Happy {Belated} Halloween All! 

We've had an eventful last two weeks. More photo sessions that this mama can handle & Halloween celebrations galore! Gary & I attended the first party with our neighbors last weekend & won the costume contest at the bar we were at! Deer in the headlights was a great costume!!! It helped that Gary played the part very well & my "headlights" were a hit!

 We spent the Sunday before Halloween carving pumpkins while listening to Christmas music. Yes, Marin is in a festive mood already :) And, it turns out, the girls are still a bit young to carve {Marin would disagree!} so we let them choose what to carve. Marin's request was a witch hat & Margaux's was a ghost. The witch legs & "BOO" jack-o-lantern stemmed off of those two. They turned out pretty well! The girls were happy to help with all the seeds & scrap pumpkin pieces.

 Actual Halloween was a terribly soggy, rainy day. It literally did not stop raining all day/night. That did not stop the girls from having fun! Luckily, it was 60 degrees so it felt nice out & the girls weren't freezing. Here is our friendly vampire...

 The tiny flower {in an 18-24 month costume!!!}...

 And our sweet little cupcake, with a cherry on top!!!

 Getting all three girls together for a photo was not an easy task when they were dying to get out to Trick-or-Treat. Next year I will do this WAY before Trick-or-Treat time!!! {Two of the three in their rain boots, it was sooo wet outside. Thank goodness for our front porch.}

Maeve rode in the stroller for a few houses while I pushed her with an umbrella in my other hand. We tried so hard to stay dry but it wasn't happening. She only made it around the block, saw a mask that scared the crap out of her & she was DONE! Terrified & not loving Trick-or-Treating AT ALL! The big girls ran & ran & ran...they were SOAKED but didn't care at all. They had a blast. We had invited all of our neighbors over for a Halloween bonfire afterwards. That obviously couldn't happen with the rain, so we moved the party into the garage. The kids had a blast...Music, Halloween crafts, treats & fun times with their friends. We're looking forward to a dry Halloween next year!!! xoxo

Just a few short days after Marin's trip, I got to go on a field trip with Marg as well! Her day wasn't quite as nice as Marin's. A bit colder & not nearly as sunny... but we sure did have fun! Her trip was to a farm {actually one of her teacher's house!}  Here she is on her way sitting on the bus with her friend Allison. Both girls have HUGE brown eyes! I chose to leave my camera home on both trips. So much easier to take pics with the iphone, although they don't turn out quite as nice :)

Margaux smiling for the camera...she would not let go of my leg!!!

 Once we arrived, we went on a long nature walk/scavenger hunt. The kids were given free reign to run through the paths/woods. I still can't believe we didn't lose any of the kids. They were ALL over the place. Of course, Margaux was at my side or hanging on my leg asking me to carry her the entire time. No chance of losing her in the woods!!! I always love the pics of her long lashes...

 On the walk/hunt we found bones, acorns, a pink pig {wooden}, lots of leaves, berries and some cows too! {They were also cut out of wood & placed in the woods!} The kids had so much fun. Here she is with Allison again & her other good friend/neighbor Eva...Three peas in a pod!

 Next we were on to the hay ride. It was pretty cold but we still enjoyed it. Our driver stopped to let the chickens out of their coup. The kids just loved that. There were chickens running everywhere! It was quite amusing. He also stopped the tractor a few times when he spotted a few 4-leaf clovers. Most of the kids had never seen them, so that was also a highlight.

They were all exhausted when we got on the bus. There were quite a few sleeping when we got back to school. Not Margaux though, she and Allison were too busy flirting with the little boys in the seat ahead of us!! haha

Fun day with Margaux...so fortunate to be able to enjoy these trips with the girls! xoxo

 Marin's first 1st grade field trip!!! We dressed in our grungy clothes & went to a nature center in our town. Super nice day, we got so lucky. I don't think I {mom} would have enjoyed the trip nearly as much if it had been cold & rainy!! It was sunny & about 60 degrees.

Marin begged me not to take the photo above. I think she was a little thrown off by the fact that she was eating A TREE!!! Little did she know, I snapped a quick shot while she took her first taste! 

Surprisingly, the tree tasted like mint! Not quite as tasty as a piece of gum but had similar flavor.

Here she is with her friend/our neighbor Aubrey.

 Mom & Marin taking a quick pit stop pic during the nature hike.

 Once the hike was over, that's when the fun began. Each of the kids got a huge net & a pond study kit...we were headed to the pond! The kids were so excited to get right into it. Marin had so much fun digging her net into the bottom of the pond & finding all sorts of bugs, algae, etc.

