Sharing a Room!

THe boys and I spent the afternoon cleaning, sorting and rearranging most of the upstairs today as we have made up our minds and decided to conduct a risky experiment. As of today at 3pm, the boys are sharing a room together. I don't know how this will work, especially after the long bedtime routine tonight because it took me about half an hour just to explain to Ethan how this was all going to work out. Like instead of screaming "Mama, Dada" first thing in the morning, he has to quietly whisper into the monitor and let us know that he is up. He was a little worried about how we were going to hear him through this little device so we checked it together several times. He would listen to me talk to him from his bed as he was listening in our bedroom. He had to tell Simon several times to lay down and that it was time to be quiet and go to bed. Simon was a bit confused himself especially because he has never had to sleep with the door cracked open. Ethan usually has a light on in his room but was willing to say that the crack in the door would suffice. I think we will give it a couple of days and go from there. I think after the initial getting used to it, they will love being together. They are such great buds during the day that I think it will be something that builds their connection and friendship with each other. If not either of these, I am hoping that they will keep each other company in the morning and stay in the room just a few minutes longer so that we can get just a few more minutes of sleep =). This is probably less likely, but maybe they'll surprise us. Needless to say, it was a fun afternoon and we shared quite a few laughs and funny stories together. The pictures are of where Ethan's bed used to be and we replaced it with his book shelf and puppet theatre. We converted his bedroom into a playroom/reading corner. I think he likes the new look!

Before and After

Thought I should post some before and after pics of the big boy haircut. It was pretty tough cutting all those curls, but it was definitely time. Like I said before, he looks so much more like Ethan and really much more like a boy. Too cute!

Happy Halloween!

A couple nights ago, Thomas and I, along with his sister and parents, all took the kids trick or treating in Ames. Beggar's night is what they call it was on Friday night and Thomas' family was able to make it to enjoy the fun with us. It was so fun watching all the kids follow each other from house to house. Ethan dressed up as a dragon, Simon was a lion (Ethan's costume from last year) and Grace was a monkey. Simon only wore his hood half the time but Ethan loved every part of his costume! He's been looking forward to wearing it for weeks now. It's actually a costume sized for 4/5 year olds, so I'm hoping that it will be just as cool to him next year and we can make use of it for two years. Poor Simon will probably be everything Ethan has been in the past. It's ok because Simon really looks up to Ethan and is all about anything that Ethan gets excited about. They are buddies...most of the time. We walked north a couple of blocks and made sure to visit the our neighbors train, the singing pirates, and the scary house with spooky music playing. Ethan has a very vivid memory when it comes to trick or treating. He remembers all the houses where decorations were put up. He really takes after his dad and loves to be scared. It does backfire once in a while when he wakes up at night due to something frightening he saw or heard that day. Thomas is quick to reassure him that it's ok and he will always be safe. We had a great weekend with family and friends and were pretty exhausted going into the next week. Thomas has been putting in quite a few hours working on finishing the basement. His Dad has been helping with the electrical work this past weekend and I will post pictures of the lights once they are all in. This past Saturday, Mom and Dad Fawcett were in town (helping with the basement) and they took us all to the ISU vs Nebraska game. It was so much fun and even though ISU suffered a tough loss, it was a valiant effort and a great game to see. Ethan really enjoyed being so close on the hillside and SImon enjoyed eating a bowl of popcorn all by himself. He had a bit of a cold so no one really cared to share with him. It was a great time, beautiful weather and lots of new memories. The weather has been absolutely beautiful this fall and I almost feel ready for winter. I can't believe I'm saying this but really, the fall has been so nice that I feel ok about it getting real cold. It's November and I feel like it's going to happen pretty soon. I worked out in the garden today to prepare for the cold. We were all out together getting things put away and closed up for the months ahead. It's kind of sad to close up the sand box and put away all the outdoor toys but at the same time, we can't wait to open up the Christmas decorations and pick out our tree. I love the changing seasons! It's one of the best parts of living in Iowa! You can't get that in Cali!

Oh and when we were trick or treating with the boys, several people looked at Simon and said Oh, she is so cute! I said to Thomas that I thought it was time for a big boy hair cut. He agreed and so I cut the long hair off! He looks so much older and has received many compliments on his new hair cut. He looks great and even more like Ethan. You can definitely tell they are bothers. Too cute!

Hiking Trip #2

We had so much fun the first time so we took the kids hiking again this past weekend. We have been unusually lucky this fall given the fact that we have had 3 consecutive weeks of beautiful weather! There has been very little rain and above average temperatures for this time of the year. That puts us at around 70 degrees and sunny clear skies most of the time! So, we've been taking advantage of it and every opportunity that we get. This time we went to a place close by in Ames where Thomas and I used to go when we were dating. It's kind of nostalgic and a fun place to visit and take the kids. The trails are not too difficult which is perfect for us right now. We like the idea of easing our way into the whole idea of hiking and backpacking. We have talked about making camping a family tradition when the kids get older. We both remember doing this as kids and we have so many fond memories of the whole experience. It should be something fun that we do in the years to come. Ethan did fantastic and never really complained. He does tend to stop quite a bit and observe the world around and although we don't get too far on our hikes, who wants to stop a young boy from exploration? Simon enjoys watching the view from Thomas' backpack. He stays pretty quiet and shows no real interest in getting down and walking...yet! We probably hiked a total of a mile this last weekend which doesn't sound like much but it probably took us a little over an hour to complete the trail. Nevertheless, it was a great time and after two hiking trips thus far, Ethan would still like to go again. He loves the "nature walks".

