Friends & Family |

Thanksgiving

We had the Honecker-Lute-Salmons-Montgomery Thanksgiving at Andy’s parents’ house :) Haha, I may have invited mostly my family and the Honeckers were gracious enough to include them in the festivities.

In the morning we woke up to turkeys and deer in my in-laws’ back yard. Cassidy was calling them “chickens” all day.

It’s a good thing Andy already got a deer opening day of gun season ;-)

They are such pretty animals.

My nephew Will was born October 5 so this was his first family holiday! Big sister Maddie was giving him a hug.

The new family of four :)

My brother Justin had to work but Kate and Brielle joined us for a bit.

Another holiday newbie this year, Elloree is Justin and Kate’s new baby girl!

My mom and Paul with the kids!

Gabby the nut cracker (there’s an easy joke in there…) She was helping Ben crack open all the nuts, he thought it was the coolest thing.

Andy’s dad carving up the turkey.

Andrew William Honecker! Sneaking turkey before we sit down to eat!

Such a beautiful Thanksgiving table!

The centerpiece was Andy’s mom’s idea, so pretty.

Dinner with family <3

The kids were TIRED by the end of the day.

All tuckered out :)

I’m missing my out of state family…but I am overjoyed I got to spend the holiday with so many different family members in Lockport. During dinner we shared what we were thankful for and I really feel like 2016 has been a wonderful year. We paid off my student loans. Andy and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. And I turned 30 and am so thankful for my full life…I like myself, my husband and kids and our home. I get to work in my field of graphic design, got the chance to work and learn on an organic farm this season AND still get to be Mom. Working hard and enjoying life!

Ben is 6!

by Heather | 0 comments

We celebrated Ben’s 6th birthday this weekend! It was an Octonaut theme, he really likes them and at the moment wants to be an underwater explorer when he grows up. We had some family and friends over and Ben picked a friend from the bus to invite. First time inviting a new friend, it was kind of a big deal :)

Our gift to Ben was an XS snowmobile helmet so he can go on rides with Andy this winter. He got a few slow rides around the yard last year, but if he wants to go on the trails he needs a helmet. Little bobblehead!

Cassidy and Brielle were into Ben’s Pokemon cards.

We lucked out with great weather and the kids got to play outside for a bit!

Make a wish!

Ben and his new friend Lincoln enjoyed powerwheels, nerf guns and running around outside.

Ben couldn’t wait to open his Octonaut gift after everyone went home.

This morning he dug right into his lego sets too! The pirate ship shirt kills me, my mom gave it to him for the first day of school and he LOVES it. I need to start washing it less so he doesn’t have it to wear as soon as it comes back upstairs ;-)

Thanks to everyone who came out to help us celebrate Ben! I don’t know how he’s 6 already but we love him, I think we’ll keep him :)

Fairies

by Heather | 0 comments

The week before school started my mom met us at the Tinker Nature Center in Henrietta. It’s been on my list of local places to explore for a while and I’m so glad we got the chance to! We played on the playground and had a picnic but the highlight was a trail through the woods and all the adorable fairy houses that were set up.

We even found a mama and baby deer in the woods. Can you see them?

Roadtrip!

by Heather | 0 comments

A few weeks ago I took the kids on a roadtrip with my friend Jill and her kids Maggie and Will. We headed to Pennsylvania to visit Sue who had recently moved down there.

We borrowed Jill’s mom’s Tahoe to drive down together. The kids lucked out with the onboard DVD player and movies!

It only took a couple hours to get there and they were pretty good.

The first place we visited (after lunch at Sue’s house) was Penn’s Cave. We did the underground boat ride and animal safari tour there.

The cave stays a constant 50 degrees year round and it felt good as a break from the summer heat. Wouldn’t want to fall in the water though it was SO cold!

Inside the cave was beautiful, we got to see all the neat formations. There were some lights in places and other parts were pitch black.

Coming out of the other side of the cave.

The kids did REALLY well, I wasn’t sure if they’d be scared but they did great.

Next we set out on a safari bus to see the animals in the preserve.

Deer came up for some treats from our bus driver.

“MOO COWS!” Cassidy shouted.

Some of the wolves even came out to get treats too.

Ben said the wolves were his favorite part. He also said we were in Jurassic Park because the gates to each section opened and closed behind us like they do in the movie. Ominous!

After Penn’s Cave we relaxed for the evening at Sue’s house.

It happened to be Cassidy’s birthday while we were gone. We had her party the weekend before but wanted to celebrate that night too. She got a birthday cookie with three candles.

The next day we headed to Penn State for the Kids’ Festival. Sue is BIG into Penn State! I giggled when I saw her garbage cans and grill propane tank boasted team spirit too.

The festival was really neat, there were tons of art, technology and science themed activities for kids to play with.

Grumpy Cassidy. (She had fun, but she was just done here).

Figuring out where to go next.

Will enjoyed the sprinklers and dumping water buckets. He was the first one to go in, I loved that his boldness encouraged the other kids to try it too.

Lots of vendor booths and fun things to see too.

Sue! I realized I have this whole post about our trip to visit her and this is one of the only pictures I took of her. Also, sporting Penn State colors ;-)

The kids exploring the squishy cornstarch flubber stuff.

Ben saying goodbye to Sue’s neighbor’s cat. He was super friendly and wanted to come home with us.

It was a short trip but we had such a fun time! I think one of the highlights for me was when the kids were catching fireflies in Sue’s backyard (no pictures, I actually just enjoyed the moment!) Jill you’re an awesome roadtrip buddy :) And Sue, we missed you, thanks for letting us come visit!

Cassidy is 3!

by Heather | 0 comments

We celebrated Cassidy’s third birthday with a dinosaur princess theme (she loves both of them!) It was SO hot that day we stayed inside for presents and cupcakes, but did take the party outside for a little bit at the end. The kids enjoyed the 3 (yes 3!) power wheels Andy has found and fixed from the dump. We had so much fun with friends and family and Cassidy felt very special.

Cassidy also had her 3yr checkup last week. Height is 36.61″ (40%) and weight is 31lb (54%). She is very much three, one minute she’ll be the sweetest little girl giving you a kiss and bringing a book to read in your lap. A split second later she’s whining and screaming that Ben is sitting on HER side of the couch. My head spins! She’s very smart, counts to 10 and can count to 20 with help. Counting is her favorite (next to reading). She also enjoys “Lego girlfriends” (haha, the Lego Friends geared towards little girls), rubber duckies, sparkly shoes when she’s not barefoot and wooey dresses. She’s WAY more girly that I am, I need to learn how to do more with her hair than just a pony tail. Still adores her big brother (most of the time) and the two of them are good buddies, playing together and making up adventures.

She had been sitting in a booster/highchair we strapped to the regular kitchen chairs and I took it down to wash. I never put it back in so she’s been at the kitchen table like a big girl for a week or two. She’s a pretty good eater but is very slow so I just have to plan on giving her extra time to get through things. Her favorites are blueberries, cheese, waffles with whipped cream and cheese burgers.

She’s perfectly herself, Cassidy Joy!