Trick-or-Treat!!!

Okay so Halloween was kind of a bust this year...Ben and I made plans to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Hanowell for Grandpa's birthday (not a bust...a ton of fun!) so because we were gone for the first part of the evening...we missed ALL of the trick-or-treaters!! Well ALL except ONE!!! That's right...the cutest trick-or-treater we could ask for! However, Ben and I will not be the ones contributing to those cavities...we got Landen a Curious George Halloween book instead! I saw this book at the book fair at school this week and HAD to get it for my favorite nephew!

Before he even got through the front door the hood to his monkey costume was off and he was charging straight into the house and went directly to the puppies who were locked up in our room with the baby gate.

Cutest monkey butt I've ever seen...he kept telling us to "let them get out!" Eventually his advocacy for the puppies worked and the puppies got to come out! (we weren't getting any trick-or-treaters anyways!)

Landen finally gave me a smile with the monkey hood on...but only if him and Mommy could be "real monkeys" on the floor! Thanks buddy...I know Grandma will be thankful for this picture she is missing you this weekend while she is gone!

Landen quickly checked out his Curious George Halloween book...until he noticed the giant bowl of candy from Costco (that's right people we bought a Costco size bag of candy!!! and no trick-or-treaters)

Look at this genius two year old...holding the book the right way, turning pages the right way...

and picking candy out...okay so maybe we are going to contribute to the cavities a little bit...but he only picked two Twix bars...and they were the bite size ones!

Then when he was running around like a crazy monkey...he tripped and fell...don't worry though, there were no tears...but he did drop one of his Twix bars and it slid under the couch...it was pretty funny!

After his minor fall he took off the top half of his monkey costume and went upstairs to play with Uncle Ben...okay so even though we still have a HUGE bowl of candy left...it was still a great night! Thanks for bringing him by Darren and Kate! Cutest monkey we've ever seen!

P-A-R-T-Y!!!

As promised, here are the final pictures from Landen's room. Landen loves it, his only complaint to Uncle Ben is that the doors don't open. He regularly asks for "doors...open..." other than that he thinks its a "cool barn!" The next thing to finish is his big boy bed that grandpa is building...Uncle Ben drew up the plans for it on Saturday and the lumber has been purchased...next will be building! You can bet that there will be pictures of Ben and Dad figuring that one out together!
After we took these pictures we thought we should have had Landen standing in front so you could see the size proportion...it's HUGE...pretty much goes from baseboard to ceiling...no wonder Landen wants the doors open, it's just his size.

Saturday was Landen's birthday party at the new house...it was a Curious George party because that is his favorite show! So Katie, being the good mommy that she is, found a great party supply place online and bought George everything for his party! Except for his party shirt...that was all Auntie Abbie! :) He had a morning party so everything was breakfasty...even his cake. He has a giant maple bar donut cake...with Curious George on it! In this picture we were all singing Happy Birthday...and he LOVED it...!

And like any two year old he had to test the cake before serving it to his guests...plus there was a little Curious George on the cake that was swinging between two trees...so naturally he had to play with that!

With a lick of the finger he decides it's pretty good and he'd like to have his own! And because his Mommy is quick she got the cake out of reach before the licked finger got back into the cake!

Landen decided that licking the finger took more time than just licking the cake...so in order to save time he just licked the cake...he was a big fan of the maple frosting!

Once everyone finished breakfast we loaded all the presents into the living room for opening...Landen picked up this one and carried it around to all his birthday guests letting them know that they were all "my presents!"

Landen and Daddy sat in his chair for a quick birthday picture before opening all those presents!

It didn't take long for Landen to figure out the opening strategies...rip 'em open as fast as possible...although after opening each present he wanted to open it and play with it. After each present he would ask his Mommy..."play with this one?" To avoid the confussion we thought it would be a good idea to casually move the opened presents to the family room so they were out of sight...well it didn't take long for Landen to catch on and he let Auntie Megan know "NO...my tractor!"

Landen loved the present from Uncle Ben and Auntie Abbie...it was a monkey outfit for Halloween...somewhat resembling Curious George...so he did his best to put it on right away...except he put the pants over his head and started walking around...he is turning into such a ham!

With a little help from Mommy he got to put the hood on for a minute before opening the next present!

