Thanksgiving visit

Penny's brother and his family came to join us for thanksgiving, and we had a great time.

The cousins enjoyed hanging out with one another,

and we played lots of games together.

It was fun spending our first thanksgiving in Roanoke with family - glad we live closer to one another to make these visits possible!

Enjoying fall

The weather is cooler, and the kids are loving being outside.

Cole helped rake leaves, and Laine helped bury Cole!

Cole's kindergarten class made Native American costumes out of pillow cases at school this week - turned out pretty cute!

Pumpkin carving

This year for the first time the kids carved their own pumpkins all by themselves.

They drew their own designs on their pumpkins and started carving.

They had a good time - Cole kept on carving, even after he completed his original design.

No matter, they all turned out nicely.  We left one pumpkin uncarved so we could keep it for decoration at our doorstep until Thanksgiving.

And here's one last picture I got of the kids after the costume parade.  Loved seeing my little cowboy and pirate getting off the bus!

Happy Halloween!

The kids had a costume parade at school - a first for them and a first for me as a onlooking parent.  There were so many parents there to see the kids, it was kind of amazing!

Laine wore her Indian costume, since clown costumes were not allowed at school this year due to recent (scary) events.

Mead was an adorable cow girl,

and Cole was a handsome pirate.

They all changed costumes for trick-or-treating though: Cole was Batman, with his cape and mask, Mead was the pirate, and Laine put on her clown outfit - she's been waiting a whole year to wear it!

We joined some friends from church and went around their neighborhood.  It was fun, and the kids got lots of (unnecessary) candy!

Happy Birthday Cole!

This week was birthday week - first Penny, then Cole.  We went out to eat as a family earlier in the week, and celebrated at home on Cole's birthday.

Traditional cinnamon roll breakfast, followed by one gift before school.

Cole was super excited about his marble run - he has a smaller set already but loves it so much we got a larger set to join the two together.

After school we had cake and opened more presents.

Of all his gifts, I think Cole was most excited about his new saw.  Who knew a six year old would love a saw so much!?  He's such a fun kid - loves working on things in the yard - and I'm sure he'll put his tools to great use!

The next day Cole had 3 friends over from school for a small party.  They jumped on the trampoline, tromped through the woods, built a fire in the fire pit, and played with all kinds of toys.  Everyone seemed to have a good time, and Cole enjoyed his birthday celebrations!

Pumpkins on the Playground

Tonight we went to the school to participate in "Pumpkins on the Playground."  It was kind of like a fall festival, with hayrides, bounce houses, cotton candy, a petting zoo, and, of course, pumpkins!

The kids had a good time hanging out with some of their new friends.

They got their faces painted as well!  This school is much bigger than our old one, but it's been fun to go to activities and slowly meet some of the other families.

Trampoline game

The kids invited a new game to play on the trampoline.  They're calling it "Tra-feet" (pronounced "tray feet"), but they also keep changing the name, so who knows what it'll be called tomorrow.

You play by kicking the ball and trying to tag someone else with it - whoever gets hit by the ball is then "it."  

It's a fun, fast-paced game (I know from experience), and so far no one has gotten hurt in the process!

Glad for something to keep them entertained and active :-)