A Perfect Seat...

When we were at Uncle Steve's Kira found the perfect seat for herself... in the fireplace! Luckily, it was very, very clean so we let her enjoy her finding. She was still in her jammies, but it made for a few cute pictures anyways!

So proud of herself

Playing with some decorations

Hmm... I'm sure uncle Steve won't mind if I eat this...

Jacuzzi Fun on Saturday

Before we left Uncle Steve's house on Saturday, we had some fun outside in the jacuzzi! The kids loved that they could go "swimming" even though it was really chilly outside! Unfortunately, jacuzzis are a no-no for pregnant mommies, so I had to watch and take pictures. I am getting a little sick of this considering I feel like I have been pregnant for 7 straight years, but I know that it is only a season (even if it is a long one) and this too will pass.

3 Cuties!

Piggies in the air!

Daddy and Kaden being silly

Kenz and Daddy

Kade and Daddy

CJ... One of Uncle Steve's dogs that the kids had such a fun time playing with!

Monster Baby...

These pictures just crack us up! Because of the perspective, Kira looks like a Giant about to conquer the mini buildings behind her.

Is is Kira or King Kong?

The little person in the background is no match for this monster! Ahh!

Longhorn

Tonight we ate a Longhorn Steakhouse- yum! We were given some faulty directions and it ended up taking us 55 plus minutes to find the restaurant, but we were determined and in the end it was well worth it. So we took a few quick pics to celebrate our success in finally finding the restaurant! :)

Little Miss...

Kenz came out the other morning with my glasses on... we were cracking up. She just looked so much older. I told Eric I might get her a pair of placebos just because they're cute!

And of course we had to see Mr. Kaden as well. Too funny!

USB update

So still no USB cord for me... Kel and I drove for 40 minutes and never even found the best buy that should have been 13 minutes away. Darn you mapquest... and darn that we both forgot to bring our cell phones. I will not be deterred... Today I will try again!

Some Halloween Fun

Kaden is in love with the paint application on the computer. He's actually getting very good at drawing pictures on it. All of his pictures are halloween themed! It's somewhat sad to say, but our kids get almost as excited for halloween as they do for Christmas! :) Here's one of Kaden's most recent creations...

Kaden and Daddy made a Beach picture together... Daddy did the shark, Kaden did the jellyfish, and they each made one crab. Nice work!

We Arrived

Well I am a little cranky right now b/c I was very excited to post some pictures, but no, I need to go out and get a USB that works with our camera tomorrow. We are spoiled at home because we just put our SM Card right into the computer, but with my laptop I forgot that I'd need a USB. So, no pictures for me tonight :( I mapquested a BestBuy and tomorrow we'll be up and running!
As for an update... Yesterday we left at 1:00pm and drove to Eric's Uncle Steve's house in Willmington, NC. It should have been about a 9 hour drive, but it took us longer with the kids and we didn't arrive until about 11pm. Honestly, I hate driving in the car! I just get so uncomfortable and blah. Kira did amazingly well. She didn't fuss or cry one, single time... we were shocked!! As for the older two, who we did not expect a problem from... well lets just say that Eric and I were discussing the vacation options we would have if we never had kids! HA! It was rough. BUT, we finally made it and had a nice day today hanging out at Uncle Steve's house. The kids played with the two dogs, went in the jacuzzi, and took a long walk on the nature trail. After the kiddos had naps we packed back up and headed for Myrtle Beach (thankfully it was only about 1 hr 15 mins away.) We arrived and unpacked with Mom and Dad Mangin. We all enjoyed a nice dinner and then we went and played on the beach for a little bit. The kids were just thrilled to finally be here and be on the beach! We're excited for Bryan and Kelly to arrive tomorrow and we can't wait to have a nice day at the beach.

So sorry I don't have pictures, but check back tomorrow! I'm beat and headed to bed- this vacation thing is exhausting! :)

Vacation... Off to Myrtle Beach, SC

It's finally here!! Today at noon we are leaving for Myrtle Beach. It seems like we've been waiting forever ,(we usually go away about 2 weeks earlier) but it's perfect timing with my job and for the kids starting school. We are all so thrilled about some down time and some fun, family time with our family and Eric's side of the family (Aaron we'll miss you!).

I am taking 2 days off from work and the other days I will be working from the beach (I got a wireless air card yesterday.) Even though it's not 100% vacation for me, I am sure there will be more work than play :) The very fun part about my wireless card is that I can blog from vacation! So I will try to keep up with posts during the week.

So, off we go! See you soon!

Carrots... Harvest Time

This year we grew carrots on the side of our house. We have grown beans, watermelons, and pumpkins in the past. This year we tried something new... We planted them in the late spring and due to a surprise pregnancy and months of sickness we did nothing to them until this week. I think they would have benefitted from some spacing (most of the carrots were all funky shaped b.c they were too close together) but in the end we had carrots and that made the 39 cents for seeds well worth it!

Our harvested carrots

Kenz

Kade

I couldn't get a good picture of our little gardeners... oh well!

We ate some carrots for dinner that night and they would have been great, except I forgot to peel them before I cooked them! I was so focused on scrubbing all the dirt off that I forgot to peel them. Oh well, it was still a fun memory.

Philadelphia

It's not easy being a philly sports fan!!!

Eagles Season Kick-off!

Today was the first Eagles game of the season and we LOVE football season!! We had a bunch of friends over (Derstines and Hayners we missed you) and watched the game. Everyone was so decked out in Eagles green that we took a group picture! Everyone brought their fav. fall food and we had quite a buffet! Apple pie, tiramisu triffle, hamburger sliders, taco dip, mac-n-cheese, pigs in a blanket, beer bread and dip, and lots more! It was amazing!
Good friends, Good food, and Great Football! Woo hoo!

We're all looking tough!
(I don't know why it's looking blurry, must be a blog issue)

We watch the game in style at the Mangins! Everyone hates our tiny TV so we make other arrangments :)
I'll ask Santa for a big flat screen this year! Ha!

Tim, back from WI for a few weeks! yay!

Eric tryna look tough

Dan Emr gets the points for effort... He didn't have an Eagles tee shirt, so he made one by printing out the logo and taping it on his shirt. He kept it on all day. Sweet dedication Dan, now go buy a shirt at WalMart! :)

Update...

All done studding out... That's the french door leading into my office. We wanted double doors, but only one fit thanks to the honking heat unit. Oh well, I love my single door!

Playroom area with outlets

The new door leading to the storage space and the half-wall railing area leading upstairs

This is hard to envision through a picture... see where all the junk is behind the wall?? Well that is the area under the stairs. So rather than have wasted space it will be a kids cottage area... We made a window (see the cutout) and there is a door on the other side. We will put the kids kitchen in there and have it fully painted and carpeted etc- it's my fav. project! I went to lowes and ordered custom, small shutters for the window and I will have 2 like exterior lantern-like lights on either side. I hope it turns out as cute as I'm picturing it!

Finishing the Basement...

Well, the time has finally come- We're ready to finish the basement! We have a terrible basement for finishing (it's all divided up and the duct work is everywhere) but it will be just fine for a playroom and an office! Yea! We spent last week cleaning it out and building a storage section. This week the construction began! Eric and Aaron began working on Wed. night and HOLY COW they're moving so quickly! Great job guys!

Pre- construction playroom area

My soon to be office!

Hall area

The messy area to the left is the storage room. It will be all walled off

This morning Eric, Aaron, DanE, Kev, and Schmidt all came over to help working. They have the entire basement studded out, all the ellectrical run, and all the doors in! Eric's a slave driver! Thanks so much for your help guys! I will post current pics later :) I am so excited!