Early Thanksgiving with the Bollengiers

This weekend, Bill and Crissy hosted us for an early Thanksgiving because Aunt Marilyn was in town. We had a lovely day full of cooking, eating, playing, catching up, and being reminded of how blessed we are with such a wonderful family. It was such fun to see Connor and Baylee play together. They were great friends and followed one another everywhere! Mal, we missed you!

Aunt Bonnie sharing whipped cream with the kids!

More Halloween pictures... we had a lovely holiday with our dear friends, Liz, Greg and Madeline. Maddie and Connor were the cutest monkeys I've ever seen!

Connor's 3rd Halloween!

We had a lovely Halloween again this year. Connor was so much fun and had been looking forward to the day for a week! He kept asking if it was Halloween yet, and was thrilled when the day finally came. We spent the weekend in Modesto and practiced Trick-or-Treating at Mimi's house, Grandma and Grandpa's house and Great Grandma and Great Grandpa's house. Then we headed back home and Mandy and Chad and Liz and Greg came over to celebrate with us. We shared a meal of chili and cornbread, watched the Giants win game 4 of the Worls Series and took Connor Trick-or-Treating around our neighborhood. Connor had a great time visiting with all the neighbors and getting lots of treats. He was so polite and said "Thank you" and "Happy Birthday Halloween" at each house. I've put some pictures below, but for some reason, we lost most of the pictures we took of the day (so Mom, Jill, Mandy, and Liz- if you got any good shots please email them to me!).

Happy Birthday Auntie Mandy!

Yesterday was Auntie Mandy's birthday. Mimi drove up and we met her for dinner and dessert at Claim Jumpers and then headed to Disney on Ice. It was certainly a selfless gesture on Mandy's part to plan such a Connor-friendly event for her birthday. Connor had a blast! His eyes were glued on the skaters for the entire show. He clapped, danced, cheered, and shouted "Wow!" often. It was so exciting to see how much he enjoyed it. We all watched Connor more than we watched the show! Happy Birthday Sis! I love you very much!

Fun with friends and family

This is Miss Sophia with Connor. Connor adores her and is constantly asking about her. Isn't she adorable? She's 5 months old!

Mandy met us for a picnic at the park near her house. Connor always has fun with Auntie Mandy!

Beyer High Class of 2000 Reunion

Hard to believe it's been 10 years since high school!

From high school sweethearts, to husband and wife & mom and dad!

The day after the reunion, we had a Family Day at the park. Here is Connor and me with my good friend Lindsay and her kids, Kaitlyn, Taylor, and Kolten.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we joined with our friends and went to Dave's Pumpkin Patch in West Sacramento. We had a great time and it was so fun to go with such good friends. Connor had fun seeing the animals, playing with the pumpkins, jumping in the bounce house, riding a pony, going on a hay ride, and watching the pumpkin cannon (Daddy's favorite part!). It was another beautiful day and beautiful memory!

Connor's 1st Cal Game

This weekend, we went to Cal's Homecoming against UCLA. It was a wonderful day! We started by touring Mommy's college and spent some time on Memorial Glade where I used to study outside. Instead of studying, we played lots of carnival games, went in a bounce house, and ate some Fenton's ice cream! Connor had a blast! Then we hiked up campus and met Greg and Liz at the game. We had a blast with our good friends, Connor enjoyed cheering, "Go Bears!" and we left with a victory to brag about to Mal! It was very sentimental to be back at Cal with my family and getting to show Connor around my old stomping grounds. I have a feeling Connor is going to be a Berkeley Bear someday!

Connor's 1st Camping Trip

This weekend, our family headed up to the foothills to Pollock Pines to a campground called Sly Park. We had a FABULOUS weekend and even though Michael and I consider ourselves much more of hotel-travelers, we realized camping is really a perfect vacation for Connor. We headed up Friday morning and spent two nights in the great outdoors. Since Mandy and Chad are experienced campers, they went up Thursday night and set up the camp site for us, and also planned and cooked all of the meals while we were camping. We ate better than we do at home... stir-fry, tri-tip, turkey burgers, teriyaki trout, and more. It was delicious! Our activities included boating, swimming, feeding the ducks, watching Peetie the squirrel, skipping rocks, singing campfire songs, roasting marshmallows, playing board games, napping, etc. It truly was a relaxing weekend and I really felt like we were able to get away! Towards the end of Saturday night, Michael and I started to complain about not having shower facilities, which I think jinxed us all... we woke up around 3am to a down pour. The rain continued and we had to pack up camp in the rain this morning. I can't remember the last time we were that dirty! Even with the rain and dirt- it was a very fun and memorable weekend. On the drive home, Michael and I reflected and decided that camping would no doubt be a part of our future... mainly because of the joy and excitement we witnessed in Connor's eyes. He was happy, filled with joy and wonderment, and so excited to be free and able to explore nature. Thanks to Auntie Mandy and Uncle Chad for planning such a fun adventure! Mallory- we missed you!