Build-A-Turtle...

Build-A-Bear Workshop recently added to their stuffed animals the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. When Brayden saw them he started asking if he could get one. He had saved some of his money, plus a coupon and mommy picked up the rest of the bill.

Brayden really wanted Michelangelo, but the the sales lady said they sold out of him in the first couple of days. He settled for Raphael, which is still a favorite. Raphael is pretty cool because he is the only one who has a crack in his shell, battle scar of course.

Making a wish for his turtles heart before it goes inside.

Getting stuffed full of love.

Giving him an air bath to get all the fluffs off.

Getting ownership certificate of his turtle.

Brayden and Raphael

Bowling with the Cousins...

While Christy, Sophia and Caleb were visiting last month we took the kids out for lunch and then bowling, or at least an attempt at bowling. Grandma stayed home with the little guys while they napped.

Lunch at McDonald's of course. A favorite for these kids.

It was cloudy and supposed to rain kind of day so the bowling alley was packed with kids and their parents.

Ready, Set, Bowl or Throw in some of the cases.

Brayden

Sophia

In between turns there was some silly time.

Including Brayden finding the perfect armpit dryer.

Sammy's first time bowling.

Sarah

Sammy just waiting to see what his ball is going to do.

Scoreboard: The kids did pretty good keeping up with each other.

Afterwards we treated them to DQ.

Games, Girls and a Guy...

The day Jason left for Mozambique for 10 days in August we had a game/hangout day planned with Aunt Melissa and Cayla. Brayden was stuck with four girls for the day, but he didn't seem to mind.

We started off with an afternoon of lunch, swimming at Grandma's pool and playing games. This crew had a BLAST making a giant whirlpool and letting the current take them. I had fun just watching them.

Clue was the first game and then on to UNO, a favorite of Brayden's.

Next stop for the evening was the Brodeur's cabin for dinner and the game Settlers of Catan. This has become a new favorite for all of us.

Brayden was done with games, so he chilled out and watched a movie.

Cayla came in 1st and Sarah 2nd.

The official scoreboard.

Aunt Melissa had the chiminea going for our evening out on the deck and the kids ended the night with s'mores.

Meeting Meredith Foster...

On a Saturday this past August Meredith Foster, a vlogger that Sarah follows, was appearing at Macy's Department Store. SHE HAD TO MEET HER!

I, being a loving mom and understanding how fun it can be meeting someone your a fan of (see Pioneer Woman post) said I would take her. Sarah also invited two of her girlfriends Jessica and Rebecca to brave the crowd with us.

We got to the mall around 11 a.m. Meredith was to arrive at 2:00 p.m. The girls got wristbands, a sure sign they would actually meet Meredith. At 12:30 p.m. they got in line and waited along with the 200 other girls who were anxious to meet Meredith in person. Sarah made friends with the girls in front of them, which made the time go by faster as they took selfies, talked about Meredith, who else they followed, school, etc.

It was a quick meet and greet. No autographs, just a quick "Hi! What's your name? Thanks for coming to see me." Sarah couldn't have been more thrilled!

Afterwards Macy's had a free candy bar, manicures, as well as mini-makeovers by Urban Decay.
Sarah went for the mini-makeover of course. She is loving make-up right now even though she doesn't get to wear very much, just concealer, mascara, blush and lip gloss.

Yes, this is a guy doing her make-up.

He did an amazing job. It just enhanced her already beautiful face.

Post Makeover

Phase 10 at the Cabin...

Our Phase 10 crew got together for a summer overnight getaway at Michele's family cabin to play as many rounds of Phase 10 as we could get in. Phase 10 is a card game that could take several hours depending on how many people are playing and how quickly they get phases. Typically when we get together to play for an evening we only get one game in, so we were all excited for the extra time together.

We arrived at lunch time and enjoyed the cabin's deck, gorgeous weather and scenery of being right on the lake.

After lunch it was game time.

Lots of healthy game time snacks.

Sarah was the winner of our first game. She was so excited as this was her first time winning a game. We each have won a game and Sarah was the last one to get her name on the shirt. We have made it a tradition that when someone wins the game they sign everyone's shirt and date it.

After our first game and dinner we all got our shirts on and of course had to take a group shot, which was one of the best parts. These girls are hilarious!

Our evening game was much slower. We were all getting tired and not getting our phases quickly, but we still had quite a few laughs. Michele was the winner of this round.

We had a really good time away together. We all enjoy the game, but mainly the company we get to play it with.