 Miss drama queen putting on a face for the photo. This was shortly after she & I caught a HUGE tadpole. He was pretty close to growing legs & becoming a frog. The kids were thrilled.

Getting dirty & digging in a pond for creatures is definitely not my idea of fun, but I must say... we had a great time. So fun to see her interact with her classmates & enjoy some one-on-one time with her! It was a really fun day.

It's that time of year again... apple picking time! Or as Gary would say, take the kids to an orchard & take photos time! lol I can't go without my camera, that would be no fun at all! We headed right to our favorites, the cortland apples. It was the perfect weekend, the apples were huge & they had just started picking so there were plenty of apples on the trees. I just love these candid shots of the girls. Here is silly Maeve...

 Marin, always happy to pose!

 Margaux just being Margaux & looking adorable!

 Our friends Kristy & Shane went with us to the orchard. The kids had a blast. Below are our chicks with their friend Maya as well. Maeve would not put the apple down for the photo, she just keep eating. Surprised??!! She's ALWAYS eating!

 Margaux was so proud of this apple because it was "perfect" complete with a great stem & little green leaves.

 Marin helped pick apples, but her favorite part was being able to pull the apple wagon. She pulled all of our apples out of the orchard all by herself.

 Tried getting them all to take a nice photo & didn't have much luck. They were all doing their own thing. Maeve still eating...

This specific orchard also had a small petting zoo. The kids enjoyed seeing the baby bunnies, goats, sheep, etc. Definitely a great day for apple picking. I can not believe today is October 1!!! Our house is decked out in fall decorations, the Halloween tree is decorated & the leaves are really colorful around here. This apple orchard day was a chilly 60 degrees, today was 80!!!! The days have been so crazy, but the kids are really enjoying the mild fall days outside with all their friends. Next up.. our anniversary & soon enough Halloween!!! xoxo

And I forgot to post these...

 The first image is a snapshot of the small ad that was in our newspaper a week or so ago.

The second one was a shot posted on the internet right on Associated Bank's website. Pretty cool. Notice I am right in plain sight... licking my lips!!!

I was telling Gary how I was sure that there was a better shot of me smiling or something that they could have used or photoshoped into the photo. I could not believe it & then he reminded me that it is not ME that people are interested in... it's that Aaron Rodgers guy! lol Geeezzz! 

Gary is in the far back in a green shirt as well. Definitely not as noticeable as me though!! haha

We're now anxiously waiting to see the actual commercial on T.V. Maybe during tomorrow's big game! The girls will be thrilled to see it!

Busy, busy, busy as per usual around here. This past week just flew by after being out of town for the weekend with Gary for his big 50K!!!! The big girls went camping with our friends for the weekend, so it was just Gary, myself & Maeve for 2.5 days which was sooooo odd feeling. We definitely enjoyed our time with her alone {which NEVER happens} but constantly had a feeling that we were missing something/someone!

Below is the course that Gary ran last weekend. Terribly long run through Kettle Moraine State Park. Total elevation chance for the entire run was just shy of 4000 feet. So crazy & definitely not a flat, smooth run.

 Finished in just under 5 hours!!!

 I am not sure why anyone would want to run that far.. but for some odd reason my husband did & he did fantastic! He finished 40th out of about 300 runners. So amazing!!! He said he felt great after, although his feet said otherwise!!! His first stop was the shower!

 We spent Saturday afternoon/night with our great friends the Anguil's. We had a great time catching up with them & visiting with all five of their boys. Once Gary was showered, he was ready to go. Never napped which totally surprised me! Funny thing is he never was terribly sore either, even days after the run. Again, crazy.

 Just so happened that they had a neighborhood party that night so we joined in on the fun. Maeve was thrilled with all the snacks & even an outdoor movie with popcorn!

We never have quite enough time when we visit Milwaukee. It is so hard to fit everything in, but we always have a great time when we're there. Driving through makes me miss it a bit, but then once we're home I feel like I am where I belong. We sure do miss our Milwaukee friends though!

Great weekend, looking forward to going back soon!

Okay, week #1 of school is complete & we are on to week #2!

This post may get a bit long {you'll understand why after I post 1st day of school photos!}

Marin the morning of her 1st day eating on the special plate. Cinnamon rolls, of course!!!

 All dressed & ready to go. She had a great first day. She & I had gone shopping together & for the first time, she picked out her first day of school outfit on her own. She looked so cute with her "chick" backpack! I can not believe she's in 1st grade already!!!

