Halloween Time

This Halloween we had a lot going on. Earlier in October we were able to make our Annual Pumpkin/Apple Picking at Eckert's. We were joined by PaPa Pelhank & Amy, Aunt J'me & Jaxon, BawBaw & NaNa, Aunt Lanie, as well as Uncle Shane & Aunt Lilly. A full house! The boys dressed up in their Halloween costumes. Brendan got a kick out of Jaxon's guns & played with those things through the entire location. The boys were big enough to ride the rides together, which they both really enjoyed. And we got some awesome pumpkins.



Jaxon the cowboy, and Brendan the penguin:




The gunslingin' Pelhank boys:




Can you tell the sun was in our eyes?




Probably my favorite picture of these 2 to date. Waiting to take a ride on the mechanical airplanes:







Brendan got a kick out of his tiny apple:




He was so proud of his pumpkin "carving." He picked out all the pieces:




Ryan left a little later than usual for his annual hunting trip so he was able to attend our cousin Brandy's Halloween party for the first time. Mandy and Brendan always try to dress in theme, and this year was no exception. Brendan was a penguin (he is really into Happy Feet right now) and Mommy was an Eskimo. But we had to come up with a last minute costume idea for Daddy. We put our heads together (& got a few outside help with ideas--thanks, NaNa) & came up with an ice fisherman. It turned out pretty awesome, even if we do say so ourselves. So good in fact, that we won the costume contest as the Ice Family.




Just before Halloween we had a major issue with our sewer system. We had a pipe collapse under our yard, and had to have a trench dug out to have it replaced. And can you guess what day they were able to make it out to do the work? Oct 31! So with a gaping hole at least 15-feet down, running from our front porch to almost the street, we left to go trick-or-treat. But we were excited that Daddy was able to attend trick-or-treating for the first time. For the second year in a row we joined our friends, the Whitlocks, for their busy subdivision-wide trick-or-treating event. The kids had so much fun together. Brendan's best friend, Bobbie, was even able to come. The kids hopped in and out of the wagon as we went door-to-door. And Ryan got to witness the massive amount of trick-or-treaters that come around that neighborhood.


Our sewer chaos:








From left: Bobbie, Josie, & Brendan. "Trick-or-treat!"



Kelly (on left) and Leanna:




The most adorable Elmo ever!




A penguin on a motorized car???

Busy Fall

We have been quite the busy bees already this fall. Thought we'd catch everyone up on a few of the recent events. First, Brendan is potty trained! We had tried a number of months ago, but his body just wasn't ready for it. Rather than stress him out (and risk many unnecessary arguments) we decided to give it a rest for a few months, and try again later. We did and this time it was a HUGE success. In 2 days we had a big boy on our hands! What a relief: especially for our pocket book as we no longer need diapers (phew!)

Second, we have a new sister-in-law! Mandy's brother, Shane, got married to Lilly on October 1st. It's been a long time coming. They have been together nearly as long as Ryan and I have. I think my mom described it best when she said the day didn't have the feel of a wedding so much as a celebration of Shane and Lilly. In other words, we've felt that Lilly was a part of our family for years. We just finally got the chance to celebrate it. And what a celebration it was! The wedding & reception were at Faust Park's Butterfly House. All of us were in the wedding party: Ryan-a groomsman, Mandy-a bridal attendant, and Brendan-a ring bearer. We laughed, cried, and danced the night away. We are so excited for Shane and Lilly, and were so honored to be a part of their special day. Wish we had more pics of this but we left most of that up to the professional. We did get a few of the guys getting ready, though.

And thirdly, we just got back from our annual camping/fishing trip. This year (& I'm pretty sure every year from here on out) we went to Bennett Springs, MO for trout fishing and good times. This is one weekend a year where we all get away for the weekend--no kids allowed--for a chance to kick back with some of our best friends and family. The last couple of years have been pretty unlucky when it comes to the fishing: last year there didn't seem to be many trout stocked, and 2 years ago we had issues with flooding. But thankfully, that was not the case this year. Ryan and I both made out pretty well. You might even say that Mandy outfished her husband...if you want to get petty (hee hee). We were joined by our friends: Dave & Jessica, Melissa & Nick, Michelle & Chris--and Michelle's sister, and Chris's friend. We also were so excited that our sister and brother-in-law, Tory & Danny, were able to make it for the first time. As always, we had a blast. Wish we had more pictures to prove it, but we kind of forgot about the camera most of the trip. We did get some good pics of a fun game of wiffle ball that Dave decided to break out.

