TRICK-OR-TREAT!

Trick or Treating 2009 was lots of fun. Brett- the pirate, and Claire-the monkey loved the candy and Halloween parties! There are some photos of Brett's party at school, trick-or-treating, and the Halloween party at Nan and Papa's!

Pumpkin carving!

Here are some pictures of the kids carving pumpkins and with their creations!

Random photos

A few random photos of the kids having fun....Claire potty training *sigh*. I HATE potty training- bad Mommy! A picture of Brett and Claire sleeping together in Brett's bed. Looks like Brett got tired of snuggling with Claire- poor Claire's getting a foot on the head!!!

Apple Orchard fun!

Jessen, Brett, Tate, Claire, and Charlie...and they all smiled (although Brett's is fake!)

We told Brett hold on tight to Charlie...he thought he was going to take him down the slide! NO!

Claire- 2 1/2

Silly Brett- 5

We made a trip to the apple orchard yesterday- and just in time...it's rainy and icky here again and is supposed to be all weekend! We went with Sarah, Jessen, Tate, and Charlie...here are some photos of the fun!

Cousin fun, etc.

This weekend the kids got a chance to spend some time with their cousins, Lyndey and Lainey. They always have a blast together- it's fun to watch them in action! (Not so fun to clean up- but fun to watch!) They had a blanket fort under the dining room table and many other adventures. Here are a few pics. Also, Claire got a single bed and this is her on it and sleeping in it the first night (horizontal...think she's loving the space?). And Brett traded his double bed for a single and some new bedding. They both thought it was fun to have new beds!

Halloween in September

We went camping this weekend for Halloween in September at Camp Crescent at Black Hawk Lake with the family. Tony and Angie and their children were there as well and Ann and Tim and Aaron joined us on Saturday. We had lots of fun just hanging out and the kids enjoyed spending time with their cousins and trick-or-treating.

Claire performing...

Here's Claire ham-ing it up for the camera!! She's becoming quite the singer these days :)

Random

Potty training looks so cute on Claire!

Brett taught Claire to eat a tomato straight from the garden!

Yum!

Little gardeners!

It's been awhile since I've posted any photos, so here are a few random pictures of the kids. In the garden enjoying our veggies, Claire potty training (we are NOT close...).

Kindergarten- Here Brett comes....

After back to school breakfast with Gma and Gpa Thompson

The Thompson family on Brett's first day of school!

Brett with his locker at Feelhaver Elementary

Brett ready to leave for school with his backpack

Ready to go to Feelhaver!

Well...Brett's first day of kindergarten was today. He was excited and had his backpack all ready to go. Grandpa and Grandma Thompson came over for breakfast to celebrate the big day. It all went great up until the time for mom and dad to leave. I will just say that at that point it got a little tough for the big guy and tears ensued (on both parties- but I did manage to wait until after I left!) Here are some pictures to remember the day (I put the camera away on the hard part, so you won't see that documented here- but you better believe I'll be safely preserving that part in the scrapbook so Brett can look back and laugh about it when he's older!)

Videos

Just a few videos of the kids outside playing in the sprinkler, Claire in the outside little house on the swing-set saying her prayers and singing a couple of her favorite songs :)

Claire singing a couple of favorite songs!


Brett hurdling the sprinkler!

Hooray for Iowa Corn!

Sweet corn for a sweet girl!

Sweet corn teeth, Brett!

It's July in Iowa and that means it's time for sweet corn! We Thompson's love our sweet corn. Here are some photos of Brett and Claire enjoying their first corn of the season!

Girlfriends!

I don't very often (or ever!) post photos of me or about me...but this week warrants a photo, I think. Here is me with my twin sister, Ann, and two dear friends, Karen Budge from England, and Gretchen Haisman from Minnesota. Karen and her husband Steve have been in Chicago/Iowa for a week and a half and we've had a blast catching up. She'd never met my children so it was wonderful for her to be here in the Midwest seeing us and our families. I can't even explain how thankful I am that she was able to visit. And it was fantastic to be together, the four of us, again!

July 4th weekend

LJ enjoys her sparkler

Lyndey and Lainey Mahel

Brett and Lainey

B-Rizzle and Claire Bear!

Claire loved the sparklers!

This weekend was a bit of a bummer...we went camping and between the weather being crummy and Brett getting sick, we didn't get a chance to really enjoy the experience much! We'll just have to look forward to the next opportunity. Here are a few photos of the Brett, Claire, Lainey, and Lyndey doing sparklers at Gma and Gpa Thompson's house :)