My cutie patooties

Last night we headed over to mema & grandad's (basement) to have the boys pictures taken. I am a TERRIBLE mother in this realm because i have not had the boys formal picture taken since Eli was 7 months old (GASP!). I take so many day to day shots & scrapbook them, that formal shots escape my mind. But i know that our family would like new pictures to display (& my own walls need an update!). Since i am working on christmas cards next weekend, we had to get a picture ASAP! If you are a family or friend that normally gets pics from me (or even if you aren't but think you would like one, i will try to accomodate!), take a peek at these & let me know which pose(s) you would like & what size. You can email me or leave me info in the comments section of this post (just fill in "open id" section if you don't have a google /blogger account). A BIG thank you to grandad for taking these for me- they turned out GREAT (even if Eli was grumpy). Sorry if this seems impersonal, but i figured it would be easier than trying to figure out who would want what in what size. (Daddy, order what you think grandaddy would want too). I will put an order in once i think i have everyones response. (Oh, & keep in mind that you will be getting a christmas card with a 4x6 on it of the two of them together- so if one 4x6 of them together is all you need, then just let me know that a xmas card will suffice)

****CHANGE to original post: After making a xmas card template, i have realized that the 4x6 will need to be cut down some on all sides, so if you need even just a 4x6, let me know!

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Trick or Treat!!

For Halloween, Jackson decided last minute to wear his dragon costume. He had been practicing the cowboy all week & then after getting ready to go, he changed his mind! Eli wore a candy corn costume that Jackson wore when he was about 18 months old. And he was just as cute as Jackson was back in those days! I decided to put that costume on him because it was handmade (by Nanny), next year it would be too small, & because Randy said it was his favorite costume to date.

We were invited over to a friends house from church for a weinie roast & then for trick or treating in their neighborhood. Here is Eli imitiating Randy warming his hands over the fire pit.

Emma & Leah were invited to the roast as well... they came as Hannah Montana & a surgeon. (Ellie... maybe in a couple of years you could wear this! Daddy would love that!)

Here is Eli kissing Hannah Montana (he checked her out pretty well before going in for the kiss!!)
THis is the kids going up to a house. Jackson is waiting patiently while Eli stops to check out his loot!

That was a few houses before Jackson squatted on a lady's front porch & stated "I have to pee!!!" so the lady kindly offered her facilites. Randy was mortified, but he took him anyway! It was that or a bush!

After trick or treating, we loaded up the car & headed over to a few last stops before going home. We went to Grandma & Papa Evans house (where Kaleb was dressed as spiderman....)

And then our last stop was to Mema & Grandad's where cousin Becca was handing out the candy.. yumm!
All in all, i think the boys did great. Eli really got into the door to door thing & was so excited each time to get something for his bucket. ANd combined the boys got enough candy to feed an army! I combined it all (to hide in the pantry to save from a CONSTANT asking for it!) and it filled a BUSHEL basket! That is absurd!!

Tweetsie Railroad

The day didn't start out well, as the train ride stopped for the indians & the outlaws to fight & shoot (some blanks!). Jackson just kept his ears covered & Eli was just trying to figure out where all the noise was coming from!

Randy and I, and Jeremy & Kaleb rode the ferris wheel & we were able to get some fun shots of J & K.....

The boys also got to ride plenty of rides! I don't have a lot of the pictures because i was on the rides too & Aunt Marie took them with their camera (send them to me, Marie!!!) Here they are on the planes..... but they also rode the merry go round, cars, tilt a whirl, etc.....

We had some photos opportunities on the horse & carriage. Since Eli's favorite animal is a horse, it was suiting!

And we also got to go into a feeding area & feed some animals. There were lamas, goats, & deer. This was everyone's favorite part i think! Here is Eli feeding a deer....
Mama feeding the deer... i had never been so close to a deer before! (Not one alive anyway!) Jackson fed the lama who was greedy!
Here is a little video for evidence....

On a side note here: Jackson went with me to buy these cones of food for the animals. As i was paying, he was holding them. I hadn't mentioned the fact that it was animal food yet, and as i heard a crunch, i looked over & yes, the 4 year old had taken a bite! YUCK! He spit it out about the time i screamed!

We took the chairlift up to miners mountain....here is Randy & Eli in front of us....
And this is them behind us (on the way back down). Excuse the blur, but they all turned out that way on the way back down! (Again.... Jeremy got a great one of all of us! HINT. HINT)

And here is Jackson sitting next to me on the chair lift. He really enjoyed this, but i have to be honest, i was a little nervous to have kids on this thing! This picture pretty much sums up the day.... Eli tuckered out! We went for one last ride on the merry go round, & he fell asleep on the ride! It was too funny!

Mountain Fun

A couple of weekends ago, we headed up to Blowing Rock to see all the fall leaves. A very generous family from church let us use their cabin since it was so close to Tweetsie Railroad & we were planning on going there during our visit. We invited Jeremy, Marie, & Kaleb to come & stay with us since we were going to have plenty of room & last minute (as in 7pm Friday night) they decided they would join us. We stayed up late to wait for them to arrive & we enjoyed the weather & scenery. The boys LOVED being outdoors & even got to walk down to a trout pond & fish with Randy & Jeremy (although all the fish were gone! bummer!) THey also went "leaf sledding" down the hill, but Uncle Jeremy has that video on his camera... hint hint- maybe he will send it to me!

The boys thoroughly enjoyed the bathtub!

And since Kaleb brought his truck, they all went "off roading" with Eli in the back!

Me & Jackson on the walk down to the trout pond... He had to wear my tobogan until we found the Walmart, since his didn't fit.

Cheese!!!

More Cheese!!

Aunt Marie, Uncle Jeremy, & Kaleb on our walk...

Heading out with the boys to go fishin'!
Jammin' next to the freshly built fire.

We also headed to Tweetsie Railroad & the kids really had a blast, but i will post that separately... so stay tuned!

The World's Best Eater

It is official.... Eli wins the prize of the World's Best Eater! He makes my life easy at mealtimes which is a true blessing since Jackson has in the last year decided to get pickier & pickier. ("i not like that no more." is what i constantly hear from him!) Well, i just had to take this picture of Eli last week as he gobbled up homemade chili! It is so yummy to me, but i knew Jackson would balk at it & let's face it, Randy isn't a huge fan of beans, so it isn't on his top 5 list either. But it was cold & i wanted it so i made it. Eli LOVED it & even ate it the next day for lunch. He prefers it with sour cream, cheese, & oyster crackers thank you very much! Open Wide!

Family Addition

Meet Lola..... The newest addition to our family.... She is still in "hiding" most of the day! Her favorite hiding spots are under our bed, in the bathtub, & under a blanket on the bed! She is super cute & after being petless for over a year, it was time to take the plunge. The boys have been so excited that i think they have added to her stress level a bit. They love to pet her ever so gently, but they are rambunctious in general & she isn't used to the noises around here yet. She will only come out of the bathroom/bedroom if i cover her up with a blanket so she can't see all the open space around her. She is coming around though. Tonight, she even came out on her own & wandered around some after the boys went to bed.


Lola is so mild mannered & gentle with the boys. She doesn't try to bite or swat when they come at her (to pet her). She just lets them pet her & even purrs. She is going to be a keeper!!