Our Little Pumpkins

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend. As you can see, The Casillas Family went all out with the pumpkins this year thanks to Abel. He bought a special kit and special tools and we each picked a cool design. As fun as it was....it took 3 hours! Carmen was done soon after we cut into her pumpkin. She politely excused herself to the hole to play and said, "you do it daddy!" Gianni actually reached inside and pulled out seeds and gunk but was not pleased about it. He sat patiently for three hours just watching and helping where ever he could. He really enjoyed the process.
While the pumpkin cutting adventure was taking place I was chopping up: onion, carrot, celery, cabbage, kale, garlic and was simmering away in chopped tomatoes, chicken broth, and cannelini bean puree. I made a huge pot of Ribollita Soup. I made enough for lunches this week, dinner tomorrow, and plenty for the freezer. I do not put the bread into the soup but we are cracking into a loaf of Rosemary Bread tomorrow night for dinner. Gianni loves my soup! Carmen...no way...there are vegetables in it!

After watching, and screaming, and praying, and yelling for the Cardinals to win their game, we finally turned off the TV and had dinner with Sydney, Holly, and Adam. Adam made greek turkey burgers and I made grilled vegetables. It was delicious. We cleaned up from dinner, put the kids in costumes, and it was outside for trick or treating. This is our first Halloween in the new neighborhood so we were excited.

Gianni was bumble bee the Transformer and Carmen was what she felt was a butterfly.

The first round was the dads. They took the kids down street number one while Holly and I gave out candy. Then it was time for the mommy rotation.

It was a very successful Halloween. The neighborhood was warm, welcoming, and people were everywhere. Very different from our old neighborhood. It was a fun family weekend.

Pumpkin Adventure

This weekend we ventured out to a local pumpkin patch. The kids played on slides, old tires, a bounce house, and a sandbox filled with corn kernels. They also entered a petting zoo where they both fed goats and pet horses.

The kids took a ride all by themselves on a train that took them into a corn field. After the train ride we went through a corn maze in the field and had lots of popcorn to eat! In this picture just below you can see that they stuck their heads in a vegetable sign with our friend Evan (the green pepper). Evan and Gianni have been friends since preschool.

We didn't find any great pumpkins in the field but purchased 4 perfect pumpkins at the little stand on our way out.

On Sunday we watched the Cardinals game together and then had a fire in the back yard. The kids roasted marshmellows and it was such a relaxing end to the weekend.

Carmen took this picture!

Birthday Baby

Friday was Carmen's 3rd Birthday! We started the morning with Birthday Mickey Mouse Pancakes topped with a candle. After breakfast, we cleaned up and headed out to paint pottery. Daddy took the day off so that we could enjoy some family time. We happened to run into Sydney and her grandma at the pottery place so we all painted together.
After nap, it was time to get dressed up for our annual family photos. Can't show them to you yet but you will see them soon. After we returned home, the kids played in the backyard as they waited for Abel's sister to arrive from California. We sang to Carmen and did a little ice cream cake before going to bed.

Saturday was absolutely crazy but it went off perfectly. We started off at Carmen's dance class. Carmen did great and had fun doing their new dance to the "Monster Mash." Then it was off to lunch and then we hurried to Gianni's first baseball game of the fall season. His team is called "The Dragons."

Gianni hit the ball every time he was up to bat and to top it off he hit it at the first pitch! It probably helped that Abel took over the pitching for the coach (who we love dearly but he isn't the best picther) so Gianni got to hit off of daddy.

Then it was home for a quick shower and off to Carmen's Birthday Party. Carmen's party was held at the little gym. This was sooooo worth the money. They set up, they clean up, they help open presents, they write down what she gets and from who, they read the cards, they cut and serve the cake. What did I do.....sat back, took pictures, and watched! It was great!

My baby is three and she loved her special day. We were so happy to have all of our friends with us to help her celebrate. After the party it was supposed to be time for a pumpkin patch but Abel, the kids, and Abel's sister and family were all pooped...ok I was too. We went home and grilled up some dinner and just hung out in the backyard. Justin's fiance Rachel came over as well and joined us for dinner. It was a perfect end to a perfect day. The kids were in bed by 7:20 and I was asleep at 8:30. Back to work tomorrow : (

Our Crafty Day

Today Gianni, Carmen, and I spent the day together...just the three of us! We headed off at about 830am to the Phoenix Children's Museum. The kids played hard until almost noon and then convinced me to take them to Peter Piper Pizza for food and games. Gianni's favorite events at the museum were the bikes, indoor climber, and a new maze that is made out of hay in their outdoor courtyard.

