~Fun Before Thanksgivin' Come~

I am so behind in my Blogging. This blog is about some good times with great friends before Thanksgiving.

I had some friends over in October and we made sweets and treats including S'mores in the toaster oven and Kara's famous Fall Cupcakes. The sweets and treats were soooo good.

There were 9 of us crammed on the couch and floor watching Black Swan. Three of us had seen it and no one else had. The “triplets” felt bad that we said the movie wasn't that creepy or scary... I don't think we knew our audience well!

There is a new restaurant called Bel Lago on Sunbury. We had been meaning to go there for a while (even back when it was the Sunbury Grill) and finally did after driving home from a Pampered Chef Party on night. Bel Lago is right on the water and the view from our table was amazing. Tommy and I were very impressed with the food, overall, great experience. I think we were there wining and dining for at least 3 hours. The Chef is new and we will be back to see what he comes up with next.

Jill and I spent an evening together making invitations for Brooke's Birthday and I got to take her, her gift!!! Her gift was wrapped in some of my "special wrapping paper!". LOL. It was the New Pampered Chef Stoneware piece.

I love this photo of Brooke working so hard on her invites. She is so creative and had some fun ideas to add to what Jill thought of. I love these Ice Cream Cones the best - by far the greatest we've ever made.

All the little sprinkle dots are brads and between the three of us it still took a long time to make 20 of them. They are so detailed but worth every second of effort we put in to them!

Every year I make boxes for Operation Christmas Child. Usually I try to put together 5-15 of them and this year I was so busy that I was lucky to get 3 done. I had the kids help me pick out toys from the Dollar Store and got tons of Art Supplies from Staples with the Back to School Sales in September! Brooke and Audrey were "sweet" enough to donate the rest of their Halloween Candy to the boxes!!!

Lastly, In October I gave the kids a Halloween party at their house for doing their chores all week. Malinda had sent me home with extra goodies from the Fall Fest that she had put on. We had so much fun playing with the dough, the fake teeth, games and bubbles.

I gave Jack the Jack-O-Lantern Bag...

Audrey the Kitty Cat Bag (she has a Cat on her costume)...

and Ryan the Frankenstein Bag!!! It was perfect!!!

Hope you and your family had a Happy Halloween!

Oh yeah... Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years too! LOL!

~Stevens Trip~

Once again we took a weekend trip to visit our great friends Rob, Malinda and their four little ones; who aren't so little any more. Emma is defiantly a teen now, Elle (one of our flower girls) is past my shoulders already, Avery is such a story teller now and Aiden is already 3 and so adorably dramatic.

We left after work on the 21sr of October. We got there in time for dinner but that meant waiting til all the kids were in bed and going out-out! We went to a Bar/Restaurant that used to be an old Bank - kind of like The Vault Downtown Columbus. There were lots of original pieces still in tack and used as over hangs, bar tops and even old security box doors used as napkin holders. We didn't get a photo while we were there but it's probably because we were too busy shutting the place down til 2:30am.

The next morning we helped the family get ready for The Neighborhood Fall Fest - put on by Malinda!!!
We helped Malinda print and roll the invitations to go out. The invite included “Food, Drinks, Games, Crafts, Outdoor Movie, Neighborhood Hayride and Bounce House! With four adults proof reading it, NO DATE on the invite! When we went door to door to pass them out (a group of 12 of us) we had to say, "It's tomorrow!".

Emma "helped" Tommy and Rob get the webs up to insure that kids stayed either outside or downstairs during the party. Notice the floating hands?

I caught Tommy tickling the Aiden during the party and just had to get a photo. I took this from the upstairs bedroom on the 3rd floor. Aiden kept asking fro mercy and for Elle to help him escape from Tommy. It was so funny to watch.

~All the kids got their faces painted at the party. Their were also tons of games and crafts.~

~Aiden was loving on Tommy - had to get a photo~

~One of my favorite parts about the Fall Fest was that there was a hay ride to go on~

~Malinda said, "Adults Only on this next one!". How much fun did we have? TONS!~
During the second movie (The Goonies) Elle came and sat down on my lap and stayed there the whole time. It was my favorite part of the whole weekend. I literally had a 9 year old curled up on my lap with a blanket.

