Halloween

The kids and I (Eric is out of town) had a very busy Halloween.  Cate had school this morning and all of the kids dressed up.  

Here she is all ready to go to school

I took this picture with my phone when I picked Cate up from school.

After naps I took the kids to downtown Castle Rock for trick or treating on Main Street.  The town set up  a bunch of booths with local businesses that handed out candy to the kids.

The kids ready to head down town

In the pumpkin patch.  I love how Ashton looks like he is ready to take off and fly.

For trick or treating tonight, Grandma Schmidt came over to go out with us.  The kids were so excited to go trick or treating in the dark. 

Excited and ready to go

Me with my cute little trick or treaters

Grandma trick or treating with the kids

Here is a video of the kids checking out their candy after trick or treating

The other night Cate was putting on dance shows for us.  Here is a video of one of her dances:

Neighborhood Pumpkin Party

Yesterday we took the kids down to the neighborhood pumpkin party.  At the party they had bouncy houses, a costume contest, a make your own scarecrow station, and a pumpkin patch.  We walked around and checked out a bunch of the different costumes and then we headed over to the pumpkin patch.  

Ashton had a great time in the pumpkin patch.  I think he came close to picking up every pumpkin there.  

Cate found her pumpkin right away and then posed for a picture with her pumpkin.  

It was very difficult to get a picture of both of them together.  I think this is the best one I had.  

After they picked out their pumpkins we headed over to the decorating area and picked out some stickers to put faces on the pumpkins.  

This is the best picture I have of both of them with their finished pumpkins .  

Another picture of Cate posing with her pumpkin.

My sister recently sent me pictures from our trip to Utah last month.  Here is a picture of the whole "Lowe" family.  We don't have too many pictures of all of us together.  

New Sandbox

This past week Eric did a very "Dad" thing; he built the kids a sandbox.  All last week I put the kids to bed and Eric would work on the sandbox.  He took out our camping light and built the sandbox from scratch.  He built it at night because he really wanted to surprise the kids with the sandbox.  The sand was delivered on Saturday so when we got home from the gym the sand had been delivered and so we took the kids down to the sandbox.  They were so excited and we spent a lot of the weekend watching them play in the sandbox.  Here are some pictures from the weekend:  

We spent most of Sunday in the back yard playing in the yard and in the sandbox.  Cate and Ashton love their chairs and have a game where they move them around and chase each other around. 

Eric had an extra piece of wood and he set it up on the porch so Cate could push her stroller up and down.

Eric mowed the lawn and the kids sat on the porch and watched.  After he was done Ashton took his jeep and pretended to mow the lawn.

We also went to the park, and Cate and Ashton had a great time pushing Eric around.

The weather was fantastic this last weekend and we had a wonderful time with the kids.  

Eric is such a fantastic Dad.  The kids are so lucky to have such a wonderful Dad.  The sandbox is amazing and I am so impressed with how hard Eric worked on it.

Fun with the kids

Here are some pictures of us with the kids:

We went to the store to get a few things and this is where Ashton decided that he wanted to ride.  So we decided to let him do it and it was all fun until he got his finger stuck in the cart.  He was fine but we decided not to make this a habit.

Cate and Ashton coloring together with chalk on our driveway.

Ashton is really getting big.  His language skills have really increased and he is turning in to a little kid.

We decided since the weather wasn't very good today that we would carve pumpkins.  Cate and Ashton were both very excited to do it.

Here is a rundown of how the pumpkin carving went:

1.  Excitement from the kids

2.  Eric and I cut off the tops so that the kids could scoop out the pumpkins

3.  Ashton got upset that we cut the pumpkin and refused to participate in the pumpkin carving.  He threw a screaming fit that lasted for about 5 solid minutes and then continued to wander around whining.  

4.  Cate looked in the pumpkin and decided that she thought it was "yucky" and that she would "let" me do it.

5.  Eric and I proceeded to carve the pumpkins while Ashton was screaming and Cate was asking me when we were going to make cupcakes.

Luckily Cate liked the way they turned out.  Eric's is on the left and mine is on the right.  This is what happens when you have a screaming child and a daughter who is no longer interested in the pumpkin.  I have to say that we had better plans for the pumpkins before we started.  

Eric took Ashton outside to see if he could stop his temper tantrum.  While they were outside Cate and I made pumpkin cupcakes.  She wanted me to post this picture so that everyone could see the cupcakes even though they won't get to eat them.  

After we finished the cupcakes Cate and I went outside to see what the boys were up to.  Eric built this snow man for the kids.  (Yes it snowed enough for a snow man)

 

This is a picture of Ashton flying down the driveway on his tricycle.  He goes so fast!

Cate decided that she wanted to make a kid snow man and here she is posing with her snow man.

I just like this picture.  They look like they are thinking very hard about what to do next.  (Yes Ashton is wearing Cate's gloves and she is wearing his.  He loves her stuff)

On a separate note, here are some pictures of us from my cousin Emily's wedding in Park City Utah a few weeks ago.  I think we clean up pretty well.

Eric and I at the wedding

My sister came in from California from the wedding and Quentin drove over from Steamboat.  It was great to have the whole family together.

The last couple of weeks...

2 weekends ago I took the kids up to Steamboat while Eric was on a business trip.  We only stayed for a few days but we had a wonderful visit.

Up in Steamboat:

Cate and Grammy making homemade icecream

The kids riding bikes at my Parent's house

The kids got new Strider bikes from my parents.  They don't have pedals and are supposed to help kids learn to ride bikes faster.  

This last weekend we took a trip to Park City, UT for my cousin Emily's wedding.  We stayed at the St. Regis hotel which is a beautiful and very fancy hotel.  It was a short trip but we had a lot of fun and it was great to see some of my family.

The hotel had a funicular which is an inclinator that takes you up the mountain to the hotel. The kids had so much fun riding it.  

Eric and I at the wedding.  (We got a sitter for the kids so we could have a night out)

My Brother Quentin and Sister Steph

Back at the airport on our way home.  We had just a few things :)

I found a new park in Castle Rock that I haven't taken the kids to before.  We headed over there today and ended up staying there for 2 hours.  The kids had a blast and I had a great time too.  In the picture below there is a big red tube slide.  I think that I had more fun taking the kids down it than they did.

Fun weekend

I went to Once Upon a Child (a consignment store) and got the kids Halloween costumes.  Cate picked hers out on her own and I picked one for Ashton.  Cate picked out a "snow princess" costume and I picked "superman" for Ashton.  Here are a couple pictures of them in their costumes:

Eric and I had a house warming party this weekend and some of our friends and their kids came.  The kids were all so cute together.  The ages ranged from 1-5.  They played hide and seek, dolls, rode trikes, and then played "jump on/off the couch".  Here is a picture of the kids running and jumping on the couch.

Today we took the kids to downtown Castle Rock for the town Artfest.  We walked around and checked out all of the art and then stopped for some food.  The kids had a hot dog but loved the icee the best.  It was a bit difficult for them to share but they really enjoyed it.

Ashton hadn't finished his yogurt so we let him eat it in the car.  (Don't worry Eric was driving while I took these pictures).  You can tell by the pictures whether or not he likes yogurt.