And, our fall has only just begun. We've got a number of other things coming up soon: Eckert's pumpkin picking this weekend, Ryan's big hunting trip, and Halloween. So be expecting more posts (and pics) if we can find the time to get them on here. As always, thanks for keeping up with us. And taking the time to check out our blog.




The groom, 3 of his 4 groomsmen (someone had to take the picture), and a ring bearer:




The cutest ring bearer you ever did see:





Bustin' out the wiffle ball at Bennett Springs:






Spank Fish time!

Jamaica

Our highly anticipated trip to Jamaica has now come and gone, and as we think back on the trip, we are so grateful to have been able to share it with our good friends: Dave & Jessica Whitlock, Michelle Cabral, and Chris Klenke. We had such an amazing time! We won't bore you with too many of the details, but if you'd like us to relive any of our vacation moments, come see us and we'd love to share. If you've never been to Jamaica, it is well worth it. We went there for our honeymoon (then, to the Couples Resort in Ocho Rios) and were so pleased that we had to come back. This time we stayed at a new resort in Montego Bay called Secrets St. James. The resort was absolutely amazing. It was beautiful, the people were so nice and helpful, and the food was to die for!
While in Jamaica, we did participate in a few excursions. We went to the Appleton Rum Factory, a shopping trip into town, deep-sea fishing, and a place called the Luminous Lagoon. Though we have no photo evidence of this final excursion, it was by far the most memorable. The Luminous Lagoon is a place were the warm fresh waters of the Martha Brae River meet the salt water of the Caribbean. In this habitat a rare microbe (a dinoflagellate) lives. The constant movement and flowing of the river causes the microbes to move and glow with a neon-blue color. As you witness fish swimming in this habitat their movement glows like shooting stars. It is such an amazing, and almost indescribable act of nature. The coolest part: after a tour of the area, and witness to this spectacle, we got to jump into the waters ourselves! It was so fun to watch how the water would glow in our wake as we would splach, kick, and swim. SO cool. (To learn more about this, check out this website: http://www.jamaicans.com/tourist/articles_travel/JamaicaLuminousLagoon.shtml)
We had such a great time on this trip. And Ryan and I got to reconnect, which was much needed and overdue. Our work schedules leave us with little time for ourselves to do even simple things like have conversation, so this week away from our little man (and the monotony of everyday life such as work and chores) was a blessing. Thank you to NaNa and BawBaw for watching Brendan for us for an entire week to make this possible. We are so grateful, and feel like entirely new people ready to handle what lies ahead. Or at least for another 5 years when it will be vacation time again :)


View from the balcony:





Ready for dinner: Mandy, Ryan, Chris, Michelle, David, & Jessica:







On the swing-up bar:





Hotties ready for the beach:





Chris's catch, deep-sea fishing:






On the bus for the shopping excursion:






The gang at the Appleton Rum Factory:






In the aging house, posing with some rum barrels:

Brendan is 3!!!

Brendan turned 3 years old on June 6th, and we celebrated with friends and family the day before. We had plans to hold his birthday party at the community park, but our plans were thwarted when the '13-year cicada infestation' arrived in all it's glory. If anyone is unaware of this phenomenon, these disgusting (and extremely loud!) insects come out at about the same time every 13-years to mate and then return to their underground (and unseen) homes for another 13 years. Well this is all fine and good if you aren't trying to plan an outdoor birthday party. They are so loud, not to mention creepy, that we decided to switch the party indoors at the last minute. Thankfully, we have the best friends and family that we could ask for, and everyone took it in stride. Some were even brave enough to go outside: including most of the kids.

The party was a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme (Brendan's current favorite television show). Some of the highlights of the party were:
-Mickey Mouse Hunt to find mickey mouse ears stuck all over the house
-The kids played in a black-and-white cardboard 'clubhouse' that Brendan has been working on coloring in. (It's kind of like a 3-D coloring book).
-Cupcakes with navy blue (it was supposed to be black--oops) icing that stained everyone's teeth and faces.
-Brendan got a new bike! Actually, just a big wheel, that the kids took rides on down our big backyard hill.
-Lessons on sharing with the tee-ball set.
-Mickey-shaped cheese and fruit kabobs.

