Friday, October 21, 2011

Mornings???

So the other morning it was about 6:45....some houses are just starting to stir....some are tucked deep under the covers still.....some are showering......well you may wonder what is going on at our house??  What else.....a flash dance hahahaha!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

I guess we forgot that lesson

In the year leading up to school we went over many things with the twins to get them ready for school.  Many of the lessons we went over many times were sharing with friends, abc's, 123, how to take our turn, how to put our shoes on etc.  Well I guess after the look of their lunch kits today we forgot a lesson........if you open your yogurt drink and don't drink it all.....it's okay to put it in the garbage.....DO NOT replace the open container that no longer has a lid back into your lunch box....oie what a mess!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

The Perfect pumpkin

One of our favorite yearly family outings is to the pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect pumpkins!  This year we went out on thanksgiving weekend with my sister and her husband.  The pumpkin patch is always a great time but this year with the weather being so warm that weekend we went to the pumpkin patch in short sleeves.....can you imagine....most years we have sweatshirts, coats and even hats and mitts.

The pumpkin patch does not only entail the pumpkins, it's all about the atmosphere.  There's animals and corn mazes and tractor rides and snacks :)

We loaded on the tractor to head out to the fields.  With two boys the tractor ride is definitely a highlight. 
After just a few short minutes the fields come into sight.  It's amazing and so surreal seeing all the pumpkins in the fields.










Once we arrive at the fields we definitely do some serious pumpkin inspecting. It's important to inspect all the pumpkins to make sure everyone gets the one they think is perfect.


Jason and Zach trying to decide if these are the ones they want.





Dan thinks he may have found the two he wants.
Matie and Mommy with our pick!

We search high and low to make sure we don't overlook the perfect pumpkin.  I swear Dan hiked miles searching! 



Marshmallow roasting is always a nice little treat too.  Mathew prefers the barely warmed, non browned marshmallow.


 Dan on the other hand got a little over zealous......I believe his marshmallow was still on fire at this point...hahaha  Matie pointed out that his marshmallow looked way to hot to eat :)

A little hike through the woods and a quick tire swing ride was enjoyed before heading back to the tractor.


I love the look of excitement on Zach's face as he boarded the tractor with his special pumpkin.
Mathew was quite excited to have found his very own pumpkin.


The corn maze was a little trickier this year then in the past.  We had a great time going in circles trying to navigate the maze.
And they are off!

We were in there so long that we had a chance to even stop for pictures hahaha!

It was so fun watching the boys running and having a great time trying to navigate us.

The final stop of the outing was selecting the perfect giant pumpkins from the huge pile.  Shannon and Jason were waist deep searching for the biggest ones they could find.  Zach wanted they biggest pumpkin we could find. 
 

We love carving the pumpkins as well and we will probably do that this weekend.  We have way more pumpkins then we need but I'm sure we will have a great time and make more memories carving them together!

Here's a look back at the year's past at the pumpkin patch!

Here are a few from last year......
 

And here are a few from the year before.......
Wow we have enjoyed it through all the years of toddlerhood!


Monday, October 17, 2011

My favorite time of year

This month has been so busy that I am far behind on blogging.  I still have so many things I want to write about so I will start getting to those posts I have been meaning to write. 

Fall is my favorite time of year.  The smell, the weather starting to changes, the gorgeous colours etc make it the perfect time to get together with family and friends and enjoy some great outings before winter sets in.  We have been on a few hikes this year and I just can't get over how gorgeous the leaves are as they change colours.  The boys and I have been collecting leaves to make numerous crafts and just enjoying what nature has to offer us.  A week or so ago we were joined by some great friends and all of the kids had a great time just running through the trails. 


 

It's great to see the kids having a great time just enjoying nature.  How do your families enjoy the fall season?

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Hockey Mornings

Hockey season has started for the boys and they play at 7:35 on Saturday morning.....yikes....that means we have to get up at 6:30....half an hour before their normal wake up time.  This Saturday morning was rough...they bounded out of their beds but man did I ever have trouble getting myself up and going.  How is it that I am so tiered and they are even in the mood to play with all their equipment on while I get dressed?? 

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Birthday Party Preparations

As many of my friends know, I love having gatherings, I love the preparation and I love how it all comes together and you have a group of friends together just having a great time!  The twins birthday party is of course no exception.  For weeks they have been talking about their upcoming "dinosaur" party including the upcoming visit from the lizards and snakes.  The boys really wanted a dinosaur to come to their party but the closest we could get was a lizard (woohoo score finding something they thought was a type of dinosaur).  One thing I love about this age is that they still find all this stuff so cool and get so excited over it. 

The night before the party (two days ahead I make the cakes if I'm really ahead of the game.....but this time it was the night before :)  )  the most important thing to do is make the cakes.

For about two weeks before the party I start talking about cakes with the boys and let them browse our cake/cupcake decorating books so they can pick out the cake that they want.  This year was the first year they didn't pick the same cake....which means .....two cakes!


The boys are always excited to help.  They take their turns stirring....

But I think the reason they really like to help is so they can lick the spoon when we are done!!

For some reason on this evening they thought the others spoon would taste different then their own....so they decided to share!

Zachy's cake required green smarties....and it took me 5 boxes to get enough green!  Oh well guess we will have to eat the rest :)

After the boys go to bed I decorate the cakes so that when they wake up it is a surprise.


Here is Zachary's orange dinosaur with green spots just as he requested!

Mathew requested a blue race car so that is what he got!

He told us that it was him driving this car!













The boys were both ecstatic when they got up and couldn't wait to show their friends their cakes at their party!

The boys helped decorate the house the morning of the party and while they took their nap we put up the finishing touches to surprise them.

The balloons were hung!

The whoopie cushions were on the chairs...I mean who has a party without whoopie cushions right??  Mattie thought that would be the perfect gift for his friends .....who was I to argue...I will say there sure was a lot of laughing when they kids realized what the whoppie cushions do :)

The snacks were washed, prepared and the dinosaurs were taking watch!

The boys helped me stuff the loot bags and set the table.  All the other decorations were up and the boys were anxious for their guests to arrive!

 Oh and the night before we made the thank you cards....that we still have to hand out!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

This is how we roll

This summer the boys have been super into their big wheels.  Here's a little snippet that sums up the many many times they have raced up and down the road.  They have almost worn out their wheels in one summer!!!! Oie!!

This is how they roll now.....

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Rainbow Cake!

This weekend we celebrated my mom’s birthday as well as a pre-birthday for the twins with my family.  My sister and her husband were up for the weekend and the boys birthday is next week so thanksgiving always seems the perfect time to celebrate their birthday (who doesn’t love a turkey dinner for you birthday hahaha).  We had desserts galore that included a birthday cake for my mom and a rainbow cake for the boys.  It was the first time I have ever made a cake like this but loved the outcome so it may be a new addition to my cake rotations J 
It all starts with 6 coloured cakes….you make six individual 9 inch round cakes each with a different colour of the rainbow.

Then you have to  level them all off and start the stacking.



If it teeters you have to re-level it!  Make sure to put some icing between the layers to stick them together and add some tastiness J

Oh and of course have two little “helpers” to make sure you don’t miss any steps


Here’s what a slice of the final product looks like….hmm delicious! 


















Last step…..enjoy!!