Mimi Visits!

 This just about sums up everything we love about having Mimi here!  Everyone gets to fill their bucket with a little special attention and some Mimi time :)  My mom pretty much takes over bedtime with Jackson, and their reading time together is something he really loves.

 Graham had THE BEST time playing with Mimi!  He suckered her into getting down all sorts of things he doesn't usually have access to.  LOL  They have their own bond for sure :)

 We took Graham to Barnes and Noble one morning, and they had this cute cut-out advertisement for one of our favorite books: The Day the Crayons Quit.  You have to look carefully to see Graham's sweet, little face poking through...

 After the bookstore, we met Susie and Ben for lunch at Firehouse--needless to say, Graham LOVED it!

 We celebrated Jackson's birthday early with Mimi.  She and Bampa got him an excellent start to his Lego collection!  

 Graham checking out the new fun

Jackson whipped this baby out right away!  

We had a GREAT trip, as always.  Lots of hanging out, eating, and shopping.  Mimi got to see one of Jackson's soccer games, and we even got an extra night with her since their was control tower craziness going on in Chicago.  WOO HOO!!!  Counting down to Thanksgiving now...

Pumpkin-ing 2014

As soon as preview weekend was announced, we had Cox Farms on our calendar!  

On our way to the hayride, we stopped to see this friendly wolf.

Ever since we discovered the hayride two years ago, it has become our first stop since the line can get really long!  It did not disappoint, and we had such fun checking out the decorations.

Checking out the tractor

Visiting with a cow

These yellow chairs are so cute!  They were also a stamp-able activity on the new activity cards passed out upon entry.  I think there were 12 different areas to visit.  By each activity, there was a freshly constructed rubber stamp station to mark the stamp cards.  At the end, if you collected all of the stamps, you received a scratch-off card to win a prize.  Both of our scratch-offs granted us a free weekday afternoon admission.  Not sure if the new school schedule will allow for a repeat visit, but we'll keep it in mind!

On top of the farm!

Monkey see, monkey do!

 Working hard to lift some hay bales.

Slides are fun!

A second go 'round!

I'm wondering if Jackson heard some other kids talking, but he explained that he sat this way because it makes you go faster.  We've never told him that!

Working hard to get up to the rope swing!

Hanging out in Goat Village!

Trying to feed a goat friend.  Jackson found part of a cone on the ground, and he tried probably 10 goats, but none of them wanted to eat it!  I wonder what they knew that we didn't...  Overall, Goat Village was not QUITE as entertaining as in past years, but it was still a fun stop.

Graham LOVED this time to climb on an old fire-truck-turned-play-structure!

Firefighters!

HA HA HA!

One of the new features this year was this yard of old motorcycles dug into the ground for playing on!

I sure hope we don't have a stuntman in our future...

Or two!

We enjoyed a walk through the Cornundrum.

Conductor Super Moose!

Smith Family at Cox Farms 2014

Fall Cuties :)

The Yanceys were there too!  We saw them here and there, which was a fun perk!

These are some of my favorite posts to look back on:
Pumpkin-ing! (A tradition is born!)
Pumpkin-ing 2010
Pumpkin-ing 2011
Pumpkin-ing 2012
Pumpkin-ing with Mimi!
Pumpkin-ing 2013

Smith Stories Sampling

 Sage and Jackson ready for their first Spirit Day!!!

 The Cookie Cart pedalling its goods :)

The boys have outgrown the space in the car carts :(  This cart at Wegmans is perfect!  I actually don't mind pushing these SUVs of shopping carts, because I like the separation between us.  If one or both of them is sitting right there in the traditional spot, then my list gets bothered, etc. 

 Soccer started right after Labor Day!  Same coach and three of the same teammates, but different team colors and name.  This season they are the Eagles!

 Graham visited the dentist for the first time!!!  I tackled all three of us having appointments on the same day!  It went surprisingly smoothly.  I LOVE our dentist!  It took me a long time to find them, but they are amazing!  The office is really pretty, the staff is super nice, and they are SO accommodating to the kids!  There are several chairs in a separate area with a colorful mural on the wall and tvs for the kids to watch shows while they get their teeth cleaned.  They also have a whole play area, and they kept an eye on the boys playing there while I got my cleaning.  They seem to really enjoy kids and helping out the parents.  

 The boys each got a bag with new toothbrush, toothpaste, and floss, stickers, a balloon and a token to get a special prize.  They did awesome :)

 Ready for Mardi Gras!  ;)

 We went for a little hike/geocaching after soccer one Sunday.

 This sums up most of Grahams days--filling the shopping cart with everything and anything!

 Partaking in our first Community Spirit Night at Sweet Frog!  They donated a portion of the sales back to Pattie!

 I decided I wanted to go back to a single jogger, and after a hectic few days of negotiating Craigslist, I sold our awesome double and broke in our new single :)

Silly faces!

1st Day of Kindergarten!!!

 Jackson was more than ready to head off to Kindergarten this morning!  We met his teacher last week, and that got us even more excited!  Mrs. LeBel is everything you imagine when you think "Kindergarten Teacher."  We have been practicing his room number and bus number all weekend :)

 Check out our big boy!!!  He was super excited to wear this new dinosaur shirt he picked out.  He liked that the dinosaur had a notebook like he and Daddy use to go geocaching :)

 Daddy and Jackson

Mommy and Jackson

 Daddy teleworked today so he could do some of the awesome first day things with us :)  Heading off to the bus stop!

 These two have been buddies since we all moved in.  Three years later, and Sage and Jackson are off to Kindergarten!!!

 We are so excited to see Izzy at the bus stop every morning too!  She is one fun Third Grader :)

 Off he goes!

 Of course, Josh, Graham and I jumped in the car to go meet the bus at school!  Jackson's stance says it all in this picture!  He was full of confidence and big smiles :)

 Since it was the first day, all of the students came to the multi-purpose room first to be sorted by class.  Jackson waited SO patiently to line up to go to his classroom!

 Off they go!

 A little first day of school treat :)

 And, just like that, it was about 3:00 and time to meet the bus!  He had an awesome first day :)

Special First Day of School Treat: SweetFrog!!!