Christmas Card Time Again - Win Shutterfly Giftcard

It is that time again when you start thinking about what photo you are going to put on those cute Christmas cards and what design you are going to choose from the hundreds out there.  I realized last year that the majority of Christmas cards we received were photo cards so I think it is safe to say that is the new preference in Christmas cards.  Head over to Shutterfly and check out all their options of Photo Christmas cards.  They have tons to choose from and lots of specials going on right now.  I love Shutterfly's cards and products.  I have never been disappointed in anything I have ordered from them.  It always looks great and arrives in a very quick manner.

Shutterfly Current Deals:

• You can find their regular specials and sales listed on their special offers page at http://www.shutterfly.com/special-offers. 
• They have a special going on today (Black Friday) through the weekend where you can get 10 Free Christmas Cards by entering the code BLACKFRIDAY. Visit one of these pages to get all the info http://www.facebook.com/shutterfly  or directly at https://www.shutterfly.com/10freecards
• I am lucky enough to have the privilege of hosting a drawing for Shutterfly where I will be able to give away one $50 Shutterfly gift card to a lucky reader.  See details below.

Giveaway Details: 
Enter giveaway by leaving a comment telling me who would be in your photo on your Shutterfly Christmas card.  Please remember to include your email address so that you can be contacted to get your code.  One entry per person. Entries can be received until 12/2/2012 at 11:59pm.  Giveaway prize: $50 off order of $50 or more (excluding tax and shipping & cannot be combined with any other promos (expire 12/14/2012)

This is a post sponsored by Shutterfly, however, all opinions are my own. I really do recommend their cards and products.  Check them out, if you haven't already, and see for yourself.

Halloween Costume Pictures

Caden was a (mean) pirate this year, he always made sure that he added mean when someone asked him what he was going to be.  Avery Lynn was Minnie Mouse.  While they didn't

have costumes that necessarily went together this year I did notice as I was uploading the pictures that they color coordinated very well with the red, white, and black.  Some of the pictures are from when they got dressed for the Halloween party we went to and others are from Halloween night so that is why you see Avery Lynn dressed in warmer clothes in some and not others.  Some friends came over to go trick-or-treating on Halloween night and all the kids had a blast.  Avery Lynn really enjoyed trick-or-treating more than I expected her to.  She loved going up to each house to trick-or-treat and get candy.  Caden was a pro this year, he knew exactly what to do and was all about quickly moving from house to house. 

I had to add this picture.  Notice Avery Lynn is correcting Caden that she is supposed to say "Cheese" not him.

Avery Lynn rode from house to house in the wagon

Caden got his candy and was moving on to the next house

A picture of the cousins at Chapman's Halloween themed birthday party

Halloween Activities

We did a lot of things to celebrate Halloween this year.  I'm not exactly sure why we did so much more this year than in years past, maybe because Avery Lynn is older and can participate more this year.  We did two trips to Pumpkin Patches, went to a Halloween party, ate Halloween treats, did tons of Halloween themed art projects at home plus all the ones Caden did a school, carved pumpkins and I'm sure I'm missing some stuff.  But it was a fun filled October.  Here are some pictures that had to do with all our Halloween activities.

 



Caden eating a yummy fried cinnamon/sugar tortilla shell jack-o-lantern

 

Avery Lynn eating a yummy fried cinnamon/sugar tortilla shell jack-o-lantern

A few days before we carved pumpkins we decorated them with these fun stickers

I was surprised how Avery Lynn dug right into the pumpkin goo, she liked pulling out all of the pumpkin seeds

 

 At first Caden opted to color a picture at the table instead of sticking his hand inside the pumpkin

He caved into the pressure and decided he would do it after Avery Lynn was having fun at it

Caden pulling out pumpkin seeds

I decided it would be fun to take a picture of all the Halloween art on our fridge.  Crazy!