 

This is how she'd pose for every photo if she had it her way. Such a goof ball. I wish I could share all the "selfies" she's taken of herself with my iphone. There is no way, there are literally hundreds :)

 

Margaux's first day breakfast. French toast bagel with cream cheese!

 Turns out Margaux's first day was not Tuesday like all of the other kids. {I had NO idea!!!} Fortunately we figured it out in the morning before the bus pickup time!!! Her real first day was two days later in the week. So I got two extra days home with her!!! I was thrilled, Margaux...not so much. She could not wait to start. She had so much fun rummaging through her closet finding the perfect outfit for her first day...she picked a good one!!!

 Then it was time for the bus. She could not wait to ride with her friend Eva. She did great!!! No tears, got right on & off she went. I was very proud of her! I didn't even shed a tear. It's easier when they are only gone 1/2 days. Next year will be much more difficult on MOM!!

 Margaux had a fantastic first day. She had so much fun with her friend Eva & found out one of the girls from her soccer team was also in her class so she is thrilled. Begging to go back all weekend long. She was happy as pie to get on that bus a half hour ago! Of course Maeve had to have in on the fun too. She needed to hold the chalk board for a photo as well. So cute! She will be so happy to be able to go to school next year.

 The girls spent the night @ my mom's Saturday night {we had a wedding}. Sunday morning we get a call {from Marin} that Maeve had been spinning in circles in Grandma's living room, lost her balance & hit her head on the coffee table. My mom brought her home, we tried putting steri-strips on it to hold it together but no luck, it was a fairly big gash in her head. Off to urgent care! She ended up with three stitches. Not a good experience for Gary having to hold her down while they numbed the area & then stitched. As sad as I was that I had to leave & not be there, I think it's better. {I had a photo session that I had to get to.} I would not have handled that very well!

Here she is with her big band-aid, all wrapped up...

 Later last night we were able to remove the big bandage & put a much smaller Mickey band-aid on. She really wanted to see it, so we took this photo to show her. She's definitely our little tomboy & is definitely a trooper! She's been through a lot in the past few months. Chipped teeth, arm out of socket, stings galore & now stitches! Don't even want to think about what it will be like to get them out!!!

 No sleep again last night. Marin was up sick @ 3 am. No school for her & hopefully no more vomit either!!! Ah, life at the Brown's.... Never a dull moment in this house! Fingers crossed once again that it doesn't travel through the house & for boring weeks ahead!! xoxo

So hard to believe that school is only 3 short days away already. We went to meet the teachers this week & got to check out both girls classrooms.

Crazy that Marin will be in first grade already {insert sad face}. They are growing up so fast! Here she is with her new desk! Such a big girl!

 And here is Marin with her new teacher Mrs. Verdegan. Katie {her teacher} & I went to high school together & then worked our freshman year {summer} of college together. I did put in a special request for Marin to have her this year & I am so excited they honored my request. They will have a great year together & I can't wait to get my volunteer on!!

 We ran into so many of our neighbors at the elementary open house. Here are our girls with Vivianna & Eva. Eva {on the far right} will be in Margaux's 4k class & her sister Vivianna is also in first grade but not in the same class as Marin. They are all so cute!

 After Marin's open house, we drove across the street to visit Margaux's 4k classroom. She is super excited & has a really fun learning space at her new school. Next year she'll join Marin @ the elementary school. Here she is by her coat hook, not wanting to look at me!

 Before we left we had to try out the HUGE playground at Margaux's school. Something tells me she'll have a lot of fun with this playground...

 And again with their friends on this crazy outdoor ride/toy on the playground. They had so much fun peddling in circles together. I have no idea how they don't get sick!!

First day of school pics coming in just a few short days!! They have their outfits picked out & backpacks loaded. We are all ready!!! xoxo

Last week of summer break!! We're trying to stay cool, it's been a hot one today. REALLY hot. Much warmer than I like it to be. But they aren't complaining, they love to be in their suits all day!

 Our chicks have been enjoying every moment they can with all their neighborhood friends. Love these pics of the girls doing pyramids with their friends Ella & Aubrey!

 Marin LOVES to act crazy when the camera is out! Can't say I mind, I love these pics!!! Such a little personality! Watch out for this one in 10 years {smile}

 More silly time...

 Maeve trying to do her own pyramid & Margaux with her favorite this summer, water balloons. They fill them up constantly lately. The empty balloons are every where. Luckily, they have been pretty good about throwing them away when we ask.

Only one more week home with all three of them. As much as I love having them all home, they are soooo ready for a break from each other {the older two}. We got teacher assignments late last week & everyone is thrilled. Tonight's job is to label school supplies. We're running out of time!