Halloween 2010

For Halloween this year, Ellie decided she was going to be Ariel from the Little Mermaid.  Great!  We already had an Ariel costume, so that was easy.  Then a couple of weeks before the big day, she came home from school and told me that another girl in her class was going to be Ariel, so she was now going to be a cowgirl.  Um, okay, that doesn't sound too hard either.  I found some adorable cowgirl boots at Target, we headed to the fabric store to get some denim and pink fabric, and Gran whipped up a cute little costume.

We all headed to Ellie's school for her Halloween party and parade.  Jason was dressed up from work (he didn't just dress up for Ellie's party), and Max had a good time watching the kids.  He always loves going to Ellie's school.

We also headed to the zoo on the day before Halloween for Boo at the Zoo.  Ellie decided to mix it up and wear her Ariel costume this day to get a little use out of both costumes.  That trip quite possibly will be our first and last attempt at Boo at the Zoo, because it quite literally was a zoo that day.  There were so many people!! 

Here are the kids on the big night getting ready to collect their goodies.  We had an adorable monkey costume for Max, which of course he absolutely refused to wear.  So we improvised and he was a Mizzou football player.  At least he was comfortable, and maybe the new little guy will want to be a monkey for Halloween one year.

Soccer Time

Ellie had her first season of soccer this fall, with Daddy as the coach.  Papa Mike helped out Jason on the sidelines and with practices - they both said it was like wrangling cats.  Jason was a great coach with the girls...very patient, very playful, and still managed to impart a few basic soccer skills.

Even though at this age group they don't keep score, our Green Machine team was pretty good.  We had a couple of girls that were really good little ball handlers.  However, Ellie's main focus at the games was socializing, and there were many times when the parents were yelling for the girls to turn around and watch the ball rather than tickling each other and giggling.  Max attended all the practices and games with us, and loved every minute of it - maybe even more so than Ellie.

I'm sure we'll be playing soccer for many years to come.

Old Iron Works Days 2010

We went to Meramac Springs last weekend for the annual Old Iron Works days.  We try to go every year, but weren't able to make it last year, so this was Max's first time.  Jason was on his guys' golf weekend trip, so the kids and I met up with Popi and Aunt Laura and Ella to spend the day.

We walked along the path at the fish hatchery.  Isn't this a beautiful shot?  The trees were just starting to turn, and it was a beautiful, warm, fall day.

The kids had a ball playing on the old playground equipment.  I don't think these types of toys are even produced anymore, and probably for good reason.  I'm not one of those parents that is too protective of my children and restricts them from playing and climbing on toys that are meant for children.  But I was still a little anxious while they played on some of these things.  I mean, come on, check out the flying-saucer-type-spinning thing pictured below.  I'm sure many a child has flown off of this thing and has the broken bones to prove it.  But regardless of the danger, the kids loved it.

We arrived a little too early for some of the activities and booths to open, so we walked around for a while.  The booths are mostly demonstration booths of some past art, such as basket weaving, rope making, blacksmithing, etc.  When I was ready to move on to something else, I'd say, "Let's go find a new activity."  Miss Ellie began to catch on and so she told me, "Mom, I like the kinds of activities that we get to do something.  Not just the activities that we have to watch."

So we found her an activity where she could do something - sawing wood.  Ellie and Popi each took an end of the band saw and went to work.  We have pictures of my dad with me and my siblings doing this exact same thing when we weren't much older than Ellie, so this was a neat "activity" to get a picture of Ellie and Popi doing together.  And E was very proud of her slice of wood.

I guess it's about time...

to announce the latest news in the Freed family's world.  We are expecting another baby.  The word has been out for a while, but I just realized that I hadn't posted about it yet, so some people may still be in the dark.  So let me illuminate the situation...

We are expecting baby #3 on February 27, 2011.

We had the "big ultrasound" on September 30 and found out that the men will soon outnumber the women in the Freed household (that means it's a boy!)

Everyone is very excited!!!  Ellie told us that she wanted a little sister, but then soon after said, "but a boy or a girl will be fine."  Yes, she is very mature for a 4-year-old.  Max is still pretty clueless about the whole thing.  I'm just barely starting to show, so nothing has changed in his world yet.  But I'm sure as my belly grows and there is less space on my lap, he'll begin to feel the effects.

This pregnancy has been tougher than the first two.  The first trimester was rather miserable, with nausea and fatigue sticking around most every day.  But thankfully that stage is over.  I'm feeling good nowadays, and my energy level is back (so the house is not a complete mess and my family usually gets a homemade dinner when I'm home).  And now the fun part begins - shopping for tiny, adorable clothes (just a few are needed though because our new little guy will be born about the same time of year that Max was born), picking out nursery decor, and considering names.

Life is going to be crazy with 3 munchkins under the age of 5, but we're looking forward to lots of fun too!

