November Review

Ack! I did all that work to get somewhat caught up and here I go and get behind again! At least it's only one month, and a few days, this time. So, here goes, it's gonna be a long post. :)

November 4th is our anniversary. This year marked 8 years of wedded bliss. :) We took the kids to Kevin's parents on the 1st and headed down to Columbia where we were married. We had a really great time. I absolutely love getting a few days away from the kids with Kevin. We hadn't been back to Columbia, just to be in Columbia (and not just the zoo) in years. It was nice to hit our old haunts and reminisce about our Cola days. We've always wanted, dreamed, of moving back to Columbia someday. But we were able to realize, by taking a good hard look and thinking it through realistically, that the life we'd want in Columbia just wouldn't be possible with the kids. We'd still end up in the "suburbs" and our fave restaurants and such aren't the type of places we'd take the kids anyway. I think this was a bigger realization for Kevin than it was for me, but I also think he hated moving away from their more than I did. Life changes a lot when you have kids, and I wouldn't trade one bit of my life now for what I had pre-kids. We went to a USC game, slept in, did some geocaching, and simply lots of hanging out together.

The Seibels House and Gardens. This is where we were married. It was nice to stroll through the gardens (which have undergone serious renovation since we used them, it's now an absolutely gorgeous place).


Back at Nana & Papa's the kids were having fun picking up pecans. Papa got them really interested by offering a dollar a basket. :)




Nature at her finest, right in our front yard....
We had a squirrel get squashed in the street right in front of our house. A funny aside... when Ava first saw it she came running that there was a squished chihuahua in the road. :) Soon enough nature came to take care of the squirrel. While a bit disgusting, it was also kind of neat. The kids were fascinated. Fortunately we missed out on watching them do most of their dining.

Turkey Vulture... finds food by smell, lives solo

Black Vultures... finds food by site, or by following turkey vultures, lives in groups



Pumpkin Patch w/Preschool
Yeah, yeah, it was after halloween, the kids didn't care. Their original date got rained out so this was the only option. It was a cold day, but the kids all had a blast... taking a hay ride, feeding the animals, and picking out a pumpkin (which were bigger and nicer than the ones they give out pre-halloween).





My sleeping babies...




Movie Night...



Sebastian's Make-A-Wish Send-off Celebration at Plaza Fiesta (a giant, 4-story, indoor play area).