Reading kiddos

There are times as a parent, where I just want to throw my hands up and ask "Why?" Like lately whenever Maclain is crying, instantly something also "happened" to Quinn, so I have tears in stereo. But then they do something so cute, so adorable, that it makes EVERYTHING worth it. I had one of those times the other night. I looked down our hallway and saw Quinn reading to Maclain. It was so precious that it took both Mark and my breath away. Just the sweetness of how she was reading and talking to him. And the way he looked up to her and was listening to her every word. This was a truly priceless moment.....

Family Turkey Project

Every year we send home "Family Turkeys" to be decorated at home as a family bonding experience. This year I was also on the receiving side of the turkeys and had to decorate one at home with Quinn. She was SOOO excited to decorate the turkey! I have always noticed each year which ones have been mainly parent made and the ones where the kids do have a hand in the work. I really wanted to make sure Quinn was the leader on this project, and as you can tell from the turkey, Quinn decided what to do and did most of the work. She had each of us decorate a leaf next to our picture with stickers we liked. It ended up being a lot of fun and I know she enjoyed creating it.
After she was done she had to soak in the tub to "relax". I went in to check on her and saw her mimicing what I do. It's my one area of peace...reading in a bubble bath. She had her Tinkerbell chapter book and she was "reading" in the tub. HOW CUTE!!!

Pumpkin farm, scarecrow day and scary hair!

Quinn started out the weekend with a bang! She won a contest on the local radio station for having the best "bedhead" I think the photo speaks for itself! Thanks to EVERYONE who went to the radio website to vote for her. There were 3 contestants and she won with 62% of the vote.
We'll get her winnings in the mail this week, but I understand she gets free haircuts for a year, movie passes and a limo ride.
On Friday at school it was scarecrow day and Quinn had a lot of fun dressing up for it.
Friday night, Mark's parents came down for the weekend. They spoiled us by taking us out for dinner Friday night and to Bloomsbury Farm on Sunday. The kids loved playing in the corn and riding the train the most.
It was a busy weekend, but it was fun seeing Tom and Nancy again.

Walking and dancing

Maclain's two favorite things to do right now...walk and dance!
And...oh yeah, running around in just his diaper. This is going to have to change with colder weather coming, but we'll let him enjoy it while it lasts.

Wonderful weekend

What awesome weather we had this weekend! We went to Galena on Saturday to their Fall Festival in the park. It was almost too warm out! The kids had fun and it was nice just to walk around and enjoy the fall trees. When we got back Saturday night, my aunt Carin had made dinner for everyone for my cousin Brock's birthday, who is going to school here and living with my parents this year. It was very yummy and it was a nice treat after being gone all day. On Sunday we celebrated my mom and Katie's birthday. My parents still haven't winterized the pool, so everyone went for one last swim. It was fun sitting outside and watching the kids swim with colorful leaves falling off the trees. I can't believe I still haven't made a video of Maclain walking! He is walking EVERYWHERE! I will try and get that done this week. I have parent/teacher conferences starting this week. I enjoy them because I like to share all the awesome stuff the kids are doing, but I hate spending the late night away from my family.

Enjoying a fall weekend

A keg throwing contest...only in Iowa!
Mark and the kids enjoying the day.
Me and my girl!
Maclain touching the lamb wool and thinking it'd be a good place for a nap
Sitting by some fall decorations
She is such an awesome big sister!

We spent our Saturday at Octoberfest. It was a lot of fun enjoying the warm, fall weather and just spending time as a family. We walked around, had some brats, enjoyed some music and even watched a keg throwing contest(for some reason Q really enjoyed that). The best part was there weren't the annoying bees and Japanese Beetles that are usually swarming by this time of the year. It was the perfect fall day!