It's that time of year....

Ghosts and Goblins are everywhere! Pumpkin Patches, costume parties and other exciting fall events have been happening for the twins. Jack and Bella headed to the pumpkin patch with our friends Chase and Maia a couple weeks ago. This is a tradition we have honored for the past few years. Jack and Bella are finally getting to the age where they can really enjoy the pumpkin patch and all that it has to offer! The first year we took them they were just 6 weeks old!!



Cycles!

Slides!



Donkeys!


Bella wouldn't ride the tractor ride so Jack had to ride alone. He loved it!


He also loved the big kid slide! The kid has no fear. All boy.


Playing with their buddy Chase!


We also got lots of use out of our costumes this year at parties. Jack and Bella's school had a big carnival with tons of different things to do. They got to decorate bags and eat a dinner of hot dogs and chips! There was face painting, haunted "rooms" and lots of game rooms with great prizes! We really enjoyed the party as well as the neighborhood parade. Our neighborhood puts this on every year. Basically kids in the neighborhood all dress up in their costumes and parade in the street for a couple blocks. Then we return to the start for a healthy snack and juice drink and mingle with the neighborhood kiddos. Lots of fun!!!


Neighborhood kids!


Close up!


Hot dogs at the school party!


Decorating bags!

Finally come the trick or treating pictures!! The little monsters got to trick or treat with their bud Carson who just moved back from Paris! We had a lot of fun and Carson was a great teacher for Jack and Bella. They caught on very quickly and loved running around the neighborhood. Popi and Nana came and watched Jack and Bella trick or treat too and spent the night with them while Nathaniel and I went to a grown up costume party later in the evening. Overall it was a great October. Lots of fun activities with good friends!! The big news is that Jack can now officially count to at least 8 on command (sometimes 10) !! GO JACK!!!


Ready to hit the neighborhood with our pumpkin flashlights! Thanks Carson!


Enough with the pictures already!


The first house....


Teamwork!!!

Omaha.... Somewhere in Middle America!

Just like the words from the old Counting Crows song, we were in Omaha this weekend! We made the trip up Friday night for a weekend full of events. Saturday we headed to the Henry Doorly Zoo with Uncle Jason, Aunt Catie and Baby Lily. We got to see lots of exciting animals. The Omaha zoo is pretty amazing. It's a very nice zoo with lots of fun things to do. They even have an aquarium building where we got to see NEMO!!! A real, live Nemo. It was very exciting for the twins!! Aside from the zoo I got to sneak in a little shopping at Aunt Tina's stores and we got to have dinner with Aunt Tina, Uncle Dave and Nana. Good stuff!
Sunday was a big day for us...... Recently our friend and family member Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer. Sharon is John, Jason and Tina's Mom. She has always been a part of family gatherings and special events so this news hit us all hard. Cancer can lead to helpless feelings for the one diagnosed and for the surrounding family members. I decided that the only thing I could do to help Sharon (since the Doctor's have to cure her) is run for her in the Race for the Cure and raise as much money and awareness as I could. The race was this weekend and was an eye opening experience for myself and other members of our family. 20,000 participants flooded the streets of downtown Omaha adorned in pink hats, scarves, t-shirts, shoes, shorts, hair and anything else that can be made pink. Some people walked and some ran. There was a one mile family fun walk. My Mom (Gloria), Tina and John walked the mile and pushed the twins in the stroller. Dave, Matt, Cindy, Kara (my sister-in-law) and myself all ran the 5k race. Jason and Caitie pushed Lily in the stroller and my mother-in-law, Colleen walked the 5k as well. What a crew! You learn in times like these that family is so important and that you can really depend on them to come through for you. It was the best thing I have done or been a part of since I married my husband and had my 2 beautiful children. I fully intend on participating and raising funds for causes such as this one for many years to come. I was able to raise $375 and I thank each and every one of you who donated to my run. It really means a lot!!! Sharon is currently in the middle of a 20 week chemo treatment plan which we pray, every day, will help her to heal and get to 100% again. It is in God's hands and I know he will not let us down!

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family. "





Big boy!


Jack loved the fountains so much he wanted to climb in!


Bella ran right up to the gorilla statues and did that. Cute!


The whole family in the rain forest.


Colorful fish were a favorite


So was the octopus which Jack promptly called a snake


NEMO!!!!


The back of our race shirts. "In Celebration of Sharon and Jodi" Jodi is Sharon's niece and Tina, John and Jason's cousin who is also battling breast cancer. What a great cause!


