A little bit of this and that

 Here's the random pictures I've taken the last little bit that don't need an entire post but still deserve to make it onto the blog -

Keller LOVES Aunt Janessa and Uncle Brent.  They came to one of Vance's soccer game but don't tell Keller.  He definitely thought they were there for him.

Chad and I had a date night (say what??!!) thanks to Aunt Amy and Uncle David having the boys over for a sleepover.  We went down to The Linq and looked around.  It was a fun night and we will definitely be going back.  My favorite store was the Polaroid Fotobar. It was awesome!! We snapped a quick pic just for fun :)

 We took another trip to the Strip with Janessa, Brent, and the boys to check out the Bellagio garden and watch the water show.  The boys made us stop and take a picture with the super heroes.  Call me crazy but I don't remember Captain America looking quite like this...

 I have been having so much fun getting ready for the baby.  I love Etsy, but it's dangerous to the pocketbook :)  I recently made a few purchases and think they are adorable. I can't wait for this baby!

Speaking of baby...here's my latest pregnant selfie :)

Apex Fun Run

Vance's school put on a fun run fundraiser.  The kids had a week to get pledges and at the end of the week the big run took place.  They could run a maximum of 36 laps which was a little over 2 miles.  Everyday they had a cute little lesson they taught the kids about finding their inner strength. It was really cute and Vance loved every minute of it! He called grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. and got lots of pledges (thanks everyone)!

Finally it was time for the big run.  Parents and siblings were encouraged to come and cheer the kids on.  Keller was excited to see his big brother (not so excited that he couldn't run too).

 I took a few pictures of the kids before they started -

 Then the fun run began and off they went!

 Vance ran and ran and ran.  They only had a certain amount of time to run and Vance really wanted to complete all 36 laps.  

 Keller sat in the middle of the field and just watched all of the kids run around in circles.  He would occasionally yell "woohoo" or "Go Vance!"

 I was so proud of Vance.  He got tired and hot but he did his best to keep running.  He walked here and there but I could definitely see him pushing himself.

 He did it with only about 1 minute to spare! He completed all 36 laps!!! 

Way to go Vance! Now go collect that money :)

Golden Pumpkin

We invited the Waldrons over for a little Halloween fun.  We thought it would be fun to carve pumpkins together.  Everyone brought a fun snack/treat to share:

My boys were excited to meet their new cousin, Silvia. The look on Keller's face cracks me up. I can't wait for him to be a big brother!

 Then we played a little game that's normally called "button, button who has the button?" but we played with a small rubber pumpkin and changed the name accordingly :) It's a simple game we've played with my family for years and the kids always love it.  We introduced it to the Waldrons and the kids had a blast.

 Finally it was time to start carving!!!

 Luckily Grandpa, Vance, and Daddy helped clean the pumpkins.  I don't like that part.  I'm a girl...

 These three munchkins clearly had a plan.  All they needed were carving tools and they were off! 

 On Pinterest one day, I got the idea for pumpkin drilling.  I immediately knew my family would prefer that a million times over carving.  The kids always lose patience with carving and Mommy and Daddy are left to finish. They are always asking to use the drills so I knew they would be thrilled to use them on their pumpkins. I couldn't wait for them to try it!

 It was a huge hit. Vance came up with a design and Keller just drilled lots of holes into his pumpkin.

 I wanted to try it too. Mine was just a simple pattern, but I like how it turned out. I think they all looked awesome and we will definitely remember this fun idea next year!

 Once everyone was done, we took them outside and put some candles in them. 

It was adorable how excited Vance was. He was pretty proud of himself. The cool thing about drilling instead of carving is that it really was his creation that he could execute on his own.  That kid is so fun and awesome!

 Keller thought they were all pretty cool.  He's so funny.  He didn't really want to look at the outside but kept taking the tops of all the pumpkins and looking at the inside. Silly boy!

 Here's all of our glowing creations -

 Then everyone voted for the best pumpkin to see who would be the winner of the Golden Pumpkin...

 Brent was the winner, but Janessa and Vance tied for a close second.  You better watch out next year Brent. We are coming for you and that Golden Pumpkin! :)

Oktoberfest

We had our annual Sutton Oktoberfest at my parent's house.  It is one of my most favorite family traditions.  My mom had the house decorated so cute and it felt so festive.

We brought our Halloween chocolates for everyone to snack on -

 My mom had the spooky prizes out to get everyone excited about the evening's activities. 

 Everyone brought some food to share.  My mom and dad made lots.  They had spider cookies,  yolkenstein eggs, 

Amy always brings jalapeño pinwheels.  They are kind of a lot of work but so freakin' delicious.  You rock Amy!

 I found these cute Halloween photo props at Michaels and gave them to my mom to use at the Oktoberfest.  Everyone had fun posing for the camera.

 Keller wanted to eat his "pumpkin poop" (aka cheese balls) all night.  He did NOT want to share.  Shocker :)

 I was super impatient and wanted to open my birthday present from my parents right away.  Leslie and I tried to take a photo with the two birthday girls but everyone thought they were funny and kept photo bombing us.

 We threatened them with their lives and eventually got a picture of just the two of us!

 My gift where these comfy grey boots I have been wanting.  Thanks Mom and Dad...they are perfection!!!

 Even though it was near 80 degrees the day of the Oktoberfest Chad declared it fall.  He insisted that if we wore fall clothes it would help fall weather arrive.  We obliged him (and were consequently hot the rest of the evening).

 Briton and her roommate, Nicole, had a week off of school so they were able to be at the Oktoberfest .  It was fun to see her again and my boys were thrilled.  We snapped a quick picture of our matching boots :)

 Then it was onto our first activity for the evening - musical chairs.  In our family musical chairs is serious business.  We have no mercy and we are all playing to win.

 My dad was in charge and also the referee.  And yes...we did have to consult him for the final ruling more than once.

This picture of Leslie and I is my absolute favorite of the night.  I did a freaking ninja roll over Chad to end up in the chair just before Leslie dove at it.  I will be framing this and displaying it at Leslie's house :)

 Amy did her best to claim she was more on the chair than Chad, but Dad ruled Chad was on the chair.  That left Briton and Chad in the finals.

 Chad may not have played fair.  He did however win the game and was crowned musical chair champion!

 Next up was face painting.  Keller wanted to be Heat Wave (a transformer) so Briton helped him. 

 Vance wanted me to make him a scary skeleton face.

 Here were all of the entries in the face painting contest with Grandma and Grandpa.

 Vance won and picked his prize.  Halloween Crunch cereal...good pick son!!!!

 I requested homemade chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles for my birthday dinner.  It was so good and there was even enough left over for me to enjoy it a few more times.  Thanks Mom and Dad!

 After dinner settled, we made caramel apples.  My mom had all of the toppings out for us.  Everyone has their own "apple dipping" technique.   It's funny to watch everyone try to make their apple just like they want it.  Most of us put them in the fridge to set when we are done...

 Not Keller!!! He dug right in and started eating it!

 The last activity of the evening was Halloween bingo.  

 As always, we all had a blast! I love the Oktoberfest!!! I know it is a lot of work for my parents but I'm so glad they don't ever seem to mind and don't let that keep them from being the awesome grandparents they are!