The First Snow

Cameron and Cade were SOOO excited about the first snowfall of the season.  We arrived home at 6:00 that evening and of course it was dark by then (ugh), but they did not care!  We dug out the boots and snowpants, turned on the outside light, and they hit the snow! 

At 6:45 they announced that they had completed a snowman! 

...and...and...and they WON!

Not only did Cameron enjoy his birthday for obvious reasons, but the St. Louis Cardinals also won the World Series on his birthday!!  Woo hoo!

The Cardinals sure kept us guessing that week and created long nights.   Eric and Cameron (the most dedicated fans in our house) stayed up to watch all of game 7 and I knew the Cards won by the shouts I heard!  Eric and Cameron were soooo excited!

Eight, really?

I can't believe it has been eight years since our first baby was born.  The memories are so clear!  Cameron is growing so fast.  The "boy" stage of his life has officially begun.  Eric and I have noticed many changes in Cameron, both in behavior and looks (especially with those big teeth)!

This year Cameron decided to have a Pirates of a Caribbean themed party.  Cade made a giant X to mark the location of the treasure.  I loved that he took on this project of coloring, cutting, and gluing to help make his brother's birthday special.

You can't have a pirate party without having a treasure map.  Yes, the boys had clues to follow around the house which led to a treasure map!  It was too funny watching them try to locate the right place to dig for the treasure.  With a little help, they finally found it!

M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E

Mickey Mouse!  Donald Duck!

Oh how fun, our boys reached the age we had decided a few years ago to be the perfect age for our first trip to Disney World!  And it was magical!

Our Fall Break started with a flight to Ft. Myers, Fl.  We stayed for a couple of days enjoying the beach and our favorite restaurant!  The weather was perfect beach weather so the boys had the most fun they have ever had playing in the sand!

We drove to Kissimmee a day early and spent our first evening at Downtown Disney.  The boys had so much fun exploring the many shops like LEGO Imagination Center and Team Mickey Athletic Club.  They found treasures like LEGO Star Wars characters and also made their own lightsabers!

The following two days were spent at Magic Kingdom.  The boys took right away to collecting autographs from all the Disney characters.  It was a fun adventure looking for characters throughout the park! 

We had a full two days of exploring the park and riding all the rides the boys wanted to ride.  Cam even went on Space Mountain!  (He sure was brave, but I think it will be a while before he attempts another roller coaster.)  Cade went on Splash Mountain a couple of times.  He loved the charge!  Eric loves all of those rides so he was happy to take the boys.  Cade might just be his thrill riding partner!

We had breakfast one morning at Cape May Cafe with Goofy, Donald, and Minnie!  The boys were able to get up close and personal as the characters visited our breakfast table.  At this point, Cameron and Cade had already gotten Goofy's autograph so when Goofy suggested he sign the book, Cameron thought it was silly that Goofy didn't remember he had already seen Cameron and Cade at Magic Kingdom.  I loved that!

Prior to our Disney trip our family had been watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies so the boys found it very entertaining to see Captain Jack Sparrow!

Our third day we spent the day at Hollywood Studios.  Our favorite ride was here!  Star Tours!  It is no surprise that our boys would love this Star Wars ride, but who knew it would be the favorite ride for EVERYONE!  We rode the ride six times that day...the last time being just minutes before the park closed.

The last day arrived and we had many conversations about where to spend it.  The debate was between Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  We finally decided on Animal Kingdom, but made a last minute decision to go back to Magic Kingdom and ride all of our favorite rides one more time!  We did not regret this decision!  It was so much FUN!



Cameron and Cade were so funny about avoiding anything girly.  So when we saw Daisy Duck the boys needed me to be in the picture to justify standing in a line to get a girl's signature.  Too funny!

The one ride I wanted to make sure I rode was the tea cups.  This is the ride I always imagined riding when going to Disney.  We all rode this ride, but I have to say it wasn't quite what I expected...that is because the boys were making me spin so quickly I couldn't fully enjoy it!

This vacation truly was full of lifetime memories!  Everything from the rides to the fireworks and from the parades to the characters made our family oh so happy!!!

Our vacation wasn't over yet!  We went back to Fort Myers to enjoy a couple of days of relaxation before heading home. 

A vacation to remember!!

Pinterest is my new Interest!

Spending time on Pinterest is my new favorite pastime! I have found soooo many great ideas for our home! After a couple trips to craft stores, I am fully stocked to complete some projects to help add a personal touch to some of our rooms.

Here is my first completed project!

I used cardboard letters found at a craft store and covered them with fabric. I love it!

Vocabulary Explosion

Many people believe too much television is not good for children and to some extent I agree. However, I have also witnessed some positive results with my boys from watching television.

I LOVE when I hear my boys using vocabulary words beyond their years. And much of their extensive vocabulary has come from programs they watch on tv. I have fond memories of my two year old Cameron using shunting, conductor, and hauling with correct context during his imaginary play. And recently I overheard Cade using master, defeat, and padawan.


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Fall Treats

Cameron and Cade made some fall treats for special people at school.  Yum!

