Bennett's Preschool Halloween

Today was the day of Bennett's classroom Halloween party!  It was so exciting to wear his costume!! The boys weren't sure what to be this year, but John and I thought they would love to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so we asked them if they would like that and they freaked!!  Of course they were so excited!!  We found great costumes at Target, so it was perfect.  

Donatello...totally ready.

Is Eden TWO yet??  nope, not quite.  close enough.  ;)

Bennett's costume was so perfect on him!  He couldn't bring his "bow staff" along because there are no weapons.  Totally understandable.

Its a fun day for the kids and they are all so cute dressed up in their costumes!!

Eden wasn't too sure of all the characters!!

Carving Pumpkins

Naturally, we carved our pumpkins at the last minute like usual.  :)  Eden was already in bed so this was a big boy project this year!  The boys did great!!

John is the master pumpkin carver around here and the boys are taking after him!

Mom's Getaway: Orlando

THIS HAPPENED!  I went on a trip with my three best friends - no kids - no husbands.  Just the girls!!  It was an amazing blessing of time, rest, and food for my soul.  With 11 kids between us 4, its been a long (looooooong) time since we have had uninterrupted conversations or ample time to really catch up and clue in to each other's lives.  I'm thankful for it during this busy time in our lives - it was some much needed rest for me!  In fact, I found out that with enough sleep, I can survive on only ONE cup of coffee (not 4!).

Eden and I packed up and I made sure to get the boys set for "Boys Weekend" here at home.  The boys and John were pumped for it...especially when John came home with a giant tub of cheese balls!!  Haha!  Eden got packed up to stay with Nana for the weekend and do some special things with her while Papa was out of town.

Packing and getting on a plane with only a carry-on and a purse (not a diaper bag, changes of clothes, 800 books and other activities!) was AMAZING!  We got our lattes, headed for our gate, and boarded for an on-time flight.  Of course, we jumped right in to our girl weekend with lots of chatter about kids and mom-life.  Our first stop was lunch: salads OUTSIDE!  Perfect!

Then we arrive at the Hyatt with a day to enjoy at the pool...

Glorious!!

The next couple days looked the same: a walk in the morning with friends, coffee/breakfast, go to the pool, order some lunch, read and chat, then go back to the room to get ready for dinner out.  Carrie was at a Pediatric conference for most of the day, but she usually took a lunch break with us and then we always had evenings with her.

We ate at lots of fun restaurants and one night we gave in to our ice cream cravings...it was perfect!

I have to admit, it was the most relaxed I have been in a long time!  John did great with the boys and my mom did great with Eden, so I didn't do a lot of calling/checking in...I really relaxed and enjoyed the time I had with friends!

Unsure of what to do on our last night, we first headed into Downtown Disney to find some gifts for the kids.  It made all of us excited for a trip to Disney with our kids!

Sarah, me, Carrie, Kim (+1)

Then after gift shopping (the ONLY shopping we did on our trip!), we took a chance and headed to downtown Orlando (very quiet on a Sunday night).  We saw a couple promising restaurants and ended up picking the Rusty Spoon.  We had to most amazing drinks, dinner, and desserts EVER.  It was the PERFECT way to end a perfect trip.

They even made up a special mock-tail for Kim who is expecting baby in February!

Amazing food and amazing friends...Thank you to Sarah, Carrie and Kim for being my lifelong friends.  Love this trip and can't wait for MN next fall (...perhaps a more local weekend away for new year!).

And while I was gone, John even sent lunch notes to Logan...pretty amazing.  

Nana Brings the FUN!

Today Nana brought over supplies to make cookies with Bennett!!  We are lucky to have a Nana that can visit us many days and brings so much FUN!  We love you Nana!

Perfection

Mommy & Eden Gymnastics

Eden and I signed up for Mommy & Me gymnastics with the YMCA.  She is such a crazy climber that I thought it would be perfect for her!  We signed up with our friends Molly & Reese.  The class isn't as beginner as I expected for 18-36 months.  Eden is the youngest, but I wasn't expecting "So then they can swing from the uneven bars and land on the mat".  WHAT?!  Ok, I might not be cut out to be a gymnastics mom, but never-say-never.

Eden wasn't big on sitting in a circle on the dots.  She'd rather pick up her dot and move it around!

But she loves to climb on everything!

Usually she is pretty unsure about class until we get to go on the balance beam or trampoline - she loves that!

Molly and Reese on the beam

Eden having fun on the beam (this beam is on the ground).

On this particular day, it was the last class and John was busy studying, so I took the boys along.  Not my brightest moment.  But the class had been pretty relaxed and I knew it wouldn't really matter if the boys were along.  Halfway through class, I let the boys come and "help" Eden with her obstacle course.  Which turned into dirty looks from other moms...oh well.

Eden loved running on the trampoline!

Then she always wanted to pout when her turn was over.

Eden and Reese with their little certificates on the last day of class.  I'm kinda glad its over...but it was fun to try!!  We loved seeing Molly and Reese on Saturday mornings!