~~Fun Family Fall Pictures~~pumpkin picking & carving, halloween, and birthdays.

We went to Disney Live! Mickey's Magic Show, as a family, and it was a blast! None of us have ever gone to one of those shows, but it was highly entertaining and captivating to see! I think the magic tricks are fun, and I would love to know how they did the tricks!
We went to a pumpkin patch to get pumpkins, per Caleb's request. He wanted to go to the patch and pick out the best pumpkin. We only drove about 30 minutes away, and we could pick which ever one we wanted, and take our time. I love MN Grown Vegetables!
It was a big pumpkin patch, and the kids loved walking around looking for their treasure. I liked that their were wagons available to tote the pumpkins back to the van!
It was quite an experience, and the kids had a great time. Nathaniel didn't come with us, but we still had fun. Nathaniel was with a friend for the day.
Caleb loved riding in the wagon, too.









Time to go home. It was chilly outside, but that didn't stop the kids from getting their pumpkins. They had so much fun! Then, we went home and had hot chocolate and marshmallows.

A few days later, we had a night of carving pumpkins. It was a fun experience, and the kids had a blast!
They all loved digging out the guts of the pumpkin, separating the seeds, and cleaning out the pumpkins.
Cole loved eating the raw pumpkin guts and the seeds. He didn't seem to mind the flavors, and we didn't think it could hurt him any.



Mmmm....pumpkin goo!
Madelyn wanted a kitty on her pumpkin, so I drew what I thought a cat would look like, and did my best.

Caleb wanted a bat, so I drew a bat and carved that out for him.
I had a winking pumpkin with hair around the sides, and Terry had the traditional pumpkin with fang-looking teeth. I think his was the scariest. However, Nathaniel made his pretty interesting..and he was very creative!
Guts and glory come to mind when I look at his freaky pumpkin. :)
Cole's pumpkin was a silly face.
We separated all the seeds, cleaned them up, and baked them. They were delicious! Terry's special recipe.


Then it was time for trick or treating. The kids got to dress up in their costumes for church that morning. They each wore the same costume all day, except Caleb. Caleb was Spiderman in the morning, and a Power Ranger for evening.
Madelyn was a bumblebee (which she was last year...but I might as well use it two years, right?) and Cole was Jo-Jo the Clown.
It was fun to see kids handing out candy at a few of the homes.

The kids had a great time, but it really got cold outside.
Lena, our pugachin, was even dressed up. Nathaniel dressed her up in Maddy's Tinkerbell skirt, and some angel wings.





It was a fun day. We like doing Halloween because my kids love to dress up, and they love to get candy. That evening we celebrated Nathaniel's birthday, our friend's son's birthday, and the grandparents were over. It was a busy night!

April Showers Bring Batman Powers!!

I knew that my son Caleb would be beyond thrilled when he found out Batman was coming to him in the mail! My son is really into super heroes right now, and Batman, a favored DC Comics Super Hero, is at the top of the list. Caleb loves dressing up, too. My kids are constantly, well almost daily, dressing up to "be something" for the day. When the UPS guy arrived at the door, Caleb said, "Hey, maybe it's my new Batman raincoat! With sheer anticipation, we opened the big blue box with the Batman logo on the front, and this is what we found inside:

The Raincoat was tied in a big, yellow ribbon, the boots were laying nice on the other side, and the umbrella was at the bottom. I thought the presentation was wonderful! Of coarse, Caleb just wanted me to take it out quickly, so he could put them on!
He was so excited that he wore the raincoat and boots all day (inside...even though it wasn't raining out).
Here is a picture of Caleb being "Batman" and posing with his "Batman" wing. The raincoat has a cape that is secured by Velcro near the back of the neck. With the cape on, kids can fit their hands in a loop, and hold out their hands with the look of bat wings. I think it is designed perfectly for kids! It is great that the cape can be worn with or without the raincoat, and the logos glow in the dark for safety and kid-appeal. We love the cape!
Raincoats are available from size 2T to 6X and retail for $50.
Caleb can't wait for it to rain out so he can go out and play in the rain with his new Batman-themed boots from Washington Shoe Company and Warner Bros.. He did wear his new boots to his Dentist appointment. He wanted to show them all his new boots, and of coarse they all thought his boots were awesome.
The Batman boots retail for $36.95, and range in sizes from child's size 5-13 and youth sizes 1-4.
The matching Batman-themed umbrella is a fun accessory to the rain gear collection. The umbrella retails for $16. Caleb loves to twirl his umbrella behind his shoulder. He is really excited to stand out in the rain hiding under the shelter of his Batman umbrella, too.

