November 28, 2010 - Ice Skating in Cuyahoga Falls

Will and I took the kids to the outdoor rink in Cuyahoga Falls for a fun day of ice skating.  Sydney had been before, 2 years when she was about Chase's age.  So, you can imagine our surprise when we got here and she didn't even need my help skating!  She just put on her skates and started to go by herself - amazing!

Here's our big girl!


Chase needed mommy's help!


And occasionally, Sydney did, too.

Hoping to post video... working on it....

November 27, 2010 - Oh Christmas Tree...

Time to put up the Christmas Tree!


Chase hanging his ornaments.. he kinda put them all in a cluster :)


Daddy giving Chase a boost


I got in on the action just a little bit....


Chase and Syd showing off their "letter" ornaments


Chase sneaks in some time to play with the bball hoop


Showing Syd one of her ornaments while Katie looks on.  Katie and AJ were also a big help in putting up the tree.  Katie with the decorating, and AJ will hauling everything up from the basement :)

November 27, 2010 - Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy...

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy, its the name of the game....

Getting ready for some bouncy fun - Chase starts to have a fit. So Addy goes to join the other girls..

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy...

And Syd's beautiful hairstyle for the day - courtesy of Nana

November 26, 2010 - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  The adult table... minus me!


And the kid table!


After a full day of lots of eating, the kids settle down to watch Grinch before bed.  The girls sat right next to each other right away...


Chase was cool having his own space








Getting sleepy?






I went outside to try to take a picture of my outside Christmas light handiwork.  Turned out pretty good!
(notice the dingo guard dog in the lower part of the picture - this was after he chased away the deer in the neighbor's yard)

October 31, 2010 - Time to trick or treat - for real this time!

Getting ready to trick or treat in our neighborhood - the kids are ready to go!


So ready that they don't even have time to stop for a picture before we leave.  Sydney is so antsy - and Chase... Chase is on the verge of tears because its taking too long!

Don't worry - we got a lot of trick or treating done and will have candy for a long long time...  The kids had so much fun - and I got a good workout in pulling them around.

October 26-27, 2010 - Fancy Nancy and a future architect

One of Sydney's favorite series is Fancy Nancy.  The author came to Hudson for a book signing and all little girls (and boys) were invited to meet her in their fanciest gear.  Luckily, we had Flying Pig bead necklaces so we could fancy Syd up!  Here she is meeting Jane O'Connor, the author of Fancy Nancy.


The next day, Sydney went to work on a tower with her blocks.  This is the picture on the box.  Daddy helped her a little bit, but she did it for the most part.  Future architect!


Two happy kids :)

October 31, 2010 - Outdoor play time!

Before the cousins went home, we had some nice play time outside before lunch.  It was chilly out, but not too bad.


Sydney taking her lamb, Pally, down the slide for a ride.


Sophie got in on the action...


Cute shot of Soph in her sweater...


Sammy enjoyed Bryn kicking his ball - over and over and over and over again....


Chase needed his Mama to help him down since he was anti-slide today.


But then decided he could do it on his own..


Syd and Lily palling around


Addy getting ready to take a turn on the slide..


Success for Sydney!


The kids LOVED playing hide from the giant (Bryn) in the country cottage


This game entertained them for a long time.. they would come out of their safe haven and the giant would surprise and they would scatter into the yard before running back to the cottage.  So fun!

October 30, 2010 - Akron Zoo Boo with the Cousins

Last Zoo Boo of the season - Akron Zoo with the Martin cousins who came over for the weekend.

I think our kids might be getting tired of all of this trick or treating :)


Their favorite part of the night.. a little hay maze.. where Bryn and I would pop up and scare them.  Look at Chase's smile!


One of the last animals areas before we left.  The kids checking out fish, turtles, sting rays, monkeys, etc.


In an animal trance...