Bubbles!!!

Sophie has really been into bubbles lately. She scrunches up her nose and makes the funniest faces/sounds as she twirls around trying to pop all the bubbles around her. She even squeals, "Pop! Pop!" My favorite thing she does is chase the bubbles around with a wide open mouth, hoping to eat as many as she can.

Here's the best video we could get. It doesn't give you the complete picture, but it's close enough.

A last hoo-rah???

Who knew we'd still be having dinners outside at the end of October??? The weather has been so nice... why not? What's for dinner? Grilled salmon burgers, wild rice... and pears.

Dinnertime entertainment?? An impressive rendition of the Westfield Fight Song...



And itsy bitsy spider.... with motions to boot. (FYI... I'm not doing the motions with her!)

Ahhh... sweet California...

So... this post isn't going to have much info about the kiddos... sorry. I suppose since I'm the author of this blog (for the most part) I can take some face time every now and then... so there. :)

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend my fall break with one of my dearest friends, Mel. Oh yeah... in California!! Mel and Scott recently ventured out there and I have been excited about the opportunity to see what life was like for them.

We took our time together very seriously... as you can see below. :) One of our first endeavors was Downtown Disney. Super fun. I was wishing Sophie and Lucas could have been there... especially to experience the huge Disney store and Legoland. Friday we spent much of the day at Newport Beach... the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We walked up and down the beach, saw some amazing houses/beach homes, saw a few interesting people, and even caught quite a few glimpses of some dolphins jumping in the distance, and a seal swimming by.
Here's a pic of the seal... pretty close, hah?So... the palm trees in California are 10x taller than the ones in Florida. They're giant!! They towered above everything else around them. I'm thinking I'd like one in my backyard...

The Barrett's...

MJB and MJB...

After an exhausting day at the beach (hah!) we rewarded ourselves with some delicious cupcakes... apparently this is "THE" place to get cupcakes. I'm pretty sure I still have a sugar high from these yummy cupcakes. I'm also pretty sure I will never make the boxed ones again. No comparison.

Anyone who goes to Cali apparently has to try "In and Out" Burger... yup. Definitely tasty.

Before I had to head out, we squeezed some time in at Hollywood. I'm so glad we did, too.

Here's why. Mom and Dad... check out the name on the star below. Yeah, your favorite person. Mel and Scott also appreciate Law and Order, so we were pretty excited to see this star. The Kodak Theatre is where the Oscars and other awards ceremonies take place. We're still baffled about how the red carpet thing works. The area was so congested!

And Dad, I saved the best picture for last. While I never did see Clint Eastwood, I did get to put my hand where he once had his. Ummm... he has HUGE hands!! This photo was taken at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre where tons of famous people have carved their autographs and handprints/footprints in the cement. Pretty sweet.

So that's just a sneak peek at my trip. What I don't have pictures of...but will remember for a long long time... is the many many games we played (Lost Cities and Monopoly Deal) and the time spent in great conversation.

**MB/SB, Again... thanks so much for showing this country girl around. I loved seeing what life is like on the campus of Biola and around "the town". I'm still holding out that you'll eventually find your way back to Indy... but in the meantime, I know you're making a huge impact on the students and people around you there in Cali. Love you guys. Lots.

The big 4!

Happy Happy Birthday to our big 4 year old!!! Today, at 4:06 am, Lucas turned 4 years old... so very hard to believe. He's been talking about it since his birthday last year so he was primed and ready. :) Actually, he told Grandpa on the phone tonight that he can't wait to turn 5 now "in a few weeks". Oh buddy, don't wish the time to fly by TOO fast!!

It's been a really fun day. Again, as I've said in a recent post, it was just a day with the fam, one of my favorite ways to spend the weekends. No huge production. Just some quality hang-out time.

Here's the play-by-play:

6:30 am wake-up time: Lucas jumped into bed with us and Sophie joined 1 minute later. FYI: This morning we had our first frost of the season-- it was a chilly 33 degrees out when we woke up!

Lucas wanted to play a football game as soon as he got up so he and Daddy played in the living room. Sophie wanted to be part of the action, dragging around Lucas's OSU jersey, so the boys let her join in.
Lucas opened his first present from "Mom and Dad" as we are now called... a drum set, fully equipped with a "big bass drum" as he calls it. He loved it... and I must say, Eric and I were relieved. He's been wanting nothing but a tuba for his birthday and that's all he ever talked about. He didn't even mention it today! He was way too busy seranading us with his rhythems on the drums/cymbal.

Birthday breakfast- He wanted football pancakes. Daddy pulled it off and it was a hit!
After breakfast the four of us went for a stroll around the neighborhood. Strangely by mid-morning it had already warmed up considerably outside. It was a beautiful morning to be outside. We dropped by the Bloss' and they gave Lucas this sweet football pillow below... Sophie's modeling it for you. :)
We went to the Farmer's Market where we bought some kettle corn to tide us over until lunch time... then we headed home to eat (Lucas requested mac and cheese) and we topped it off with a football cake which he asked for this past week, with lots of players on top.
We all got a great nap in this afternoon (Lucas slept 3 1/2 hours!) and then we headed to Chick-fil-A, our birthday boy's favorite place to eat/play. And I have to say, it's one of the best places around here to eat, when you've got kids. We had a really fun time...

The night ended with a long bubble bath for the kids (Lucas always requests to take his bubble bath with Soph and she never complains) and then Lucas received his last present. This wasn't something he asked for but I came across it at a toy store. I'm quite proud of myself for this purchase and highly recommend it... a little sandbox/construction site (Uncle Greg, I thought you'd be proud!)

How fitting is his pajamas...??So it turned out to be a really fun day for all of us, especially our BIG 4 year old. He told me today that he thinks he's big enough for Kindergarten now. Uhhh... thank goodness we still have a couple years before that.

We love you, football player/drummer/construction worker kid. You bring us so much joy each and every day. We're proud of the little man you're turning into and thank God for choosing us to be your Mommy and Daddy. With that, I leave you with Lucas's new favorite tune--

"Today is your birthday... na na na na na na...." {insert hysterical giggles}

Rupp Hot Dog Roast...

One of my absolute favorite things to do during the fall season is to head to Grandma Rupp's for a hot dog roast... so this Saturday was the special day!! And almost everyone was there, too! The kids all had a blast running around and playing... while the adults sat around on the straw bales chatting and catching up. A little cornhole action...
... and Caleb and Lucas got into it, too! I somehow missed a pic of Zara here, but she was the queen of cornhole!!!

Sophie, checking out her new baby cousin, sweet Claire...

Combine ride

Lucas LOVES his combine rides with Grandpa. Here's the pictures to prove it...

I even snuck in a ride, too. Who knew we could all fit in there!! ... and with room to spare.

The kids.

The first video is of Lucas... he told me the football game couldn't start until the players had their warm ups... :)

The second video is of Sophie... playing with her rocks. (Sorry about the background noise... crazy mower across the street)

Bucket and stones

Bucket + stones = hours of fun for Sophie Girl.