The next morning we all went out to breakfast. I can't believe how big our little flower girl is getting! I had to get another photo with her.

~Tommy goofing off with the boys!~

~The kids have a TV in the kitchen and it was so cute to watch them, watch it.~

Tommy found a new app on his phone and tried it out with girls. You ask a question and the phone answers it. The girls kept coming up with questions that made both families laugh so hard.

A grand tradition in Cincinnati is to go out to eat with Malinda and Aiden on Monday morning. He was so adorable while stacking the condiments. No matter where we go we always get hot chocolate in the morning. What a way to end the trip!

I am sure that our Fall tradition will keep on rolling with a visit to the Steven's. We still can't get over how big all four of them are getting.

~Audrey Turns 5ive~

Audrey (Jill's daughter) turned 5ive in October and boy did she get to celebrate in a big way! Jill booked a Glow in the Dark Put-Put place in Gahanna and it was awesome. Aud loves Spiderman and so the theme began...

Here is Audrey “Ready to Go” with Glow in the Dark ball and all. She was so focused both times she played the 18 holes, before and after cake and presents!

Jill and I were so happy to get to hang out a little at the party. We watched Audrey and Brooke Put-Put. You can't tell in this photo but Jill and I have Glow in the Dark Hairspray streaks in our hair. We laughed so hard after we put it in because it was a gray color and we thought we looked a little older than 30!

~Brooke & Me~

I had to pick this photo for displaying Audrey's adorable cupcake tower that Jill made. Can you see that typical lil “sweet face” rolling her eyes! I guess she didn't want me taking her photo. LOL. I love how Jill ran with the Spiderman theme and made the webs on them. She also found blinking glow in the dark balloons and Glow Bracelets.

I thought the sign at the party room door was cute! Of course the décor in there is so “busy” that I didn't even notice it when I came in.

Audrey loved her Spiderman gifts that I bought her. I think her favorite was the night light! I wish I could have found a Spiderman gift bag. Oh well. PS - check out the wall paint in the back ground! It really was a very fun event room.

I was so happy to capture a Family photo of the Wendorfs, Kettingers, Kraszewskis and the Nurenbergs! Silly Aud!

I really think that Audrey and every guest there, really had a great time! Jill did a great job with the theme and decorations - as usual! Happy Birthday Audrey!

~Ice Cream in Autumn~

Kara and I recently took the kids that we nanny to the Columbus Zoo. The first animals that we visited were the Polar Bears. One of the, Twin Girl, Polar Bears was making us laugh so hard! I couldn't get the video to load onto the Blog so you have to click on the "this" link and go to my youtube page. I have seen them both be active and playful before but NEVER like this!

I forgot to add in my last Blog about a night I had with Brooke and Audrey! It was a Tuesday while Marvin was playing Softball. Some say, "I can't believe you did that" but I did! :) I was driving over to their house and sitting at a red light. I backed up a few car lengths (and by that I mean 5) to line up with an Ice Cream Truck. Obviously there were no cars in my lane. I rolled down my window and asked, "Where you headed?". He said two blocks North and I asked if he was willing to go a mile East, he said yes and we were on our way. Before he even got to the Wendorf's house 10 kids were chasing him down. I told Marvin to send the girls out and it was treat time for them! They each got a Scooby-Do Pop made of Caramel!
I do have to say that this photos says nothing about what was to come! THEY MELTED so fast! I ended up getting the girls bowls and spoons and it was still a mess that the three of us couldn't even handle as a team. I really should have gotten an After Photo!Tommy and I were so happy that we were able to pull off making it to Travis and Catherine's Wedding Reception. The Wedding was in Tucson, AZ and sadly we were not able to attend. Tommy hurt his food playing basketball on the first Thursday of the month. Sat the 8th we were to be in Grove City, poor Tommy had to go crutches!

