We're Going on a Bear Hunt...

The boys and I read a book called, "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" by Michael Rosen this week and really wanted to look for bears. As you can see the boys were super excited and started packing a lunch. I did some research and found a place outside of Marysville called Alcove Springs. Alcove Springs is so beautiful! We walked along the trail and could hear the waterfall before we saw it. It was a beautiful day with just a slight breeze and and as you can see from the pics it was breathtaking. I am looking forward to going back this winter and seeing the view.

Choc. cupcakes/blue frosting-APRIL FOOLS

This afternoon I told the boys I was going to whip up some chocolate cupcakes with blue frosting. All day long they kept asking me if they were done yet. I said since they didn't get them for snack they could have dessert first then supper. They were SUPER EXCITED!!! Instead I made meatloaf and mashed potatoes and colored the potatoes. What was funny was Miles just kept eating and not saying a word and just giggled. Owen on the other hand stormed off and said that was mean he really wanted a cupcake. I knew that would be the reaction of not having dessert so I made brownies too :) Enjoy the laugh!! APRIL FOOLS BOYS!!

Oh what fun it is with dad...

on a cold winter night, hey!

I really enjoy watching the "father & son" time that my boys create together! This weekend was no exception.

The boys went out to the back patio and created the best snow fort! As daddy went to work on it the boys had snow ball fights. I watched and made hot chocolate for each one of them.

It was taking too long so the boys ventured in so daddy finished the fort and then he had to try it out. He was so proud of his fort :) The boys told him that the fort is awesome and they hope it never melts.

These times just melt my heart!

Moving Update

Hello all! I feel so out of the loop with the moving and the holiday! We are almost finished with the house in CC and of course we are living out of boxes in Marysville.

Just a quick update I will email you all with my new address/phone number soon. Also you can reach me by cell phone if needed.

As most of you know we had a Thanksgiving hosted by Alice Carpenter. Alice wasn't able to make it so we all took turns and visited her at Meadowlark on Thursday.
She passed away this weekend and her service will be sometime this week. Please keep Brian and his family in your prayers.

Thank you!

Funnest Leaf Year EVER!

This from my 5 year old after I let them play in the leaf pile. While we are on this topic let me just say that I h*** (dislike very much) raking. It makes no sense to me at all. I see all these neighbors raking, and raking, and raking. No not just one weekend but every weekend. What is the point? I am just waiting for a big gust of wind to take my leaves east. Sorry neighbor!

Okay off my soapbox! :) However I do enjoy the falling leaves b/c it is free entertainment for my boys. I love seeing them happy and smiling. Look at those sweet faces! :) They will rake, roll, and throw them. Enjoy the pics!

The house is coming together

Brian went and took pictures of the house the other day. They are working on it everyday and big changes are happening. It is crazy how fast it comes together once they finish painting. Brian is really liking the back porch and we hope to screen that in sometime. Our cabinets will be here Wed. I can't wait to see them! It has been exciting but the true test is about to be here. The samples that we chose are like 2x2 in size so seeing it all together finished makes me nervous. Is the tile too dark, vanity too light. All those questions run through my head. We are really working hard everyday to get this house packed up and organized. We are almost there! :) Oh and I can't wait to decorate the nursery. All new stuff for my baby girl!! Oh I am soo excited for pink in my home! Enjoy the pics.

Here is my catch!

I could only download so many pics so here is Miles with his catch! A little baby catfish. Look at that cute little face (Miles not the fish :) He was sooo excited and proud about his fish.

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Gone Fishin'

This past week we took the boys fishing after supper! It has been really nice in the evenings to do this new activity. The boys have been having lots of fun! Brian purchased a bucket of minnows as bait. Here are some pics of the big event! Miles caught a baby catfish. I enjoy relaxing on a blanket reading a book and listening to the bull frogs. When they start "talking" Owen always says, "Who is laughing at us?!"

Staying cool indoors

The temperature has hit over 100 this entire week and it is way too hot to play outside. The boys seem to be getting bored with their toys and coloring books. So I found this Cookies and Creme pudding pops in the Kraft Food & Family magazine and had to try them out. The boys had such a good time and have really enjoyed these treats. They were super easy to make too!

As I was downstairs doing laundry today the boys had stripped their clothes off and were painting their lips in the bathroom with their treats. I snuck a picture before they saw me! This is the cutest pic, I love it.

I want to be a ......

mom says "builder" and Owen says no a firetruck guy! Oh these elaborate buildings are from Owen. He builds one at least every other day. When daddy comes home at night he shows him his design and then lifts his arms and drops it on the floor into pieces. They go flying EVERYWHERE!!!!!!! I enjoy watching him build and he is so intense about it. The tall building is a "Hotel for boys eating candy bars and lunch ables" and the other one is a "rocket"!

Hey, we have to wash our cars too

Brian and I were talking about washing the van and cleaning it out. It is one of those pesky things about mini vans. Everything goes in it and nothing comes out. Am I the only one??

Owen and Miles decided to wash their cars too. I plan on having them do this every other week. They had so much fun playing with water, cleaning with bubbles, and most of all GETTING ALONG! People always say, "Oh they are so close in age they are going to be BEST FRIENDS!" Okay so when does this really happen? They had soo much fun it was really cute to see them working hard on their vehicles. Enjoy the pics.


