Soccer Season

A few weeks ago we rapped up the soccer season here with the local YMCA.  It was the first time that Drew and Claire could be on the same team and it was AWESOME!!!  The advantages to having your kiddos close in age!! 

The season was six weeks long and their team was made up of all employees and their children from the YMCA! (I'm there a lot and working on my aerobics certification, so I was "in" !!!) 

The team was soooo cute and it was great that the kiddos knew each other!  We had such a fun season!

(Drew was not in the mood for a photo as his friends were playing and I had him stop for this photo!)

Claire found one of the many dandelions in the soccer field which she enjoyed!

Our couch Dave held a soccer banquet for the players at the end of the season.  I would have to say it was the best banquet we have been to as everyone received an award, medal, and he talked about each player for at least five minutes!!

Drew walked away with most valuable player and Claire was the toughest player!

Halloween Fun

 

A few weeks ago the kids and I went back to Iowa to spend time with my family.  It's so great to finally have them so close!  Our town had a cute little Halloween festival that we enjoyed, we went to the Des Moines Zoo and went trick or treating, and had cousins come and visit!

 

I think this is how every photo of the kids turned out!!

 

When we arrived down town Carlisle their was a parade going on! We were able to jump on a float and be apart of it!  Only in a small town in the Midwest would this happen!  So much fun!

Lucy and Claire loved being apart of the parade!

A cute train ride for the kiddos

The bank parking lot was set up with Trunk or Treating.  Drew and Claire loved this way of trick or treating as they didn't have to walk far to receive their next item of candy!

We blew up the jump house at my parents, which was a blast with the cousins!  However, to get a photo was a mess!!!! (notice Lucy's legs in the back!)

1..2..3..Snap quick!!!

It's so much fun as the cousins that we grew up with and vacationed with in the summer now have children. It was so great to see all of them and have another jump house day!

We thought it would be a fun idea to have the kids carve pumpkins.  It was really cute for the first three minutes until it turned in to the kiddos demanding what they wanted their pumpkin to look like they running off to play as the parents finished them and they micromanaged us!

My cousin Lindsey and I

Football time with Papa

We then came back to Wisconsin where we carved more pumpkins.  It was a lot of fun as it was the first year Claire would put her hand inside a pumpkin!

Ready to go around the neighborhood

Uncle Aric

Two weeks ago Uncle Aric (Andy's brother) came for a weekend visit.  Andy and Aric had tickets to the Badger and Minnesota game for Saturday and afterwards the kiddos and I joined them down town.  The kiddos loved having Aric here,  as it was like having another child in the house with many wrestling matches!!

Between the wresting matches he was able to squeeze in a hair apt. with Claire;)

The Saints

This past fall Drew participated in his first real flag football  recreation league and LOVED it!  His team was the saints and we couldn't have asked for a better team.  The league consisted of practice once a week and  games in Saturdays.  Drew was quick on the field and a lefty!!  

Andy was able to help out with many of the games, which Drew loved!

Drew has an awesome season and we look forward to spring football

Birthday Weekend Bash

This past weekend my sister Allison and her cute fun family came up for the weekend.  We had SO much fun full of non-stop laughter!

 

On Saturday we did the Color Run here in Madtown.  The run is a 5k race with participants being spread  with paint every quarter mile. 

Us After the race!  Jeremy (Allison's husband) dropped us off for the race as it was raining the morning of the race.  When he picked us up Andy had sent our NICE white new bath towels for us to clean off with before we got in the car.  How nice of him:)

The week before it was my sisters birthday, followed by her daughter Lucy's Birthday, my birthday, then two days later it was Andy's birthday!  The kiddos were in heaven with all the treats!

Ali and I snuck our of the house while the boys were home smoking our dinner and went out for a Birthday brew.  While we were there the pub was voted "Best Pub Bunch In America" and we had free drinks for 30min.  We felt like we were on Candid Camera as these things never happen to us!

Lucy and Claire are the same age and Cade and Drew are the same age, makes for one fun crazy house!

Andy and his special "Seabee" cake that the kiddos chose for him on his Birthday!

Fall In The Midwest

A few weekends ago we went to a fun farm here on the outside of Madison for a fall fest.  The farm was full of baby animals to bottle feed, a corn maze, tractor rides, a bard, full of kitties, and a garden that the children could work in.  We had SOOO much fun!

 

Bottle feeding the baby goats

Claire found a friend she wanted to take home!!  This cat was SO chill and would lay like this while Claire hauled her all around the bard!

The kiddos could have played in the car bard ALL DAY!  They loved it and the little kitties were so fun and playful!

Drew and Claire each picked out a pumpkin for home

So Midwest!!

So we LOVED living in Spain, however it's crazy to think that Drew and Claire have not experienced fall!!  Being back in the Midwest they have been able to experience fall to the fullest!

I have a feeling that I'm going to be in a bike crash this fall as I'm always looking around at the gorgeous fall colors and not always looking straight!!  The other day I decided to stop on our street and take a photo:)

Devils Lake

On Sunday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to Devils Lake State Park, which is about 40 minutes from our house.  The park is so amazing and full of so much color this time of year.  We spent our entire day there and the kiddos did an amazing job with a five mile hike!!

 

*All of the photos were taken with my phone camera, so they might not be the best!

 

 

The park is known for its rock climbing.  Andy went back to his college days and gave it a try...

Of course Claire and Drew needed to try then

Andy was concentrating very hard on taking this family photo!

Claire our little navigator

Picking up colorful leaves as we walked!  They then wanted me to carry them in my backpack so they could save them for home.  This then turned into one huge leaf pile in my backpack and a MESS to clean out!

Love, love, love all the colors in fall

So I did not tell all three of them to pose like this.... there were TONS of eagles flying above this part of the lake!!  Claire then thought she might be taken away by one of them, so we moved on...