October Recap

Now onto October in my effort to catch up for all of 2016 (or at least the fall - ha!)...

Ryan was so proud of himself when he figured out how to balance and swing himself standing up!  Look at that smile!  Although once he did figure it out, he wasn't too keen on sharing the swing with anyone...

We had a pretty mild fall which made for some fun times in the afternoons after the bus!  These two certainly weren't complaining about warm temps!

Races down the sidewalk on plasma cars -- they could do that all afternoon!

Love this action shot!  Stella was so sweet to let him ride with her.  We will work on wearing helmets while barreling down the hill - oops!

One day we met Cee Cee and Uncle Will at the park to go out on a walk and find acorns!  Of course it became a competition to see who could collect the most.  And Jack would only pick acorns that were complete with their "hat" on!

After finding acorns, we spent some time at the playground!  Once again, all smiles!  I can't wait to get back outside again once it warms up!

Another bus stop picture! Katie and Stella sporting some of their Matilda Jane before school!

The boys got haircuts (which they desperately need again)!  This is Jack's before and after - so handsome!

And Ryan's before and after!  He is NOT a fan of haircuts...I have to mentally prepare myself for his appointments!  Whew!

This is a pretty standard scene around our house - especially at night before going upstairs for the shower/bath/bedtime routine!  They get that last bit of energy and chase each other or pile on each other or play hut hut! Ha!

Jack had a Hoedown at school and I happened to be there for my Bible study, so I got to help!  It was so fun to see him interacting with his buddies and see all the cute kiddos in their element!  He was also so happy to see me come in and help!

Jack had been wanting to write words lately, so one day he started a list of different kinds of animals!  I obviously wrote zebra, but he wrote the rest: cheetah, dog, bee, cat, fish, elephant, and lion!

Katie had her performance at school also!  She chose to be a raccoon, and she was a cute one!  I love that picture of her before leaving for school!

Grandma got up bright and early and came for her performance!

And Nanny and Papa came too!  It was their first performance to come to, so Katie was excited!

Another afternoon of fun playing in the backyard!  If I recall correctly, they even asked me to take this picture!  Don't mind if I do :)

The Fall Bookfair happened during October and braved it and took the boys for Katie's class preview time!  Whew.  Not sure I will do that again - it was quite the adventure!

Lately, before Katie goes to sleep, we go in her room once we are finished tucking the boys in and we play a game or two of Uno and then Brad reads some Harry Potter.  Once I lay down and get comfy, hearing a story read outloud makes me fall asleep immediately.  While I did try to stay awake the first few nights, I finally gave in and it is now a joke that I get naptime while they read the book together!

And the carving of the pumpkin...we did it the weekend before Halloween!  Katie sketched out her design for the pumpkin, and Brad went to town!  The big kids helped clean out all the insides and Brad did some carving!  Ryan enjoyed showing us how the top fit on like a puzzle piece!

October is always a fun month, and this one did not disappoint!

Halloween '16

After a few more posts, I think I will finally be all caught up! We had such a fun Halloween this year! It was actually the warmest Halloween I remember for some time!  Here the kids are before school that morning!  Just ignore the mums - somehow I managed to kill them.  I got them at Costco and this was as good as it got!  I think I will stick with my normal place because I usually have big, fluffy, gorgeous ones!

I actually got a good run in - and I had a picture saying it was 88 degrees when I finished my run!  WOW!  On Halloween!

And once Katie got off the bus, we immediately got ready for the fun!  Here are my ghouls ready for the Halloween party! A Candycorn Witch, an astronaut, and Thomas the Train - so cute!

And here are a few pictures from the annual Halloween shindig at our neighbors' house! Such a fun time!  Love that all of the fun could be set up in the driveway - no rain plus warmer temps!

And a black cat, a pig, and a social butterfly - that's the first time I've dressed up in a long time!

Brad had a meeting that ran over, but once he finally got home, he came over wearing the boys' Hulk gear and his Hulk tshirt.  Ha!

And we got a picture of Katie, Stella, Hank, and Jack before folks started arriving!

Jill set out a tub so kids could bob for apples...it was hands down Ryan's favorite spot!  He was soaked from playing with the water!  He had a fun time no doubt!

My mom and brother came down for the fun too...so of course Will and I had to get a picture together!  He even brought a turkey hat.  Ha!  Love this!

Once the kids played and everyone ate and it got dark, we headed out!  It was quite the crew of kids to hit up each house! 

And once the trick or treating was complete, it was time to dig through their goods.  All of my kids shared with me that night - so nice!

And this is how Jack ended the night.  I think it was safe to say he had fun!  He was exhausted!

And then I made a collage of each of my spooks...I loved their costumes this year! 

Another successful Halloween in the books!  Sure hope the weather is that nice next year!

Pancakes + Pumpkins: Our Fall Tradition

I'm baaaaaack!  I have all of these potential blog posts bouncing around in my head.  One day I will get caught up and be able to do a day in the life, or new recipes, or just random little moments that happen in a day.  But in this season of life, I will do well to catch up with it all by the end of the year!

I can't let too much time go by without talking about one of my favorite fall traditions.  We have done this since Katie was a baby - I think this was the eighth year! 

On the Saturday about a week before Halloween, we headed out bright and early (because let's face it - there is no sleeping in around here) for breakfast at Puckett's.  Brad and I indulged in the buffet and the kids loved their Mickey pancakes with bacon!  Here we are before heading to Gentry's for some fun. 

And a picture of the crazy crew on the truck!  I need to make a collage of each year and how it has changed!

The kids wanted to do the little cornmaze - they were running the entire time!

 Then they each took a turn on the big tire swings.  Katie loves it!

 Just look at the joy on her face!

 Jack was excited for a turn too!

 Ryan wanted to be like the big kids, but he clung to that thing for dear life! 

 Then we gave him a little push and he LOVED it!

 They had a little photo bench area with props and stuff, but Ryan was the only one that cooperated...mainly because it was staged as a truck tailgate :)

We got their early enough that there wasn't a line for the hayride - it was great!  I wanted to take a family selfie, and this is how it turned out.  That's about right, I'd say!

 Then I got my big girl camera out and caught this cute picture!

And a selfie with Ryan!  He loved the hayride!  And actually - I almost lost my phone on the ride.  I didn't figure out I was missing my phone for a little bit.  Thankfully someone had turned it in and I was reunited with it at the concession stand.

 Jack loved crawling through the tunnel!

 Katie wanted to see how tall she is.  And holy cow - inching closer and closer to 5 feet tall.  She will be eye to eye with me in no time!

 Then we headed to the corn and grain play area.  It is always a hit!

 Even at age 7, Katie loves that area!

 And of course Jack loves it!  Wow he was shaggy - he got a haircut the next day :)

Towards the end, Ryan loved playing in this teepee!  He kept going in and jumping out to play peek-a-boo!  Silly dude.

 As the kids started getting tired and hungry, we went ahead and picked out a few pumpkins before heading home.  Each of the kiddos got their own little pumpkin and then we got a big family one.

And we got this picture taken!  It is definitely one of my favorite cell phone pictures in a long time.  If I had thought to take my sunglasses off and if Ryan had smiled, it would be perfection!  But I will take it!

And actually, when we were getting ready, I had these pumpkin shirts for the boys and Katie really wanted to wear something with a pumpkin on it.  Thank goodness I had gotten this shirt at a consignment sale!  It worked perfectly.  Next year I will know to check with her and see where she stands on those type of issues :)

Here are the links to each previous year!

2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2012 - 2013 - 2014 - 2015