happy birthday, autumn!

october 28th marked autumn's 4th birthday!  it was great to gather and celebrate such a sweet little girl and dear friend.  it was a fairy princess party and all were to come in appropriate attire.  our dashing knights were ready, swords in hand!

yes, amanda is always over the top in her gorgeous decorating!

the only way these boys were dressing up was if they got to hold the sword.  done!

"this sword is amazing!"

knight in training

  

noni read a book...

the boys kinda sat still and kinda didn't.  

how fun are these cuties?!  friends since they were babies, just like their mommas. 

eva was amazing with her gasping at all the fun gifts.  i can only imagine this girl on christmas morning!  so great!

yep, adorable!

sweet boy

soon this pack of boys will have another crew member.  love boys!  please note that only the mothers are looking at the camera.  true to form- good job, fellas;)

we heart cupcakes!  can you tell?

love

the babies.    "watch out big kids, we've got more of us coming!"

everybody plays (with kelle hampton)

yesterday the boys had the opportunity to be a part of the everybody plays photo shoot.  we jumped out of the car ready for the camera!  funny how these smiles disappear the minute you want them.  ha!










isaac walked in excited, greeting everyone!  all signs pointed to a successful photo shoot.  too bad those signs soon disappeared.  ryder was slow to warm up, but quickly found himself having fun.  the minute it was isaac's turn he went "bad mood billy", much like the photo above. ha!  not sure what those photos will turn out like, but it will be a real test of how great kelle's skill are;). the whole thing was still a great experience and so fun to meet kelle!  it didn't hurt that each boy was given a $75 gift certificate to use at step 2!  ryder kept saying they gave him a piece of paper(technically he's right!). 

love that kelle has such a sweet heart for ALL children!  she is just as warm as i imagined and i bet she would be an amazing friend(heck, she liked my green jeans and who doesn't love a friend with similar taste? ;)).  kelle rolled with the punches and was very comfortable in her own skin(i LOVE that in a girl!).  if you aren't familiar with her story, read it.  the girl is legit!
my fabulous mom even came with us to help! thanks mom!

smiles abound

picture courtesy of isaac (last sunday) also taken last sunday during our menconi get together. isaac and ryder loved playing with cousin anthony! can you tell?

the great white north

after bates nut farm we took a quick nap before heading to escondido to meet up with stew's cousin, aunts and uncle. it was fun to introduce the boys to their aunt janet, aunt gwen, cousin kathleen and uncle ray. we haven't seen them in a few years and it was good to catch up. aunt gwen and uncle ray actually live in canada, so to see them is a rare and special treat! they were all very gracious as our boys made themselves at home in their hotel room:)

bates nut farm

every year we head out to bates for a little pumpkin picking.  this year was full of demanding that our kids smile for pictures family, friends and thousands of others fun!





these boys are some lucky boys!  both sets of grandparents and aunties to love on them.

asher's first year at the patch!

our three little loves.

the reality of our life...

the best shot we could get.. fake smiles and hair in the mouth... we'll take it!

after the hay ride, auntie bonnie let each boy do the ball toss.  the selling point:  everyone's a winner!  our winners picked out new flashing swords!

6 teeth!  four on top and two on the bottom!

daniel, addison and ryder did a lot of feeding of this goat!

isaac took the picture on the left.

the ride home!

big slides, little loves and lots of fun

last friday we declared family pumpkin station day! another great deal got us 12 rides for $15. let's just say, we got our moneys worth. we all left sweaty and exhausted. good times! isaac was certain he wanted to ride the BIG slide and ryder wanted to follow. turns out i was going to be making my way to the top to help ryder make it down the second time. fortunately it was pretty fun. and to his 2 year old credit, it was pretty dang high! that night we celebrated my birthday with my family(yes, we do a lot of celebrating in our family). it was wonderful... my whole family, great food, balloons, flowers and money for shopping! thanks family!