Tagged by Jasmine

Ok, here are 6 random things about me:

1. I get cranky when I can't run and it is nice out or haven't been able to run in a while.
2. I can walk on the tops of my feet - like on the knuckles of my toes, if that makes sense. So can Keira.
3. I wish I had met Ryan sooner.
4. I prioritize doing my makeup over doing my hair anyday- I hate leaving the house without a minimum of mascara and eyeliner unless going on a run first thing in the morning, and even sometimes I put it on anyway (like for the Detroit Marathon). I also have not bought either in several years- I get enough of it free in the samples during bonus time! Oddly, I hardly ever wear lipstick, though.
5. I am really bad at keeping the house clean. There are just too many other things I would rather be doing!
6. I miss camping and climbing trips to the Red River Gorge. Maybe next year....

I tag Haley, Michelle L, Amber, Amanda, Minde, and Ellyn.

More Fall Fun, First Smiles

This week was a pretty busy week for us. It started off slow, but picked up as the week went on. Today was a restful day, recovering from our busy weekend. Soren took a bottle of milk today for the first time, and that went well. He didn't get too much air like Keira and was able to keep it down. We also started noticing his first real smiles during the week. They were hard to catch on camera, though. We were supposed to have a showing on Saturday, which meant we had out work cut out for us on Friday. Our realtor informed us of the showing on Thursday, so we enlisted the help of Linda to prepare our place for the showing. We are so grateful that she was able to spend the day helping us out. We could not have gotten everything done without her help. We worked all day long on Friday, preparing the condo, only to be disappointed by a cancelation/flake out by the buyer. The good news is that our place is in great shape. The bad news is that we did it in one day, and I pretty much exhausted myself and had to skip out on an activity for Keira in the morning.

Friday night, we attended a pumpkin carving party. It was very fun. My big project for the party was making little pumpkin and ghost pops to look like the brownie pops sold by Williams Sonoma. I used the recipe from Gina E, using ground oreos and cream cheese as my filling, with candy melts for the outsides. They were a big hit. We also got one of our 3 pumpkins completed.

Here are the completed and wrapped treats that we took to the party.

This is the photo from the Williams Sonoma website, I wasn't sure how long the link would work. I did pretty well, didn't I? While I am not much of a cook, I do enjoy baking (even though the only "baking" involved with these was the microwave for the candy melts!)

We convinced Keira to put her hood up finally! Hopefully she will wear it up for trick or treating.

Saturday we made our final preparations for the showing that didn't happen (just in case), and then headed to the Waffle and Omelette Cafe in Plymouth for brunch, and then to Parmenters for cider and donuts. We enjoyed the scenic view on Hines Drive and Northville Road to get there from Plymouth. The trees look really beautiful with their fall colors. Keira played on the train and we also took her to feed the ducks. She really enjoyed them.

We also watched our football teams lose this weekend. Even dressing Soren appropriately didn't help either team. Fortunately, BYU won their game.

Jumping back to earlier in the week, we did make it out to Maybury a couple times. Keira wasn't 100%, so she was a bit whiny, and wanted to run around a lot. It was very pretty at Maybury. We love fall. We went back to Maybury later in the week, but I was very tired because I was unable to get both children to nap at the same time. The funny thing was they both fell asleep in the car on the way there, so I rested in the car with them while Ryan rode. I think we all needed the break. I was just waiting to have a ranger tell me that there was no camping allowed!

Here is more cuteness from the week!

Finally, in preparation for Halloween, here is a look at the huge spider again. I stand corrected by Ryan, it is maybe only an inch or so, not the 2-3 inches that I had previously stated.

Up for next week, we will have our church Trunk or Treat as well as actual Trick or Treating. We will hopefully have some shots of our completed pumkins lit up. We plan to go to downtown Northville again this year. They go completely all out. Just another reason we couldn't afford to live there, those people must spend a ton on candy! The decorations are insane as well.

Hallowe'en at Greenfield Village

This week was an action packed week. It was my first week solo with Keira and Soren, and it went very well. Keira was pretty patient (most of the time), and really loves her new little brother. The main event of this week was attending Hallowe'en at Greenfield Village on Friday evening. We also would like to wish Bailey and Chase a happy birthday on Monday (10/13) and Bryn happy birthday on Saturday (10/18), as well as Grandpa a happy birthday last Saturday (10/11)! Today we all made it to church with the help of my parents assisting with Keira and Soren. Keira was sad to return home from church to see that they had left.

Greenfield Village was quite the event (I apologize for getting the days a little out of order, but wanted to start with this). We followed a path lit by 950 jack o lanterns throughout the village and gathered treats along the way. Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, and Papa came with us. Keira enjoyed it, although was scared at some of the displays, and Soren was a trooper. We put together a slide show of some of the many photos that were taken during the evening.

The next morning (Sat), we enjoyed a wonderful breakfast at Kris and Linda's, and then went to Cherry Hill Village where they were giving away free pumpkins as well as cider and donuts from Parmenters. They also had hot dogs and a man making balloon animals.


Here are a couple pictures from Friday before getting ready for Greenfield Village. These are the first photos of my dad and Soren.
Friday morning we went to the Novi Library storytime and then had lunch with Nana. Prior to the storytime, Keira spent the morning with Lizzie. Thank you Michelle! We also had a visit from Rebecca M, who brought us a great dinner and presents. It was great to just hang out and chat. Thank you so much.

On Thursday, we were all dressed up with no where to go! I was going to try to go to a presidency meeting, but by the time we got all ready, it was too late to go. Also, everyone there wasn't 100% healthy, so I skipped it.

I coordinated Keira and Soren, but was having trouble getting a nice shot of the two of them together. This is about the best I could do.
Soren is getting so strong! This was later in the evening and too cute to leave out.

On Wednesday, Soren had his first playdate with Luke! Keira also got to play with Katie. Keira was very excited to have the company and played well with Katie. Valerie D. also brought us some yummy sandwiches and cookies. Thank you!


Soren actually rolled over from his tummy to his back today after family naptime.
More cuteness!

Tuesday, we decided to venture out. First, Keira needed her wings to match her doll named Emma. We were able to make it to the mall playarea by 11 or so, which pleased me. Not bad for my second day alone! We also had a visit from Linda N, who brought cute clothes for Soren and a fun book for Keira. It was great to catch up with her. Thank you!

Monday was my first day on my own, so it was very low key. I worked on just getting everyone fed and clean. It was not as hard as I thought it would be, but still a challenge. Once Ryan got home, we headed to Maybury because we needed to get out! The leaves look so beautiful. The colors are changing wonderfully. It is one of my favorite parts of fall.
Sunday we went over to Kris and Linda's after church for a great meal and to have some company. I stayed home from church, so it was nice to spend the afternoon there.

Keira is holding Soren for the first time with Nana's help. He wasn't so sure about it! She really loves to kiss him, and is contantly saying, "I want to kiss him". It is so cute.
Hopefully next week will be just as fun as this week.