Happy Halloween! (Part 1)

The kids carving their first pumpkins this weekend...

A blurry photo of the kids, but you can see the jack-o-lanterns really well!

Everybody Needs an Uncle Jimmy

I have a lot of cousins. A LOT. And since they're all over the world I love it when they are passing through Chicago and have time to stop for a visit.

I was feeling rather brave one weekend...oddly enough, the weekend after my girlfriends voluntarily took on one of my own kids to add to their two. I thought to myself, "If they can take care of three small kids, I can certainly drive up to Chicago for the day with the ones I already have!" I normally don't travel far with them by myself. But with the news of one of my cousins passing through town, I thought it was worth trying!

I was blessed with no traffic, no tantrums, and plenty of beautiful weather for a stroll through Lincoln Park Zoo where I met up with my cousin Jimmy. So great to catch up with him and meet his girlfriend, Ari. I introduced him to Ethan as "Uncle Jimmy" since in Filipino culture, age plays a big part in how we address one another. At least I didn't make him call him "Tito Jimmy!" 

Weekend Getaway

The day after the wedding brought us gallivanting around Dinosaur Valley State Park...Where are the kids, you ask? ha ha....not with us :) We enjoyed a day of hiking in some beautiful woods, hunting dinosaur tracks, and wading in streams. I had forgotten what it was like to play!

AAARGH!

Our little car rental! It was fun tooling around in this red VW bug!

We are forever indebted to our good friends, the Zimmermans and the Reedys for taking on an extra kid for the weekend and giving us the chance to "getaway". From what I can tell, Ethan and Kate had a great time doing sleep overs at their friends' houses!

Congratulations Nathan and Amy!

The beginning of October brought us not only birthdays, but a wedding, too! David and I flew to Dallas to attend his nephew's wedding in Fort Worth, TX. Some pics below...

The Bridal Party

Cutting the groom's cake

In case you're wondering, yes, the groom's cake is in the shape of Nathan's favorite chewing tobacco.

The wedding cake!

Nathan's grandparents

Nathan's parents

Me, David and Nathan's youngest sister 

No wedding is complete without line dancing!

Nathan's younger brother with his girlfriend

Nathan and Amy finishing up their first dance

Thank you to Dana Copp, David's uncle, for taking this pics and sharing them with us!

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Ethan's birthday wishes to Grandma Cuesta...

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jdCIICX8m8)

Kate's 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday, Kate! We had a small party with her closest friends (in other words, all of Ethan's friends, lol!) and their families. A cookout, playtime, cupcakes and gifts made for a great day to spend the afternoon.

No party is complete without weapons!

Dinner time!
Kate still gets a bit overwhelmed with big "to dos". Daddy had to hold her while we all sang Happy Birthday.
Kate isn't into any kind of story book character, so I decided to use an autumn theme for her cupcakes. Do you like them? I found this idea on party cupcake ideas website. SO EASY to do, and pretty!

Ethan's Pre-K Fall Program

Ethan's school hosted a family cookout with a little program to close. Each of the three classes prepared a song that they performed.

I never thought little kids could be so cute and tug at my heart strings so much! Here's Ethan with his class singing "The Butterfly Song" If you get my updates via email you'll need to go directly to my blog to view the video. http://snyderfamilynews.blogspot.com/

Fall Fun

Today was our first time at the "new and improved" Rader Family Farms. When I heard they were charging an admission fee this year I was REALLY upset! Moms are always looking for great places to take their kids for free, and for many years this was a family fall staple! We were not disappointed, and to be honest, the $5/person is well worth it (and it's only $3/person during the week! Kids 2 and under free).

This little piggy went to market... ha ha ha! I thought these piglets were the cutest thing!

The highlight of the morning was the jumping pillow. Ethan and Kate loved it.



I loved it, too. To be honest, I'm seriously considering quitting the gym and buying a season pass to the farm, just so I can jump to my heart's content!

David got some serious height! He looks like he's standing on the roof of this barn in this picture!

Woohoo!

We ended the morning with some snacks and pumpkin picking, of course.


We'll definitely be back soon! For more info on the farm, go to http://www.raderfamilyfarms.com/ .

First Day of School

Today Ethan began his first day of Pre-K. He'll be going three mornings a week. This is the same school he attended during the summer, so it was all very familiar to him. In fact, he was pretty excited.

This is what his mornings will look like this year...

This was also the first day of school for Kate. She'll be going to a program called "Mornings Out for Moms" twice a week at one of the churches here in town. She was NOT very happy! As you can see, this was the only picture I was able to take of her this morning.

By the time I picked her up, her teachers said she did really well and had a great time. Phew! No mommy likes to see those tears!

Another Year Older

Now that I'm in my thirties it seems like one birthday blends into the next! When people ask me how old I am I need to take a minute to think about it :) That doesn't mean that our celebrations aren't any less special.


This year we had dinner out with lots of friends and birthday cake at home with the kids. And David remembered how much I love colorful flowers. What a nice surprise on my special day.

Here are some pics from the birthday dinner, which was at my favorite restaurant in town, Rosies. Click here, or go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=204228&id=610621963&l=59ef7ac080