Last Weekend

Last weekend we went up to my parents again to celebrate my 4 year old's birthday. He actually had his birthday the weekend before but my husband is in the Navy reserves and had to work that weekend. So last Friday night after my husband got home from work, we packed up the kids and made the 2.5 hour drive north. Neither of us like to drive at night but it seems like we no sooner get there and have to turn around and leave if we wait til Saturday morning to drive up. We take a completely rural route to get there and it's so scenic and peaceful. So you know I took out my camera and got some shots from the car since the sun was setting while we were on our way.

I just love old barns. I love how this one came out.

This too. Look at that sky!

This is our shadow on the corn. Pretty cool!

The moon was really bright that night. When we pulled up in the driveway, my parents were sitting outside enjoying the cool night and moonlight. I love this time of year. Even though it's short lived and I know it means winter is right around the corner, I absolutely adore Fall. We decided to hang out outside for a while and let the kids run around in the dark. It led to a few games of hide and seek. My daughter has quite an imagination and loves getting scared just like her mom!

I walked around to the side of the house where I could get a shot of the moon while everyone else was playing. I got this spooky shot from between the leaves of a maple tree.

My mom came out with the baby and made the mistake of wrapping him in my other son's favorite blankie. He tried to take it back.

I was just taking random shots of everyone and after I got home and uploaded them to the computer, I noticed this funny exchange between my dad and the baby.

The next night was the "party." It wasn't really a party, we just had over a few people. My grandparents, my brother and my niece, my cousin, and my other cousin with her baby and her boyfriend. Very low key but that's just how we wanted it.

I made The Pioneer Woman's chocolate sheet cake which turned out fabulous. All of her recipe's that I have made do!

And we paired it with Culver's custard. Oh. Yum.

Pinata time. I let my girl go first to show the youngins how it's done. This kid can hit!

Then it was the birthday boys turn. (You'll notice my gramma in the background of all of these being REALLY enthusiastic.)

Then my 3 year old niece took a crack at it.

It soon became apparent that whoever makes pinatas does not think about making them the least bit easy for a child to break open. So some of the adults stepped in to lend a hand. First my cousin tried, then my dad.

HAHA my dads face! He looks so serious and my kid looks scared.

Finally, my bad-ass daughter got it!

Later, we had a bonfire. It was lots of fun for the kids and there were pranks played. That's all I'll say. Oh, and I drank too much wine.

That's my brother, my mom with the baby, and my cousin.

The next day we took the kids outside for some more fresh, country air before heading home. They wanted to try out the new t-ball set. My mom and I sat on the deck with the baby. Their little, sweet, ornery cat Jimmy jumped up next to the baby. At first the baby didn't notice.

Then he did and boy did he get a handful of fur. Jimmy enjoyed it.

And this is their HUGE, sweet cat Allie, who is afraid of everything. I love this picture.

It was a great weekend and I'm looking forward to going up there next for Halloween!