When all the presents were finally opened he got to play!!! So he opened up his Fisher Price "legos" to "build somethin." He's starting to get the hang of this picture taking thing...he actually said "CHEESE!"

And naturally the big boys are just as into the new toys as Landen...good thing he's a good sharer! (well he's learning to be at least!)

It was a great birthday party...and he is now stocked up on new toys...which is good with all this rainy weather! We are so blessed to live so close to our favorite nephew...he is AMAZING!! Thanks Kate and Darren for sharing these special moments with us!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like FALL

As Ben and I drove home from Sunday dinner at Grandma's today we couldn't help but notice the beauty that lined our driveway. We planted these trees (with mom and dad) a few years ago and they are amazing in the Fall. As we looked around...we noticed how many beautiful pleasures God has put before our very eyes, so I thought I would share some of them with you all...Aunt Kay I hope you check out the blog this week, I know you will appreciate these leaves!

And naturally not EVERYTHING is orange...we also have some of my favorite Fall plants by the pond...
These purple pansies have been awesome this season I hope they stick around for awhile!
And it just wouldn't feel like Fall if we didn't have at least a few cabbages...
We hope that everyone is enjoying the season as much as we are...we are surrounded by so much beauty, complements of our Lord and Savior!

Fun Busy Weekend With Family

What a great weekend...busy but great! On Friday Katie and Darren finally got to move into their new house...so like families do...we all loaded and packed...then unload and unpack! So while everyone was busy working I was taking pictures! AND playing with Landen of course! Today most of the unpacking was done so Katie, mom and I were hanging pictures and turning the new house into the new home...and since we had a screw driver out...Landen needed a screw driver. Well, he was getting an entire tool set for his birthday (which is tomorrow) but he "needed it" now. So he got an early birthday present...

And he found his very own black and decker power screw driver!

And it is always important to remeber safety first!

And once he had all his tools...he HAD to help grandpa fix the drawer in the kitchen...so while grandpa tried to figure it out Landen held the black and decker "ashlight" to see...

Eventually...he lost interest and decided that playing in the drawer would be way more fun...so while grandpa fixed the drawer Landen played inside the drawer.

Meanwhile...Ben spent all of Friday night and most of this afternoon transforming what was once a very pink little girl's room into Landen's new bedroom. This time around Landen has requested a barn for his new room..."and sheeps and cows too!" It's not finished yet, but Landen is already very pleased with the progress...he walks into his room and says "oh...nice barn...sanks" but it should be completed before his big birthday party on Saturday.

And when Uncle Ben finally called it quits for the evening...he and Landen played in the "new livin room" at the "new house"...

And so now...at 10:30 on a Saturday night...we are sleepy...and ready for a lazy Sunday. More pictures will come soon to show the progress on Landen's new room...it's turning out great so far...I have one talented husband!

And The Chaos Begins...

Well...the first night of class is behind me and it does seem managable. (I might have to come back and read my own blog later to remind myself of this) The professor is awesome, and she has a Special Educaton background too! I've already signed up for my first powerpoint presentation and it really doesn't seem too difficult! I am feeling much calmner than I was during the first ten minutes of class while ALL the books for ONE class were being passed out! (see below photo :) ) Now I know I am a worrier...but even my friend turned around and said "So...ya wanna just get outta here now?" We ended up getting out 40 minutes early so I was home by 7:40! Yay! And to top it all off my amazing husband had a wonderful dinner ready for us to enjoy together! Ben's subbing has REALLY picked up...the 5:50 am phone calls are in full swing! We are praying they continue because so far most of the phone calls have come on the mornings he already has jobs. It must be this weird cold/flu thing going around...the kids at school are dropping like flies! I had a total of 13 first graders today (after sending one home with a fever!). So far Ben and I have bothed stayed healthy!! With a somewhat busy weekend coming up we hope to stay that way!

On a side note...I found these pictures of our fish out in our pond. Ben must have taken these pictures last week...ya know before the neighborhood racoon came for the third time to dine from our pond!!! It's really sad...these were fun to have around...Landen had just bought new "duckies" to float in the water!

Maybe we'll replentish the pond after the freezing months are over! I am loving this Fall weather...it is my favorite season...bring on the hot drinks and cold nights!