CARTER'S SECOND TIME SKATING

He is really starting to get the hang of it.

I am very proud of Carter.  He never gets upset and always gets right back up.  I am sure before long he will be skating without the help of an aid.  Keep up the good work Carter!

Trick - or - TREAT!

We started our Halloween weekend by visiting Robinette's, a local cider mill, where we picked out pumpkins and watched apple cider being made.  The kids love their play area with the gigantic apple. 

Mia picked a tiny pumpkin to carve (she insisted on a "baby pumpkin") and Carter wanted the biggest one they had (sadly, we had to get something a little more manageable).  We took them home and Dave carved them up.  The kids helped take out all the goop and had a fun time making a mess.

Showing off their goopy hands (Mia has a tiny speck of goop on her right thumb that she was very proud of).

We went trick-or-treating on Monday evening in a near-by neighborhood.  We visited our friends who live there and the kids went around to about 25 houses.  Mia was pooped out after 20 minutes so Carter took it upon himself to ask people to give him extra candy for his sister who was too tired to trick-or-treat.  I'm sure they thought he was trying to be sneaky but he was actually very concerned about her candy haul. 

Carter was Luke Skywalker and Mia was Olivia the pig.

Hanging out with Juliet the skeleton.

Happy Halloween everyone!

Mia's First Hair Cut

I finally caved and got Mia's hair cut (well, trimmed, slightly) in mid-September.  We went to a kids' place called Snip-its where they have TV screens and fun things for kids to look at while getting a cut.  She was very excited to go and was a good girl through the whole process.

Here she is posing for her "before shot":

Her hair was really long, it went at least half way down her back.  It had some cute little baby curls at the end so it was hard to finally get it cut.  Even though we only did a slight trim, it made a big difference as far as look (less straggly, more even, etc.). 

Getting ready:

The first snips:

Posing with Carter:

And the finish, complete with cute bow:

I'm sure we'll be back soon...it's only been a month and a half since this cut and her hair already seems longer than ever.

September Activities

One thing that Dave and I have noticed lately is that the kids are at a really fun age for doing activities and going places.   They love each other's company, they think Dave and I are fun and cool (we realize this won't last much longer), and they are both potty trained.  What more could you ask for?  As I was going through pictures I realized we did a lot of fun activities in September and, as I tend to do when I'm behind in my posts, I decided to lump them all together.  So here they are.

Meijer Gardens

September gave us some beautiful weather and we definitely took advantage.  We took the kids to Meijer Gardens over Labor Day weekend for a bug exhibit.  The kids loved every creepy crawly minute.  Luckily we didn't run into anything terribly scary, except for this giant bug...

We also took a walk and found the koi pond and Aunt Jenny's tree (dedicated in honor of Mark's late wife, Jenny).  The tree is in a beautiful spot just across from the pond area. 

Mia's smiles for the camera lately are priceless.

Boating

We also took our end-of-summer trip out to Muskegon to Grandpa's boat.  The weather was gorgeous yet again.  Grandpa and Carter got to work right away, raising the flags for one last voyage.

Mia took the helm.

The boys took Grandpa's small dingy boat out to fish while Mia, Grandma, and I took a walk along the beach to play in the sand. 

The boys "sailed" over to meet us after they had enough fishing.

I only tell this next little story because I don't want to forget about it someday.  It will be a great story to embarass Mia with when she thinks I'm the most uncool mom on earth.  I love you Mia, you are a trouper. 

Before we left the beach, Mia was insisting she had to go potty, and she meant NOW.  There were zero potties on the beach and the marina was a good 10 minute walk.  Long story short, she pooped on a sand dune.  When she finished she asked me how to flush it.  We just kicked some sand on it and called it a day.

Binder Park Zoo

We headed to Binder Park Zoo on another gorgeous weekend.  Our favorite part of this zoo is the African Safari area.  You can see all of the animals roaming on a huge rolling plain and feed the giraffes from a cool look-out station.  Uncle Mark and his girlfriend Tracy came too and we all had a lot of fun.

Feeding the baby goats.

Not quite as tall as a baby giraffe yet...

Riding the train to the safari area.

Feeding the giraffes (and we thought Maisy had a crazy tongue!)

Poor Zebras never had a chance.

   

We also ran into this crazy goat, who obviously knows what it means when someone puts a quarter into the treat station outside it's pen.  No need to get our hands dirty!

Quite the agressive little guy!

Pooped out on the ride home.

John Ball Zoo

We also got invited to a fun evening event at our local zoo.  The kids were able to pet sting rays, snakes, and some less agressive goats.  The animals were very active, it was a cool evening and I think this was a prime time to come out and see them.

Petting the snake (niether had any fear to do so).

The cliche' John Ball picture on our way out.

We had a fantastic September, we'll miss the nice weather the most!