Another Episode

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Young Minds

Two things amaze me about my boys:
1. how easy technology is for them
2. their imaginations

We recently spent a few days with my parents while Eric was out of town and one evening the boys used the iPad to create some Star Wars episodes. Not only did I not know the iPad could make movies, I definitely did not know how to make one myself. I do now!

I also loved watching the movies after the boys made them. Their imaginations and also their vocabulary are very entertaining.

I love these boys!

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Miracle

We were able to witness the miracle of the life cycle of a Monarch butterfly.  After Cameron's butterfly study at school we searched out our own Monarch caterpillars.   When we found the caterpillars they were the size a small grain of rice.  We fed these very hungry caterpillars everyday until they each formed their chrysalis.  We were fortunate enough to watch one of the caterpillars transform into the chrysalis.  Wow!  It was a happy day when they hatched into God's beautifully planned Monarch butterflies.  The boys were happy to release them for their long journey to Mexico.

Go Cards!

Baseball became a huge interest for our boys this summer (especially Cameron).  They started the spring by playing baseball and then it became a hobby for Cameron.  He played backyard baseball with his dad, he made up a torpedo baseball game for the pool, he sorted through baseball cards, he watched MLB with his dad, we took the boys to their first St. Louis Cardinals game, and the list continues.

Cameron took such an interest that when we had the opportunity to get tickets to another Cardinals games we decided to head back to St. Louis. 

Highlights for Cameron:

We had great seats close to the Cardinal's clubhouse so we were able to see the players up and close.  Cameron and Eric were pretty excited to see Albert Pujols!

The game had such a great ending with the Cardinals winning in the 10th inning!  Cameron was determined to stick it out and told his dad he was staying even if there were twenty innings because the Cardinals could come back and win.  Well, the win and the fireworks at the end made the 5 hour game worth it for our little man. 

Highlights for Cade:

Cade was exhausted and fell asleep during the last ending and didn't wake up until Eric carried him all the way back to the car and buckled him in.  But that was okay with him because what he really wanted was to see Fred Bird!  And he was also thrilled to get blue cotton candy!

While at Busch Stadium, we took the boys to Build-a-Bear.  Cameron made Albert Bear and Cade made a puppet Fred Bird. 

 Cade is preparing Fred Bird's heart. 

Cameron is dressing Albert Bear in his Cardinal's uniform.

Well-Adjusted

We have lived in our new home nearly a year now and we have adjusted quite well.  We knew the adjustment period would most correlate with the creation of memories. 

And we have had a year of making fond memories in our new home.  We spent our first Christmas here, we have celebrated birthdays, and we had a very hot summer which was perfect for our pool!  As with any house there are still many changes we plan to make and those will happen in time, but this home really has a lot of things I always wanted in a house.  Some of those things were in our other home and some were not.  I love the floor plan, I love the square footage, and I love the pool!  This house is great for entertaining and Eric and I have done A LOT of that. We have enjoyed having so many friends and family members in our home this last year!!



But, most importantly we have a happy and healthy family living here and that REALLY is what makes it our home!

The Boys are Off!

Another school year has started.  Cameron and Cade were excited for the first day of school...new adventures, new friends, and new things to learn!

Cameron is in second grade.  He is in Mrs. Gongwer's class again this year.  Mrs. Gongwer moved from first grade to second grade so she kept her whole group together.

Cade is in kindergarten! *sniff sniff*  He is in Mrs. Brouyette's class.

My New Job!!

I am very excited about this next school year! While I am not ready for summer break to end, I am looking forward to getting started in my new position!

The job description is new for my school so I am sure it is going to continue to evolve as it has already this summer. As of right now, I am essentially going to be a resource for the teachers. Most of my time will be spent working with the teachers instead of with the students. I am going to be in charge of new assessments, professional development, modeling new strategies in the classrooms, and helping coordinate a technology grant our school received (All second graders will have an iPad this year!)

I have already worked on curriculum this summer, I have three days of training next week, and I am constantly searching for new iPad apps for our kiddos to use. This line of work really is my passion! I can't wait to get started!!! (Well, I can wait a couple of more weeks! This summer has gone so fast and I want to enjoy the rest of what I can with my little boys!)

Yet Another One Done!

Finishing the laundry/ mudroom was easy once I found the perfect rug.  I am very happy with the way it all turned out.  It is very welcoming each time we walk in the house!
Before

After

 And even a little personalized place for Cameron and Cade to hang their coats and backpacks!

It All Clicked

Fourth of July weekend was not only a celebration of our countries freedom, but for our family it was also a celebration of my little man's swimming ability!

Yes, Cade is officially a swimmer!  I am so proud of him!  He had so many of the skills down, but lacked the one that allowed him to be completely free in the pool.  He just didn't know how to be completely buoyant or tread water when he needed to stop swimming.  So he could swim only as far as one breath would take him.  But whatever needed "to click" for him did this weekend!

Way to go, Caders!

Fun Trip Continues

The event that prompted our trip to St. Louis in the first place was a Cardinal's baseball game!  Eric and I have been waiting for the right time to take our boys to a baseball game and with Cameron's passion for baseball this summer it seemed like the perfect time.

We couldn't be downtown without visiting the Gateway Arch!

And then of course we took in a game!

Here Cameron and Cade are playing a pretend game of baseball during our walk around the stadium.