Pumpkin Carving

Not the best pictures, but oh so much fun!!

 Brian, Jack, and Max worked on the spider.  William and I carved the cat.  I think they turned out pretty cute!

Halloween Bash

What a fun Saturday night!  We all headed to Aunt Carm and Uncle Mike's for the annual Halloween party.  The boys all had a great time!  I felt like the world's worst mom though.  I had loaded the costumes into the van earlier int he day to make sure I wouldn't forget them.  Brian had to work and we left for the party as soon as he came home - and we took his car.

Needless to say, the costumes didn't make the 30 minute drive.  I didn't realize it until we were unloading.  Ugh.  Not my finest moment.
 

 In spite of the fact that we had no costumes, we still had a great time.  I mean come on - there were smores!

 I felt a little less guilty about the lack of costumes because it was so chilly outside that the boys had their coats on the whole time.

 This guy was super excited to head over to Nonna and Nonno's for a sleepover after the party.  The little boys had spent the entire day with Nonna while Max was at scouts and his soccer game, so it only seemed fair.

He told anyone that would listen about his sleepover plans and he was sure to let them know that only he was spending the night - not his brothers!

I think this picture sums up a pretty great party - marshmallow face and a juice box and the very end of the night.

Max - Soccer Wrap Up

What a season.  There were some big changes for Max when it came to soccer this year.  Instead of 8 on 8, the boys played 11 on 11.  They also transitioned to a full size field - it is huge!

Max's skills continued to improve throughout the season.  His coaches were great - always encouraging, but always pushing him to do his best.  He had several great assists throughout the season and really felt like he was part of the team.

The last two regular games were this weekend - and it was cold!  Max chose to play in tournament in another two weeks, so I can only imagine how cold that one will be.  He also said yes to indoor soccer with several of the boys from the team.

It's fun to watch his skills grow and I'm proud of how hard he worked this season.

Little Gobblin Trick or Treat

So I introduce to you - Catboy!

Over the summer Jack found some books at the library that he loved - PJ Masks.  The story follows three kids that turn into superheros at night to save the day.  This fall it came to netflix and he is in love!

 Jack just loves his costume and he was super excited to wear it for a bit this morning as we headed to the gym/community center for the Little Goblin Trick or Treat event.

He was super proud of his cat tail and loved the way it wiggled when he walked.

 I sent an email and a few of his classmates joined int he fun with us.

 The party started outside with all of the kids scavenging the playground to find a pumpkin.  Jack was super excited about his pumpkin - but he made me carry it back inside.

 There were several cute little crafts.  The kids got to decorate their pumpkin with paint and sticker.  Then they made this cute little ghost necklace out of cotton balls.  I swear Jack picked the largest ghost eyes ever!

After crafts the kids got a treat bag and walked all over the center trick or treating.  It was super cute and Jack was thrilled with his haul.  We finished up with a snack to make for pretty much the perfect morning in Jack's world.  He can't wait to be catboy for another party tomorrow night!

Cub Scout Camp Out

Last Saturday was the our cub scout camp out.  Some pretty strong storms were supposed to come though during the night, so our pack decided that we would do the fun stuff without sleeping out.

Max is a weblo and one of his requirements is to learn how to start a fire.  He was enthralled as this older scout showed him and his friends how it's done.

William had a blast running around with his buddies too.  Jack and I joined int he fun for the first few hours and headed home.

All three boys are looking forward to the spring camp out.

Field Trip Friday - The Zoo

We are making the very most of our Friday's off school, especially while we can enjoy the gorgeous weather.  We met a friend at the zoo last week and it was crazy busy!  I think every school district except ours was off school.

 Nonna joined us and we met his friend Emily too.  These two kiddos were too cute together.  They will both start kindergarten in the fall and they hang out at little church every Sunday.

We got there a bit late since Nonna had an appointment, so Emily headed home while we checked out some more animals - including the Andean bears at the Rivers Edge. 

Pumpkin Patch Fun

One of the first grade mom's coordinated a meet up at the pumpkin patch - they kid took a field trip there in kindergartner and loved it. Unfortunately, Brian got stuck at work and we missed everyone.  I think the boys still had a pretty great time, though!

 I seriously cannot wait until this guy give me genuine smiles again.  His cheese face cracks me up though!

 The obstacle course was Jack's very favorite activity.  The look of concentration on his face was just precious!  He was so proud of himself at the end and just wanted to do it again and again.

 Along with Daddy these two big guys braved the corn maze.  I remember getting lost in it last year so I was pretty impressed that they made it through without issue.

 The zipline is always a huge hit.  Max complained that he had a hard landing, but that smile on his face tells me he loved it anyway.

 Jack needed a bit of coaxing, but he did it!

 Oh this little man was in heaven.  He couldn't try things fast enough.  Even a tumble down a five foot tall haybale staircase didn't slow him down!

 Max thoguth this minion haystack was pretty fun.

 No pumpkin patch trip is complete without a hayride.  I was hoping to get  a family shot, but this was the best I could do since we couldn't all sit together and we didn't want to wait for yet another tractor.

Those flushed cheeks show that mother nature was a bit confused and our visit felt more like summer than fall, but that toothless grin also tells you it was a pretty great time!

Field Trip Friday - The Garden

The weather is finally beginning to realize that fall has arrived - at least some days.  Jack and I are doing our best to make the most of our Fridays when we can still go play outside, so we headed to the garden.

 Jack loved all the tropical flowers he saw in the climatron.  Especially this puffy red one that he found on the path.  The Chihuly glass in the ponds really caught his attention and he told me to take a picture -then he posed just like this.

He even found this teeny tiny little frong on one of the plants.  I was amazed at how tiny it was.  Hard to tell from the picture, but it less than a dime in size.

 After the climatron we headed to the Children's Garden - which is a super fun place when it isn't crowded and you are only trying to keep an eye on one kid.  We read about pollinators and he did his part to pollinate these giant plans by ringing the bells inside.

 Jack crossed the fallen logs like a pro.

 And made beautiful music with the xylophone.

I was hoping we could avoid the locks, but once Jack saw hte boats there was no way he wasn't going to check them out.  Luckily by that point in our morning it had warmed up a little bit and he stayed fairly dry.