1st of the Season

Last night Dad Rink. took Jarod, me and Will to the first UofI basketball game of the season. I had never been to a basketball game period. So I was excited to see my first game.

Here is Will with Grandpa.

UofI hats

Will taking it all in.

Yeah! Illini won!

Thanks again for taking us Dad!

pumpkins and costumes

Matt and Bek had their yearly Pumpkin Carving Party (which they haven't had for the past 2 yrs). We have missed it and it was fun to go hang out with friends and have good food, conversaton and sensational pumpkins.

The little kids were able to paint pumpkins. Here Will and Drew K are painting pumpkins together. I tried to get Drew to look, but he was quite engrossed in his work. So, here is Will and the back of Drew's head.

Jarod carving a train in our pumpkin. He did a fabulous job once again and brought home a prize...a very scrumptious apple pie that Bek had made.

My beautiful sisters.

Then the night before Holloween, my cousins Whit and Tara hosted a Holloween Party for us and our kids. There was once again fabulous food and fun times. The kids dressed up and we had a fun time hanging out as always with the girls and Isaac.

Beautiful little Aria in part of her chicken costume.

I dressed Will up as a clown. I sewed on patches on to his jacket and gave him a wig and a red nose. He was so cute. He hated the wig! He cried the first time I put it on, and only would put it on for a few seconds for pictures.

Here he is in a close up with his rainbow hair. His head is so big, this wig was actually for an adult, but it fit him quite well.

Here is Darci in her 40's outfit, minus the hat and with a tiara she found.

I didn't get Josh's costume. I don't know what I was thinking. He was an adoreable pilot. You will have to go see Bek's blog for the full costumes.

Here are the fabulous hosts. Whit made chicken, potatoes and gravy, cider, juice with gummy worms in the ice cubes, pumpkin blizzards, homemade mac and cheese (which Tara made), plus a few other desserts. She and Isaac also made little pumpkin trick or treat baskets for each kid with candy and toys. Such fun times! You guys are the best hostesses and wonderful cooks. thanks for the great times!

Last night we went to Brandon and Mindy's for Oct/Nov Birthdays.

Here is Elle with her Craftsman goggles, which she wore all night...such a goofy kid!

Jarod and Will playing on the floor with "queen cars" (Lightnight McQueen Cars)

Here are the four Birthdays we celebrated. The boys are very much into their cakes.

Happy Birthday kiddos.

We've had a busy last couple weeks, but very much fun. Have a good week.

Tara's Birthday and Potluck

On Friday Whitney got together the six Huber cousins that are here in Bloomington to celebrate Tara's Birthday. It was so fun. Everything was a surprise. Whit blindfolded Tara with a huge yellow scarf. It was so funny. Then Tami, Tara, Whit and I went and painted pottery. Well, we all four painted one plate in 15 minutes, because we were running late for our next appointment.

Here is Tara in the car with her scarf on her head. We said it looked like she had gotten kidnapped by Whit.

We then went to get pedicures and manicures. What a fun relaxing day. Here we are after we got our nails done.

Aren't they so cute?

We went to Reality Bites for dinner. I had never been, but it's one of Tara's favorites. It was very yummy and we talked and talked for 2 1/2 hours until they told us to leave because they had another reservation waiting.

After dinner we went back to T, W and K's to play the game Quelf and eat cake. It was so much fun. Lots of laughing. Tara isn't crazy about the game, but I am a new fan.

Here is where Tara and Kate are dancing and singing YMCA. It was part of the game.

Then on Saturday and Sunday we went to Indianapolis for our Out-of-town Potluck. We had a great time. I got a picture of our table at the restaurant, but in the background was a sculpture that I didn't think was quite appropriate to put on my blog. We had a great time of eating, talking and lots of laughter. Thanks Mom for watching Will!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Well my friend Jen G. put 5 of her favorite things on her blog. I thought I would put 5 of mine, and I started to think and God and family were all that came to mind. I decided I could go on and on about fam and God, so instead I decided to do the first 5 frivolous things that came to mind.

The first is NARS lip gloss. I love it. I love the size, the colors, the way it looks and feels. I have two colors and they both are my favorites to wear. I have tried many many lip glosses before, and this is my favorite of them all.

My second favorite is chili. I LOVE chili at this time of year. Especially with cornbread. I have a Buttery Corn Bread recipe that I love and it is so good with chili.

