Purdue Homecoming

Every 5 years the Purdue swimming and diving team has a reunion year for Homecoming.  They started doing this five years ago to get everybody who was going to fly back all together instead of a few people coming each year and not seeing anybody else.  That was in 2010, and we had just brought the Lukers into this world:)  I can't believe five years have passed, and the reunion year was upon me.  Matt and I took this opportunity to go down to our alma mater and introduce the place where we met and fell in love to our kiddos.  We had a great time seeing old friends and it was so fun being back on campus and seeing all the things that were changed, and the things that were not.  Luke also got to experience his first football game!

The kids had fun staying in a hotel Fri/Sat nights

Alumni breakfast at the pool

Got a nice visit with my former assistant coach Dar, she is the best!

Owen Hall, my dorm:)

Right before Luke accidentally unlocked the parking brake and it started rolling into oncoming traffic

World's largest drum

Alumni band - tubas!  

Luke at his first game

Meanwhile, Claire and I did some light shopping for Purdue gear

Claire and I walked around campus while the boys were at the game

pretty tree

Slater Hill - across from my dorm and where Katie and I would study and lay in the sun

Selfie!

Lambert Pool - my pool for the first three years before the big Boilermaker Aquatic Center was opened

Claire's Purdue Mickey

Matt showed the kids his Construction Management building, complete with peeking in labs and classrooms.

Hit the park near the married student housing

Then got some hotel pool time

Before dinner at Hour Time in Lafayette.  Then Matt watched the kids while I went to the swimming alumni party.

The next morning we went hiking on our way out of town

Cool cave

Then we visited a historic farm in a nearby state park

Luke got to watch a blacksmith make him this S hook, which he thought was so neat

The state park also had these old Indian villages that were really neat to see

Luke in a wigwam

Long house

Lunch

House addition is really taking shape!

from the back

Luke created these "bridges" to go over the trenches Matt dug for the electrical wires and pipes

Halloween

This Halloween was the most fun yet because both kids were more into it than ever before.  We had a fun time with friends and neighbors.

Here are a few Claire quotables/updates:

- She's been saying about all number of things that she doesn't want to do, "Girls don't like that!"  I don't know where she is getting this gender stereotyping, but we are putting the kibosh on that stat!

- Every night when we put her to bed she pleads with her adorable eyes and sweet voice, "Lay with me a wittle bit?"  I can never resist her, and usually fall asleep in there within moments and then don't wake up for like an hour.  

- She is a rock star potty girl.  She never has accidents, even at night with no pull ups on, and she can go a crazy long amount of time between having to go potty.  I was beginning to think there was something wrong with her (Luke pees all the time, as a comparison, and still wears pull ups at night), but then I thought about it some more and realized that I am the same way!  Maybe she gets that from me - we must have large bladders.  Any way, when she does go potty she says "Mommy, close the door.  We need some priv-a-tee."

Claire's Halloween Party - purple class

With Olaf, one of the teacher's aides

Playing Monopoly Junior with Grandma one night - a new fave for us.  Both kids are really good at playing and it is actually pretty fun.  Can't wait for more game nights!

Isolene and the kids have a play group on Fridays - they had a Halloween party

These mummies are so cute.

Fire fighter Asher and his fire truck Luke.

Luke & Claire are still obsessed with Kirah

Claire's friend Lily's 3rd bd party was on Halloween

Going trick or treating in downtown Lake Forest  - was a bit rainy and cold

Our little fire truck and Cinderella

Claire and neighbor Bella were both little princesses.  Claire was adamant that Bella hold her hand.  

After trick or treating at the stores in downtown LF, we headed over to Rebecca's cute street near downtown to continue.

Crazy cat lady

and her adorable kitty

Luke was really into looking at all of his loot.

Claire has been really into ballet lately, even though we don't have her in ballet classes anymore (her school schedule didn't work out with the times).  She wants us to put her ballet clothes on and then turn on "ballet music" and then she dances around to her little heart's content.  We signed her up for a different ballet class in January, seems there is a passion there!

annual Fall colors tour a bit late, it was a gorgeous day

It was a little chilly, so our chilly kid preferred to sit under the front tarp out of the wind and eat snacks

Donna came with us, and he hasn't been to Great America in years.

Went to Six Flags Fright Fest on Sunday

Snuggles in the basement 

"excavating"