Happy Birthday Miss 4-year-old

Ellie turned 4 at the end of August and we celebrated her birthday at The Little Gym. I kind of procrastinated in getting the party organized and invites out the door, but luckily most of her friends and family were able to come.

She had a ball. She loved all the group activities, especially the parachute. But they played music throughout the party, so most of the time Ellie could be found dancing on the mat - whether anyone else was dancing with her or not.

Granny did an amazing job on the birthday cake, as usual. Ellie and Gran spent a few days looking at pictures of cakes, until Ellie spotted the one that she wanted. Ellie was once again spoiled by all the great gifts everyone gave her, and we spent the next few days reopening presents that she didn't remember opening at the party... so her birthday stretched on a while and what kid doesn't love that.

I can't believe my baby is 4-years-old. Ellie is a smart, energetic, friendly little girl. She loves school and learning new things. She is kind hearted, and heaps tons of love on her baby dolls and her brother. She is our little performer, always singing and dancing. And she keeps it lively around the Freed house. We wouldn't trade her for anything. I love you, E!

Cowboy Nakey

Check out our cute cowboy. We had plans for an adults only outing with friends to see Brooks & Dunn during their farewell tour this summer. As Jason was preparing for the concert and digging his boots and hat out of the back of the closet, Max decided that he wanted in on the fun too. He loved wearing the boots. He would try to take a step and fall down, then he would just giggle till someone set him up right again. Quite adorable, if you ask me.

Silly Kids

My kids can be just plain silly sometimes. Max climbed inside the tiny, little side table and had a good time just hanging out and watching tv with his water. As for Ellie....what can I say there? She is a goofball.

First Day of School

Ellie has started another year of preschool. She now goes three days a week and loves it. Every day she asks whether today is a school day or not. We always get glowing reports from her teacher about what a good listener she is and how smart she is. When I've helped out in the class, I always enjoy watching Ellie interact with her classmates. She can be rather bossy (she's just a natural born leader according to her teacher), and many times will drive the activities in the classroom in whatever direction she thinks it should go that day-- she'll pick out the stories to read, the songs to sing, and when to move on to something else. I don't know where she gets that trait from.

Arizona family visit

My brother and his family came for a visit in the middle of July. Both Ian and Hannah celebrated their birthdays while they were here. There was lots of playing and lots of time spent at Monkey Joe's. Ellie and Max loved having their cousins around. Max followed Ian everywhere he went. I don't think Ian was as excited to have a mini-me as Max was to have a big boy to play with. It's always nice to get to visit with family, and we don't get to see them nearly often enough.

Lake of the Ozarks Week

We had lots of fun at the Lake this year. We of course spent some time at Miner Mike's. Max was big enough to play in the climbing jungle gym and in the balls, though he was little small for the roller coaster. All the kids loved the games and the cheap toys they got when they redeemed their tickets. What a racket that is.

Jason celebrated his birthday (#32...shhhh, don't tell). He got to be the chef for the evening and make his tasty sliders. His celebration was a little late though because we had a wine and cheese tasting event. Some of the ladies had a really good time...just ask them.

We played putt-putt at Pirate's Cove...the best mini golf course at the Lake, in our opinion. Ellie even got to play a round this year for the first time, and she had a great time.

But the highlight of the week was the birth of baby Cole. He was a few days early, but when he was ready, there was no stopping him. Valerie started having contractions, so she, Bryan, and Sue headed up to Columbia. They barely made it to the hospital before Cole was ready to make his debut. Then Mom, Dad, and baby came back down to the Lake the next day!!! Valerie is a wonderwoman.

Freed Cup 2010

The theme for the Freed Cup 2010 was tacky golf, so everyone turned out in their finest. We got quite a few looks walking through the clubhouse. As you can see from the pictures above, some people were a little tackier than others, but everyone had a good time.

We played the dreaded Spongebob Squarepants ball challenge this year. Each team had a Spongebob ball that had to be played on every other hole, and had to be played alternating shots by the couple. On the first hole, I hit first and put a good ball out into the fairway, which then allowed Jason to swing hard. Unfortunately, he was swinging hard with Spongebob (he was the brave one to hit it off the first tee), and it went straight into the woods. We were the last couple to tee off so we were able to spend a little extra time searching for Spongebob in the woods, but with no luck. What is so dreaded about Spongebob is that you have to take a penalty stroke for each hole that you don't play Spongebob, which meant we were starting the round 9 over...that's tough to come back from. On the positive side, it took the pressure off having to deal with Spongebob the whole round.

Most of the teams ended up losing Spongebob sometime during the round, though most lost him much later than we did. We knew we were pretty much out of contention for the trophy this year from the get go, so we just took it easy and had fun. We still ended up tied for second place, and actually played fairly well (minus the Spongebob incident).

The Freed Cup 2010 went to Kristin and Billy (tyed-dyed outfits). Congratulations!!! It was a smart move dating and getting engaged to a good golfer, Kristin. We're going to have to step up our game in the future if we hope to win back the trophy from the soon-to-be Gossetts.