The BFF Crew Visits CO

We've had a busy few weekends this month.  I'll just get right to it: THE PEMBERTONS WERE HERE!  THE PEMBERTONS WERE HERE!

And it was just like old times.  Elliot and the kids arrived for an early visit before they set out for a family vacation in Aspen and then we were so much fun that they decided to come spend another weekend with us after Aspen, with Kari this time :)  Blaine and Siri embraced when they first saw each other and then ran off to play, not even skipping a beat.  Hannah and William were matter-of-fact and jumped into the play after a few minutes.  The kids were inseparable and played so well together the whole time they were together.  We had a lot of laughs, as we always do, with our dear friends and I miss them already :(

After Blaine's soccer game.  Blaine later wrote (in Writer's Workshop
at school) that "Siri cheered for me at soccer."  So cute.

The following pictures speak for themselves.

Blaine and Siri doing the Thriller dance at our
neighborhood Halloween party.

Craft time at the Halloween party.

Little friends that aren't so little anymore.

I would love to write more about our visit but I am seriously uncomfortable in this chair and this pregnant mama is about to pass out from exhaustion.  I tried to go to the doctor and be put on bed rest yesterday (kidding!) but they didn't see anything wrong with my consistent Braxton Hicks contractions, pelvic discomfort and severe nausea complaints.  My ginormous belly did measure 30 weeks though and I am only 29 weeks which likely means that Baby Sev is already preparing to be a sumo wrestler baby.  Awesome.

Here are some final pictures of the kids at the pumpkin patch and carving their pumpkins.

Cupcake Wars

The small group we're in gets together twice a month and this month the host couple put on a halloween-themed party, including a friendly game of "Cupcake Wars."  Let's just say the competition was intense.  We had a lot of fun but I'm really looking forward to relaxing and getting some sleep.  I've been putting in some late nights and waking David up in the middle of the night to discuss cupcake designs ideas.  :)

Then there was a bunch of smack talk on Facebook and so the pressure was on.

Here was what we were up against:

We were not allowed to vote for ourselves and in the end our cupcake lost by only ONE vote!  The funny part is that I voted for the winner... so it's my fault that I lost... or something like that :)

Here was our design:

And everything was edible...

The whole family had a blast.  Blaine and Hannah dressed up in their costumes and both had fun playing with the other kids and decorating their own cupcakes.

We are all planning for the next competition: "Ginger Bread Man Wars!" Ha!

Friends

Hotel Lyon just said goodbye to its last guests (for the time being.)  The Pembertons came back from their fun vacation in Aspen to stay with us for a few days before heading back to Austin.  We had an absolute blast with our dear friends.  My heart was filled with gratitude and joy all weekend - what a blessing to have such wonderful (crazy-like-us-in-a-good-way) people around :)  Our kids love playing together and we adults manage to find new things to laugh about all the time.

The day they arrived we wowed them with our recreation center equipped with a pool that has two slides, a lazy river, and other fun water features.  Friday night was fun (and filling) for all because we did fondue.  Blaine happens to be an expert fondue-er and set us all straight on how to properly cook our meats and vegetables.  Dessert was tasty too - we dipped a variety of foods into melted chocolate.  William agrees that dessert was the best!

On Friday morning Blaine had school and a doctors appointment so I managed to convince the Pembertons to watch HG for a little while.  (HG is a handful, you know! :)  They went back to the recreation center for more swimming and came home with a carload of very tired kiddos.  After lunch we headed into Boulder for an afternoon of excitement.

Between Fall Fest (on Pearl Street in downtown Boulder), visiting Chautauqua National Park (also in Boulder), and taking the Jeep off road I can't believe only one of us fell asleep on the way home!  We met up with David after work and had some dinner and then our crew split up.  The "little ones," William and Hannah Grace, went with David and Elliot into the mountains to have some off-road fun in the Jeep.  The match-made-in-heaven duo (Siri and Blaine) decided that the kiddie amusement park (part of the festival on Pearl Street) would be more fun so Kari and I escorted them to the festival.  The fantastic HG and William bounced around in the back of the Jeep and apparently spent most of the time cracking each other up with funny sayings and faces.  Siri and Blaine spent the evening riding every ride (some twice), holding hands, and discussing what movies they enjoy.  Kari and I were exhausted from just watching them have fun.

I'll post a link to Kari's pictures once she posts them (no pressure, Kari ;)  I know she got some cute ones of the kids holding hands and riding the other rides.

Saturday morning was pretty lazy.  We had breakfast and the kids played up until it was time for our friends to head to the airport.  Blaine's mood shifted about a thirty minutes before they left and he didn't want to play with anyone anymore and then he refused to give goodbye hugs.  After tearful goodbyes Blaine buried his head into David's shoulder.  Then after about 15 minutes of a quivering lip, the emotions could be contained no more.  Mister was so sad that Siri had left and he was mad at us for leaving Texas!  We're not sure when we will see them next but for young love's sake, I hope it's sooner rather than later ;)  Blaine has also announced that he only wants Siri at his 5th birthday party and he doesn't care about the distance so I better get working on planning that one :)

Hannah will miss her friend, William, too.  I don't know who she will laugh with now...

Book now!  Hotel Lyon is bound to fill up fast for the holidays :)