Croissant Weekend

It finally arrived!! We had been looking forward to a visit from our family that moved 9 hours away for quite some time. Elizabeth could hardly stand it each day when we told her how many more days until they arrived. As it turned out, we had such a crazy busy day the day they arrived, it really helped pass the time!

We started out with a trip to the dentist for myself and Jonathan -- what a better way to start the sugar-induced-candy-coma weekend, right? After that, we headed to the Gathering Place to help set up for the Harvest Bash we'd be attending later that evening. We ran through the drive-thru at Chick-fil-a (a real treat for us!!) and home to gobble lunch before having to get Jonathan to school. David's cousin helped me out by staying with the little two while I was at school for Jonathan's Fall Party. Unfortunately, I didn't remember my camera for his first school party -- let's just say that won't be the first time, nor the last that I forget the camera!! After returning home, our family came over to our house for dinner before heading to the Harvest Bash. We also ended up taking a neighbor friend of Caroline's with us. A few hours later, we finally got home, de-costumed and settled six kiddos into bed!! I was not far behind them as it had be quite the day! Our kiddos were SO excited to have their cousins sleep over! With having such a busy day, it was relatively easy to get them off to bed.

Following are some pictures from the Harvest Bash:
Jonathan was the first to brave the giant blow-up slide!

Next, Caroline gave it a try....

and even Elizabeth showed no fear while sliding super fast in her Sleeping Beauty dress!

Mmmmm --- some super sticky sugary sweet cotton candy! And an adorable Iron Man!!

Playing some games....

Look at that form!

Such concentration!

Adorable!! His mouth was full of some sort of sugary goodness!

Musical chairs turned out to be a favorite game for our kiddos. Since we had so many playing, it increased the odds of one of our kiddos scoring some candy!!

On Saturday, we took advantage of some mild weather and carved our pumpkins. We had a contest among the kiddos with some very prestigious awards.

The Master Carver! When you have 4 kids, you have to learn to have one person who carves while the other cleans out. Helps the process to move along a bit quicker. Elizabeth decided she just wanted to paint her pumpkin.

Matthew was very intent in his painting as well.

We just love this girl!! She is so fun.

Jonathan took a break from the carving to show me how he could safely swing from this tree. I have vivid memories of his cousin doing the same thing at about the same age....except he didn't land quite so safely. I heard the crunch of his bones as he fell and ended up with a broken arm!! Thankfully, we didn't have any trips to the emergency room!

Matthew and I took a few minutes to have a swing. He is getting way too big!!! What happened to our baby?!?

When the pumpkins were done, the kids showed us the trick their pumpkins were able to perform. Lauren's was a gumball machine and she even was able to floss it's teeth! Her's won the Most Creative Award.

Caroline's pumpkin was named Tina. Take notice of her lips. Her trick was to give kisses. She won the Most Elegant Award.

Jonathan's pumpkin complete with a hat was awarded the Most Obedient Award. His trick was to sit and stay. Jonathan would lean over and tell him what to do, and he did it! Right away without delay!

What a ham! Can you see what a little character she is?? Her pumpkin was named Baby Jesus. Elizabeth was awarded the Most Spiritual Award.

We also celebrated fall birthdays while the Croissants were here. We have lots of fall birthdays in our family -- David and Andrew in October; Susan, Jonathan and Matthew in November!

Matthew and David were showing off their Blue Moon duet. David posted a video of this on FB, but we've got a better one that I need to post on here. We've been trying to make a better effort in working with Matthew and his speech. I understand him, but I'm with him all the time. We think that he's just trying to keep up, so he talks very fast -- sorta like his daddy! He's making progress, but we'll probably have him evaluated to see if he needs speech therapy.

Andrew helping Matthew open his present from the Croissants. It was a Lightening McQueen plate, bowl and cup set.

Jonathan got a backpack out of Cars fabric that Aunt Susan made. It was also custom made to be able to carry his Build-A-Bear Flyerina that he got last year for his birthday from them. He loved it and slept with it!! The true sign that he really likes something is if he wants to sleep with it!

Being crazy -- what else is new?!?

Susan -- the Queen! I think throughout the time they were here we had at least 3 birthday celebrations for her... She's the master at dragging out her birthday!! We won't say the exact year, but it was a big one for her this year, so she deserved all the hoopla!!

A common sight throughout the weekend! Elizabeth just adores Lauren. She says they are "best friends forever!" (You need to say that without correctly pronouncing your 'r'). I think it's just sweet!! And since Lauren's middle name is Elizabeth, she thinks it's great too!!

We were so very sad to have to leave knowing that it would be a while before we see our family again. Caroline was probably the most emotional about it and even requested some special snuggle time with me before going to bed. We treasured the time that we were able to be together and look forward to being able to be together again!