Trip to Houston

A few weeks ago Grossmama and Grosspapa were supposed to come up for some family pictures. After Grosspapa suffered a small TIA and had to stay in the hospital, we had to change our plans.  He is scheduled to have heart surgery this week and we thought it would be a while before he felt up to making the drive to Dallas.  The girls were so sad they didn't get to see them for the pictures so Kelly and I decided to make a trip down to Houston to see them.  It was a crazy down and back trip but we had a blast and got so see some cousins too.

Adding some bird food to the bird feeder.

Really excited about something!  Isn't it crazy how pretty that grass is still in November?!

Kayden and Grossmama working with the magnet set.

They LOVE that magnet set.

Such concentration.

Keeley and Grosspapa making the "I love you" sign and Kayden trying to make her fingers do it too.

Working hard to get those fingers down!

Playing at the park.  I think we wore Grossmama and Grosspapa out!

Checking to see if the birds ate their dinner after the park.

Looks like they have plenty of food for tomorrow too!

Oma's Birthday

On Wednesday last week, I reminded the girls that Oma's birthday was Friday and that we needed to make her a card.  When Friday rolled around, the girls asked where her party was going to be.  I tried to explain that grown-ups didn't always have birthday parties but they were having none of that.  Keeley said, "but you said it was her birthday party today".  I tried to clarify that it was her birthday, but no party.  They were not happy.  I asked if they thought we should have a birthday party for Oma on Saturday when she came over and they enthusiastically agreed.  We went to the store and got cupcakes, balloons, and sang to her.  The girls were thrilled.

Trick or Treating!

All ready to begin the night of trick or treating.  They like to pose by the bear.

Headed up to Oma's door to trick or treat.  They specifically requested that we go.

Getting poised to knock and start filling their buckets.

Showing Grandma the candy they got at Oma's as they prepare to tackle the neighborhood.

Cutest little Minnie Mouses ever!

Walking up with Grandma.  Mom stayed behind with the wagon most of the time.

A little freaked out by the singing skelton guy.  Unfortunately, that was not the scariest thing we encountered.

Trick or Treating!

I can't seem to add my words to the picture post so I'll summarize Halloween here.

The girls were super excited to go trick or treating this year. We did some practice at our house and at Oma's so that they knew to say "trick or treat" and made sure to practice thanking people. They did a great job with that and not taking handfuls of candy when presented with the bowl. I was very proud of them! Early on in the evening, a man waved as they were leaving and said, "Happy Halloween" to the girls. From that point forward, every time Keeley left a house she would turn over her shoulder as she was leaving, wave, and say, "Thank you. Happy Halloween!!" It was adorable. We took the wagon this year since Kelly ended up carrying both the girls home last year. Next year we need to take their water bottles too because Kayden kept asking for water. After about 30 or 45 minutes of trick or treating, Keeley climbed in the wagon and said, "We have enough candy. That's it guys. Let's go home." She did hop out a couple times on the way home for a few more stops, but she really was done.

They loved digging into their candy that night and the next few nights but quickly forgot about it. I think since we don't ever eat candy, it made their tummies hurt, which ruined some of the fun! It'll be fun to see what next year is like since they enjoyed it so much this year.

Beavers Bend and Pacifiers

We decided that it was time for the pacis to go away.  They only used them at nap and night time, but I was tired of seeing them and I was starting to notice some speech issues with Keeley.  They were minor and perhaps only I would notice them, but they bothered me.  We decided to take them away when we went to Beavers Bend.  Our logic being that the girls would be off their routine and really tired so it would make those first two days a bit easier. We started talking about it for almost a month prior and the girls were excited that they were going to get special toys to replace them.  After the bike-a-thon, we took two very tired girls to Toys'r'us to pick out a prize for surrendering their pacis.  We let them keep their pacifiers for the car ride up (hoping they would sleep and sleep they did for almost the entire 3 hours) and took them away as soon as we got there.  They were both quick to surrender the pacifiers for their new toys (Kayden had tried in the parking lot leaving the store).  That night, however, Kayden asked for her pacifier and I told her that we didn't have them anymore because now we had the new toys.  She looked at me and said, "I want to take all my toys back to the store and keep my paci."  I was completely shocked because I 100% expected that from Keeley, but not from 2.5 year old Kayden!  They both did fine though and asked for it occasionally the next few days but there were no tears and the only problems we've had is with nap time - but we had those anyway!

They girls definitely wore themselves out at our cabin and on our adventures.  We met up with a school friend for a train ride and they loved that.  We played in leaves, had s'mores, and learned to "fish".  All in all it was a wonderful trip.  I had to laugh at Keeley though one morning when she asked for the special treat we had eaten the night before (smores) but said, "um, how about no chocolate, and I don't really want the graham cracker"  Basically I guess she was just excited to have the marshmallow!

Playing in the leaves at our cabin.

They loved the hammock for them and their babies.

Burrowing through the leaves.

Little sister doing the same...

Piles of leaves.  Who knew that could be so much fun!

Relocating more leaves.

Keeley exploring by the train and taking pictures with her camera.

They've started playing "king of the mountain" but with no pushing yet...

Poised to take a good shot.  She stayed this way most of the train ride.

Kayden fishing.  She wanted none of my help.

Keeley fishing.

The girls and Daddy fishing.

Cutest picture!

King of the mountain again after they gave up on fishing.

Tire type swing that they loved at a playground in the park.

I saw disaster all over this but we escaped unscathed.

Swinging from the bars.  How many kids do you think have fallen?

Bike-A-Thon

Every year the girls' school does a bike-a-thon fundraiser.  It is so much fun.  The toddlers, since many can't actually ride bikes, just play on their tricylces in a sectioned off portion of the parking lot.  The other kiddos make loops around the school in 45 minute rotations.  There is a "rest stop" with bananas and water and we even had a "toll both" this year where the kids could donate pennies.  It was really cute and Keeley was so excited about riding her bike and getting to ride around the school.

Kelly took the day off and we both helped out around the school that day and then ended it with a pizza picnic with all the other families.  So much fun!  It was a bit of a chilly morning so you'll notice in a couple pictures the girls look a little cold!

Keeley posing for me.  All the kids were standing outside for a ribbon cutting with the mayor and singing of the national anthem.  Too cute.

Kayden watching some of the big kids.  Look how giant her shirt is!

Holding her teacher's hand and checking everyone out.  She seemed a little overwhelmed.

Getting ready for the ride.  Keeley was in the "red" group so she got to ride first.

Big smiles.  She told me the day before that she was going to "ride super fast" and she did!

Slowed down for a second to wave.

Getting ready for her "ride".

Riding along next to her best friend, Lily.

Getting a little push from Daddy.  As strong as she is, she doesn't really care to put forth the effort to actually pedal.

On a "train ride". The upper el kids took the primary kids on a train ride and then they got to go to a festival game section.  So much fun.  The girls ended the day VERY tired!

Halloween Decorating

This year there was a house in our neighborhood that began decorating in September for Halloween.  Keeley and Kayden noticed on the way to school one day and said that we needed to do so as well.  I'm really not a fan of Halloween and told them we had to wait until October to decorate since that is when Halloween is.  I was hopeful they would just forget about it.  They did not so we ended up at the decoration section of Party City as soon as we were officially in October.  We invited Grandma to come over and help us decorate.

Assessing all the outdoor decorations.

Off they go while Grandma and Dad do all the work!

Putting stickers on the window.

Helping with the placement.  This was soon taken down when they would not stop playing with it!

Riding bike with flip flops, leotard, and tutu.

Walking to the park with Grandma.  Purse in hand.