Breakfast anyone?

This lion and elephant was a gift to Nolan from Aunt Allyson. They sometimes don't get along though, and Nolan has to put them in time out because the lion will bite the elephant's trunck or attack him in a not so nice manner (He'll tell the lion "No bites!" and then make him give the elephant a kiss better). This morning though things were going pretty well, and all three of them were having some "nummies" together. Nolan thought it was very nice to share, so each glob you see in front of the animals is their yogurt, and his grin shows just how proud he is of himself.


I also wanted to show his method for drinking hot chocolate...it's very effective.

Thanksgiving Break

We had been counting down to our Thanksgiving break for about a month. Kenny had been SOOO busy with school exams and tutoring etc. that we all just really wanted some time to inhale as a family.
So we decided the Weds before to take a little day trip to Lake Geneva about 60 miles from our house. It was a nice, chilly day and it was a beautiful little ride to remind us that not everywhere in Wisconsin is city. Nolan slept in the car for the first time in a VERY long time (he likes the car ride a lot more since we got our van). Lake Geneva is a nice little town-I think it may be more of a retirement community/tourist trap, but definitely worth a look.
We visited the lake, fed some ducks and took a little walk and had dinner at McDonalds. Nothing too exciting, but it was still really nice.



We spent Thanksgiving dinner with some close friends hosted by John and Karisa McAllister. Everyone brought a few yummy dishes to share and the food was fantastic-but the company was better. Here is the only picture that was taken of the group-thanks to Karisa for being smart enough to have her camera!Too bad we don't have a picture of her though! In the photo are: Todd, Jessica & Malia Pitts, John, Garrett, Kenny & Echo,and Chelsea & Matt Rowan. Nolan and Isabel Rowan are in their repectable seats to the side of the table.

Once there was a snowman...

Nolan is very excited about the snow this year, and after a nice snowfall on Nov. 23rd, we decided to go have some fun. The snow was perfect for snowman building, so Nolan and I built our first snowman together (with him actually helping this time). We had him built in just a few minutes and found some rocks and sticks for his face and arms. Nolan had lots of fun playing with our new friend and would only leave him when his fingers got cold enough through the gloves that he kept saying "It hurts...it hurts...". Thankfully, hot chocolate helped cure that though. Later that day we had to run some errands and when we came home the head had fallen off of the snow man, of course that was the first thing Nolan noticed and we quickly rebuilt him almost to his original glory. We continued to do that each day when little parts of him would disappear, like an eye or nose or ear. Eventually he melted and it's just been too cold since to go out and build a new one. But don't worry, Frosty will be back again to play some day!





A few more modifications....


Perfect!

Hide-n-Seek

Nolan has been learning some new games and doing more and more pretend play lately. He likes to take his trucks, trains, cars and anything with wheels and make long trains with them-he's always very proud of his results.



Another new game is Hide-n-seek, here are some pictures from our first lesson, it was pretty successful. See if you can find him in these photos....it's pretty tricky-Good luck!

The Rest of Halloween...

So I can't move onto Nov & Dec without posting the rest of our Halloween fun photos! So here are a few before it gets really too late!


Our train conductor...


Bruce Leap & Liza M from our Disco murder mystery dinner...


Our "Boo at the Zoo"...


Next year's costume...(We bought on a 60% off sale)


"Hai-Yah!"

Pumpkin Pickin!!

We welcomed October with a quick family trip to Jim's pumpkin farm in Germantown, WI. We took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch which detoured through a little patch of haunted forest that was super cheesy-but fun. Nolan was more impressed with the old tractor that pulled us than silly witch legs sticking out of an old barrel. We picked out a big 'ol pumpkin and then wandered around the different Fall & Halloween scenes that were on display. It was such a gorgeous day-perfect for pictures and getting excited for fall and Halloween.

Kenny & Nolan surveying the options...

He made sure the perfect one didn't get away before Dad could come pick it up.

We found the pumpkin express...


and took a little ride!

I'm sure we'll be back next year!

Apple Holler

A few weeks ago we took a little trip south to the Apple Holler farm in Sturtevant, WI for a family Branch Playgroup activity. We took Karisa and Benson down with us in our new Toyota minivan on a beautiful, and suprisingly warm October afternoon. There are acres of apples to pick, kids rides & attractions, a yummy restaurant, a little petting zoo and several other things. Too bad we picked the perfect day to go because so did the rest of southeastern Wisconsin! It was packed! So we enjoyed what we could and grabbed a few pictures to prove that we had been there.

Here's Karisa and Benson getting an October tan!

Nolan checking out the produce...

and deciding that it would be better to throw than to eat. Check out that form!! He's got quite the arm for a 2 yr old!

Aww, and a nice Fall family photo

Merrell Look-alike Meter

Well here is the proof just for good measure anyway I guess...

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family tree template - Family history

Look-a-like Meter...

I don't need to take one of those look-a-like meter tests online to see who Nolan look more alike. It's quite obvious I believe...

Priceless...

This picture was taken in August at my parents cabin in Mt.Pleasant, Utah. Nolan and Beagsly were pretty good pals that whole week and this picture just captured the perfect moment.
Looks like a Norman Rockwell painting....well except for the Lightning McQueen shoes.