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Because I'm forgetful...

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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

NJ Shore Vacation 2010

As many of you know, every summer we try to take a little family beach vacation. It's usually to South Haven, MI, but this year we decided to be a bit more adventurous! We decided to embark on a 16 hour road trip to Ocean Grove, NJ to visit my brother and his family for a week.

Some of the highlights are below. Click here to see the full album

Our Little Artist

Kate has discovered sidewalk chalk. She can sit for long periods of time out on the back patio scribbling little designs. I've often found her lying flat on the floor as she draws, as if needing to get down really close to her "art". Here is a picture of one of her recent creations. I kinda like it :)



Her love for coloring doesn't end outside, though. She loves her crayons and coloring books! I love it, too, since it's one of the only times I can get her to sit still :)

Indianapolis

As an end of the school year celebration, the Snyders took a short overnight trip to Indianapolis to check out their Childrens Museum and Zoo. We had always heard so much about it, and now was our chance to go. We were not disappointed!

We left late morning, and after lunching in the van arrived at the Childrens Museum just two hours before closing time. It gave us just enough time to see everything except one or two exhibits that Ethan wouldn't have enjoyed anyway. The dinosaur exhibit is definitely a highlight! Unfortunately, Ethan was pretty frightened of these large, lifelike displays that we had to race through the exhibit. So...no photos :( But he loved the train exhibit and the "Playscape" especially, which was basically one large room of all these hands on exhibits. Water, sand, slides, ride on toys, stuff to climb. He and Kate had a blast. It was planned perfectly, really. We arrived late enough to miss all the school crowds, but early enough to see just about all the exhibits. On our way out, the kids noticed this light display which had them (and us) rolling on the ground in laughter.



The next day we went to the Indianapolis Zoo. I haven't enjoyed a visit to the zoo this much in years! We had perfect weather, and the zoo wasn't so huge that I felt I was walking miles and miles just to see the next exhibit. One of the highlights for all of us was taking the train ride around the zoo.


It was to get off our feet, feel a cool breeze and snuggle up close to our kids :)


It was a great little trip! For more pics, click here or go to: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=172271&id=610621963&l=b232e55509

BBQ-ing

The cloudy and rainy forecast did not stop our bible study group from getting together for some burgers and dawgs! Here is our small group, minus a few people. We are greatly looking forward to the day when our friend, Becky, comes home from Iowa where she is recovering from a lung transplant. She has been fighting cystic fibrosis her whole life, and we are praying that these new lungs will be like new life!


The kids...



Our monthly socials are one of our favorite monthly events. We potluck, usually doing some sort of theme, and just talk! This month was a special family event where all the kids came, too. What chaos! We love it...

For you, Mom

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A Very Happy Mothers Day

A wonderful day off! For Mothers Day I requested absolutely no cleaning up! It was lovely...


This morning I woke up to flowers and cards from the kids. Then after church we stopped off at my favorite local bakery for an assortment of croissants.

From Medici Bakery in Normal. For all of you U of C ers, it seems that a few Hyde Park establishments have followed me here to Central Illinois. In addition to a Medici we had a Harold's Chicken Shack open up. Makes me feel like I'm at home in my old college town with some popular Hyde Park eateries, ha ha ha!

After a lazy afternoon we ordered dinner from Biaggi's.

Nothing says Happy Mothers Day to me like a food-filled day with all my favorite treats. And I didn't even have to lift a finger :)

Indoor Games

On a rainy day a couple of weeks ago. Click here for more of these pics...

Happy May Day

May 1st brought us some surprises! A mysterious basket on our front porch!


Ethan loved the ring pop and bubbles, and mommy and daddy loved the chocolates!

The day also brought some fantastic hiking at Starved Rock. Click here for more pics on Facebook.

mmmm....corn

The first corn of the season for the Snyder family. And the first time for Kate to have it on the cobb!

Vicky is Agnes of God

Just before Thanksgiving of last year, I took an acting workshop that culminated in a showcase performance of several scenes from contemporary plays and films. My acting coach assigned me and my partner a scene from Agnes of God. Here is a recording of that showcase. You can find a synopsis and more info on the play at wikipedia .

This is part 1, the opening monologue of Dr. Livingstone in what was scene 4 from the play, I think. (or you can click here)



Here is part 2, where Agnes (my character) and Dr. Livingstone meet. Agnes' mental stability after "the incident" is in question throughout the whole play. It was interesting trying to decide for myself whether or not Agnes was a loony, or just misunderstood. (click here to see part 2)

Ethan's 4th b-day party

Finally...a little playdate for my little guy. As you may remember we had to cancel his celebration last week because he was sick. Here he is with his best buds today at our local McDonalds.

Here is the "baby table"

And the birthday "cake"