trick or treat!

Wishing you a happy and safe Halloween! 



pumpkins...

(skipping ahead to the pumpkin carving so I could post it before Halloween)We finally got a free weekend to decorate our pumpkins!  We decided to paint them again this year because  it is easier to let the kids loose with paint than try to supervise kids holding knives!  I did carve my pumpkin, and even Bob ended up painting 2 of them.  Bryce decided to paint himself in addition to the pumpkins, but we all had fun.  Check out our creations!

birthdays...

We headed to IA to celebrate the birthdays of a couple of our favorite people.  My good friend Jill and her daughter Mya.  We went to Jumpin' Janes (an indoor inflatable play place) in Dubuque for Mya's party.  The kids had a blast.  At first Bob and I had to help/encourage them to try stuff, but after a while they went crazy.  Bryce climbed up a big slide probably 15 times in a row...he loved it, but his little legs were so tired that he couldn't make it up the stairs the last time.  It was pretty adorable  to watch.  We headed back to the Curry house after that for some food, cake and drinks (for the big people).  It was so great to hang out with some amazingly fun people.  We even broke out the board games.  I LOVE board games...so having friends that love them (and are as competative as I am) is so great.  We love the Currys and anytime we get to spend with them is always fun. 

 the glasses I made Jill for her birthday

 Brianna & Mya

Bryce climbing the slide...again

labor day weekend...

Bob traveled to Madison for Labor Day weekend to participate in his fanatsy football draft and play some golf with some of his Knox golfing buddies.  So, that left me and the kiddos about 4 days to fill...yikes!  I'm honestly not even sure what we did the whole weekend.  We took a trip to the library, played and watched movies, pretty much what we do all the time.  We did head up to the lake on Sunday for a while.  Amanda met us there, so it was fun to hang out with her.  (side note...it is a PAIN to pack up 2 kids, food, drinks, swimming gear and drive an hour by yourself...although it was totally worth it).  Bob played in the Club Championship again on Sunday and Monday, so he met us up at the lake for a little bit on Sunday.  Monday the kids and I went to the course to watch Bob finish up his round (I didn't think the kids could make it through the whole round quite yet).  We of course got there after he finished, so we watched Papa Bob finish his last hole.  And my fears were confirmed that my kids can't stay quiet on the course as we drove up to the tee box and Bryce yelled "PAPA!!"  Thankfully, no one was mid-swing at the time! 

new pictures...

Pictures from September and October being uploaded now.  Check them out in  the photos tab!

knox family...

I know I've been neglecting my blog a bit and I have stuff to write about...it has just been a little crazy around here (like always).  So I'm attempting to update the blog over the next few days so my faithful readers can stop complaining keep up with my beautiful family!  So, when last I left you, it was the 5th anniversary of my little blog and we had just returned home from a Knox friend gathering, so I guess I'll start with that.

Seeing my friends from Knox, as I have said before always calms me, no matter how stressful the planning may get (and it does get stressful at times) when we finally get together it is like I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding in.  We had a fabulous weekend hanging out at the Miles house.  As always they were the best hosts and we laughed the kind of laughter than I think can only happen among old friends, the comfortable, laugh until you cry kind of laughter.  Our little group has 2 new babies on the way and at the time of our gathering one that was only 3 months old.  We have grown so much.  We started as a group of 6 girls and we have grown into a family of 17.  It is hard to describe the weekend other than that, we ate, we laughed.  In one word I was simply this....happy.  (the only sad part of the weekend...I have NO pictures?What the heck?)

On Sunday, after most of the group had left it was just Bob and I with Dawn, Chris and Hayden.  Chris and Bob wanted to go golfing (big surprise there) and so Dawn asked if I wanted to go to church with her.  I quickly agreed and we packed up Hayden and went to church.  The church was wonderful.  I don't really talk about religion or faith on here, because I don't want this to be a place of tension, stress, etc.  But I just want to write a bit about the service I attended.  As the sermon started I thought to myself "Did Dawn know this was the sermon and she knew this is just what I needed at this moment?"  (I asked her later and she said she didn't know).  The Pastor (sorry if this isn't the right word here) spoke about being the vessel that God wants you to be.  He is the potter and you are the clay.  He shapes you in the way He wants you to be and sometimes he has to start over, and we have to be patient because everything happens in his time.  I am anxious and wanting things to change in my time and to know where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to, but hearing that message...calmed me.  I want to be the vessel He wants me to be.  Since that service I have prayed that I become that vessel and I have prayed for patience.  I guess it is hard for me to sum up here maybe it is one of those things that you have to experience to understand (and obviously I'm not a great writer and cannot correctly find the right words)
After church we went back and I got to play with Hayden and he told me that of all of his Knox Aunties he clearly loves me the best loves us all the exact same amount.  He is such a cutie pie and gave me the baby fix I needed.  After the boys returned we discussed Bryce's little accident and Chris (Dr. Miles...even though I know he hates when we call him that) gave us some pointers about what we should do, etc.  After getting some pictures of the cut we decided as we were driving home to take Bryce to the doctor to see if he needed stitches.  Chris graciously tolerated my text, phone calls and pictures while we were driving. Bryce ended up with 5 stitches (which most came out on their own so I'm not sure how effective they were) and now has a little scar on his forehead.  It makes him look tough! :)  Here is a picture with the little man and his stitches...the only picture I have from the weekend. 

What a long rambling post for my first one in a couple months...  I guess I could have just written this to describe this little weekend in August. 
We may not be related by blood, but these girls are my family, a part of my heart and I love them all dearly.