Home Sweet Home!

Well, here it is! Home, Sweet, Home! Finally! This is our new home in Indiana.  It is a great house; we still call it our 'starter' house since it really is our first home to own.  It is in a nice subdivision, located on a cul-de-sac, in the school district in which I work.

We spent the majority of Thanksgiving break cleaning, painting, painting, and painting! As you can see, Emersen was a great helper! She even got to paint her closet purple! (Not sure what I was thinking allowing her to paint, but she had fun!)

Trevor and MiMi drove up last weekend with the big truck....and a trailer. Yep, that is what has kept us busy for the past week. Good thing we have a garage! It is so great to be a family once again. Even though we are living with boxes all around us, I decided to take a break and put up the tree and some decorations.  Not sure if you can tell, but that is our Elf on the Shelf, named Mr. Zumbo, by Emersen hanging onto the tree topper. :)

I will post more pictures as things become more organized.  Looking forward to projects, rearranging, and making a 'home'!! 

Happy Halloween 2012

This year, we went trick or treating with Logan, Zoe, Aunt Megan, and Uncle Todd.  It was great exercise for the kids (and the adults).  After every single house, Emersen would say, "Mom, do we get to go to another house? This is so fun!" I think she caught on pretty quick how fun it is to get candy and run around a neighborhood with a bunch of kids dressed up in costumes! 

Happy Halloween from a brave knight, a cupcake, and a zoo keeper!! 

I know the picture above is blurry, but Emersen had a huge smile on her face all night long. Logan just took her by the hand and showed her the trick-or-treating "ropes"! 

It was an exciting night! Just as soon as we got home, Emersen dumped out her bucket and began sorting her candy into piles.  Now, it is nicely hidden in a cabinet too high for her to reach! We had a great Halloween! 

Pumpkin Patch Round 2

We loved the pumpkin patch so well, that Zoe and Logan came along on our next trip there! As you can see, everyone had fun! From exploring through the straw maze and climbing up the great straw bale tower, to painting our own pumpkins (yes, that's white out), it was a great (freezing) day!! 

Pumpkin Patch 2012 (Part 1)

We found the best pumpkin patch here a few weeks ago! It was so chilly, windy, and muddy on the day that we went; however, it wasn't busy at all which was perfect.

We got to actually cut our own pumpkin (which of course reminded me of Southern Indiana and working in the fields). 

Photo-op!! :) 

Emersen found the perfect pumpkin! 

Then it was time to cut it with Nina. 

We had a great time but we were definitely ready to get into a warm car! 

Pumpkin patch Round 2 will follow....with cousins. 

Just hangin' around...

Here are some pictures from the past few weeks of just hangin' around. 

It's so hard to catch 3 toddlers smiling and looking at the camera all at the same time :) 

One night a few weeks ago, we had a bonfire at Megan and Todd's house.  Their neighbors came too...and as you can see, it was all a party of all girls!! 6 girls in all! 

Reading books before bedtime at our place 

Just chillin' as we drive...

Fun dinner night out at Chick Fil 'A! Notice how the twins are making funny faces, but Emersen is so into eating her fries. :) 

I even got over my worries as the girls played on the indoor play structure (well, I'm not really over those worries and let's just say that Emersen had one long bath that night). 

A Baby Sprinkle

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful privilege of giving my sister, Megan, a baby sprinkle for baby girl #3! Megan was on full bed rest at this point, but was so happy to relax and enjoy spending time with her girlfriends and family.  Our theme was, "Ready to Pop"...

This was a Memory game with pregnancy terms listed on the cards.  If you correctly matched a pair of cards, then you received a candy bar that was related to your term (Example:  Baby Giggles= Snickers)

I couldn't have done the decorating without the help of my mom, Aunt Janet, and cousin Leah.  I had an amazing decorating team!! 

Thankfully, the party day was nice and sunny; however, that affected my photo of the 'Welcome Baby' clothesline.  Anyway, it was a nice gift surprise for Megan. 

Reading to Pop food station (Various types of POPcorn, POPular cheese ball, fruit POPS, and of course cakePOPS that I learned how to make) 

Anxiously awaiting baby girl Ferris!! 

Congratulations Megan! 

Indiana State Fair

After our move up to Indiana, we decided that it would be a good idea to squeeze in a trip to the Indiana State Fair before I had to head back to school.  Emersen, myself, Todd, Nina, Zoe, and Logan had a great time! Even though I'm from IN, I've never experienced a state fair and it was just like another other 'county' fair (Soybean Festival, Corn Festival) just with more and more things to look at, ride, and of course eat! 

"Tractor Tram"! It was so much better than walking the whole way! 

We tried the petting zoo area, but as you can see, Emersen wanted no part of the animals.  Um, she is doing the 'bathroom' hug so she doesn't get any germs :) 

Then we were off to the games and rides.  She was very hesitant to ride the rides, plus not as tall as Logan and Zoe, and finally, she has a crazy mom who fears carnival rides. So....we decided to play a fishing game and she did an awesome job! 

Foofa prize!! Happy Girl!!

Then, all of a sudden, Emersen's attitude about the rides changed and she decided she wanted to go on a ride with Todd, Logan, and Zoe.  Hopefully you can see her right next to Todd.  Of course she picked the boat ride that went in all directions, but had a great time. Todd has the video of this and all the girls hysterically laughing, so I will post that when I can. 

Off to the next ride; the motorcycles! 

Fried Fair Food...

We had a great time at our first trip to a State Fair!! 

Goodbye Tennessee, Hello Indiana

This post should have preceded my earlier post about the library party, but I will just blame that mistake on too little sleep :).

Here are a few pictures of our recent move; I like to call it round 1. Thankfully, our brother-in-law was able to help us out with this round. I was so surprised at how much I could fit in his trailer....but then recently realized that I forgot to pack normal things like a cookie sheet.
Round 2 will hopefully happen soon (we miss him!) and that round will bring Trevor to Indiana.

In the meantime, I'm getting adjusted at my new school (all I can say, is "wow" to all the technology and how it is used with the kids/teachers/parents...basically not a lot of paper going around at Zionsville Middle School).  Emersen is enjoying playing with cousins Zoe and Logan and exploring our new area. Here's to the next chapter....

Happy Birthday Zionsville Library!

Well, we made the move to Zionsville :)
After a few days of unloading, we decided to head over to the local library to celebrate their "birthday"!

 The girls enjoyed eating hot dogs for dinner :) What a treat! 

Then it was off to play games and play the "drums". They actually look like giant marshmallows, but they were plastic tubs and the girls had a blast! 

The girls also got their faces painted...I was so surprised that Emersen wanted to get hers done; as you can tell she chose a butterfly.