Date Night.....without ANY Kids

Sam and I have some pretty amazing friends!! Last week some friends of ours offered to watch the kids while we went out on a date............... (long pause) ............... we had no idea what to do. hehe

We got married, got pregnant, got sick, then got huge and uncomfortable. Unfortunately, there were not a lot of dates in between all of that non-stop fun.  Then after we had Maddie, we were afraid to leave her with anyone because she was not the easiest baby in the world.  A lot of time went by before we felt comfortable leaving her and by that time we had gotten pregnant again, gotten sick again, and then gotten huge and uncomfortable again.  We still hadn't ever been out on a real date night as a married couple.  We finally gave in and went on a date a few weeks before Macy was born.  We had a great time, but being 9 months pregnant makes it a little hard to really enjoy anything no matter what you try to do.

Recently our friends, the McKinlays, offered to watch the girls for us and let us go out on a real date.  Just the two of us (no baby in tow).  We decided to take advantage of the opportunity and go on a bike ride together at the Louisville Swamp.  It was so much fun! The leaves were beautiful and the trail was a lot of fun.  Our favorite part was the old historic barn sight and seeing 10+ hunters (we only spotted one hunter up in a tree, but we counted over 10 bikes on the trail).  Very cool!  We got a little grief for not going out to a romantic dinner, but hey we're still new at this whole dating thing!! :) Going for a bike ride was perfect for us.  We had a great time and still were able to go out to dinner afterwards.

The river bottoms

The Farm from the trail

Barn ruins

Our sweet rides :)

We were amazed at the water level on the trees.
We would have been completely submerged by the river.

The home where they lived! It was so tiny!

The inside of the home was made into a warm house.

ki

Prior Lake Ward Halloween Party

Last night we were able to dress up and go trick-or-treating in comfort.  No coats, nice warm hallways and awesome company.  Our ward throws one of the best Halloween Parties around!! Unfortunately the boys were in CO, so us girls decided to go it alone and enjoy the fun and games.  Maddie and Macy were cheerleaders this year.  Maddie wasn't too sure about the games at first, but once she figured out there was a treat at the end, she was all about them.  A number of families decorated doors and handed out candy to the kids.  This worked out so well for us because it was light and not too scary and it was nice and warm too.  Maddie had a great time with her friends Ashlyn and Brylee.  The three of them are so cute together.  They showed her the ropes and she was acting like an old pro by door three!

The girls were exhausted by the time we made it home.  I love when they just lye next to each other and hold hands.  It just melts my little heart!!

Soft and squishy

If you know much about Maddie, you know how much she loves all things squishy and soft!  If she can snuggle it, love it, wear it, drape it, and squeeze it she is all over it!! 

A friends of my Mom's sent us this hat last year for Christmas.  It was a little big for Maddie to wear last year so we threw it in the hat box for another day.  While digging around in the closet a few weeks ago, Maddie found this hat and fell in love.  She enjoys wearing it out and about as well as around the house for fun.  The fleece is so soft and squishy (aka absolutely irresistible to this girl) and warm to top it off.  We decided to make a few others so that she could have a few to choose from.  

Maddie loves the fleece hats.

We made Macy a matching hat so she could
stay warm and cozy too

All bundled up

So during conference we were able to help celebrate some birthdays with some super awesome kids (the Anderson's grand kids).  Maggie is only a few months older than Maddie and got a giant gorilla from her awesome Uncle and Aunt.  She was terrified of it at first, so she wasn't too interested in playing with him.  Maddie decided to take FULL advantage of this opportunity and jumped right on the little fella.  She wrestled and snuggled with him all afternoon and drug him around the house until it was time to go home.  She was pretty upset when she found out he wasn't coming home with us.  So we decided it would be fun to get Maddie one of her own.  She opted for the giraffe when given the choice between jungle friends (actually she tried grabbing as many as she possibly could).  We try to avoid buying too many "things" for the kids, but this one was too hard to pass up.  The look on her face every time she sees him is so worth it!

Maddie's new favorite "lovie"

The snuggles never end

Just having some tea with friends.

Maddie's two favorite things to love and snuggle.
Rah-Rah and Dada

Macy's First Bike Ride

There are not too many warm day in a Minnesotan October.  Last Saturday was over 60 degrees!!! Knowing that it could very well be out last warm day of the year, we decided to put the girls in the buggy and see how Macy liked it.  She had so much fun.  She was all smiles the entire time.  We are really looking forward to spring next year.  There is going to be a lot of bike riding happening...... even more than usual..... if you can believe it.