Trick or Treat

Tonight we had the most beautiful weather for trick-or-treating. No wind, nice and warm--but not too warm! Our little kiddos (who aren't so little anymore) were so cute in their costumes. Aaron was Buzz Lightyear, while Kaleb and Braylen were Nascar drivers Jeff Gordan and Jimmie Johnson. No face paint this year, which made things really easy for me. :) The boys enjoyed passing out candy at our door before heading out to do their own trick-or-treating with their cousins. It was just an all-around wonderful night. I've posted some pictures--enjoy!

Jeff, Buzz, and Jimmie

Full view of Aaron as Buzz--I love the wings!

Braylen relaxing with candy and listening to high school football

Kaleb's Day

Tonight at supper Kaleb said today was the best day of his life. That caught me by surprise, because in my opinoin, the best day of his life should be his birthday, or Christmas, or on a great vacation. But Kaleb added up all the ordinary things on an ordinary day and called it his greatest day. It challenges me to look for the good things in my day and celebrate them.

Here are Kaleb's reasons for why today is his best day ever:
1. He received a positive principal's office pass at school, which earned him the ability to call Mom in the middle of the day and tell me why he was in the principal's office. (I have to admit, when the principal called to tell me my son was in his office I was worried!) He received a huge rainbow sucker and has his picture on the wall.
2. He scored a goal in his recess soccer game.
3. His teacher bought some Cub Scout popcorn from him.
4. He has an awesome NEW Halloween costume. I found a good deal on this costume and he is over the moon with excitement. He put it on after school and would have slept in it if I'd let him. :) He even got to try it out at Scouts tonight.

I sure do love days like today.

Conversations With Grampy & Grammy

I discovered tonight how much Aaron likes to talk on the phone without really talking. He makes funny sounds and funny faces, but he doesn't say very much! I wanted to show my mom and dad what he looks like when he talks to them, since they must wonder what in the world he's doing with them on the phone. :)

So Halloween is quickly approaching, and Aaron is my only son with a costume. As far as my two older boys go, I'm hoping they think it'll be fun to be football players (again!) since we have everything for that. They need costumes tomorrow night for their Cub Scout party, so I'll need to throw something together pretty quickly.

Aaron loves to tumble and do handstands, so this week he's starting his first tumbling class at our YMCA. As a bonus, Daddy's agreed to take him! Since this posting seems to be all about Aaron, I'll end with one more little story from him. The other day he was trying to say, "I forgot to flush." He said, "I ga-fart...I ga-fot...I ga-fart, I ga-fot, I, I...aagghhh, I can't say it!" It's funnier to hear it than to read it, but thought I'd try! :)

To California & Back

Okay, so this past weekend I slathered sunscreen on to go ocean kayaking. Today I am looking at snow fall outside my window, discovering Awana is cancelled for tonight because of this snowstorm rolling in. Snow in October is not my idea of a nice fall day! I came back from California for this?Ahhh, sunshine and the Pacific!

Braylen and I had such a great time! Seeing family members again was such a highlight for me, since I don't see my California relatives very often. I think Braylen was surprised to meet so many new people he's related to! My cousin Nick (always Nicholas to me) married his sweetheart at Middle Beach in Carmel. The entire trip was centered around that event, and as fun as the wedding was, we really loved our free time.
The Bride & Groom

Monterey is such a neat place! We stayed downtown, which was a 5 minute walk from Fisherman's Wharf. Braylen explored tide pools with my Uncle Wally, watched sea lions bark and sea otters swim. We had yummy food and spent lots of time at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. That is such a cool place! We put our feet in the ocean and taught Braylen about ebbing tides. He discovered salt water is not for drinking. :) We kayaked at Elkhorn Slough and didn't tip over! Braylen partnered up with my cousin Justin. He felt pretty much like a man after that. :) For this midwestern girl who happens to love anything to do with aquatics, this trip was a dream come true. To spend this time with my mom and my son...I could not ask for more. I learned how much more Braylen talks about his everyday life when he's away from his everyday life. We really embraced this trip and all that came along with it.
Braylen in San Francisco with Alcatraz behind him

Grammy & Braylen on the Caltrain
So now I'm back to real life, and I'm running my kids to school and back. I'm going grocery shopping in the rain and snow. I'm doing laundry. And I'm remembering what it was like to be on such a great vacation!Our cool Malibu--it's not a minivan!

Squishy

Aaron has been real lovey-dovey with me lately. Several times a day he'll stop what he's doing, look at me and say, "Mommy, I like you." He grins and I just scoop him up and give him a squeeze. He loves to snuggle, and I will never turn him away. :) I've been wondering, though, if I need to work on firming up my triceps. His favorite thing to say is, "Mommy, you are squishy. I like to squish your squishy." He says this as he squeezes my upper arms. But to my relief he also says this: "How come your squishy goes away sometimes?" You see, when I flex my muscles, my upper arms are firm. Whew! When I explain the whole muscle thing to him, he says I must have more muscle than Daddy, since Daddy doesn't have any squishy on his arms. Well......I think I give up. :)

Oooo, I could just squeeze him

On Wednesday afternoon, Braylen and I are beginning our journey to California for a family gathering. This will be his first time to the ocean, since the farthest away from home he's ever been is to Nashville. I am excited to take him along as we take part in activities we can never do here at home. He is old enough to remember this, so I want to take advantage of that! I'm looking forward to seeing and doing new things. (even sea kayaking!) I will miss Derek and our other boys, but am thankful for this opportunity. :)

Tiger and Bear...but no Lion

Our boys are following in Daddy's footsteps through Cub Scouts. Kaleb is a Tiger Cub and Braylen is a Bear Cub. Having 2 sons in scouts has definitely increased our activity level. Someday we'll have 3 in scouts! At Monday's den meeting, Derek and I took Kaleb's den to the police station for a "Go and See" activity. Derek gave the tour, I took the pictures. The highlights were the police motorcycles and the cookies at the end of the night. :)Braylen worked on repairing bikes at his den meeting, and Grandpa took him. Braylen loved spending that time with his grandpa!

Braylen the Bear & Kaleb the Tiger

Just like Daddy

Marching in his First Parade

Yesterday Aaron had love on his mind. At breakfast he said to me, "When I am big I don't want to be in love or be married." I told him that was fine. As soon as his brothers got in the van after school, Aaron let them know that he was never going to be in love. They were like, "okaaaaay..." Where these comments came from, especially so far apart in his day, I will never know. :)Aaron's Racetrack

Apples & Pumpkins

"Mmmmm"

Another fall week has gone by. Aaron went to the apple orchard with his preschool class, and I was lucky enough to be able to go along. This was my third preschool field trip to this orchard, since Braylen and Kaleb went when they were preschoolers too. Aaron loved eating his apple as we walked through the rows of trees. He ate just about the whole thing!

Yesterday I spent ALL day making applesauce with my mom-in-law and sis-in-law. We used 100 pounds of apples--whew! This is something we try to do every year, since we like the homemade applesauce so much. All the hard work is worth it, and we have fun together too. Braylen and Kaleb join in when school lets out, and Aaron "helps" on and off throughout the day.

Friday night our family spent another night at our highschool's football game. It's becoming a tradition, and I'm glad. Some day the boys will be sitting in the middle school section, then the high school section, and they won't be with us at all. For now, we enjoy them sitting with us. :)

Me & my pumpkin

Today we met some friends at a pumpkin patch and had lots of fun! Kaleb's favorite part was the zip line. Aaron liked the barrel train and the zip line. Braylen liked it all, especially when we gave him free reign to roam around with his buddy. Good friends and a pretty fall day--it's my perfect fall afternoon. :)