It's so hard to believe that it has been 3 years since Brendan was brought into this world. He has become his own little man in this past year. On the good days :) he can be polite, caring, and so affectionate. And on the whole, he is an extremely well-behaved child. We are so lucky to have him as a part of our family. We wouldn't trade him for anything. Happy 3rd Birthday, B! We can't wait to see how much more you will learn and grow in the upcoming year. We love you.

(Here are just a few of the pictures. As always, my sister Jess took so many great shots it's hard to narrow it down. If you'd like to see more there is a slide show at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!)




Mickey Mouse search:






Before all the dark icing:








And after:








Our happy family:







Brendan's 1st bike ride:

Boston

Way back in the end of April we were able to take a trip, just Ryan and I, to Boston. Ryan was the best man in our good friend, Alex's, wedding to be held there. It was so nice to spend time with our old college buddy. We always say he's the "other brother we never had." Sadly, we are only able to see him once every few years, busy lives & distance and all that. But how awesome it was to catch up. We were able to meet his bride for the first time, and she and Mandy hit it off right from the start. Though only an extended weekend trip, we had such a good time. We went out and were shown some of the sights by our own personal tour guide, Sarah (Alex's wife). We ate seafood, and had some drinks at Cheers. Then the remainder of the trip was filled with all things wedding, Mandy's speciality. These are the pics from the rehearsal dinner (will try to post wedding pics if I can find a scanner).

Alex & Ryan:

How's this for fresh: our dinner was late because they were waiting for the lobster boat to dock and bring in our lobster! Nearly everyone ordered this crab-stuffed lobster for their meal.

Posing with our dinner:

The bride and groom:

Brendan Sings on his "Stage"

So, I apologize for the video quality. And the fact that it's sideways. I always forget that I don't know how to rotate it. But, if you can get past all that, this is Brendan's performance of the ABCs. He wanted to pretend that he was putting on a show on his pretend stage.

Easter

Easter this year was on the Cole's side. And of course we started our busy day by finding what was left for Brendan in his Easter basket. He was most excited about his Disney Cars toys, his Bambi movie, and his humongous chocolate Easter bunny. We went to the early service at church, joined by Aunt T, Uncle Danny, Aunt J'me, Brendan's cousin Jaxon, NaNa, and Baw Baw. Our group took up a lot of space in an already packed house. Afterwards, we took some pics at NaNa and Baw Baw's house before we made our way to Brendan's great-Granny's. We feasted, as usual, and had our Easter egg hunt indoors (it was a really rainy day). Aunt Lanie (Elaine) had provided so many eggs we had to keep a count of how many we had hidden in each room so they wouldn't be finding eggs for months to come. Each plastic egg was stuffed with a candy or cookie treat. We let Brendan go to town on the cookies, and he had a blast tossing (or I would call it chucking) out the candy surprises to the rest of the family.

Brendan's chocolate bunny:

All dressed up for church. (Poor buddy woke up that morning with a stye. It bothered him all day):

Posing for some pictures at NaNa & Baw Baw's:

Eating a cookie-filled egg. In this picture, you can see just how many eggs we hid for him. And he found every one:

The wind-up:

And the release. He's surprisingly accurate:

Purina Farms

On Good Friday, we took a trip to Purina Farms with some friends to check out their Easter Village. Though extremely busy since it was only 2 days before Easter, we still managed to have good time. They had all kinds of baby farm animals that the kids could pet: from lambs, to chicks, to bunnies, to puppies. The Easter Bunny was there for photos, but of course, Brendan wanted nothing to do with that. (Still afraid of the big mascot-type suits). After going through the Easter Village we went outside, in the rain, to watch their dog show. Brendan especially liked when the dogs would dive into the pool to catch a frisbee. What a fun day we had!



Brendan pets a baby chick:

Bobbie climbs to get a better look at the animals:

Becky (Michelle's sister), Christopher, and Michelle:

Jessica and Josie take a moment to say, "cheese!":

Christopher pets a pretend pig:

Bobbie rides a goose (don't worry, it's not real):