grabbing lunch, we ran inside to put kids down for naps. After running to the bathroom, this is where I found Henry- exactly where I put him down when he was awake. I guess he was sleepy!!

(part two)

Here is the second part of the Henry Ford and Greenfield Village post.  If you didn't see that previous post, make sure you check it out below.

The second day of our trip we spent it in the Museum. I felt so bad that Ben wasn't able to be there. Everything we would see would make me stop, take a picture and then send it to Ben. Here are a few pics from our fun filled day. 

This plane is cool. Henry Ford was trying to make 'model t' planes that everyone could buy. I guess that idea didn't take off as well as the cars.

"It won't be a stylish marriage, I can't afford a carriage. 

But you'll look sweet, upon the seat of a bicycle built for...

10?"

OH.MAN... TRAINS!!!!!

  Grant loved them. (so did I) 

They have the COOLEST stuff here.

Look closely. 

I was so confused when I saw this for the first time. But it's a replica (made with pieces from the original) of the first passenger train in the United States (or the first in New York or something). But it's a carriage on tracks! So cool.

 "Oh I wish I were an Oscar Myer Wiener!!"

 What's up!?

 The Museum is in the most beautiful building. I could LIVE in this hallway. It's so pretty.

We had an amazing time. I love this place and I can't wait to go back. We saw SO MUCH more than what I posted. They have the chair that Lincoln was shot in (complete with blood! ew), also the car that Kennedy was shot in, they have Model T's driving around the village, lots of other really neat stuff. 

 This is from last week. We bought a swing and put it on one of our trees in the backyard. The boys both LOVE it! This picture is cute. I sent ALL the boys out to rake the leaves while I got some work done inside, and when I went to check on them, this is what I found :) I love my family. This is such a sweet picture. Ben is such an amazing father- and our children love him so much- as do I. Hope you like our pictures!

Henry Ford & Greenfield Village (take one)

Sorry about the lack of posts, but I've been busy. I went to Michigan a few weeks ago with the boys and my little sister while Ben finished up playing in the musical, RENT, on campus.  Growing up, my family went to Detroit, MI to visit the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village.  If you have not been, go. It's amazing. And it may be one of my favorite places :)  It was an AWESOME trip- beautiful landscapes and some awesome learning (for me). We had quite the adventure. I may have to post these pictures in a few different posts- so please be patient with me. My little sister took around 300 pictures over the weekend, so there are SO many to choose from. ENJOY :)

Our trip started just fine, but when we hit South Bend, the car wouldn't start. We were able to get a battery jump from one of Ben's band member's family (they were SOOOOO nice). Then we got back on the road and drove for another hour or so. Well, we needed more gas, and the the car didn't start, AGAIN. Luckily, there was a truck stop and service station for trucks across the street from the gas station. They took care of us. Our batter was TOTALLY DEAD. He put in a tiny fork lift battery to just do some tests, and the car was working better than with our HUGE battery. sigh. We bought a new one and was back on the road. A quick 6 hour trip turned into 12 hours. Awesome. But let me tell you- the pizza we had delivered to the hotel was AMAZING. Maybe? worth the dead battery. haha

Greenfield Village is a place that Henry Ford created back in the day for education purposes. He was friends with Thomas Edison, so his house and workshop are here. Also, they have tons of carriages, old cars, old houses, trains, etc. It's like stepping back into the early 20th Century, and I love it.

Grant has gotten into Thomas and Friends after I bought him some books. Needless to say, THIS was his favorite part of the entire trip. TRAINS! This train is, I think, 1 of 6 working steam engines left- and the only one in the Midwest. Cool. We rode it.

Grant enjoying being OUT of the stroller. Funny kid.

 A rare picture of me. Ben got me an iPhone so I could have the internet with me at all times. It came in handy with our car emergency 24 hours after getting the phone. Thank you babe!!

 I don't know what this house was, but it is BEAUTIFUL!

 This is a replica of a slave's cottage. Nuts.

Well, it was hard to see ALL the houses while we had two crazy kids. We mostly walked around the village. If anyone wants to go back there with me, I have a pass, and I can get a guest in :) Stay tuned for more pictures from the AMAZING museum. 

And also, stay tuned for our HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!!!

Autumn

This is my favorite time of the year. I probably say it all the time, but it is. Growing up, we were probably the only people on the street who RAKED OUT OWN LAWN! haha It's kind of a sore subject with some siblings.  This week, I put Grant to work.

 "MOM! I raked the leaves!"

Our leaves are changing (as I'm sure everyone's are too), but this summer was pretty dry, so I hear that the leaves won't be as beautiful? Anyone know if this is true?

He loves this hat.

Don't you love the ketchup on his little face?

"Look what I found!!"

Ben will be playing guitar in the IU Theater's Department's  production of RENT this week and next. I'm going tomorrow... it should be WICKED AWESOME! We love you all and miss you!