Fall Fun

The other day I took the boys to the park so they could play in the leaves and I could take pictures. The weather was perfect for a fall day. Here are a couple of my favorite shots of my little munchkins.

Goulke Sunday

Each year my dad extended side of the family get together to make Goulke. We have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Goulke originates from Czechoslovakia where my great grandmother is from. It is a pastry of sorts but often feels like a "rock" in your stomach. The dough is prepared beforehand and as a family we "stuff" them before we cook them. We stuff them with many different things including poppyseed, prunes, raspberry puree and even chocolate. They are then boiled, rolled in butter then sprinkled with poppy seeds. I know it sounds crazy and it is, but it is tradition.

As part of the day we eat a good meal, play a little football, watch the Lions lose and take a family picture. Here are a few of the pictures from this years event.

To see the rest of the pictures click here then look for the folder with Glouke Sunday pictures.

New Friends

So we gained a few extras along with our house, kittens. For the first couple of days that we were there we would spot our curious visitors for a few moments before they would run under the fence. Being the animal lover, I gave them food and wouldn't you know now they love us!

Turns out the boys love them and have taken on the role of feeding them each time we visit. Samuel loves collecting their dishes, filling them with food, delivering them to the cats then watching them while they eat. Liam also adores them and loves cuddling with them. He will also chase them and peek at them through the fence. Mike might not admit it but he likes them too. He looks for them and has even been caught cuddling .

So here they are...This is Spook. He got his name for both his color and his temperment. He is a bit skiddish and is just letting us get close enough to touch him. We generally have to bribe him with food but he is starting to warm up to us.

This is Doodle. She is by far the friendliest. She started off a bit skiddish but now lets us pick her up and even lets both boys pet her. She usually appears within minutes of us getting there and hangs out int he field while we are working. Yesterday I left the back of the van open while I was unloading and guess who jumped in! Guess we will have to watch her!

So this is our latest addition. As we were leaving yesterday we spotted a second black cat about the same size as Spook. We have also seen another calico from a distance. I guess they are telling their friends about us. Maybe someday I can be the crazy cat lady! We shall see...

Mornings

Mornings around here are pretty relaxed. Since the boys are both early risers we have plenty of time before the rest of the world is awake. We usually lounge around in our pj's, eat breakfast, watch Noggin and just spend some time waking up. Some days the process has to be hustled so we can get Samuel off to school other days we can take our sweet time. These are a few pictures from our relaxed Monday morning.

Sleepy

Well I guess we are working Liam too hard. Since we have been working many nights at the house, we usually don't eat dinner until later in the evening. By the time we eat the boys have generally already eaten and getting ready for bed. To keep Liam contained so we can all sit and eat without chasing him we will put him in his seat and put on Noggin. The other night he was rather quiet and when we looked over this is how we found him. He had given up and decided to fall asleep right in his chair. After a few minutes of cuddle time with Nana it was off to bed for him. So cute...

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Hello Seattle

Fast Update

Wow it has been awhile since I have gotten a post up. I thought I would just quickly fill everyone in on our last few weeks here.

We have been busy, busy, busy. Mike working full time and at his internship two nights, Samuel in preschool two mornings a week, Liam and I at the gym , doing the errands and keeping up with everyone. Here are a couple of highlights from the past few weeks.

For two of the past weekends we celebrated Mike's dad's 60th birthday. The entire family went up to Lansing the weekend of his birthday to have dinner together. The family has exploded with kids lately and the dinner tally was 13 (6 of them being kids 5 and under). We had a great time and did a fantastic job distracting Steve from the fact that the following weekend was the surprise party. So the following weekend we headed up for the big surprise. It was a ton of fun. We pulled it off without him ever having a clue. Mike and I also got to spend a night together without kids. We realized that both of us have spent nights away from the boys but we hadn't been away together. I think it is a habit we will have to partake in more regularly.

Last Friday, Mike had to undergo a little "procedure" called a colonoscopy. Going into the surgery we were all a bit nervous about what they would find but everything turned out fine. He colon is perfect and he should be in the clear for awhile. It was great to interact with him after surgery. He was a bit loopy from the meds and entertained me well. We are just so thankful that everything is good and he is healthy!

A few weekends ago the town had an Apple Fest. There were arts and crafts type booths set up throughout town, games for kids, lots of apples and cider and fair type food. We spent a few hours walking around and enjoying some family time. Here are a few pictures of the boys playing at a nearby park.

Overall things are going very well. The house is coming along and we hope to be moving in the first of November. I will update the house blog soon with some new pictures of the place. I will try to be a bit more regular with keeping everyone updated!