Friends:)

My sweet friend Stephanie brought over her 3 kiddos yesterday to play with Kohen and Kresee...We only get to see them a few times each year, so I really enjoy our time with them...Kresee was still in her PJ's, but I wanted at least one picture of her and Audrie Kate...They are just a fews week apart in age...Kresee is slouched down so it looks like she is a lot smaller, but she isn't:)

SLP Thanksgiving Feast

On Monday, we had Kohen's Thanksgiving Feast at his preschool...Everyone brings all sorts of finger foods that the kids enjoy and you just eat whatever:)...

Last years pic:)


Next year we will get to do this with Miss Kresee Leigh!

Pumpkin Cookies

Make these cookies---they are super easy and you will be glad you did!!

Pumpkin Cookies

1 can packed pumpkin
1 box spice cake mix
1 egg
cream cheese frosting

Heat oven to 350. Blend pumpkin, cake mix and egg with a mixer. Drop balls of dough on cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Cool and ice with cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate.

I'm telling you I've already made 2 batches of these things and I plan on making 2 more batches by the end of the week to take to different Thanksgiving dinners;)

City of Lights 5K

Kerry and I signed up yesterday to run the City of Lights 5K downtown...It was such a gorgeous day and was perfect running weather....Sadly, I hadn't run more than 1.5 miles at a time since Race for the Cure 5 weeks ago...I was a little nervous and hoping I would do OK and just finish...There were a lot of fun hills but I did it...Kerry's foot has been hurt and so he hasn't been able to run like normal either, but he also did well....

Sooooo, I was just so surprised to hear that I got 1st place in my age group (Women 30-34)!!!! Kohen had been asking me if I was going to win the race and I kept saying that no, I would not b/c I wasn't racing to win...I just wanted to run and finish...And I beat the 2nd place winner by 4 whole minutes:)...I was so proud of myself....

Kerry placed 3rd in the Mens 30-34 age group...So proud of him as well!!!!....

I've really wanted to try a 10K and there is one coming up at the YMCA on Dec 11th (exactly 3 weeks from today)...If I can keep up the running for the next few weeks, we might attempt that one...I don't know though!

Fall Pics

Geri Merrick took the kids Fall pictures the weekend before last...So if you get a Christmas card from me, it will be of these pictures;)...Kerry only will allow family pictures every other year...I really don't know why I listen to that...But I honored it and only took the kiddos!

Kresee---she, of course, is always smiling for photographers (haha)

But this guy, he has always been Mr. Photogenic

She told him to throw some leaves at her... He took that job very seriously! But she did get some sweet ones of her:)

And then attempting to get some together is always interesting! I had to sit there at first, but then Kresee was fine...

Love her face in these...Too bad he wasn't looking...That leaf was way more interesting...

My favorite of them:)

So Long Bannie Chicks

These first few are some recent pictures of the chicks out in the backyard before we took them to their new home this past weekend....

Arkie was my chicken...She loved me the most (at least I think so)...If I sat down, she was the one who flew up on me and let me love and pet on her...

But then here would come Archie, the big boy....

But we said good-bye to the chicks on Sunday....Not good-bye for good, but just good-bye since they won't be living at our house anymore...They turned 8 weeks old last Friday and we knew it was time...They were getting so big and we knew that they would much rather enjoy running around at my dad's house with some other chickens anyways...We are sure gonna miss them...I've had to call a few times to check on them since Kerry makes me...He really, really misses them...I guess he would since he raised them and took care of them everyday...

So it was a little traumatizing for us initially...We got there and Chet, the dog, stays away from the chickens...He doesn't bother them...Just runs around and minds his own business...But dad's

chickens can't fly...He stuck in his head and was like "hey, whatcha got there"...No big deal, I wasn't worried...We open it up and ours immediately fly out...And I think the dog instinct took over and he went after poor Sharkie...If it wasn't for the four wheeler where she could fly under, we almost had us a dead chicken...How AWFUL would that had been!!!...Oh my goodness, my heart was racing...So Chet got in a little bit of trouble and left the chickens alone after that...

We get them out and put them inside the chicken coop to walk around in there....
Dad bought a bannie hen and a bannie rooster not too long ago...We were glad that there would be 2 other little ones with them since our chickens are tiny compared to these normal sized chickens...So here comes this little bannie hen...That's her to the right of our black rooster...She is like who do you think you are....Wanna fight?? So they did!!...OMG!!!...I'm freaking out a little bit...But I have to say our rooster kicked her little bootie...We had our own cock fight going on...So Archie, the rooster, thinks he's pretty cool now...He protected his 3 females and he's good to go....

Not so much...You see how small ours are compared to that big chicken...Well it wasn't this particular one...But another female comes up and I guess they just know he's the rooster...She went after our black one...They fight and he lost...He was terrified!...So everytime he saw her, he would start screaming and would come running towards Kerry to hide between his legs...We had to keep her away from ours for awhile and then I think she got over wanting to kill our chickens....

They kept flying up on their bin like "ok, we can go home now"...We stayed for about 1.5 hours, mainly just to make us feel better that A) the dog wasn't going to eat them or B) the other chicks weren't going to beat them all up....

Kohen didn't even really care...He was too worried about riding on the four-wheeler with Sallye...

I thought Kresee would want to ride with Kerrry, but nope...

Later she got on with Kohen and I and loved it...

But they are doing great...They, of course, stay together...They don't venture too far out of the chicken coop, but we will go and visit them this weekend...Sadly, I bet they really won't want us holding them or petting them anymore...They were too sweet and we loved the whole experience (minus the 2 chicks dying on us)...Kresee still says "Morning Chickens--Hello Chickens" everyday...I have to remind her that they aren't at our house anymore...We will for sure do it again...Sallye really wants some ducks out there...We might have to try some duck eggs and see if we can hatch some!

Kresee--20 months

I'm a little late b/c she turned 20 months at the beginning of November....I had to post some silly pics of her from last month and recently...She is such a mess these days...Talking up a storm which is just precious....Can understand everything you stinking say...I've already had to start spelling in front of her!!

What she is loving these days:

Loves wearing any boots...."Boots Mommy"

Singing her ABC's (just a big ole mess of sound but she's in tune)

Counting to 10 (really good at saying 8, 9, 10)

Being read to (especially when Daddy puts her to bed at night)

Being put to bed by Daddy (absolutely refuses to let me:(

Brushing her teeth (she would do this all day)

Getting blow-dried (asks every morning and will just lay there for you)

Shower time with Daddy (again, would sit there forever)...Kresee are you ready to get out?..."NOPE"

Loves Elmo (sleeps with him and her puppy dog every night)

Loves stickers
Wearing anyone and everyones shoes
Loves chocolate......."I want chocolate Mommy"...Amazing how clear she can say that word!

My favorite phrases that she says:

Love you Mommy

I wanna go night-night

I wanna snack

I don't know (with the precious shoulder shrug)

Nope

What?? (this kills me b/c I will yell at her from the other room and she already says WHAT?)

Why?? (really??, how can you already ask why when I say something!)

Come here Mommy

Look Mommy, Look Daddy

I wanna go outside

Where'd he go?

Daddy work?

I want Baby Einstein

I do it

I drop it

uh-oh, fall down

I got it

I could go on and on with the sweet words she says....But I guess that's good enough for documenting 20 months...I enjoy being able to go back when I print these out into books capturing the stages of the kiddos:)