Carmen's favorites were shopping (where she loaded her cart with every single banana until one parent said, "what's with the girl and not letting anyone else have a banana?"), the pretend kitchen, and the scarves.
Normally around 10am we hit the art room which is usually a brief visit. Not today. The Casillas Family was in touch with their inner creativity today. This time the art room was a huge success. The two crafts were spooky Halloween trees made out of paper bags and spiders. The kids did both. They painted and had a puppet show as well. The kids were very crafty today!

To add to the craftiness of the day, after dinner all four of us painted pumpkins. The kids had so much fun making faces on their pumpkins....and ok... mommy and daddy had fun too.

We ended the evening by filling Carmen's party favor bags for her guests. Her birthday is Friday but her party is Saturday. We formed a little assembly line of four at the table and loaded the bags with Dora stickers, Mickey Mouse tatoos, stencils, bubbles, and chocolate of course! Carmen LOVES CHOCOLATE! Especially M&M's which she wanted to give to her guests. She is very excited for the weekend because her friend Payton's mom called today to RSVP for the party. She goes to daycare with Payton and this will be the first time we have daycare kids at one of our parties. It made her day to know that Payton will be there. Every night when we go around the table and say the best parts of our day...she always says, "playing with Payton!"

Ok, so fall break is almost over. Oh how fast it has gone. Won't be posting tomorrow. Taking the day off. Big posts to come on Friday and Saturday. Friday Daddy has taken the day off so that we can take Carmen some place special for her birthday and Saturday we have (let's see where should I start) dance class at 10am, Gianni's first baseball game of the Fall season, Carmen's party, a pumpkin patch event, and family in from California! Busy busy.

Fall Freedom

Ok mom...I know you are going to look at these pictures and say, "Kristin, I thought you were supposed to be doing nothing over your fall break!" Mom, this is NOTHING. Taking the kids to the park and just hanging out is NOTHING.

On Monday, I got up about 6am and took a 2.5 mile jog. It's nice and cool at that time and there is light! I took my cell phone mother. Then it was off to Holly and Sydney's where we had breakfast and then plopped the kids on their bikes for about a 1/2 mile ride to the park.

The kids played for about an hour or 2 at the park. Carmen played in the sand for much of the time after discovering the ladders are not her thing (she fell pretty hard on her bottom) and the other two played tag and climbed the rock wall.

Today, Holly had her surgery on her foot so Syd was dropped off at about 7am. First, we washed the car together. Next, it was off to the park for a while. Lunch was baked chicken nuggets, noodles, grape tomatoes, and apple slices! They ate early at about 11am because they played so hard all morning.

Time to make Halloween cookies. I will probably be vacuuming up sprinkles for a week and I am pretty sure Sydney's hands are stained from food coloring but it kept them occupied.

Fall also makes me think about football! Carmen is a true Cardinals Fan. She loves her red birds and cheers them on every Sunday. After the game on Sunday she played tackle football with Gianni in the bachyard and we roasted marshmellows in the fire.

The Casillas Family does love FALL!

Supper Club 2

Thank you to Jenni for taking the pictures for the evening! I hope that this tradition goes on for years to come. As you can tell we had a blast at the event.

Supper Club

This Saturday, Abel and I hosted our very first Supper Club. For those people that know my mom, this would be called Gourmet. The club is made up of three other couples and our first meal was a Fall Harvest theme. The menu was:

Mexican Pumpkin Punch

Cranberry Meatballs

Pear Cheddar Turnovers

Cranberry Gorgonzola Spinach Salad

Curried Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

Maple Walnut Chicken Thighs w/ Cheddar Apple Rice

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Everything was delicious! It was so nice to have 4 hours with three other couples and not have to be watching the kids. "Amanda the Amazing" took our kids to Holly's house and watched Carmen, Gianni and Sydney all at once. This evening was probably the most fun I have had in a while. Between each course we ventured into the backyard and relaxed by the fire. The weather was perfect. Good friends, good food, and good conversation. I can't wait for the next one in January.

When Jenni sends me pictures of people I will post those. For now....just the food!