Edwards Apple Orchard

Kate LOVES Daddy's new MU hat!



Composing new music on Grandma's piano



Playing on the train in the snow - Choo! Choo!



It had the potential to be a nice family picture, but no...



Grandma, Brett, & Kate are dancing to the music



Around the milk jug, clap, clap, clap



These pigs were fighting and kicking up hay like crazy



The kiddos and Daddy checking out the animals



Kate & the goat, face to face



Brett & Daddy checking out the goats



Kate LOVES the cows - MOOO!!!



Poor goat - he thought we had food!



Grandpa & Brett enjoy some yummy donuts!



Kate thought the donuts were DELICIOUS!



Brett & Daddy were supposed to share a donut - Brett missed the "sharing" part of the deal



Kate & Mommy share some apple pie



Grandma & Grandpa enjoy their apple pie with cheese



Kate wasn't so sure about all of the white stuff!



Brett made more friends on the train - these kids were 4 and a half (I know because they told me at LEAST 10 times)!



Daddy, this white stuff is cold!!



Daddy trying to convince Kate that the snow is fun

Deceptive little angels

I got a chance to clear the SD card on the other camera and came across these pictures of the kids peacefully sleeping in the car. It almost makes me laugh!

Turkeys to Santa and In Between

We went to Barnes & Noble for story time and a craft. We made turkeys out of paper plates and paper feathers, and the kids got to color their turkeys with crayons. Oh boy!





The play area had LOTS of fun cars to ride on, over and over and over again. Grandma & Grandpa were on kid control while Mommy & Daddy ran into some of the stores.



This was the closest that Brett would get to Santa. He stopped right there and told Santa that he wanted cars, specifically a GREEN car.

Brrr... it's cold up here!

So, we made it, at least one direction anyway! We left Thursday at lunchtime with the plan of making it all the way to Cincinnati. The kids napped about 45 minutes (as compared to their normal 2-3 hours), and Todd started feeling sick about 1 hour into the mountains. We tried everything - me driving, him driving, him puking over the guard rail on the side of a mountain, etc. - nothing helped. We ended up stopping in Charleston, WV for the night. After the kids were fed, I put them (and Todd) to bed and went to go find some dinner and kill some time around Charleston by myself. It was snowing like crazy for about an hour. Being the southerner that I am, I was mesmerized by all of the white stuff :)

We all woke up bright and early on Friday morning, and Todd felt fine, so off we went! We made it to Cincinnati around lunchtime, and stopped in at the Foley's for lunch (thanks, Shellie!!) Finally, after threatening to leave Kate on the side of the road MULTIPLE times, we made it to Rockford about 7:30pm. There were some various adult beverages waiting for us - thank goodness!

Saturday, we loaded the kids into Grandma & Grandpa's car and we drove 2 cars up to Milwaukee for a quick visit with the Mularski family, a big shopping spree at the Golden Eagle, mass at Gesu, and quick dinner downtown. Grandma and Grandpa took the kids back to Rockford, and Todd and I stayed downtown to make full use of Brian and Michelle's tickets - on the floor, at center court, for a big rivalry game. SWEET!

Sunday, we drove east to meet up with Todd's grandfather, aunt, uncle, and cousins for brunch. It was delicious! Even Kate thoroughly enjoyed the pancakes. After brunch, Todd and his dad took the kids back to Rockford and his mom and I went outlet shopping :) Did you know that Banana Republic has the ENTIRE store 40% off??!! It made my day.

Today, we woke up to LOTS of snow - ok, maybe not lots, but again, I am from the south and any snow seems like "a lot" to me. It was almost completely gone by this afternoon, but looked nice while it lasted. We did more shopping today while the kids napped, and I'm sure we'll do more as the week goes on. We still have visits with the Beard family, the Molina family, the Hobbs family, a trip to the apple orchard, and Todd's 15 year reunion all planned for the next several days. Whew! Can I put in for a vacation from my vacation???



Brett & Kate found all of the old matchbox cars - can you say HEAVEN?!



Grandpa & Kate are composing a masterpiece on the Cookie Monster piano



Is that Brett under there??



The view from our FANTASTIC seats at the MU vs. UWM game



Rock star Kate & Grandma at the Golden Eagle



Visit with the Mularski's, minus Maddie - Brett, Annie, kate, Tyler, Mitch, & Jake

blast from the past

So, our washing machine broke last night, 3 days before we leave for our 10 day "vacation." It's a "vacation" and not a "VACATION!!!" because it involves 4 days of being in the car with 2 toddlers. Anyway, so I'm at my parents' doing laundry and I'm bored because the kids are napping, so I'm looking at pictures. Check it out!! OHMYGOD!

Long time, no post

Ok, so it's really only been 10 days, but that's a long time of no posting for us! Let's first start with a big ol' HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRANDPA! I'm sure we'll call you tonight at some point, but there's a little preview for you :)

For the rest of you, here's a little glimpse at what you've missed in the last 10 days with the Lopez Fam! We're on cold #2 of the season - this one has captured Brett and Mommy so far. With lots of hand washing and an insane amount of luck, Daddy and Kate will be spared this time. After we bought stock in Kleenex, we got back to normal playtime business. Daddy tried very hard to get a cute picture of Brett & Kate while they were all clean and dressed for church. This is the best we got:





We, of course, spent some time in front of the TV cheering for the Packers. I came home to find Kate dressed like this:



And Brett playing with one of the many toy trains!



Our friends, Tammy & Jim, had their son baptized this past Sunday. Mommy is Drew's Godmother, so she had to be there, but the rest of us got to go too! This is Mommy and John (Drew's Godfather and Jim's brother) and baby Drew. You can't even tell that Drew was screaming LOUDLY at this point. He's so stinkin' cute, though, you just have to love him!



On Saturday, Brett's preschool had their annual fundraiser, the Harvest Moon Festival. There were tons of games and lots of food and a good time had by all. Kate was one step away from winning the cake walk! Brett won the matchbox car race because he rigged it by using his own car from home. Haha!















Oh, one more big piece of news - Erin and Jeff got engaged! WOO HOO!! We're so excited for them! Now Jeff will be "Uncle Jeff" - "Mr. Jeff" just didn't sound right :)

Trick-or-Treat

What a fun Halloween we had! There was a neighborhood parade with a train (actually a riding lawn mower made to look like a train) and a golf cart and LOTS of wagons and strollers all decorated for Halloween. Then, our neighbors had their annual Halloween party and cookout. There were sooo many little kids, all excited about their costumes! Of course, we ended the night with a little trick-or-treating! The plan was for me to take Brett & Kate to 2 houses, bring Kate home, and then Todd and Brett were going to go back out. After the two houses, Brett decided he was all done, so we put them both in their pajamas. About an hour later, Brett begged Todd to go back out trick-or-treating, so off they went - Brett in his pajamas with his Towmater costume over the top! Haha!