Corbin riding new big wheel!

Happy 4th Birthday Corbin!

What else would he have this year but a Turtle cake! I based the colors off of Squirt from Finding Nemo. I was going to do all orange and cream like a turtle he got for Xmas, but I liked these better. It was a laid back birthday as usual. Our friends Coty and Tony came over for a bit which was nice. We haven't seen them as much lately. Its a busy time of the year.

Testing out his sweet Big Wheel from Grandma and Grandpa!

He had a great day and is very excited to be 4yrs old!

Rowen mixing Pumpkin Pie filling

Doggie sitting

Last weekend we doggie sat for our friends. Tony and Coty. They moved here from IL too. They went back to visit family and friends and to be in a wedding (the main reason). We happily watched Wicket (black dog) and Gonzo (tan dog) for them. The 5 days we had them the kids didn't take out one toy. They had a ton of fun with them!

Corbin having a stare off with Wicket.

What happened a second later, haha.

Wicket loves belly rubs

Hanging out with Corbin

Taking them for a walk around our neighborhood. The boys did great holding their leashes.

Rowen dancing with Gonzo

We also took them for a walk along the new path we found. They really enjoyed this. The car ride there, not so much. They aren't big fans of the car.

Our last morning with the dogs. Needless to say, they had a blast.

Video to come of Corbin playing tug-of-war with Gonzo.

Castle playground

We found a castle playground very similar to the one in Littleton, MA were I grew up. The kids were so exctied and had a blast! It had a lot more to offer than the usual playground we go to. It was a nice change indeed.

This will be a weekend playground. I will drive myself crazy trying to keep track of the 3 of them in all the little nooks they can hide in.

Weeeeeeeeeeeee!

Look at the momentum he's building up, haha.

There is no way I can ride one these now.

Wahoooo!

And their down.

Balance fun. They did this for a good 10 minutes.

They're too small to understand this so it didn't last much longer it took to take the picture.

We will definitely be going back.

Turtles upon turtles

Lets see, is this going to be a turtle phase, or will he like turtles through adulthood. Either way, Corbin is all about turtles right now. Which includes drawing them as well as making turtles out of anything he can fin in the house. If I leave my notebook on the counter I end up finding my grocery list adorned with turtles too. I must say it is very cute to see his face when he looks at turtles and plays with them. They bring him much joy and its awesome!

One morning he woke up, got a couple books for reference (all by himself mid you) and started to draw some turtles.

Around the house you'll find many turtles he made with all kinds of things. This is made of a Matchbox cars track and puzzle pieces and an egg.

Domino turtles.

Blocks and bucket from a storage shelf.

Blocks and a ball.

Letter puzzle pieces and the top from an army guy bucket.

Completely random- spoons, a pan, a coin and pretend credit cards.

A light-saber and blocks.

Lego's

These are just a select few of the many turtles he's made. The boy is creative.

Austin zoo and Sanctuary

A couple weekends ago we went to the Austin zoo and sanctuary. I found a great deal on one of those coupon sites called, buywithme.com. I got us all in plus 4 bags of feed for $15! We were thinking of going to the San Antonio zoo but didn't feel like doing the 100 mile drive. One day we will though. Brandon has the week after Xmas off so we'll probably go then.
It was an OK place. I don't think we'd go again. It didn't have very friendly paths to walk along and the place was covered in flies and yellow-jackets. We were there maybe an hour as it wasn't overly big either. The best part about it was all the turtles they had! Corbin was very happy.

I think this one wanted to eat him, haha.

Yep, he's hungry.

It was actually a bit scary how close you could get to the turtles (and the turtles get to you).

What! More turtles!

Watching some loins.

The petting zoo area where the feed came in.

This one wanted to make sure he got his share.

Hello, Rooster.

This was a good for Corbin getting to see all the turtles!

Thanksgiving

Oh yes, that is Turkey covered in Bacon! We still brined our Turkey as we usually do, but this year Bacon was in our mind. It was super yummy with an awesome gravy!

The kids were lucky and got to have pie for an afternoon snack. I figured it was better than after having a fairly large meal and going to be about an hour and a half later.

My love bug!

I only made 2 pies this year. An Apple and I tried a new one, Blueberry Cranberry. It was yummy, the cranberry helped with the sometimes too much sweetness a blueberry pie can have.