Pre-race picture. 39 degrees! Buuurrrr..... *chattering teeth*


Pre-race apple!


We LOVE apples!!


Mom, Tina and I, post-race


Kara and I, post-race


Sharon and Baby Lily (her Granddaughter) at the brunch we had after the race.


The WHOLE crew!!! Good job everyone!!

Monster Mash!

Our friend Carson put this together for us and it was too cute not to share. Make sure you have your sound turned up and paste the address below into your browser!!! Enjoy!

http://www.monstermashup.com/3c470e

A Visit to The Deanna Rose Farmstead

This weekend the weather was perfect for a visit to The Deanna Rose Farmstead. For those of you not from the area or if you don't have children, Deanna Rose Farmstead is an amazing farm with every farm animal imaginable! It's free to enter and has a lot to offer the kids. Here are some of the animals they have, cows, goats, sheep, ponies, draft horses and miniature horses, donkeys, chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks, bison, longhorn steer, prairie dogs, bobcats and birds of prey. It's really amazing! There is a fishing pond, pony rides (for kids 3 years and up) and wagon rides. We decided to go visit the farmstead firsthand this weekend. We went with our friends Bart, Jenny, Chase and Maia. Good times were had by all. The kids were able to bottle feed baby goats. We were nervous about how they would do with this but they LOVED it!! They loved petting and following them around. Bella was a little more nervous at first but she got over it once she saw all the other kids. We also took a nice walk on a nature trail where Bella and Maia held hands and pretended they were in a fantasy forest. We ate lunch in a big pavilion and were able to play on several play areas spread out throughout the farm. When the day was done, we were tired but had learned so much about all the animals and plants. We will definitely be making this visit again! Next stops.... The Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha and the pumpkin patch here in Kansas City, in October. Lots of fall fun planned!!



Jack, Bella and Chase checking out the cows!


Big cow!


Swinging in the forest!


Showing off our color skills! "RED!"


Swinging with Daddy


Maia was Bella's big friend pushing her in the swings


Not sure about the goats yet


Family goat feeding time


Bart, Jenny and Chase feeding goats


Comfortable with the goats


Bossing the goats around no doubt


Jack loved feeding the goats

Jack and Bella turn 2!!!!

What a weekend it has been! Thankfully it's a 3 day weekend so we can use today (Monday) to recover from all of our festivities!! Jack and Bella turned 2 on Saturday, September 5th. On Saturday we went to the Kansas City Zoo with our friends Bart, Jenny, Chase and Maia. Fun times were had by all. We got to see LOTS of exciting animals including sea lions, elephants, lions, monkeys, rhinos, zebras and giraffes. The weather was perfect and by the time it was all over Jack and Bella were snoozing in their strollers. Yesterday was party day at our house. Family came from near and far to help Jack and Bella celebrate such a wonderful day! Since Jack and Bella love Nemo so much we opted for a Nemo themed party. Nemo things are hard to come by anymore so I had to order everything online aside from the cake! We had plates, napkins, balloons, stickers and temporary tattoos for the kiddos! Bella has 2 tattoos on right now and keeps showing them to me "Mommy, turtle. Mommy, Nemo." We celebrated the day with some delicious Greek food and homemade ice cream and cake. Popi and Nana made the Greek gyros, Greek salad and Greek potatoes and then Grandma and Grandpa Norgren brought homemade vanilla and homemade cookies & cream ice cream from Iowa! Delicious! Jack and Bella are blessed to have so many good people in their lives who brought lots of hugs, kisses and presents with them when they came yesterday. We cannot thank any of you enough!! You all made the day so special. Highlights for Mommy and Daddy were bonds for college, of course, and the clothes they can wear this fall - which seems to be coming sooner than we would like!! Jack and Bella were very excited about their new "cycles", cars, dress up clothes and crown (!!), shopping cart, a giant basketball hoop and the list goes on and on! Nathaniel said yesterday "Well, if it wasn't official already, it is now - they have taken over the house!" Thank you to everyone for coming and sharing in our special day. We cannot believe they are getting so big!!


A lion at the zoo.

Jack, Bella and I by the flamingos


Watching the sea lions!! Very exciting!


Playing in the yard at her party!


Very interested in his new tiny Elmo


Bella and Grandma Norgren with another tiny Elmo


Aunt Tina shows Jack the Nemo balloon. He loved hitting it!


Popi making the gyros. Notice the apron!!!


The spread: gyros, Greek potatoes, fruit and Greek salad


The cake!!



Jack and Bella with their cake!!!


Bella's "cycle"!



Jack's "cycle!"