Show Us Your Life - Halloween Costumes

Kelly is hosting yet another "Show Us Your Life" tour. This week the theme is Halloween costumes. It certainly will be exciting to see everyone's costumes....such a fun, fitting theme for this Friday. I am posting pictures of my son, Kyle, dresssed in his costumes since he was born. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Kyle in his costume this year yet, but he will be a fireman! Please visit Kelly's Korner to view many more adorable and creative Halloween costumes.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Happy Halloween!

October 2005

Kyle was born premature and spent his very first Halloween in the NICU. Here he is dressed as the Tin Man. Kyle's little NICU neighbor was dressed as Dorothy

so they certainly made an adorable little couple.

October 2006

My husband and I couldn't decide what Kyle should be for Halloween this year, so he had two costumes. The first picture, he is dressed as a little pumpkin,

which was Mommy's choice.

October 2006

Kyle's second costume was a dinasour, which was Daddy's choice.

October 2007

Kyle dressed as a lion...Roar!!! October 2008 Kyle dressed as Thomas the Train

LSU Snuggie

I recently found my new best friend, well, at least for the upcoming winter...an LSU Snuggie. This blanket with sleeves will definitely keep me nice and toasty when the freezing temperatures arrive in the coming months. They are sold in a variety of colors and even sell snuggies for children as well as dogs! I'm certain Kyle and Chloe wouldn't appreciate one, but I'm convinced John will be wanting one very soon! If interested, check out College Snuggie, to see if they make one for your favorite college team.

Pumpkinland at Thies Farm

The last several weeks we have seen rain, rain, and more rain, so outdoor activities have been somewhat limited. This past Sunday, however, it wasn't raining and the sun was shining so we decided to head out to Thies Farm so Kyle could experience some fall and Halloween fun! Thies Farm has an area called Pumpkinland for the children to run, play, and explore. The area has many activities including tractors to ride, mazes made with hay bales, pumpkins, a hay ride, and a pirate ship. There is also pony rides and farm animals to keep the little ones entertained. We all enjoyed our time enjoying the pretty weather and having a little fall fun at the same time! Of course, we took pictures so I am sharing several for your viewing pleasure!

Kyle loved riding in the tractor tire swing!

Kyle also enjoyed playing in the large area of hay. Kyle making his way through one of the hay bale mazes.

The Spence Family at Thies Farm It's a must for Kyle to pose with the pumpkins although at the time he was more interested in watching the tractor being used for the hay ride.

Hello Out There...

I'm back! Well, at least I hope so. I have completely neglected the blog for six weeks or more and am very disappointed in myself. With my disappearance, there are obviously many posts to catch up on. I will be back dating many posts to correspond to the day the event, etc. actually took place. Unfortunately, I have been very out of touch with the blog world and find that I have missed keeping up with many blogs I used to read on a daily basis. I truely, hope to clear my Google Reader account soon and officially get back into my regular blogging routine.

Hello Fall

Goodbye Summer...Hello Fall! Fall is such a pretty season with the leaves changing. In the STL area the leaves are much more vibrant and beautiful than in years past...maybe because we have had more rain than usual. On this Sunday morning, we decided to take a colorful and scenic drive. We headed out to the wine country area to a little park John spotted in the past. Klondike Park was the perfect destination to enjoy the fall leaves. With several different walking trails and an overlook to the Missouri River there was plenty for Kyle to explore.

During our site seeing of the area, we made a very special, small world meeting. At one point, John was calling Kyle Robert and a mother and son approached us to say that the son's name was Kyle Robert. It was such a coincidence, especially since we very rarely say Kyle Robert in public. We continued talking and soon realized that the lady works in the NICU at the very same hospital where Kyle spent the first 86 days of his life. She has worked in the unit for 25 years so she was there when we were, but we didn't have the opportunity to meet her during Kyle's stay. She was so happy to meet Kyle and was amazed at how well he is doing for a former 25 weeker. I think it makes her remember why she does her job each and every day. She was such a sweet lady and it was such a special treat to meet her....we were meant to each be in Klondike Park on this day, at this time! Next time we make a visit to the NICU, we will certainly check to make sure she is working! It just goes to show that it really is a very small world!

Below are several pictures from our fall family outing! Enjoy!

Day Out With Thomas - 2009

Saturday, October 17th we took Kyle to his second "Day Out With Thomas" event. He still loves anything and everything Thomas and Friends so we knew he would have a ball seeing him up close and personal once again. As expected, Kyle was so excited to take the twenty five minute train ride with Thomas. He was also able to take his picture in front of Thomas the Train and also with Sir Topham Hatt. Kyle was thrilled to see Sir Topham Hatt at first and even gave him a high five, but after several minutes he was rather unsure about the huge railway suprentindent, as you can see in the photo below. Kyle even received a special personalized letter from Sir Topham Hatt, which will be a great souvenier for him to treasure in the future. It was a great day for The Spence Family and it is always wonderful to see the joy on Kyle's face when he is experiencing the world around him.

Kyle and his favorite train, Thomas

Who is this huge railway conductor...Sir Topham Hatt

Happy to be taking a ride with Thomas

Wisconsin Dells - Day One

Our first full day in Wisconsin Dells was plenty of fun for The Spence Family. A very unique, popular must see tourist attraction in the area is a duck boat ride so we went to experience the duck ride first hand. There are several companies which offer the ride, but today we went to the Dells Army Ducks for a one hour land and water tour. This is a guided tour which takes you on a cruise on Lake Delton, The Wisconsin River and which also makes two amphibious landings. This area is known for their 14,000 year old rock formations specially named Twin Ink Stand, Upside Down Heart, and a Wedding Bell..hence the shape of the rock formations.

The ride began on land and eventually we made a splash into Lake Delton. We were dressed in anticipation that we may get very wet entering the water, however we did stay completely dry. After cruising the lake we made our first amphibious landing until making another splash entrance into the Wisconsin River. This is where we saw all the beautiful, one of a kind rock formations. It was a great outing to begin our vacation and most of all Kyle really enjoyed cruising along in the duck.

One of the many duck boats

Kyle enjoying the ride

The Wisconsin River

Rock Formation

Another Rock Formation This is a private residence along Lake Delton. It actually belongs to the person who owns one of the large water parks in the area...very impressive Kyle and Mommy flying the army helicopter while waiting for our duck tour to begin.

Kyle driving the army jeep.

After our tour it was time for lunch. We drove around for a short while in the downtown Wisconsin Dells area to find a lunch spot. We came across the perfect little restaurant for this New Orleans girl...Taste of New Orleans - Authentic Cajun Cuisine. The food was very good and we definitely plan to go back another day for lunch or dinner. We did speak with the owner of the restaurant, who is originally from New Orleans. It was really interesting to speak to someone from my home town especially since we are all the way up in Wisconsin.

After lunch we came back to our condo so Kyle could take his afternoon nap, while John and I spent time in the four season room overlooking the pool and Lake Delton with the screen door open enjoying the breeze and listening to the waterfall...very peaceful and relaxing. This evening we drove around to explore the area and locate places we would like to go later in the week. It certainly is a huge tourist trap so we want to make sure and fit in as many fun filled activities as possible. Stay tuned for further detail about our vacation! Until then...have a great week!