Grace was running a low grade fever today, so we were trying to keep things low key at home. The kids played with Mr. Potato Head.
Then they played Ants in the Pants.
We made mini pizzas for dinner.
And Grace enjoyed some time coloring with markers. 
Grace decided to do nails this afternoon. She started by painting my toenails.
Then she moved on to Gabriel's fingernails.
Finally, she gave Gabriel a little pedicure too.
Gabriel's toes were ticklish. They were both giggling so much as she tried to paint his ticklish toes.
Gabriel repaid the favor. Grace kept saying, "Oh, thank you, Gabriel."
We went to Chic-Fil-A for dinner last night so the kids could play in the play area. We haven't done that since I was off work for the summer.
Daddy and Gabriel made a quick trip to Lowe's while Grace and I stayed and played.
Gabriel is such a nut!
I'm not sure what she was doing in this picture, but I thought it was cute to see her in motion.
Tonight was a very exciting night at the Ellnor house. Gabriel read his first book . . . on his own! He has been wanting to learn to read SO BADLY. He has been learning sight words at school, and he loves to spell words as I sound them out for him. I promised him a few weeks ago that I would make him a book that he could read. I took a few moments at work today to do just that. I'm so proud of him for reading his first book. I'm pretty sure I was beaming tonight when he finished reading it for the first time. Of course, Grandma and Papaw came over to hear Gabriel read.
Mommy could not bring Gabriel without bringing Grace one too. Grace read a book about the letter Gg.
Every now and then I come across a recipe that I truly feel like is a favorite. Dan made this soup Sunday . . . we've made it many times before. But having it for the first time this season reminded me of how much I really love it. So I thought I'd share . . . .
Gabriel came home from preschool Friday with a Weekly Reader (kid's magazine). On the back it suggested taking a nature walk and looking for specific items. Gabriel was very excited about taking a nature walk to find the things on this list, so we set out this afternoon to do just that!
Our first find was this really cool leaf --- red and yellow!
Gabriel found a nice yellow leaf.
He also found a twig.
He and Grace found a nice big rock too.
We found several things as we crossed this bridge.
For example we found this acorn.
A nature walk just wouldn't be a nature walk if you couldn't check your e-mail on your Blackberry, right?
We walked over, under, and around many fallen trees.
Grace found a gum ball from a gum tree.
Any time Grace and I lagged behind, which was often, Daddy and Gabriel would find someplace to hide from us.
I wonder what these two were discussing? I'm sure Daddy was explaining something very important to Gabriel. They always have very deep discussions.
I thought these berries were pretty.
Daddy found a swing that was perfect for Grace.
I made the kids pose for one more picture together before we left the trail. We had so much fun on our nature walk. It's something we definitely need to do more often!
We went to Derby Dinner this morning to see The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. This was the first time the kids have been to Derby Dinner, so they didn't know what to expect. They just knew that we had to dress "fancy." Miss Grace is such a little diva. She loaded her coat pockets up with necklaces and her sunglasses before we left our house.
Bravo the Star came to visit all of the tables. Grace was excited to see him, but she did not want to get close enough to pose for a picture with him. Luckily, Gabriel was a good sport.
Here are our friends who came to watch play with us: Preston, Grace, Gabriel, Jake, Sam, and Sam.
We went to Lapping Park tonight for hayrides, s'mores, music, and fun.
The Parks Dept. hosted this event. They sold makings for s'mores and had a fire so you could roast your marshmallows. Mmm . . . Ya know I love a s'more!
Gabriel had a s'more too.
Daddy roasted a marshmallow, but he and Grace opted for hot dogs.
Daddy hates to wear the same color as someone else in the family. He doesn't like to "match" anyone else. So I had to get a picture of him and Grace in their MATCHING green jackets.
There was face painting for the kids. Grace wanted a heart.
Gabriel wanted a blue butterfly. He cried tonight after his bath when he realized that his butterfly had washed off. Poor kid!
The kids were SO excited to go trick or treating Sunday night! It was a chilly evening, so they wore their jackets underneath their costumes. I think the jackets took away from the cuteness of their costumes, but oh well . . . .
This is how most of trick or treating looked for us. Gabriel was always a house ahead of us or waiting for Grace and me to catch up with him.
Wow! This house gave out treat bags!
A little more than half way through, Grace got tired and wanted to ride in the wagon. Gabriel was still good to go. Grace rode in the wagon and chowed down on candy while Gabriel continued to trick or treat. This chick ended up eating peanut M&M's, Nerds, suckers, and Smarties for dinner. Good thing Halloween is only once a year!
The kids and I went with Grandma and Papaw today to Kentucky Down Under. It is a really cool park in Horse Cave, Kentucky that is all about Australia. Grandma is the bird lady, so she quickly found some birds to talk to.
These two pictures are out of order. We visited the lorikeets first thing, so they were hungry. They practically attacked us when we entered their enclosure.
Papaw became easy friends with this cockatoo. He/She loved to have its belly rubbed. Grace kept reprimanding him, saying, "The sign says don't put your fingers in the cage, Papaw!"
Grace did not like the lorikeet attack. I love this picture because it captures the panic on her face as she yelled, "Mommy, help me!"
See . . . I told you . . . she's the bird woman.
Next, we went to the wool shed. Gabriel and Grace were chosen to feed the sheep.
Grace loved it, surprisingly. She said, "It doesn't hurt!" Did she think the sheep were being sent in to eat HER?
Gabriel and I took a try at milking a cow. It was pretty easy. I'm sure I wouldn't say that if I had to fill the bucket with milk.
Grace wouldn't look at the camera because she was freaking out about being so close to the animals.
Gabriel pet each one of them.
Our next stop was the cave tour. I ended up having to carry Grace through the entire cave. She was scared through the entire tour.
Who gave this little guy permission to grow up so fast. As I was looking at the pictures of our day, I just felt like all of the pictures of Gabriel look so grown up.
Grace and Papaw checked out an emu.
It was really cool to pet a kangaroo. 
Gabriel was chosen to come up front and help play the digeridoo. (I have no clue how to spell that!) **Insert Gabriel walking backwards off of the "stage" here.** Luckily, he wasn't hurt.
He jumped back up on the stage and continued to play.
Grace couldn't wait for a turn to play one too!
Our last stop was Gross Anatomy. The kids had to put their hands in bucket of "stuff" and guess what the "guts" were. They guessed things like boogers, eyeballs, kidneys, and a stomach.
Really, it was tapioca pudding, spaghetti noodles, grapes, and boiled eggs.
