Claude Moore Birthday Party

We had a little birthday party for Thomas. He invited three of his friends. Since Tommy loves water, I thought it would be fun to do the party at the Claude Moore swimming pool. They have a little toddler section with slides and fountains along with a big pool with a lazy river and a whirlpool. Thomas had fun playing in the water with his friends. He loved showing off how he can swim all by himself.

We had fun eating cupcakes and opening his presents.

His favorite toy was a Thomas the Tank car carrier that he got from Easton.

Joshua looses his 1st tooth!

Joshua came home from school today and said his loose tooth bothered him during snack time. (I didn't even know he had a loose tooth. Last time I had checked it was hardly wiggly.) For snack today he had a green granny smith apple. I knew immediately that most likely the tooth would be loose enough to pull out. I asked him if I could wiggly it. He eagerly replied, "YES!" After wiggling it one time, I asked him to get me a piece of toilet paper and I would pull it out. He wasn't so sure it would come out but he hesitantly got me a piece of toilet paper. Once I had the toilet paper in my hand and his mouth open, his tooth was out. (Thanks to my mom who taught me the trick to pulling teeth out. She was always a pro.) Joshua was in SHOCK! He couldn't believe his tooth was out. Immediately he said in a shaky voice, "I get money?" His next thing to utter was, "I call Peter? My cousin Peter!" It was the cutest thing! I just love this boy!

Happy Halloween 2009

HaPpY HaLLoWeEn!!!

We enjoyed Trunk "R" Treating with our ward family and playing carnival games. By the way Ryan's trunk was the best decorated for trunk "R" treating! He had a wrought iron gates along the back of the Suburban which were covered in spider webs and little and big plastic spiders. Behind the fence were headstones. He had dry ice making fog along with Halloween music playing. It was creepy, but fun! On a side note, I must record Thomas' love of mice. Yes, MICE! He found one at the party city store and it has been in his pocket ever since daddy bought it.

We enjoyed carving pumpkins as a family! Always a favorite at our house!

We ended this Halloween season with a Halloween party at our neighbors. Followed by trick or treating around the neighborhood with the neighborhood gang.

This year we decided to go trick or treating as a family! Usually Ryan stays behind to hand out the candy. But this year Ryan reluctantly left candy on our doorsteps. We went with the neighborhood gang. It was nice to have an extra set of hands, since the older kids went faster than Thomas could go. The children ran from door to door. Thomas insisted on walking and going up to every door. He was very proud of his candy. When we got home the boys loved sorting their candy! Afterwards, we dumped all of the candy the boys had gathered from trick or treating and trunk r treating into 5 gallon buckets, we filled two of them!

George Washington National Forest

Last Friday Ryan got home from work slightly early. We loaded up in the Suburban along with the Jeep and drove about an hour and half away to George Washington National Forest which is in the Appalachian Mountains. We stopped at the local gas station and bought a permit which allowed us to use the off roading trails. We drove a little bit more to the forest and parked the Suburban in the parking lot. We then packed everyone into the jeep to do a little four wheeling.

First, I must say the pictures we took do not even begin to show the steepness or actual grade of the road. At times we had a cliff on my side of the vehicle and tons of rocks/boulders to drive over. The boys and I were a little nervous at times, but loved every moment. We had a BLAST together as our adrenaline level rose. Tommy kept saying, "Jeeping fun, bumpy, Go Daddy!"

Red Skins Football Game

Ryan surprised Christopher and took him to a REDSKINS football game at FEDEX Field in Maryland. Christopher found out the day before the game. He was so EXCITED, he could hardly sleep that night.

Their tickets were in the lower bowl on the eighteen row. The Redskins played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Thankfully the Redskins won the game! Ryan and Christopher had a BLAST watching the game from so close. One of Christopher's favorite football players is Chris Cooley. Chris Cooley made some great plays in this game. At the end of the game they went down to the railing to have their picture taken and a security guard handed up some endzone grass to Christopher.

The following week at school Christopher rallied his classmates to wear their favorite football jerseys to school. Each day the children would talk and spread the word to wear them again the following day. Christopher ended up wearing his Redskins jersey for four days in a row to school.

Gettysburg, Pennyslvania

Right before I left on my girls trip to Seattle, we found out that Ryan's cousin had passed away from a long battle with cancer. Her family lives in Maryland. Ryan's mom made arrangements to come out for her funeral. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see Ryan's mom, but she stayed a few days with Ryan and the boys.

Things were a little hectic at home with getting Grandma to and from the funeral, boys to school & sport games, etc. but Ryan and his mom did manage to hold the fork down. They were also able to take a day trip up to Gettysburg, Pa.



The boys had a blast climbing up the towers. Joshua for the next several days kept asking, "When can we do that adventure again?"

Thomas Swimming

Thomas loves the water and has no fear of it. While in Utah this summer, it became very clear to me that I needed to teach him to swim. So this week I taught him how to kick and reach/pull. He picked it up in one afternoon at our pool. He is such a determined little boy. Each time he would swim to me, when I pulled him out of the water he would say, "Again" and twist out of my arms to head back to the stairs. He also replied several times, "I did it, I did it!" He truly thinks he is one of the big boys! I caught him trying to do a 360' jump off the edge of the pool. He was very proud of himself. Everyone at the pool comments on him swimming. You don't expect a two year old to be swimming all on their own. It is the cutest thing to watch!