Getting the Pumpkin

We spent some time yesterday getting pumpkins for Halloween, and had lots of fun playing at the little pumpkin and vegetable farm near our house. Unlike many pumpkin farms, this one was free to play around in and our boys had a blast! They each got to pick out their own little pumpkin to paint at home, and we got a big one to carve as well! Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!
As I type I'm now sitting by our first wood fire at our home, we finally converted the fireplace back to wood from the non-working gas that it was! Paul and Sharon came over and Paul and I worked on it for a bit and got a new gas line for the dryer put in and also took out the gas line for the fireplace and got it all set up. Now I can type all nice and cozy like!

A picture is worth...

Most of you would likely agree that the answer to the above statement is "a thousand words" so I won't bore you with many this time, just some fun pictures of our family and the entertainment we bring each other!

Our two little batman's (batmen?)


Eli was Superman at his preschool Halloween party

Last week we went to Pizza Street for dinner and there was this crazy awesome balloon guy (yes, J & J, the same one we made fun of and then realized he probably makes more than all of us) and he created one Elmo and three pirates out of balloons for the boys!

Sol got a bee sting on our camping trip and his arm swelled up, and he wanted to share that with you!

Mom and her big boys reading about Wild Things - what a great mom!

I went biking with some friends and had an amazing blowout, tore up the rim even! I wish it was while I was doing some gnarly jump or something cool, but really I was stopping and hit a branch, and likely had too much air in the tire! Sounded like a gunshot, and I had to walk the bike out. Luckily, after getting the cash from my 30th birthday present (warranty on the mp3) and buying a new cheaper one, I had almost enough for the new rim, so my riding doesn't have to stop!

The "Lady" Speaks--2, 4, 6, 8...

(You know the rest, right?) ...who do we appreciate? Our boys really love to say/sing that when people ask how old our little men are. This year (until Sol turns 9 in March) they are indeed 2, 4, 6, and 8. So, today my 6 year old was helping with dinner and was counting by 2's the enchiladas in the pan and then busted into song/chant with the 2, 4, 6, 8 bit. No, the helping with dinner and counting by 2's is not the highlight of the story...it's coming. After the who do we appreciate part he looks at me and said "I appreciate you mom." What?! Did one of my kids really say that to me?! I was fully prepared to never hear that until one of them became a father and then only maybe. God is awesome to give me that little gift today. It may be the only time I hear it but even though no one else was around it DID really happen! :-) So those of you out there who are getting pooped on, peed on, spit on, puked on throughout your days (I think I've escaped the spit one in the past few days but that is the ONLY one) and getting no thank yous in return, your little people do love you for it and maybe, just maybe you will be blessed enough to hear it from them one day. Keep up the good work mommies--they are so worth it.

I'm including a snuggle picture from a few months ago...

Family Campout 2008

We spent last weekend at a family campout with a bunch of friends from church, and wanted to eshare some pictures with you all. It was a great weekend, the weather was great, and we had a lot of fun! These are some pictures from my friend Rick, and I'll put some of mine up when i have time to load them! We were really able to let the kids roam free as we had the area all to ourselves, which was really fun for both the kids and us parents! If you live in our area, make sure you find out when we're doing it next year and plan to come along!

All of us on the merrigoround


Rhonda laughing with Anamaye and Pam

Rick with Ezzie, busted up face and all!

Sol and some friends playing in the creek



Andrew and I led worship on Sunday morning

A fun Saturday

Well, Sol, Thad, and I rode our bikes up to the middle school to try to watch my school play football this morning and discovered that all we were watching was two elderly ladies walking four dogs around the track. No idea what happened there...

Anyway, we did manage to find some fun at the hockey game afterwards. Sol and Thad played against their cousin Drew's team, which had some members of S & T's baseball team from last summer on it! It was a hard fought game, very tight, and we won in a shootout, 7-6. I'll include some pics for your enjoyment!

In the afternoon we went to one of Eli's friends' birthday party at a local park. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and we had a great time hanging out with friends, eating some good burgers and hot dogs, and playing with the kids. Here are some pics for your enjoyment!

We were pretty tired after all this fun!

A Beautiful Fall

So Rhonda returned to us, and it was another beautiful afternoon here. We've had a remarkably perfect fall, with days around 70 to 80 degrees and nights down to around 50-60. It's been getting cooler at night, so now we have our windows closed at night, but we're really enjoying the days for sure! Getting a bit cold to ride my bike in the morning, today it was 44 when i went, but at least I can bundle up!
I wanted to share this picture of Ezzie and Rhonda gardening with you all, both looking so cute!

Boys Weekend!

That's what we call it when Rhonda leaves us for the weekend. She's at a women's retreat this weekend with some of the ladies from church, so we're on our own this weekend. Behaviors were actually pretty good tonight and we got to do all that we had planned, which is a huge plus over other times! Rhonda left about 4, and we killed time until we all left at 5, stopping at the video store to get the Justice League and Scooby Doo vids, then over to Little Caesars for a couple bacon pizzas (they are amazing!). Then off to a local park to eat them, and we made sure we were at hockey by 6:30 for practice. Home by 7:45 or so, and into the pj's, and out to the pull out couch for movie time! We watched three episodes of the Justice League, and then it was time for sleep! I think most of them are sleeping now, at least i hope so, since it's 11PM!

Tomorrow morning brings a 9:45AM hockey game, free time in the afternoon, and then a weenie roast with friends in our backyard in the evening. I have some buddies coming over later for games or a movie even. Feels like a pretty packed weekend, which means I should go and get some sleep myself, so I can keep up without getting too crabby... Goodnight all.