Halloween & the JUMPER

Well, we did it. For the first time in...as long as I can remember, Jim and I dressed up for Halloween!

Our church had a Trunk or Treat on Saturday which was actually a LOT easier than walking through neighborhoods with little ones. Michael's favorite part was sitting in the trunk helping Jim pass out candy.

Jim was such a star to wear his Mickey Mouse costume. Nicole was calling him Mickey by the end of the night ("Mickey can you buckle my seatbelt?" "Mickey where is my candy?")

We had so many trick or treaters that our two huge bags were gone within an hour. So much fun!

Nicole was an Eskimo Dinosaur rider (it was cold so we improvised) and Michael was a cowboy riding a horse. Jacob... was asleep (yet another perk of having a car he could sleep in while Jim passed out candy and I took the kids around)

We had a party earlier in the week and Jacob dressed up in my brother Caleb's old baby costume- a pumpkin! He wore it all day and is wearing it while jumping. he LOVES the jumper- I hope you enjoy the video!! www.delbifamily.blogspot.com

100% Wild Nicole-Caught Fish

Nicole did all the work to catch this guy! Last week Nicole and Jim went fishing on their daddy-daughter "adventure" as they call it. Jim baited the hook with whatever Nicole chose and cast the line, but Nicole did everything else. She caught at least three fish and Jim said that he would do anything to see her big smile and hear the giggles and laughter as she jumped around and excitedly reeled in each big, live fish! She definitely has Ostler blood in her veins!

Museum of Life and Science and the Chex Mix Football Party

Eve and Anna took us to a museum in Durham! The museum was so kid-friendly that Michael could roam around without me worrying. Priceless!

There was a little area Jacob played in for a while. He is finally crawling- very very slowly, but he is crawling the right way at least! Michael has taken this as a signal that now they can REALLY wrestle and play so I have to be more watchful with them.

This mini-playset was so fun for the kids!

There was a butterfly house and we got to see butterflies all around us! I tried getting a picture of the kids all together, but it was a joke to get them sitting still and looking at the camera all at once! There are a few butterflies in this picture, but it's hard to catch on camera.

Outside they had farm animals, a playground, old train, and a Dinosaur Trail!! All the dino names were wrong- I was sure that this was a triceratops but it has some other crazy name. I'm sticking with the easy name!

Anna and Nicole wanted a picture of them with the baby and the dino. They are really cute together!

The biggest hit of all is now my newest idea for backyard landscaping- a Fossil Dig! There were shovels (real metal and slightly hazardous), pails, and sifters. We must have sat for a half hour talking while the kids kept digging industriously. Even the lure of snacks didn't distract them for a long time. So I'm thinking this would be a fun setup in the backyard. Quite low maintenance, and a hundred times more agreeable than fescue grass!

Thanks to Chex Mix for sending me some food, we had a Chex Mix football party. We watched some games, ate all this food as well as chili and pumpkin pie, frosted sugar cookies, and carved pumpkins. I love eating food all afternoon long!

We were really missing our other couch- it doesn't fit and is currently waiting in Jim's office until we have a house that fits it. So sad! But it was fine and the weather was great outside so it felt just like a perfect fall day with football and friends.

The kids weren't sure if they wanted to really dig the guts out with their hands and asked for spoons. After a bit they finally gave in and scooped them out the real way!

This pumpkin was enormous! It was really hard to carve because it was so big and thick, I think next year we'll opt for a smaller/skinnier one!

Here is some video of getting the goop out of our pumpkin

www.delbifamily.blogspot.com

Soccer, Crawling, and NC State Fair 2010

Soccer class has begun! Nicole LOVES this class and the teacher does a wonderful job. Nicole has a friend from church in the class too! Nicole was tired and thirsty after the class- a great sign of a wonderful time :-)

Because our lawn was reseeded and will take weeks to grow in, the kids play on the front porch for hours now. Jacob-no matter where he starts out-crawls to the door to peek out at the fun just beyond the glass.

On the way to the State Fair! The weather started out in the 50s, but got really warm later! I think if all we had done was the bus ride, the kids would have thought the entire outing worthwhile. I reminded Nicole that we used to ride buses and trains all the time in Chicago, but she doesn't remember it at all.

Michael was THRILLED to be on a "buth." Slightly nervous, but very excited.

Family picture just after Nicole recovered from falling over in a mound of hay. Of course the picture booth is situated so you are facing the sun completely.

One part of the fair is "Field of Dreams" where the kids get buckets and load them with sweet potatoes, apples, strawberries, and blueberries that they pick (the fruits and veggies are laid out for them). They take their buckets to the weighing station at the "farmers market" and are given fake dollars which they give to the "grocery store" that gives them a bag with an apple and some freebies. Jim and I loved the idea and how much the kids enjoyed it. Jim wants to be a farmer now. A little late for that one buddy. Of course, if we had a mini farm...

Nicole with her goods. She tried taking a whole ton of blueberries but we put them back.

Nicole entering the coloring contest.

Michael breaking crayons when tired of coloring. I don't think he will win the contest.

This monster truck was enormous! Nicole and Jim liked it the most. Michael just wanted to eat his apple in peace.

The produce prizes were amazing this year-I'm always surprised at how big the produce is. They have people assigned to guard the major prizes. For example, Nicole swung her feet over the other side of the bench and the lady scolded poor Nicole who had no intention of making a dash at the pumpkin and, I don't know, eating it? attacking it with her bare hands?

We were sad that Super Why or Curious George weren't scheduled to be there yet, but Nicole settled on giving Reader-Roo a hug.

The prize sweet potatoes! That fifteen pounder could serve a whole bunch of people! As another fair-goer said "where's the butter?

The watermelon this year was fifty pounds more than the one we saw two years ago. Over 200 lbs! I wish the state fair included a big feast with all this amazing food instead of pricey stuff everywhere.

But the pricey stuff was good :-) It's been too long since I had some southern bbq and hush puppies! Nicole had 2 hot dogs and Michael ate all the fries. All of it was delicous!

After this point, we spent a long time trying to fight the crowds to go see the pig races and the petting zoo, but we never made it. There were TONS of people and our double stroller was a nightmare! Next time we'll go on a weekday, but at least the morning was fine and we had a great time. Now Nicole and Jim are on a fishing adventure together and maybe we'll have some fish for dinner!

Here's a cute and distracted Nicole telling you all about the state fair.

Sweetness

I have so much sweetness in my life, I thought I'd share some pictures of some of these sweet things! Jacob is just about crawling- he rocks back and forth on his knees. His mobility will be the start of a whole new chapter of fun and craziness! He is also sharing a room with Nicole now, and even though he started screaming one night (tooth coming in), Nicole didn't even stir and said she didn't hear it when I asked the next morning. No complaints here! Nicole is in a (hopefully long term) phase of cleanliness. She cleans her room, Michael's room, and her bathroom of all toys and clothes. I hope my praise helps her make this a habit :-) Michael's big step is that he will say prayers with help and his sweet little voice is so precious. He is a train fanatic- today we spent four hours at daddy's office and all they did the WHOLE time was play blissfully with trains. Crazy!

I made these candy bouquets for Jim to give out, they were so fun to make! This is my second attempt at making these- the first time the candy never made it to the office... :-)

I enjoyed doing something crafty-making something feels good when you are usually cleaning up what kids have destroyed!

This life is so full of sweetness!!!