Travis and I have know each other since I was born and he was a few months old. Below are two photos! One of me and Travis when we were little and one from the Reception.
~Catherine, Travis, Me and Tommy~
~Living up the Gimpy Life~

My little sister Hannah (on the left) attended her first High School dance that same Saturday. I can't believe how much older she is getting! The four girls had dates and they all went in a big group. She brought over her dress the week before and showed it to me. We picked out some jewelry from my closet and she was good to go!
~Daddy with Baby Hannah and Me back in 1997!~
My Mom's Birthday was October 3rd and boy did we have a surprise up our sleeves. Her friend (and our family friend) Doug wanted to make a Meal for her and have us over as well. Dad took Mom out to Easton. He said they were going to dinner (after walking around) but that he forgot the restaurant coupon and had to run home really fast. Somehow he got her to walk inside and we all yelled surprise! She said it was the first surprise party she had ever had! The kids (J, A and R that I have M-F) and I made banners! Five of them.

1. HAPPY
2. BIRTHDAY
3. KATHLEEN4. PUMPKIN and
5. PIE
To hang up at their house for fun! The five of us all had a great time eating and talking together. Tommy made some of his Grandma's recipes to go along with Doug's soup. We were all full by the time the cake came out! But who can say no to cake?

The kids asked me what I was doing that night and I said that I was going to my Mom's Bday party, they asked if they could make her a card and buy her a gift! They asked so kindly I couldn't resist. A picked out a Princess Paddle Ball and a Glow-stick shaped as a wand. LOL. It was so stinkin' cute to watch my Mom open them! I got her some Scentsy products for her plug-in, some mini note cards and The Big Bang Theory: Season 4 on DVD. She loves Big Bang!
The H's and I have had lots of October Fun this year! We went the Zoo, two of three different parks and made some fall recipes. We also decorated their kitchen with pumpkin and witch crafts!

This story is too funny! A, R and I went shopping to get a few things we needed to make Lasagnas! One for a dinner party that Tommy and I were having and one for their family to keep for weekend dinners! I ask A to hand me one of the tomatoes but she said she couldn't find them. I said look really hard, they have a picture of tomatoes on them, nothing. Guess who was playing with the rest of the groceries that he stole off the table? He stacked the tomatoes and topped the castle off with a block of Parm. When I asked him to bring them over to use he said, "Make your lasagna in the livingroom!".
~Layering~The next day we met up with my Kara again to go on another field trip to Pigeon Roost Farm! Don't be fooled by the name, it was AWESOME! Kara had four kids with her (no school that day) and I had A and R while J was in school. There was so much to do, I couldn't get over it!!! I only added a couple of photos, make sure to check out the website!
~Kara was very fond of the Camel! So excited! Like a lil girl on her Birthday!~
~One of the many things to do... get your photo taken in front of the Pumpkin Tree!~
~Lexi, A, Jamie and R on the huge chair! One of the many simple but fun things to do~
That same afternoon the kids got a Wendy's treat for completing their weeks worth of chores on their charts. They each have household items and behavioral items, six total that they have to complete Friday - Thursday to go! I went to Wendy's and bought a Frosty and was able to buy 10 Free Jr. Frostys for $1, Coupon Booklet. So we used four of them and had our lil treat. Yes, I was good girl too! :) I also ran into my friends Mom while I was there and her granddaughter. Forgot that they lived on that side of town.
That SAME eve Kara and I got together again for our "Lasagna Dinner Party". The guys usually play basketball together but since Tommy couldn't play we all hug out! Works for me! We also played a never ending game of Risk that night!
Friday the 14th I took the two youngest ones to the Worthington Library for a Costume Parade! They were so excited to get dressed up. We met up with Izzy (Audrey Wendorf's friend) and her family as well. It was fun to all walk together. Izzy was a beautiful fairy.
I think this is a hysterical photo. R thinks that his Frankenstein costume is a Skateboard helmet and shirt. I just had to have him stand there for a photo!
Audrey had her 5th Birthday Party on Saturday the 15th! That will be the next blog to come along! I am just so happy that the weather had been amazing this Autumn. I can't wait to Blog more about this season!