We were also able to celebrate Thomas' 29th Bday this weekend. The boys helped HTomas open some gifts and we all shared to cake (or brownies actually) together. We decorated the house with balloons and streamers and the kids had a blast! Happy Birthday Thomas. I couldn't be more proud and honored to be your wife.

Lastly, and for the 6th and possibly final time, we went to the Apple Orchard today and this was a nodal event for Simon! He LOVED the corn pit! He hasn't like sitting, touching or even entering the barn with the corn pit in it but today, he was all about it! I was SO proud of him. He slid down the slide, jumped off the hay bales, and played endlessly in the corn. I think he just needed some time to get used to it and now it's really a hit! He also liked the jumping pillow which he has been leery of as well. There were no other kids on it, which I'm sure helped quite a bit, and the two boys jumped until they could barely stand up! They were exhausted and ready to go home pretty soon after we finished jumping. We shared a spiced donut together (which was one of the best donuts I've ever tasted and will now try to make one at home), bought some more delicious apples, and started the trek for home. I dont know if we will make it again, but it has been soooo worth it!

Baking a giant chocolate chip cookie doesn't come without its challegnes. Peeling the entire cookie off of the waxed paper and placing onto the baking sheet without it tearing into pieces and baking the cookie until the perfect consistency was no small task. I offered to bake a cake for Neomii's Bday last weekend and she requested a Pizookie. I had no idea what a pizookie was until I did a little research and found out that basically, it's a giant chocolate chip cookie served warm with vanilla bean ice cream on top. I was pretty excited to give it a go after I found a good recipe. It came out great and I decorated the top to wish the Bday girl a Happy Day. It tasted great and I saved the recipe in the event that I would make it for other parties or maybe just a family tradition once in a while.

We also baked some peanut butter play-dough creations with a friend of ours, Chrissy. Chrissy came up with the idea and had a recipe for PB dough. I thought this was a fantastic idea because Simon could join us and would be ok if he ate a bit of the dough. Despite all the salt in regular play-dough, Simon still eats it. So, the boys molded away and we made a wide variety of shapes. We made a snowmen, squirrel, witches hat, pumpkin, trees, flowers and a few other creations. It was good fun and we baked them when they were ready. This didn't change the consistency much like we hoped but they held there shape and were very tasty! I think it was a hit!

After so many visits to the apple orchard, I decided that I would use some of our apples to bake my first apple pie. I think I mentioned it in a previous entry but I forgot to include a picture. I also forgot to take a picture before it was cut but since there were a few glitches within the whole process, I think I'll be baking another sometime. I'll remember to take a picture, fresh out of the oven when I bake another.

Hiking with the Family

This past weekend we took the boys to Ledges State Park and we went on a hiking adventure. We packed our hiking back packs, one of which carries Simon as well as has some other storage for snacks, water, etc...Ethan packed his back pack with snacks, toys and his water bottle and we set out for the trail. Ethan did surprisingly well. We didn't know how long he would be able to make it walking on his own, but we probably covered about 1.5 miles. We stopped and had lunch by the river and the boys played with some pebbles and rocks. The way down went pretty quick and as you can imagine, the way up took a bit longer. Ethan walked about 10 steps up and Thomas and I both took turns carrying him the rest of the way. It was a good work out for us all. It was a beautiful morning and Ethan talked about his hiking adventure all afternoon. Hopefully we can take another adventure soon!

Another Visit to the Apple Orchard

We loved the apple orchard so much that we thought we would take both sets of grandparents to see the place. The Grandma and Grandpa Fawcett along with Leanna and Grace came to Ames a couple weeks ago and we shared a wonderful time together, riding the Thomas the Tank Engine Train in Boone, IA. It was a blast and the kids had so much fun! It's one thing to watch Thomas the Tank on television, it's another thing to actually ride him! It was a hit. We then ventured to Cambridge to visit the apple orchard together. There was absolutely no one there so we had the whole place to ourselves. It was a bit chilly and wet, but that didn't stop the kids one bit. They rode the tractors, fed the animals, jumped in the corn pit, and went down the monster slide! A few days later, grandma Shiplett wanted to go with the kids so we went with my mom, my sister and her kids and Jeanie (my sister's mother-in-law) and we had a great time once again at the orchard. This time we spent most of our time on the giant jumping bean doing some major tricks! I think we all (mostly the adults) were a little sore the next day from the twisting and flipping we did. It was well worth it though. I think we might head to the orchard this week and try to make it with Thomas once more before the season is over. It's been well worth the cost of a season pass! It also inspired me to bake my first homemade apple pie! The apples are delicious from the orchard so I used them up in a pie I baked for some guests. It came out pretty good, flavor great, consistency was a little off. I'm hoping it's the first of many to come! Enjoy the pictures!