We think that the new Batman Rain Gear ROCKS~ and we are happy to give a big shout out for this rain collection! You could probably guess it, but Caleb is anxiously waiting for the rain to come! However, the boots are worn rain or shine!

This collection is available at Nordstrom’s nationwide as well as select specialty stores.

Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.

DC Comics
DC Comics, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is the largest English-language publisher of comics in the world and home to such iconic characters as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and the Sandman.

Washington Shoe Company
Washington Shoe Company, founded in 1891, is committed to providing the consumer with high-quality footwear, created to meet and exceed the demands of today's lifestyle. Their staple brand, Western Chief Kids, has captured the hearts of many rainwear enthusiasts.

This review was made possible by Warner Bros. and Team Mom. I was given a raincoat, boots and umbrella to review. I was not compensated for my time or written review.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (review & Giveaway!) Great Christmas gift~

Our family loves Build-A-Bear Workshop! I had never created a furry friend at the BABW before, and I was thrilled to be apart of that! We (Madelyn and I) got to see the new BABW movie: Holly & Hal Moose, and then go to the BABW and make Holly and Hal! What an experience! I love that Build-A-Bear gives children (and adults) so many options for what kind/type of animal/friend they want to create! Not only do you get to pick out your new friend, you can shop in the store for outfits, shoes, hats, coats, etc. for your new pal! I just got an adorable Black Bear Teddy to review. His name is Dimples, and he is sure a cutie!
Caleb is enthralled with his new friend, Dimples. He is really excited that Dimples is all decked out in uniform...DARTH VADER! Caleb has been getting excited about the Star Wars characters (mostly because his older brother digs them) and he was happy to get Dimples in the Darth attire. Build-A-Bear offers purchase options of bears/furry friends by theme, too.
The Darth Vader outfit comes complete with the suit (and there is a special opening in the back of the suit for Dimples ~ or other bears, tails), mask (completely covers his face), black shoes, and the light saber. Caleb really likes to pretend to use the light saber, too.
Dimples looks fierce and ready to challenge anyone, doesn't he?
Oh, but look at his face! He is absolutely adorable! All the Build-A-Bear animals are super cute!
My baby loves the Dimples Bear from Build-A-Bear, too. He loves to kiss Dimples, especially when Dimples has his mask on!
There are over 400 Build-A-Bear Workshop stores around the world, and BABW also has conveinient online shopping selections at buildabear.com. This is a great option for your holiday shopping. One thing that I want to do with my kids is go into BABW and have them each make a new "friend" for their sibling. They could pick out one they think that their sibling would like, hand "stuff it," comb it out, and pick out clothing/accessories for their new animal. Build-A-Bear Workshop is a great place for kids to have fun, design, and be creative. Build-A-Bear has some great new selections for this holiday round up:
Frosty the Snowman, Holly and Hal Moose, Lil’ Robot Hal, Alvin, Simon and Theodore, Brittany, Winter Hugs Bear, Polar Bear, Lil’ Chocolate Cub Dressed as a Boy Elf and Brown Sugar Bear Dressed as a Girl Elf, and more. You can always personalize any bear as you want just pick and choose. Build-A-Bear Workshop offers great selections of bears/friends for girls and boys, along with fun and stylish accessories. We LOVE Build-A-Bear and highly recommend them to you! Hey, if you are a "last minute shopper," Build-A-Bear has a great online checkout ready to roll!

