Halloween Stuff...

... Halloween tends to drag on for me a bit. I thought I would be more into it having kids and all. I don't hate Halloween, but I don't love it either. In past years I have been lucky with finding costumes at garage sales. This year I actually bought some costumes (on sale at Target). At the end of it all Miriam wore three different costumes, Levi two, and Simon stuck with one.

For Trunk-or-Treat Miriam wore an Elsa costume she got from her Grandma Bishop. Levi wore the dinosaur costume that Simon wore three years ago. Simon wore the Jake the Pirate costume we got at Target.

Miriam dressed as Doc McStuffins for school. This was a totally last minute idea I put together for the ease of school wear.

Levi's first Halloween...

...next up the actual trick-or-treat costumes.

Playing Outside

When we bought our house we were so excited to have a backyard for the kids to play in. I was even happier that it was fenced so I could send them out alone. However, as the weather warmed up we found ourselves sitting out front watching the kids play. Since our street didn't exist last summer everyone around us is also new to the neighborhood. As summer rolled around we were excited to see so many kids outside playing on our street. Miriam and Simon had a blast this summer playing outside with all the neighborhood kids. I even got brave and let them go out alone. Once I knew Simon understood to stay on the sidewalk I would watch them from the window while Levi napped. These pictures were taken at the end of August, but represent most days of our summer outside. Even though the kids still go out and play on nice days it isn't the same since school started.

After spending all summer riding her bike with training wheels, last week Miriam finally learned to ride a two-wheeler.

Instagram Photos {September}

just being cute//first day of kindergarten

spelling with blocks while Miriam is at school//crazy faces

sleeping through bowling//Sunday evening walk

five months old//Michael seeing Eric at the airport on his way to San Jose

#tbt (three years ago)//apple picking in Winchester

I got all three kids asleep so I took a nap myself//

Levi loves playing with anything that isn't actually a baby toy

Simon bouncing the basketball while waiting for Miriam to get off the bus//

Miriam posing (she is the best big sister to Simon and Levi)

Michael is an amazing husband and dad//5 babies in 7 months for our families

messy chips=coolest mom award//at the pumpkin patch

riding in style//Sacrament meeting nap

Simon has loved looking at the Party City Ad//so happy to have daddy home

September Videos

Okay, okay... I know... I need to take more videos. I have a bunch of Levi, but need more of Miriam and Simon.

Levi's 6 Month Check-up

Levi had his six month doctor appointment this week. He is 19 lbs. (80-90%) and 27 inches (75%). While he isn't as big as Simon he is still a pretty chunky boy. I still can't believe I have another blond haired blue-eyed boy. We all sure love him!

A couple of days before turning six months old we also started Levi on solid food. With Levi I decided to skip the rice cereal and go straight to the fruits and vegetables. So far he has had avocado, pear, squash, carrots, green beans, bananas, and applesauce. He is doing really well and seems to enjoy eating all the varieties. He gets really excited when I put him in the booster seat. He knows he is going to get fed some food. Miriam and Simon love to help!

Picking Pumpkins

A couple of weeks ago we wanted to take the kids to a pumpkin patch to pick out their own pumpkins. I wanted to find somewhere that didn't charge for entry and had a free hayride (cheap-skate, I know). We ended up at Brookfield Pumpkins close to Fredrick, Maryland. It was a bit of a drive, but they had a very nice farm. They had a bunch of things for the kids to look at and play with. Once we were out in the field I realized it was actually a fairly warm day. The only downside of the farm was that it was hard for the kids to get around all the pumpkin plants and most of the pumpkins were pretty large. Everyone picked out a pumpkin and we headed home to display them on our own front porch.

Apple Picking

After Miriam got out of school a couple of weeks ago the kids and I went to Winchester, Virginia with Michael's mom. We had plans to pick apples, see downtown, and of course have lunch at Sonic. We first stopped for lunch at Sonic. Then we headed to Marker Miller Orchards for apples. They had a great playground and the kids were in heaven. We let the kids play for a while before grabbing a cookie and heading out to the orchard to pick apples. Luckily they still had Honeycrisp apples left on the trees. We filled our bag as full as we could with the most delicious apples. I loved watching Miriam and Simon carefully pick each apple. The weather was beautiful. By the time we were done at the orchard it was time to make the drive home. We stopped at Sonic one more time (this time for milkshakes) before heading out. Even though we didn't make it to downtown Winchester we had a fun day and ended up with a bunch of yummy apples.