Our carved pumpkins.  Caden has a bat, Avery Lynn a Cat, Ricky and I did faces, and Lilly has a bone

The kids with the jack-o-lanterns

Pumpkin Patch

I still don't have the Halloween pictures on the computer to do a Halloween post and I haven't made it a priority to do it today so I thought I could quickly put up some pictures from the Pumpkin Patch that we visited back in October and that would buy me a little time on the Halloween costumes.  We had a great time this year again going to Peach Tree Farms Pumpkin Patch.  It was a very windy day but we had lots of fun seeing all the animals, picking a pumpkin from the patch, going on a hayride, and hanging out with friends.  

 

 

A Day with the Cows

Back in Sept we went for a tour of Foremost Dairy Farm.  It is always a fun place to visit.  The men who give the tours are always very good with the kids and of course the kids have a blast learning about the cows.  They get to see what the cows eat, where and how they are milked, see and pet calves, and even milk a cow if they want.  Avery Lynn was feeling brave the day we went and she did everything that the "big kids" did.  She even milked a cow!!  Caden has had several milking experiences now since we lived in Columbia so he is an old pro but still had fun doing it. : )  All in all it was a fun morning.

 

Caden with a calf

Aver Lynn getting licked by a calf

Caden milking the cow

Avery Lynn milking the cow

Camping and Fair Fun

I have gotten behind on posting pictures from the end of the summer.  Here are some that never made it to the blog from the end of August.  Caden and Daddy went camping for the first time (that was not in our backyard).  They had a blast fishing, building a camp fire, and roasting marshmallows for smores.  We also stopped at a fair set-up near our house in late August.  I say fair set-up because it literally set up for a few days was open through a weekend and then moved on to the next location.  Caden saw them setting up and since we continually passed it going to and from home he wasn't going to let us forget that he wanted to go to it.  We went one evening and he had a blast riding all the kiddy rides.  It was really the first time he had been interested in or brave enough to want to do rides at a place like this.  It was Caden's idea to do the Ferris wheel however he quickly regretted his decision once we got into the (swinging) basket to go up and around.  You can see the terror in his face in the picture below.  However he held it together well and conquered his fear of heights without breaking down.  Avery Lynn didn't really seem too concerned about the height however she really couldn't see the distance down either.  She enjoyed seeing the moon (closer) in the sky as we went around. 

Caden at the campfire

A messy smore face and fingers

He has one hand on the wheel, one hand on the gun and is making a mean face at whomever he is chasing : )

Caden (with a totally fake smile) and Daddy on the ferris wheel

Mommy and Avery Lynn on the ferris wheel

Shutterfly Shout Out

With a new school year comes new classes, classmates, and memories.  It also means new pictures...school pictures, art projects, action shots from sports games and so many more.  Don't forget that Shutterfly has Yearbooks now.  You may remember my post when they first introduced them. Keep them in mind when you look to preserve the memories from this school year.  They advertise that their yearbooks start at $6.  It is definitely an affordable way to remember the year.  Judge for yourself, browse their website and see what you think..http://www.shutterfly.com/yearbook
I am a big fan of shutterfly and their products, you can be too.  Keep in touch with Shutterfly by following them at any of the below social channels:

• Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/shutterfly       
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/Shutterfly
• Pinterest:http://pinterest.com/shutterfly/
• Instagram: Shutterfly
• Google +:http://plus.google.com/u/0/109424185572289814510/posts
•  Blog: http://blog.shutterfly.com/

This is a post sponsored by Shutterfly, however, all opinions are my own. Check out their yearbooks and see what you think.

Horsing Around

A few weeks ago we went out one evening to feed some friends' horses. They were out of town, and Ricky offered to feed their horses knowing that Caden would think it was a blast.  So after dinner we all loaded up and went to the "country" as Caden calls it to feed the horses.  Caden loved it!  Avery Lynn took a bit to warm up to the horses, and she definitely preferred the cats that were running around.  Don't get me wrong, she liked the horses as long as they weren't too close to her.  All in all it was a fun evening and we got to see rainbows, watch deer, feed horses, see cows, play with kittens, and hold grasshoppers.

 

 

 

This horse was eating right out of Caden's hands

Avery Lynn has some food in her hand too that she is offering the horses

What do you mean....you want more?  : )

Notice the grasshopper in Caden's hand