Thanksgiving in CA

It was crazy. Drive to Chicago, fly to CA, drive all over the state to see friends and family, fly back to Chicago, and drive back to Iowa. If it ever occurs to you to do this with two babies...don't. Especially if they are sick. But, that being said, we had a great time seeing people we love.

Stop 1-Visiting Bel and Jen

Russell was fascinated by the sand

Quint was intrigued by the waves (and still talks about them)

the must have family beach pic

Momma, Daddy and our little lover

BK and Bel

Bel and Jen (our fabulous friends)

It was great to see Bel and Jen. So great to see friends and pick up right were you left off. They were so wonderful with the boys too:) But, before nap time we packed the car and headed to Fresno for

Stop 2-Fresno (The other Richardsons, and "the guys")

Aunt Sandy is an amazing cook, the boys got in on the action

Quint and Aunt Sandy making frosting

Uncle Paul with the boys

Family dinner, it was a feast and full of sweet family time

Quint made a new friend, Maggie

Russell was not so sure of Maggie but loved the attention from Uncle Paul and Aunt Sandy

Fun in Fresno, picking delicious fruit on the side of the road

The boys looking for a good one:)

BK with some of his best friends.

Sunday morning we said goodbye to Aunt Sandy and Uncle Paul, and Fresno. We made the familiar drive to Sacramento and waved out the window to Davis. We spent the rest of our trip in Lincoln at Grandma Sylvia's house with BK's sister Stephanie, her husband Bobby, the boys only true cousins, Grace and Katie. The boys were sick which was a huge bummer, but we still managed to get in some bonding time:) Some highlights, we managed to get a family picture, Bobby took Grace and Quint to the fire station (he is a real firefighter in VA). We made it to the CA train musuem (Quint was in heaven). We celebrated two birthdays in the group. We were blessed with a visit from Gloria and Jess, and Kristin and Andy.

Stop 3-Grandma Richardson's house

The whole family. We may live in three different time zones but we look good together:)

Bobby turned 26

Grandma Sylvia celebrated another year:)

How wonderful that Kristin, Andy, Gloria and Jess could make it for dinner!

Grace and Quint explore the fire truck

Quint and Uncle Bobby at the fire station

Uncle BK and Grace bonded.

She calls him "a tall drink of water"

All the cousins

Quint is Three!

Big Day around here....

Today Quint turns Three!

Quint is:

a builder

interested in construction

caring big brother

independent

helper

silly

great player

fun

English speaker

train lover

our first little blessing

Quint's birthday fell on Game Day. He loves trains, especially the Hawkeye Train. We drive by where they park the Hawkeye train, and he always points it out. We knew he would love to ride it. We talked about it, and he almost jumped out of his chair! He was so excited, and kept say, "we go on the Hawkeye train today?" Finally, it was his birthday, and we had a great day!

We love you Quint!

It Goes too Fast.

Recently we took this video of Quint playing. It just occurred to me that it goes so fast. I know he is only three, but everyone tells me you blink and they are 18. I feel like I blinked and he was 3. Just trying to take it all in. I know I am overdue for a Russell video so don't worry that is on the way soon:)

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Lions and Tigers in our house!

October 31st was full of anticipation around here:

Halloween

Watching the Football People

A Big Football Game

A Lion and Tiger were emerging from our house

Trick or Treating

Staying Up Late

The day lived up to the hype. We had a great time watching the football people, the football team won, the lion and tiger came out and were very scary, the treats were tasty:)

Our Halloween in Pictures:

Scary Lion
Lion Roars
Tiger Roars

Tiger Roars More

Trick or Treat

Our Pumpkin at Night

A walk in town with Grammy and Papa

Our move brought us much closer to downtown and in a great walking location. We took Grammy and Papa for a walk around our new zone. It was a gorgeous fall day, and we had a great time. Dad got some great shots. Here are a few:

Family pic, downtown

Walking on Undergrad campus

Cute pic of our favorite footbridge

I love the play structure with the boys, but everything is better with a Starbucks:)

Quint showing Daddy his new climbing skills

Grammy sending Russell down the slide!

He made it!

Quint showing his exuberance

Grammy and Papa Visit!

Grammy and Papa came to visit us this past weekend! We had been talking about with with Quint for a while....he would say "Grammy and Papa coming on the airplane?" "we go to the airport?" The count down to the visit was tough for Quint. The morning we went to pick up Grammy, Quint woke up and said, "go get Grammy today?!?" Obviously, we were excited:) Russell was a little sick but we still managed to have a great visit. Here are some pictures of Grammy and Papa with the boys. More activity pictures to come:)

Thanks for the great visit! We miss you!

Apple picking....

Visiting the apple orchard is big out here. So, when Aunt Rebecca was into we made the trip. What is the saying "when in Rome..." It was a bit chilly out but we had a great time. Quint loved picking the apples and carrying them in his bucket, and Russell loved to eat them. It worked out great. Don't know if I could have done it alone, it was awesome having Aunt Rebecca there to share the memory and help me make sure I didn't lose one:)

It wasn't a big sign....and just a little one way dirt road.

There is so much to love about our state:)

Look Apples!

Russell is a walker...thank goodness, it was a hike to the good apples

Aunt Rebecca and Quint picking an apple

Russell eating the apple

Quint was so proud to carry his own bucket

In the orchard

Look at my apples!

Very Iowa, it really is that cute

Still eating apples...on the way home:)

He shares my love!

I love sunglasses...specifically big sunglasses:) It brings me so much joy to think Russell might share my love. Even if he outgrows it, he looks so cute now!

Defender of our Castle

We moved into a very old house which has been renovated into apartments. Although we only live in about 700 square feet of the building, Quint refers to it as "our castle". I agree, it is much more fun to say we live in a castle than an apartment. Our whole family has adapted the label.

Recently, Quint decided he needed to defend our "castle". We determined the vacuum attachment was also a very nice sword. Here are some pictures of him defending our castle.

He was very intimidating...I think that guy is nervous:)

The man went away, and Quint declared victory!

FIrst trip to the dentist

Today Quint had his first trip to the dentist. The doctor recommended it a while back, but he didn't even have that many teeth. Now he has a mouth full and I thought it would be good practice. We went to the college and had a dental resident. He was great. I have to admit, I dislike the dentist alot so it kinda freaked me out, but he did great.