Making cookies

Now that the weather has finally cooled down and it's feeling like fall, it's the perfect time to make cookies with the kids. Carter wanted to make pumpkin cookies and picked the leaf cutter for Audrey.

They did a good job cutting the cookies out

Of course they have to put sprinkles on themThey were very particular about covering the entire surface of the cookies :) I just had to take the pan away after a while

Proud of the finished product. Yes, that's flour all over Audrey's sleeves yet :)

Where to?

I know we've been confusing a lot of people as to where we are going to take the next job. This post is to explain where we're at.
We have narrowed our choices down to Milwaukee, WI or Grand Rapids, MI. We were a little bummed to find out that Milwaukee with be starting to cover the Marshfield hospital. It's 3 hours away so Chuck would be away from home for a few days every couple of months.
Because of that, after our interview with Grand Rapids we were really excited about that possibility despite that it's the furthest of the options from home. The practice set up is very enticing and we were pleasantly surprised with the city. We both really thought that is where we would end up. I came to terms with the distance, fell in love with a gorgeous house and truly started to get excited about our move to Grand Rapids.

Then, the other week Chuck returned from conference where he was able to brain storm with a lot of people in different stages of their career. This made him realize that even though it stinks that he will have to help cover in Marshfield, he really needs to be at an academic hospital (Grand Rapids is private practice). The contract with Marshfield will probably only be for a couple of years and the positives of being in Milwaukee far out weigh that negative. So, now we think we are going to be moving to Milwaukee :)

Nothing is set in stone and we haven't signed a contract yet. He has his second interviews with both hospitals in the coming weeks. He'll receive the contracts then for us to review and make our final decision.

This is the short explanation of where we're at but I hope this cleared up some of the confusion with some of you. Stay tuned. We're still on track to make it official by Christmas!

Yoda pumpkin

Friday Carter had a decorating pumpkins with dads activity at school. Chuck was in Boston for work so I filled in. We had a special snack, decorated pumpkins, read a story & received a gift from the kids. It was a nice morning and Carter handled Chuck not being there well.

Carter and his yoda pumpkin. He really did help me put it together. He glued the hair on, did some of the painting & stuck the ears on.

Happy to have his pumpkin home.

Early b-day

Chuck was post-call last Wed and surprised us by coming home in the afternoon. He brought home my favorite strawberry cake from Edgars and a bouquet of giant calla lilies. My b-day wasn't until Sat. but he had to leave the next day for a conference in Boston.

Audrey wanted the princess candle on the cake and Carter picked spiderman. :) They sang so nicely then blew out the candles for me.

Yumm! Digging into the delicious cake

My beautiful calla lilies

Transportation fair

Last week the kid's school had a transportation fair. They had all different cars, trucks, etc for the kids to look at and explore. It looked like they all enjoyed it and the weather was perfect.

Audrey and some of her classmates

Carter's entire class posing with the race car

The 4&5K classes also did a trike/bike-athon for St. Jude hospital
Here's Carter's class lining up to start

And they're off!
Carter didn't do too well. He got nervous riding that closely to others. We'll just have to practice more with him to get him more comfortable.

Botanical Gardens

The other weekend it was so nice out we went to the botanical gardens to let the kids run off some energy before the Packer game. They love exploring all the different areas. I got a couple cute pics too.

Such a little miss look

My handsome little Aaron Rodgers

Too cute! Love my munchkins!

Pumpkin Farm

Last week Chuck & I went up to Grand Rapids, MI for an interview. Grandma came down to watch the kids so that was an added bonus. We had a really good time but unfortunately, I didn't manage to take any pictures. The city was nice and the practice set up is great. While Chuck interviewed I got a personal tour of the city and different neighborhoods. A huge thank you to Nicole for showing me around and taking me out to lunch! I have to warn everyone that there's a real good chance we may end up in Grand Rapids and not Milwaukee.

We got home Friday night and Chuck had off the rest of the weekend. We had a gorgeous fall day Saturday so we took the kids to the pumpkin farm. It's always a fun time. Here's a bunch of pics.

The kids in the wagon ready for the hayride out to the patch

Posing with the pumpkins they picked out and the sunflowersCarter always takes his time finding the perfect pumpkin. He was very excited about the one he found this year. Now he keeps asking to carve it.Audrey wanted nothing to do with the big pumpkins. She was on a mission to find a baby pumpkin. She kept saying, "I need a tiny one like me." Carter was so sweet and found this little one for her. He handed it to her and said, "Here sweetheart. This is a baby one for you. I found it." So precious! Audrey's making a goofy face because she's giving it a squeeze hug.

Tough guy

The inflatable play area is always a hit. They kept this one for kids 2 & under. It was nice not having to worry about her getting trampled by the big kids. I can't count how many times Carter went down the big slide. Audrey even went down the big slide. Carter was protective of her while she climbed up. If other kids would get too close he would climb back down and go behind her so the others couldn't push her.The kids always finish the trip to the pumpkin farm with a slushy. Orange for CarterRed for Audrey

Growing up

Carter has been old enough and tall enough to sit in a booster seat for probably over a year but didn't weigh enough until now. It wasn't a big deal because he never complained about sitting in the car seat and could even buckle himself. Well, he finally weighed in at 40 lbs. and to be honest probably not consistently but the point is he did. Therefore, we got to make the switch. Carter riding in his big boy booster seat. We got him the Evenflo Big Kid DLX highback booster seat. It's the highest rated booster by consumer reports and one of the only 2 they recommend.

Not only does Carter love his new seat but the box was a hit. The kids got hours of entertainment with it. Carter asked me to cut holes for his eyes and arms. They ran around the house calling themselves a robot monster. I wish I would've gotten a video of it because it was pretty funny. Gotta love the simple pleasures in life. :)

As for Audrey....She continues to LOVE ballet & tap. She asks to go to ballerina school almost every day. I love watching the class and seeing how much she really gets into it. She knows all the kids names in her class and holds her own even though she's the youngest.

WARNING! Watch at your own risk.
You will probably get motion sickness watching it but I had to post it. Normally we have a little window to watch so the kids don't get distracted by the parents. This day the teacher actually left the door open. I was able to stand where Audrey couldn't see me and record her reflection in the mirror. It's so shaky because I couldn't stop laughing. It's just too stinking cute!

welcome fall

After a miserably hot summer it's finally cooling off! We found it to be the perfect opportunity to take the kids to the park to ride bikes. Those of you that have been to our house know that it's too hilly to teach the kids to ride. So, off to Homewood park we go.

It was also game day so the kids and Chuck wore their Packer gear. It's funny how many conversations it strikes up down here. Here's Carter with Chuck following behind.

Audrey got to ride Carter's old Lightening McQueen tricycle. Yes, she picked out and insisted on wearing pink sparkle shoes with her Packer outfit.

After a few laps around the park the kids we ready to play on the playground. It's so nice to finally be getting some cooler weather to enjoy the outdoors again.

quite the pair

Carter and Audrey are quite the duo these days. They crack me up on a daily basis. Here are a few of their recent moments.

They are so sweet and hold hands, or just a thumb almost every time we go somewhere in the car. Audrey tells Carter she needs to hold on tight.

They continue to be each others mimics. Carter made a bubble beard and wanted his picture taken so...Audrey had to try and make one and have her picture taken tooI told Audrey she didn't brush well enough and needed to let me brush more for her. Little Miss I do it of course didn't let me. So Carter told her he'd help her and she let him. It melts my heart that he continues to be a helpful, loving big brother.