The Kugler Family Adventures: Thankful...

This is the time of year we all "recognize" we should be thankful for the many wonderful people, and things, in our lives. It's sometimes difficult to remember that each day of the year, but I try. I mean, how could I not when I get to see these two smiling faces every day?

Okay, not the best picture of them, but all the recent ones I have of them together are being saved for our Christmas card. You'll just have to wait! Here's a cute family picture from the Lazy 5 Ranch several weeks ago (and we're smiling even though our teams aren't the cause, lol!):

We have had a week full of more birthday parties, lots of training runs for both Payton and Mommy (my Thunder Road half marathon is this Saturday, and Payton and my Turkey Trot runs are on Thanksgiving), my dear friend's baby was born (little Juliet!), and we've been outside enjoying the cooler weather and gorgeous colors that come with autumn.

Griffin is obsessed with the basketball, and watching basketball, and football, on TV. He is talking more and more, yet Brian and I are probably the only two people who can understand what he's saying. He says a lot of words including "ball, basketball, ma-ma, da-dee, dog, boom, uh-oh, no, thank you, hi, bye-bye, outside, more, milk, all gone, airplane, book, shoes, hat, belly, bubble, bee-bee (his blankie)" and plenty more I can't think of now. When I chew gum, he says "bubble" and then studies my mouth. He waits for me to blow a bubble, then gets scared, and puts his hands in front of his face, like the bubble is going to get him. It's hilarious. He LOVES to throw things, and I still can't decide if he's left or right-handed. He has quite an arm on him. The other day he threw his sippy cup from his HIGH CHAIR in the dining room to me at the SINK. It was quite a throw. Hit me right on my big toe. He copies EVERYTHING his sissy does, good and bad. BAD: The other night their bathroom was soaked from splashing. Fun for everyone but me...mommy wasn't happy. GOOD: He covers his mouth when he coughs. Here are some pictures of Griffin being, well, Griffin:

Learning to dribble...

Could NOT get a clear shot of this with just my phone, but you get the idea. He was laughing his butt off!

Will Grumps FINALLY get his star basketball player?

Riding Sissy's PINK jeep, and rocking it. He's SUCH a boy!

The kids had two birthday parties over the weekend. One was for Gil, and the other for Charlotte. Gil's birthday ended with a huge bounce house and lots of basketball (as seen above). At Charlotte's party, there was a little toe-headed boy named Easton, who is just 3 weeks older than Griffin. It was crazy to see him play with Griffin...kind of like looking into a mirror for them:

We've spent some time at the Collin's new log cabin, out by the fire, which has been nice...

Mommy even got a girls' night out...at Cowfish, my favorite sushi place! It was a FUN night :)

Miss Priss


They usually get along really well when playing...sometimes Payton likes to bully Griffin, but it won't be long before they are full-on fist fighting. Yay us. (sense the sarcasm!)

Payton has been being a better listener (with lots of bribes and threats, of course), and her biggest accomplishment lately, has been getting up in the morning and going potty, on her own, before coming into our room. She still wakes up before the roosters, which isn't awesome for Mommy and Daddy. She's still taking a 2 hour nap each day, so I may try to drop that back a little, to hopefully improve her sleeping-in time :) She's VERY excited about running her ONE MILE Turkey Trot Fun-Run next week, and has been training very hard for it. She asks me if we can go running EVERY afternoon. I hope this enthusiasm keeps up!

Last weekend, there was a dense fog that had settled on the lake. You couldn't see to the other side...it was really awesome, and made Lake Wylie look more like Lake Michigan. Check these out! This first one is what it normally looks like, on a clear day...

Look at those trees! They are even more striking in person.

Last weekend Brian and I took the kids back to Anne Springs Parkway for some fun and pictures. We did manage to get some cute shots for our Christmas card, but here are some other cute moments that didn't make the cut: