Open Skate!

The park district has a bunch of open skate times during the winter break. Yesterday, we all headed over when Andy got home from work.

It was good for Charlie to get some extra practice since there are no lessons for the next two weeks due to the holidays.

He did great and seems to enjoy the skating!

Andy was trying to prove to Sully that he's "still got it" and can catch him on the ice! Sully had a great time and we even ran into a friend of his from school. Sully actually fell asleep in the car on the way home---he certainly plays hard!

I took most of these pictures while skating myself so the quality is not great!

Jingle, Jingle Little Bells!

Charlie had his "Holiday Sing" at school on Wednesday. His class sang two songs. He was pretty shy during the fist song but really liked the jingle bells (video below). Andy, Sully, and I went to see the performance and enjoyed a treat afterwards.

On My Own!

Having a chat with Coach!

Group Huddle!

Today was Charlie's 2nd skating lesson and he didn't use the walker at all! He is shuffling along and is very good at getting back up from the ice. That is a pretty tricky skill for kids to learn. He is having a great time!

No Hands!

Charlie has already tried some skating without the walker. Looks like he may be a natural like his big brother!

Ice, Ice Baby!

Charlie started ice skating lessons today! He is already getting comfortable on the ice.

The coaches were great and I think they knew everyone's name by the end of the session.

The coaches say that usually kids are done with the walkers by the third session.

A high five from one of the coaches!

It was a great first session. Stay tuned for more pictures and videos!

Day After Thanksgiving!

Bec and the kids joined us at a park nearby yesterday. The kids had a blast running around!

The park has a maze, jungle gym, lots of space, and swings for relaxing!

The inside of the maze has this climbing thing.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday and is relaxing as much as we are this weekend!

Party Time!

With Charlie and O's birthdays being so close together, we decided to celebrate together this year! All of the family gathered at the new house for the festivities! It was a Toy Story themed party.

The kids got some awesome presents.

Charlie awaiting the arrival of all of the guests!

It is a little hard to host a party AND get good photos! We had a great time and I think both birthday people were wiped out at the end, Thanks to everyone for helping to make this a great party!

Lots of Leaves!

What better way to spend a fall day than raking the leaves and jumping in them! The boys had a blast playing outside today.

Trick-or-Treat!

Bec, Alex, and O joined us for some trick-or-treating!

This house went all out with two giant M & M's filled with candy!

Charlie and Alex were super silly together!

The best trick of the night was Alex checking out this big puddle!

Happy Halloween!

Memorable Monday: Getting ready for Charlie!

This picture was taken on October 25, 2007. Sully was a little over 2 1/2. He was helping us to get ready for Charlie!

Play by Play!

Sully is totally into football this season. This video captures him going through the games play by play. Watch out Jay Cutler!

Sooooo Bare!

The landscapers have been here for the last three days just pulling everything out of the yard. It's quite bare but a big improvement.

The side by the driveway---now that it's trimmed and cleaned out, it should grow back nicely in the spring!

We can actually see our neighbors now!

I had no idea how big this side part of the yard was!

The front view.

I am looking forward to seeing the finished yard all cleaned up---stay tuned!

Making Progress!

the remains of some type of brick wall on the side of the house!

bushes by the front door...gone!

We were amazed when the landscaping crew showed up to start work today in the rain. They worked from about 7:45-4:00 today and took out a ton of stuff. It's a bit of a mess but I am excited to see the finished product. The best part is having the two huge bushed by the front door removed!

Smiley!

Monday was Charlie's first official field trip. He went on a bus to the pumpkin farm. It was sunny but very chilly. He was dressed plenty warm and had a great time. I love that smile!

Overgrown!

Our yard is completely overgrown and Andy and I have decided we need to do something about it sooner rather than later.

The plan is basically to remove everything so that we have a nice clean slate come spring. Then we can think about planting.

The landscapers are going to redefine the shape, mulch, and sod where needed. They will also trim the whole perimeter of the yard.

The poison ivy growing in this spot (as well as many others) will be gone as well! Check back this week for some "after" pictures!

Brotherly Love!

They decided to camp out in the toy box!

They actually built all of this together! It didn't get wrecked, there were no tears, and NO fighting! An amazing feat these days!

I love moments like these!

Neighborhood Festival!

Our neighborhood had a fall festival this afternoon. We invited Bec and crew to join us. There were games for the kids.

O enjoyed pumpkin bowling!

We also had dinner and enjoyed treats from the bakery sale!

A festival just isn't complete without some sort of face/body painting!

Andy and I are so happy to have moved into a neighborhood like this!

Yardwork!

"Hmmm, how can we move this log?"

"This might work!"

Little Grillmasters!

We enjoyed plenty of time outdoors on this gorgeous fall day!