See they are upstairs right now yelling at each other. Okay one is coming downstairs crying while the other keeps repeating, sorry, sorry, sorry, etc. This is so exhausting.

Guy secrets by Brian Carpenter

I love my boys. Lately we've had a lot of fun telling guy secrets. For those of you who don't know, a guy secret is a secret that moms don't know about. This is a good thing because usually moms don't approve. Early this morning before anyone was awake I was getting ready to leave for work. Owen came out of his bedroom rubbing his eyes and said, "Dad can I tell you a guy secret and we not tell Mom." "Sure," I said. Owen then said, "Can we have a candy bar before Mom wakes up." Being a guy secret I had to tell him yes! So at 7 AM Owen and I shared a Reese's peanut butter cup. Owen told me that he loves guy secret. I do too Owen : ). Sorry Mom!

The cousins came to visit!

My boys were so excited to see their cousins this weekend. We went to the zoo, had a picnic, and played a lot outside. Here are some highlights. When I was snapping the fountain picture they each were wishing for things to come true. The cutest wishes were for a pet turtle and for superman glasses to wear! Brian went to Pamida and purchased this slip and slide. As you can tell from the pics that was a HUGE hit! Thank you Parker, Gavin, and Clark; we had a BLAST! Come again soon :)

Summer Fun

I am so thankful summer is here! We have spent so much time outside playing, cooking, visiting zoos, going to the parks, and more playing. I have to say the older the boys get the better they play together. Miles loves listening to Owen's story-telling and Owen really enjoys telling Miles what to do, what to wear, and where to hide. It is pretty cute listening to them play. In fact they are usually up past 8:30 now just gabbing away in their room. I have captions on each picture but you have to put your mouse on the pic to see it.

Enjoy the summer, we are!

Miles's 3rd Birthday

So Miles turned 3 in February and I know I am a little behind. Better late then never, right?! We purchased the adorable Tractor cupcake cake HERE. I just saw a spider man one that she did for a friend. She does amazing and I can't wait to see what she comes up for Owen's birthday in July!

We had a blast and we were excited to have family join in on the fun! He loves his batman mask and just last night I found Owen and Miles playing batman instead of sleeping. Oh and Owen always puts his mask and cape under his pillow at night. He thinks he is pretty sneaky! :)

P.S. Teachers am I doing his apostrophe correct???

Enjoy the pics!

How did you spend Palm Sunday???

This morning we went to Sunday school where we are studying "Fireproof" which is excellent. Then we went to church as dad was ushering. The boys played follow the leader with palm leaves and then went to play time while dad and I enjoyed the service. We decided to eat at the Mexican restaraunt after church which by the way was packed. We had never went after church before.

Then we came home and Miles and I took our Sunday nap. While dad cleaned and Owen played with play-dough. Daddy was sitting down relaxing when Owen and Miles started fanning him. I had to take a pic. We have it soo rough :)

Have a good week!

Gloomy days be gone!

I hate feeling "gloomy". I am not a person that likes to feel this way and really for the most part I am a pretty positive person. I like to think anyway :) When I lost Graycee I thought that would be the lowest of lows but now that I have endured a miscarriage I can say that miscarriage is 10 times harder. I know that sounds bizarre but I am having a harder time with this last baby than I ever did with Graycee. I think in part because I received closer with Graycee. For instance, I was able to hold and love her, take beautiful pictures, and am able to visit her grave in Manhattan whenever I feel like it. I also knew what happened and why it happened. With this baby their is no closer, no answers, nothing. That sucks! I am sad, angry, and scared. I should be having a baby this week and I am devastated that this happened.

At bible study this week I was telling the ladies that I have been wavering with faith b/c of this emotional roller coaster. I know god is with me but I don't understand or frankly like his plan that he has given me. I know I need to release control but how do you do that?

So I am hoping this gloomy cloud will go away and sunshine will soon be here to stay at least for a little while!

Thanks for listening! I feel better!

Note to self: Typing and crying is a release :)

Family Fun

The boys have been wanting to go bowling for a while now so we went to Pinsetters on Sat. evening. The boys had so much fun. At first they would let us help push the ball down the lane and then after they got the hang of it they would do it themselves. The top speed for the boys was 1.4 miles! The top bowler of the night was me partly b/c Brian was more interested in his speed than knocking down pins. He would say Okay this is going to be over 25 miles. I love the pic that I took with him concentrating on his form and speed, too cute! We had a great time and enjoyed family night!

It was too quiet

Last weekend Brian and I wanted some mommy, daddy time after the boys woke up. It was around 7am on Sat. morning and I told Brian to turn on cartoons and give them each a bowl of Lucky Charms. The boys were being fantastic, no whining, no knocking, no fighting. We had a relaxing hour of peace, so we thought!! When I went to the living room I found choc. kiss wrappers everywhere, 2 yogurt containers, 2 yogurt tubes, and a pile of Lucky Charms on my couch. Miles was mumbling something about marshmallows and I was thinking we don't have any?! Oh yes we did, they were in the box of Lucky Charms. I went over to the mound of cereal and realized the boys had eaten ALL the marshmallows!! Brian and I couldn't believe it. Miles was running over b/c he didn't want me to throw them away and was grabbing fistfuls of cereal and then just decided to face plant so he could get a couple more bites before I threw it away.

Peaceful hour turned into cleaning for 30 min!