Dress up fun (:

Nathaniel has enjoyed dressing up in costumes for a few years. We have quite a collection now thanks to after halloween sales and some great goodwill/consignment shop finds. There have been many occasions we have taken 'Spiderman' to lunch or a 'dragon' to the store. It's always fun to watch how his imagination flows with each new venture or character he takes on.




The other day, after a trip to the dollar store where we got some new costumes we had fun playing at home. Ellie even got to take part this time since I got her first dress up outfit! She was a little unsure about it at first but looked so cute and enjoyed all the attention. (:




Here are some cute pictures of my precious kiddos the other day (:

My Beautiful

Fairy Princess

Elliana!

Our Knight

in

Shinning

Armor,

Nathaniel!!

Our Little Athlete

Fall is upon us as summer comes to an end and Nathaniel has started playing soccer. He is so excited to be back on a team and learining to play Soccer.

With the start of the new season came a new pair of cleats! Adidas, of course!

Playing "Coach Says"...

Learning to "dribble" the soccer ball, remembering not to use our hands!

Making a goal!

Daddy's Newest Project

Over the long weekend Daddy got inspired to make a new project. So, off to Lowes we went to get some supplies.

So.. if you can't figure it out by now... we're making a Sandbox!! We have talked about buying or making one in the past but for one reason or another have just not done it. Now that the weather is getting a little cooler, Daddy decided he was up for the task.

Nathaniel was so excited to be getting his own sandbox.

We set out to the back yard to find the perfect spot for the sandbox and settled on a nice shady spot under a tree... Daddy built the frame and began digging up the dirt to prepare the spot.

Elliana had a blast hanging outside with Mommy and Daddy... sitting and standing with her car like a big girl! (:

Viola! A hole!

Insert frame... add corner seats... and its a sandbox!

Muscle man Thanie tries to help lift the bags (they're 50lbs!)

Then it was time to add some SAND!

and more sand...








....And MORE Sand!

16 bags to open and dump to be
exact! That's 800lbs of sand!

Nathaniel enjoyed using the dirt rake to even it all out

Ellie on the other hand, wasen't too sure about this whole sandbox thing... and decided to give it a little taste...













I don't think she was too pleased with the result... LoL!

Nathaniel couldn't wait to jump in and try it out!

excited to bury our feet... where'd they go!?

It didn't take long for Ellie to adapt and jump in on the fun...

and she loved it too!

Thank you Daddy for our new sandbox!!

Not Me My Child Monday!

It has been a doosey of a week for us. I decided on this Labor Day Monday to do another Not My Child Monday instead of the normal Not me! Monday. You can find out more about this blog carival by visiting MckMama's Blog.

It' s fun!
Did you almost die of embarrassment when your child walked in on you and your husband doing you-know-what? Want to scream bloody murder when your toddler colored on your floor with a Sharpie? Feel like a terrible mother when your kid used a swear word in front of your in-laws? Well don't! Mothers aren't perfect and neither are children, so today I thought we'd switch things up a little and do a Not my child! Monday!

It was not My child who decided to crawl inside the clothing racks while shopping at target... causing them to break apart and complete colapse! This didn't cause tons of nicely hung and organized clothes to go everywhere and provide lots of exciting work for 2 unsuspecting target employee's. He knows better than that and would never act out of line out in public... Not My Child!

My sweet and innocent 8 month old darling daughter did not get ahold of my Mcdonalds Ice Coffee and proceed to drink it (through a straw!) loving it! I would never give my small child coffee! and drinking through a straw at 9 months??? .. who knew!?? Nope, Not My Child!

Lastly, It was not my child who, while at the Zoo, proceeded to stand and pee in his pants while we were sitting just mere feet from the bathrooms! My 5 year old would never deny that he needs to go to the bathroom when asked and have an accident just moments later... we teach him better than that! Definatly, Not My Child!

Successful Sunday!

It's Labor Day weekend, and Daddy's weekend off work... which means lots of fun time to play! We have really enjoyed this weekend, and the best part is that it's not over yet! Yesterday we had a great time togetherat the zoo and today we were up and moving as well.. this time to get some things accomplished.

While Nana and Grandpop ran off with Nathaniel and Paulie for some fun, Jake and I tackled some projects at home. Daddy began a very special project that I will blog about soon.

I on the other hand had the joy of working on Elliana's room.

What can I say, the girl has too many clothes! It also doesn't help that she is growing like a weed and needs clothes gone through every month (or so it seems). So sort, fold, hang, and pack up and put away... I did. Alot.

But I must say it felt good to get it done. I was proud of myself for making decisions on what to sell/pass on and what to keep. (most of which I'm getting rid of!) Out with the small... in with the new and bigger! (: I also spent some time organizing her closet and got everything hung up and put away.

Success!

Now we can actually find something for her to wear each day and can even walk through her room.

Ahh... How nice.

Family Field Trip

Daddy was off work today and we decided to go do something fun together. We packed up into the van and headed down the road for a short road trip. We landed in Columbia, about 1 1/2 hrs away and went to the Zoo. It was a blast. Nathaniel has such a great time seeing all the animals as did all of us and we really enjoyed the time together. Here are some pictures of our day.

Lions

Nathaniel was sad that the tigers were not out but we did see a few of these lions laying about in the shade.

He and Daddy were also very excited to see this Huge Aligator resting in the sun by a small lake.

Nathaniel's First Pony Ride! He loved it (:
"Spooky" the Pony

Mommy got to try her hand at milking a cow (kinda that is.. lol)

We took Elliana on her first Carousel Ride... She was sooo excited! :D

Nathaniel had fun pretending to race on his anteater!

One of Mommy's childhood favorites... Koala Bear

...taking a snooze on this tree branch. so cute!

Also in this Australian exhibit we went through an area full of these beautiful brightly colored birds called Lory's

Many guests purchased cups of nectar to feed the birds. They would come right up for a drink and would even land right on your hand/arm to look for some food.
Nathaniel enjoyed being able to see them so up close and personal and even got to pet a few of the birds.

Mommy's other favorite... Giraffe's!

They even had a baby Giraffe, it was cute watching it follow around the adults and try to reach the leaves or spread its front legs to lean down to eat some grass.

Poor Ellie was worn out from all the fun...

Our family at the ZOO!

We had such a great time and loved seeing all the animals. The best part was having the opportunity to be together. Can't wait till we have another chance to go somewhere else together for another Family Fun Day Field Trip!