Saturday Fun Day

We woke up early Saturday morning to go to Medford and see the new Trader Joe's store that opened on Friday! Woo hoo!! We (well, us ladies at least) were very excited!!

Everyone was sleepy and wanted to stay snuggled with daddy on the couch

Trader Joe's had cute little kid sized shopping carts. Gabriella was having a blast with hers!

Looks like Gramma found some good deals and filled her cart up fast

April finally got to push the kid cart!

James and Gabriella snuggled up in Grampa's vest outside because it was so chilly!!

We browsed through REI. The kids were having fun running behind the sleeping bag display. If you look closely you can see two little pairs of feet. 

Toys R Us was having a Free Lego Building Day so we stopped in. The kids got to build a creation and take it home with them. 

Gabriella showing off her house-car and the certificate she got for building. 

My couponing deals from Winco, Dollar Tree and Harbor Freight

($12.35 for everything!)

After Medford we rushed home, tossed our groceries in the house, grabbed the crockpot and headed to April's parents's house for pumpkin carving and dinner.

James and Jonathan

Gabriella helping me trace on the design

April gutting her pumpkin

James got bored pretty quickly

Everyone working hard

Gordon and Xander playing drums on the extra pumpkin

Hannah was an extreme pumpkin carver!!

Me and Xander after dinner

(Dinner was delicious!! We had roast, chicken, potatoes, roasted veggies, rice, bone shaped biscuits and apple cider!)

After dinner James and Gabriella had fun poking at my pumpkin with the carving knives. 

All the pumpkins in the bathroom after we were finished. 

The one Munchie and I did.

Jonathan made caramel apples and we took one home with us for Gabriella. She insisted on eating it in the bathtub. Score for me, one less mess to clean up!!

All in all it was a BLAST of a day!!

James's 5th Birthday Party

Friday night we celebrated James's 5th birthday (his actual birthday is Tuesday). All of us were there, plus Gramma and Grampa, Susan & Gordon (April's parents), Hannah (April's sister), and my sister's boyfriend and his kiddos. We had a full house!!

All his presents. He is holding up his hand to show how old he is. 

Gabriella gave Great Grampa some tissue paper and he was pretending that it was his shirt. 

Opening presents

My parents couch was full!

Xander and Gramma

Pile of wrapping paper after all the presents were opened. 

"Is it time to sing the Happy Birthday To You song?"

Susan & Hannah made an awesome Lego cake for James

Blowing out the candles

All the spit on the top Lego after he blew out the candles!

All the kids enjoying their Lego cake and ice cream

"I put my ice cream in my mouth right here!"

Birthday boy giving Xander a ride around the house

Jonathan working to put the X-Man Helicopter Lego Set together. James got a TON of Lego sets. Jonathan said they were up til almost midnight putting them together. 

We had a great party. Its so fun to watch all the kids playing together and to have some great chit-chat with the grown-ups. 

I love my family & the Nolans!

I Can Feed Myself!

We started letting Xander try to feed himself in the evenings before his bath. He actually does pretty good (as you can see in the video) understanding the motion (spoon into dish and then to mouth).

He is quite amusing to watch. 

I love how excited babies are to get to learn and try new things!

"I Lost All My Friends and Cousins!"

We had a lot of fun playing with cousins this weekend and Gabriella was very sad to go home to our house each night.

Playing Potato Heads with Auntie April

Emma reading books to Gabriella. It was so cute!

Building towers with Emma and Dillon. 

We headed home Friday night after dinner and a full house at my parents house. The whole way home Gabriella jabbered about how much fun she had with her friends and cousins. 

Saturday morning she woke up and came out to Matt with a pouty face. She held out her hands and said, "I lost all my friends and cousins!"

She was super happy when we headed back out with our crockpot full of soup for dinner Saturday night. 

Trying to get a picture with cousin Reilly. 

He was sleepy and wasn't so amused by his mommy's funny faces. Gabriella thought they were hilarious and Xander was a little weirded out by them!

After dinner we went for a ride in Uncle Jonny's go-kart. 

Gabriella said she needed earmuffs cuz it was too loud and she cried the entire time we were in it. 

She said, "I have fun in the go-kart but I not want to go again. It is TOO loud!"

Xander for a ride with Uncle Jonny

I love how everything is blurry except Xander's face!

The Grants Pass Pharmacy gets in black licorice ice cream once a year for Halloween. Jonathan bought a dish of it and brought it to mom's. Everyone (except me and Matt) had a bite. 

Jonathan, Sarah and Aunt Linda showing off their black teeth. Uncle Lowell refused to show his!

Gabriella thought it was hilarious!

Black tongues with Gramma!

Xander's hands are SO big already!

Auntie April was knitting and Gabriella came running up and said, "I need some pokey things so I ca knit a scarf too!" We got her a couple crochet hooks and she sat next to April for at least 20 minutes playing with a piece of yarn and the hooks. It was so cute!!

We had a fun weekend and it was great to see my cousin Sarah and Reilly and Aunt Linda! 

Pumpkin Patch & Corn Maze

My mom's class (Kindergarten) went on a field trip to a local 8 acre corn maze and pumpkin patch. Preschool through 3rd grade was going so we got to join them all.

The corn stalks were SO tall! 

"I don't know where to go!"

Phew! We made it out!

Time for a snack. 

Gabriella playing with the other kids in the little maze made out of hay bales. It was so cute and the kids had so much fun running around in it. 

Gabriella said, "I have fun running in the hay and I run all the way out of the hay!"

Xander playing in the hay maze

Gabriella made a friend on top of the hay bale pile

Picking out which pumpkin she wanted from the pumpkin patch. 

The kids were allowed to take one pumpkin as long as they could carry it. Some of the 3rd grade boys were carrying some HUGE pumpkins out of there!

We found a pumpkin that was Xander's size and he could carry it!

"I pick this one and I'm going to eat it for dinner!"

They shot their pumpkin cannon, The Punkin Chunker. They shot the school buses and shot a pumpkin so far that it hit the tree line in the background. It was crazy!

At home we got a picture of them with their pumpkins. 

Of course Xander's went straight into his mouth

Gabriella tried to chew on hers too but she bonked her mouth on it. In this picture she is saying, "Ow, I bonked my teethers!"

We had SO much fun! Thanks to Fort Vannoy Farms and to Vineyard Christian School!!