Brandon has been working nights all week and usually when he hasn't seen much of the kids he likes to get them little prizes. I don't think I need to tell you just how excited they were about their new toys, but let's just say they haven't been separated from them since they got them. I'm going to try to figure out how to upload the videos he took while I was napping so you can hear them too. It's really cute!

Christopher loving his new garbage truck. His first one has been broken for a while, but he still plays with them even if they fall apart. We just keep gluing them back together.

Sophie putting on her new Cinderella shoes. She clunked all over the house with these on and even took them out to dig. We finally convinced her to let us take them off so they wouldn't get too dirty and set them next to her.

Yesterday I cut the grass, for what I'm hoping is the last time until next spring, and it went the fastest yet. Usually it takes me what feels like 2 hours b/c there is so much to cut when you add in the side of the house, but I was afraid to stop the mower not sure if it would start up again. Once I was done, we loaded up and went to Walmart. We finished shopping for our Operation Christmas Child and came home to play outside some more. After naps, we went right back outside to play and ride bikes. Have I mentioned that I love being a mom right now? I know that I always seem to mention bad along with the good, but I'm just trying to stay honest and real. My kids have finally reached an age where I can sit back and enjoy watching and playing with them. It's a lot of fun to see them playing trucks together or digging in the dirt making new piles to then run over with a tractor. The one thing that I REALLY wish I had caught on camera was when Brick was chasing a squirrel along the house. The outside of our house is this really rough stucco kind of stuff that you do NOT want to rub or bump anything against b/c it will leave a mark. But it's great for squirrels to run along. It freaks you out when you first see it happening, but you get used to it. You still don't like it, but you get used to it. Anyway, they went back and forth for several minutes going almost completely around the house. I was thankful that I'd shut the door to the house b/c the chase definitely would have made it indoors if I hadn't. Can you imagine? Anyway, the little rodent finally made it to a point where he could jump to a tree and the chase was over. I definitely would have sent it to AFV if I caught it. I was afraid to leave the kids alone b/c I knew someone would get knocked over if I did.

Today we are going to Destin Commons for the Kids Club event they put on once a month. It's story time with crafts and it's free. We went last month and it was really cute and well put together. So, it's been a great week here for us and hopefully you too. Next week may be different b/c Brandon will have to start sleeping at our house during the day again. Our neighbors are out of town and they gave me a key to the house so the kids and I could play there, but I thought Brandon would sleep over there better instead of hearing us come and go all day. Even he said he feels better b/c of it! I'm off to see what the little munchkins have gotten themselves into now.

Sunday morning, like I said, I woke up and found everyone wearing their costumes. It was funny b/c they were not interested in putting them on the day before, now two days later they are still talking about it! I didn't get any photos of that moment, but here are some we did get yesterday.

Above is how Sophie prefers to look on a daily basis and below is how I prefer her to look...

But I don't fight it except when we are going out in public and seeing people that I know will look nice. Like her shoes? She didn't. Not until Daddy liked them. She needs his approval. I have to thank Payless for carrying a $14 pair that look identical to the $40 pair I had to order from the fancy shoe store. The other pair will not be coming home with us and I will be getting my money back.

The kids giving their best smiles they can. Sophie actually isn't scrunching her face up like she normally does and it's really cute!

Sophie checking on the candles inside all the pumpkins. She enjoys pointing out what belongs to who in the family. Let me rephrase that, she enjoys yelling it. She yells everything she says. I wasn't worried about going deaf early until I met her. At least she's yelling words now instead of just screaming crying. Now I know what all the fuss is about!

Here's what our family looked like on Halloween. I figured since we went to the effort to get dressed up we better show you what we looked like. Brandon - obvious, Christopher - Spiderman (duh!), Sophie - an adorable fairy and me - Christmas morning. I couldn't figure out what in the world to be, and I was really tired that day, remembered I have several pairs of Christmas pj's and socks from my in-laws collected over the years and then it hit me... I can be Christmas morning! The kids were way cuter and Brandon and I didn't win the prize, but we had a lot of fun.

I realized that pretty much all the photos were black and white and part of the fun of fall and halloween are all the colors. here are some that are untouched/altered for you to enjoy. i've also decided that i don't want a red kitchen anymore. it's TERRIBLE for photos!! i always thought i'd want one, but i hate it. i don't see me painting it any time soon though.

We have had a really fun weekend. Saturday we woke up, had breakfast and carved our pumpkins. Then got ready to go to Farm Day. We'd never been before and only heard wonderful things about it. It's every year on Halloween and is located around the Baker area. It was raining on the way there, which was perfect b/c Christopher and I took a great nap. (Brick kept Brandon and I up a LOT the night before.) We ran into several families that we knew and haven't seen in a while. They have events going on all day ranging from horse rides, Home Depot workshops, petting zoos, nature trails and antique cars. They also have scheduled events planned like a hay ride, helicopter landing, bonfire and fireworks. The best part is, it's free!!! They had hot dogs, hamburgers and bbq sandwiches. All you have to bring is a covered dish to share. It was overcast and quite chilly, but loads of fun. We left around 3:45 and the kids and I were out within a few minutes. (I told you I was tired!) We put the kids down when we got home and I relaxed on the couch, still trying to come up with a costume for the party we had that night. We woke the kids up at 6:00 b/c the party started at 5:30 and they cried while putting on their costumes, until they saw that kids were trick or treating and then we couldn't get ready fast enough. We had so much fun at Rob, Sarah and Della's house! We went to just a few houses to get some candy and then went back to the party to eat and play. Sophie wasn't sure what to think at first, but then she'd get upset that we weren't taking the entire bowl of treats when we left a house. The girl loves her candy! We all crashed into bed and this morning Christopher came into our room, early thanks to the time change, and whispered, "I want to go trick or treating again b/c I had fun." He told us this a couple times before Brandon finally got him to lay still. When I woke up for good I walked out to find both kids back in their costumes over their pajamas. I guess halloween was a success for us this year! (above written by Brittny, photos & comments below by Brandon)

Christopher was, by far, the best Spiderman in the world. The only source of energy he needed to ensure a safe America was a bag of M&M's.

Silly Sophie was so happy she got to eat the delicious chili at Rob and Sarah's house.