Two Exciting Updates, Plus Camping and Trunk-or-Treat

#1 Hilton is WALKING!

16 months old and he is finally walking around everywhere we will let him. 

#2 We got a new boxer!  

We drove to Nashville and adopted Louie from Middle TN Boxer Rescue.  We had been watching him for a couple of weeks online and once we passed the background checks we got to go meet him.  He is doing great and has really adjusted wonderfully.  He is somewhere between 3-5 1/2 yrs old.  

We had a great time at our church family camp out.  I tried some new camping Pinterest recipes and they all were great: cinnamon rolls in oranges, chocolate brownies in oranges, breakfast casseroles, chicken fajitas, and steak.  Aylin was so proud of herself to get to ride her bike with the big kids and Hilton really branched out and let other people hold him, it's the little things. 

We also had our annual Trunk-or-Treat.  Aylin decided she wanted to be Cruella De Ville and Hilton to be a dalmatian puppy.  She told Bobby and I that we could be her "goons."  I was very pleased with Aylin's costume, I found the outfit at Walmart (one of their fall styles) and bought the boa and accessories from a Halloween store.  We could not find a dalmatian costume anywhere in Hilton's size so I bought a cow costume and cut off the horns and braided part of the tail.

Recent Happenings and Favorite Photos Recap #2: Everything Else Since Vacation

Aylin's 1st Soccer Game

I was so excited for this fall because Aylin was going to start playing soccer!  "Playing soccer" is a bit of an understatement, LOL, until recently she pretty much would just run away from the ball and huddle of 4/5yr olds.  She is slowly coming around to the idea of trying to get in there, be aggressive,  and actually attempt to kick a soccer ball.  FYI, by slowly, I really mean like a snail crawling to a pile of salt.  Love my girl, although I'm not entirely sure she is mine when it comes to sports ;)  We are about halfway through the season, but here are some pics from her first game.

Sickness :( 

Everyone but Hilton had a stomach bug within a week, fortunately it only lasted about 12 hours so we were able to get right back out there and enjoy the beautiful fall weather we have been having.  Hilton has taken a few steps here and there, but he is still not walking.  He does, however, LOVE to climb.

School

 Aylin has been LOVING school (both her PDO and HS preschool), wanting to do work all the time.  I am running out of things to do with her.  Of course, I have a bunch of stuff pinned on Pinterest but haven't had the time to make any of it.

 Pumpkin Patch

We headed back to Cedar Hill Farms with my family last weekend.  It poured on us, but we still had a good time :)

Babies

My sister finally went public with their announcement of baby #3 on the way!

And we were excitedly awaiting to be able to tell everyone that we were also pregnant with baby #3, but I miscarried early on.  I was only 5 weeks.  We are doing okay and will start trying again in a few months.  We hadn't even told anyone that we were pregnant, but a few good friends helped us through  the miscarriage.  It was a hard week, but some time alone really does do you good, even if it is just an hour or two.  I had told Bobby by this picture collage:

Zoo Trip

Our CHAOS group (elementary youth) went to the zoo for fall break this past Monday.  We really enjoy spending time with our church family and are really looking forward to our family camping trip this weekend!

Recent Happenings and Favorite Photos Recap #1:Chicago

Our family vacation to Chicago.  

We had a great week there with my best friend from high school.  We did as many of the touristy things that we could squeeze into each day :)  Our first stop was touring Lincoln's home in Springfield.

Stop #2 was the Skydeck at Willis Tower.  Aylin and I loved it, but Bobby and Hilton not so much.

Stop #3 was a mother/daughter date at American Girl Place!  All I can say is Wow!  People are crazy! and yes, I am one of those crazies.  Never, in my wildest dreams, would I have thought I would be in a doll store and spending money on those things.  You know that saying, "Never say never," I ate those words with gusto when I took baby girl to this place and bought a her her very firstAmerican Girl doll.  Her face and smiles were completely worth it!

Stop #4 was the Navy Pier :)

Stop #5 was the Chicago Children's Museum.

 

Stop #6 was the Buckingham fountain and Bean.

Stop #7 was the most amazing aquarium I have ever visited!  The Shedd!  They had a baby beluga, dolphin, and otter and the show with the dolphins and belugas was just as good as being at Sea World!

Stop #8 was the Lincoln Park Zoo where we got to see lots of baby monkeys, a baby gorilla, and a baby rhino.  The kids really loved the farm set up at this zoo.  This was a mommy and the kids day as Bobby got to go to Wrigley Stadium to watch his beloved Braves play the Cubs!

Stop #9 was a couple of days with my kids' Great Granny McCall!

Aylin took these shots of the family:

Aylin no longer wants to be a fairy princess when she grows up, now she wants to be a chiropractor like Aunt Beanie!