Want the chance to win a DARTH VADER Dimples Build-A-Bear?
This contest is open to bloggers and non-bloggers of the United States. Contest is open until December 23rd, 2009.
To enter, leave a comment about what Build-A-Bear you would like to make(mandatory for entry)**For extra chances you can: blog this contest, add my button to your site, subscribe to my blog, twitter and/or become a fan on facebook, and/or visit everyday and comment about something you learned from visiting the Build-A-Bear Workshop. Lots of chances to win! Don't forget to put the extra comments for the "extra" work. Good luck!**

This review was provided from Build-A-Bear Workshop, which provided me with the free product to review and information to share with my readers. I am sponsored to offer a BAB to giveaway to my readers through this review. I was given the product for my personal opinion and option to share with my readers. I was not compensated for my time or written review.

Halloween around here...

We didn't really know what to do this year with Halloween. It really depends on the weather here in MN, but this year wasn't too bad for temperature. We spent the morning at home doing different things that needed to be done. Here are a few photos that I took a few days before Halloween. My kids love dressing up, and it is (almost) a daily fun activity for them.

Madelyn is in her purple unicorn outfit. She got this costume from my friend, Lisa, from a garage sale special find. It is so warm and cozy, and Madelyn loves it!
Here is Nathaniel in the pirate hat, and one of his new favorite shirts from Terry. (hand-me-down)
Cole is wearing the Jo-Jo hat. I know it is a girl's hat in the show, but it looks cute on him!

After that, we helped some friends move to their new home. We got home about 5:30, and our kids were tired. However, they still wanted to go treat-hunting. We had considered bringing them to a local church party (games, outdoor petting zoo, outdoor blow up jumpy-thingy...etc.) but we had come home too late for that. We got the kids in their costumes, and went to a local neighborhood.
Cole was super happy that night, and he was in a warm costume as Pooh Bear. I have to say that I was excited about this find...$1.25 at Savers! That was a great deal, and he can now play "dress-up" with the kids.
Isn't he a cute little Pooh Bear? Caleb and Madelyn had a lot of fun, too. They picked out their duds.
Caleb was a jester/clown and Madelyn was the "itsy, bitsy spider." Maddie's costume was a little too small, but she insisted that she wore that one. We did hand-me-down costume attire this year.

The owner of this home was all dressed up as Princess Leia, from Star Wars. I thought her costume was superb!

It was a fun night out with the little ones. Nathaniel was with his dad this year. I am not sure how it worked out, but he has only been at his dad's one other Halloween in his life. Nathaniel had wanted to be with us this year because his best friend was going to have his birthday party/celebration. But, his dad said no, because he wanted to have him for trick-or-treating after all these years. I really had no clue that it was that important to his dad, or I would have offered to make it work out for him to be able to have that time with Nathaniel. Nothing I can do about that now. At least he had a good time.

The kids had so much fun, and enjoyed walking around in their costume. It was fun to hear them saying the 'ol phrase, and then thanking the home owner. After about 15 homes, the kids were getting tired and cold. So, we packed them up and headed home. In the car, I had smelt something...so I asked Terry, "Did you give the kids candy?" He said he didn't, and then he asked the kids...

Terry: "Are you guys eating candy?"
Caleb: "I'm not eating any."
Madelyn: "I am!" (Have to love her honesty there!) ~LOL

We get home and Madelyn had about 4 wrappers/candy around her. It was pretty funny.We started to undress the kids from their costumes and get them in their jammies when the doorbell rings and knocks come on the front door. I had turned our outside light off, and it was evident we were not participating in the giveaway. Still the middle-school age kids lingered, so I hollered that we weren't handing any candy out. They left. Terry told me to just stay out of sight while he put the kids to bed. So, our house was completely black. I was in the basement talking to my aunt. About 10 minutes go by, and we get another banging on the door. I wait. Then, more banging. Seriously? I couldn't believe that they knocked the first time, but 2 times? So, I head up stairs, and call for Terry. I hear the kids laughing and talking loud. So, not only did they rudely go to a dark home, knock 2 TIMES!~ they hang out waiting...loitering! So, Terry opened the door and told them to go. I was furious to say the least. I can't believe how rude their behavior was. Anyway, the kids had fun, and I wanted to share the photos.