My next favorite is my sister's photography business. tamipaigephotography.com Maybe it's because she is my sister, but I do think she does such a great job and I am so proud of her. She just did our Christmas card pictures last night and in the first 20 seconds she got our family picture that I am using for our Christmas card. I was so happy it was short and painless.

The fourth favorite is J.Crew's kids' wear...Crewcuts. I love their clothes for boys and girls. So adoreable. If the prices weren't so hefty, I would buy all of Will's clothes there! Too cute!


Last, but not least...my ipod nano. I got one this year to run with. I love it and I have to say I walk more than run with it, but it still is such a great accompaniment. I actually wore out my arm band from this summer, and can't wait to get a new one so I don't loose my exercize companion.

So, there are my 5 favorite things that I came up with in the last 15 minutes.

Up to Lately

Well, we have been busy around here, but a good busy. I haven't taken many pictures, but am posting the ones we have of late.

We went to Phoenix for a few days and when we got back it was time to bust out this guy.

What a difference from 90 -100 degree weather. Oh well, I love fall and Will looks so cute all bundled up too.

We went up to Chicago for a International Justice Mission dinner and I did take my camera, but this is the only picture I came back with...probably because this is what we did most of the time. We sat in the lobby of the hotel and watched football. Oh well, we still had a good time, and their food from their restaurant was to die for...I actually would go back to that hotel just to get their yummy food.



Here are my guys in Phoenix. Chillin' in da poo'
Will swam pretty much non-stop from the moment we got there. We had a great time Mark and Kristen...even though from the pictures it looks you weren't around...I do need to get it out next time sooner and more often.


On the way to the airport, we had a layover that was supposed to be about an hour and a half. It ended up taking like 4. We sat for a few hours while they worked on the plane. Then we all got on, and they worked on it for a nother half an hour. Then we were all taken off the plane and shuttled onto another, which took another hour to get there and clear off. So, Will had a lot of time to play on the benches. For getting up at 5:30am and not getting a nap, he was fabulous. What a little trooper.

Then we went to the Uof I vs. ISU game that Tami had gotten Jarod tickets for. Since he is UofI grad and she is an ISU. I told her that I had to root for Uof I because Jarod is my husband, but in my heart I wanted ISU to win since they were the underdogs. Thanks again Tam for the tickets! I am glad you were able to come and support your team.

Here we are in our orange. Go Illini!

Well, that's about it for the last month or so.

The game and the apple orchard.

We had a full Labor Day weekend, but for most of it I didn't have my camera, or I just didn't take pictures. On Saturday, a few of us went to the Illinois vs. Missouri game. It was a pathetic game, but we had a good time with family and friends.

Here Brandon sits while Dad and Jarod wash his windshield and fill up his tank. Way to go Brandon...make the others work.

Other than that, this is the only other picture I got from the whole day. And I took it at the end of the day when we were so tired and worn out...but since I had it I thought I would post it. Mindy and me after 6 hours in the car and about 4 hours at the game.

We were busy Sunday and Monday, but I didn't take my camera along.

Wednesday Bek and I took our kids to get some apples. I came home with one gallon of cider and a very tired boy.

Here is cute little Aria.


Will and Josh in the apple grove.

Will and Aria running through the tunnels in the hay maze.

Darci on top of the hay maze...love the dress and tights.

I looked over to find Will climbing this wall. He is such a climber...he made it to the top in a few minutes.

Darci on the tractor.

The playground there was so fun...my favorite is the plane.

Darci found this little hole in the ship.

It was a great day, but Will definitely came home tired.

Yesterday we laid low...letting Will recoup from no naps the day before. I found him at one point in Jarod's shaving cream...I think he was trying to lather up like Jarod.

Well, that's all for now...

Happy Birthday Josh!

Today is Josh's 6th Birthday. We celebrated last night at family night.

We went to my dad's pool and ate cabobs, swam and opened presents.

All in all I believe it was a happy day for Josh.

Darci (with her ever faithful little dog in hand),

pushed Josh in the pool and thought it was pretty funny.

Such a pretty face.

The boys cracking up.

I took a few pictures trying to get these three to all look at the camera and smile at the same time...after the 15th picture, decided this was good enough.

Such a beautiful night for family night by the pool.

Josh and his Lightning McQueen Cars from Will.

Happy Birthday Josh Buddy!