The Cahokia Mounds...

After bowling on Saturday, Aimee and I took the kids out to the Cahokia Mounds for some running and climbing and of course some pictures had to be taken. I have lived here off and on since 1989 and had never been to the mounds before this. They are beautiful and this time of year is a great time to go with the colors changing on the trees.

Now, this kid can rock out some red hair!!!

Grace is showing Aimee that she can see St. Louis from the mounds.

Busy, Busy, Busy...

Saturday was a BUSY day for us. We started at O dark 30 in the morning getting the kids ready in their Halloween costumes. Tiffani asked us to join them in Collinsville for some trick or treating on Main Street. She also wanted to put Pearl and Ben in the costume contest during the festivities. We met at the Police Dept. and headed to the theatre for the contest. Pearl and Ben where Little Bo Peep and her lost sheep...SO STINKIN CUTE!!!!

There was also a fabulous Frankenstein in their group too...

But the winner is...yep...Pearl and Ben!!!!

After the contest we headed out to Main Street for some trick or treating (all the businesses were handing out candy) and some CHILI!!! We left Collinsville after our chili and headed to Mom and Dad's to change out of the costumes and head to bowling. We met up with Aimee, Hayden and Carson. Yes, Seth's hair is red. It is part of his Halloween costume, but you will have to wait until Halloween to see the final product.

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin!!!

I am actually updating this on the actual day it happened...that is an amazement in itself!!! Today was suppossed to be a beautiful day outside (well, the weather man lied, but at least it wasn't raining). I told the kids that after Seth got home from school we were going to go somewhere fun. They had been waiting all day for it. Seth came out of school with a big grin on his face because he had a good day at school and wanted to know where we were going. I told him we were going pumpkin picking and he lit up. He was very excited. We set out for the perfect pumpkin!!!

After some heavy lifting, Seth finally found his pumpkin.

Grace on the other hand was on a mission. She kept telling me that she had already been to the pumpkin patch (she brought a pumpkin home from school on Thursday because they had their fall festival and the kids got to pick out a pumpkin to bring home). However, this time around she was bound and determined to find a pumpkin with warts on it. She saw a pumpkin with warts that a friend of hers had and decided she wanted one like it. Finally, after combing the entire patch, she found hers!!!

On our way back to the pick up spot with our prizes to wait for the bus.

While waiting for the bus, which turned out to be the tractor (little on the chilly side for the tractor ride, but nice), Richie walked over to the corn field and took a corn cob and peeled the corn off for the kids to see what feed corn looked like. They decided it looked better in the air!!

My kids love it when I have the camera!! LOL

Butterfly House and Museum of Transportation...

On Saturday the kids and I got up and headed to meet Mom, Tiffani, Erin, Pearl, Ben and Preston. With Luke in North Carolina for Tiffani's birthday this year, we decided to take the kids out for a day of sight seeing and education. Our first stop was the Butterfly House.

This is really the first picture we have gotten of ALL the grandkids!!!

After walking around the Butterfly House we went back to the car and had a snack and then headed to Red Robin for lunch.

Next stop the Museum of Transportation...

I love this picture of Seth's looking down the aisle of the trains with the brochure in his back pocket...What a little man!!

We found a bench near the passenger cars at the museum and I just happen to have a book about trains that Mom read to the kids!!

After looking through the pictures on the camera, I noticed that I didn't really have any of Ben with Tiffani and caught her giving him a kiss!!

This picture cracks me up...You can really tell a MOM when you see one watching her kids with a burp cloth in her back pocket!!!