Pumpkinland!

Theis Farm is very close to our house and we went there this afternoon to play at Pumpkinland and get some pumpkins to carve. Pumpkinland is an play area built with hay bales and the kids had a blast, as you can see. Me and Christopher on the slide FUN!

Katherine and Elizabeth on the slide Elizabeth with our pumpkins...

Elizabeth on the slide - they all could have gone over and over and over again!

Climbing on the hay bales with daddy

Sorry for the blurry picture - he's in constant motion!

Elizabeth in the pirate ship with her pirate hat

Everyone had a fabulous time. It was very windy and pretty chilly by the time we left, but we came home, had homemade turkey soup, watched a movie, and everyone went to sleep very quickly tonight! A fun fall day. As I write, the temperature is down to 45 degrees and it's supposed to be close to freezing tonight. Fall is definitely here!

A beautiful Day

This morning after church (actually, I guess it was after lunch), we went outside since it was such a beautiful day and got some pictures of the kids. These are just a few of the really great ones that we got. Christopher will not stand still for more than a second, so the prospect of getting one of the three of them together is pretty much nill - hence, I don't even try. Anyway, enjoy the pictures - Katherine is 6, Elizabeth is 4, and Christopher will be 21 months this week.

Bauer Birthdays....

We spent time at my (Julie's) parent's house on Sunday afternoon before our birthdays to celebrate with my family. Even though we were celebrating all of our birthdays, I only got pictures of the kids - imagine that!

Katherine helping Elizabeth open a card

I think this was one of Elizabeth's favorite gifts - a Sleeping Beauty.

We were ALL together - my parents, my brother and his family, and John's dad (that doesn't happen very often, unfortunately).

Christopher having fun playing with the road mat and cars

Katherine and Kaiser (my nephew) playing blocks

On her birthday, Elizabeth had a fun day at school. Here is Elizabeth sporting her Dora saves the Snow Princes tiara, her Sleeping Beauty magic wand, and her Cinderella princess costume - fun combination!! and the next pictures shows her birthday crown that she got at school!

Then, last Saturday we had Elizabeth's "kid" birthday party - DORA! She's really into princesses, but wanted a Dora party - go figure.

Chalk drawing is a big hit in our house right now - the weather was great, albeit warm, so we had some fun outdoors with the Wichts and the Englishes. Thanks, guys, for making it a fun birthday for Elizabeth!

So, we survived the birthday week for another year. It tends to be all about Elizabeth and not so much about John and I, but that's ok. We are celebrating our anniversary today, so that's our time, I guess. We now have an official 4 year old in the house and she's growing up before our eyes.

Where Have the Years Gone?

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago today, Julie and I were the parents of the two little girls shown above. So much has happened, and we have been blessed in so many ways since that day. Now, besides the two girls who have already grown so much, and learned so many things, we have a little boy who is growing up just as quickly. There is no better way to spend a birthday than to look back, be thankful for the blessings that the Lord has given us, and to look forward with anticipation and excitement for the blessings He still has for us in the future.

A Beautiful Fall Day

We had a beautiful fall day today - finished off by the First Annual Covenant Christian School Fall Picnic. FUN!!! We had a chili cook-off (it was slightly warm for chili, but the chili was great!), s'mores, a hayride (which Christopher LOVED), playing on the playground, and decorating pumpkins. Here's a picture of the pumpkins that the kids decorated. Christopher wasn't interested, so I just drew a face so as not to waste the decorating ingredients on one who didn't care. The girls had a great time, though, adding their personal touches. It was a great time to enjoy being outside and seeing friends. This week is the fun birthday week in our house (Julie's, John's and Elizabeth's), so there will be more pictures toward the end of the week. Stay tuned!