Trick or Treat!

Some pictures from our Trick or treat fun!

Moaning Myrtle, Hermione, the Golden Snitch and Harry Potter

Mike was a hilarious golden snitch.  I have no words.  But this was all his idea and the liquid courage in his bottle contributed to a good time.

Doc didn't go very long, but he was very happy to return back home to eat!

My army soldier

And Hermione who was so very excited!

We went with family, and although I didn't get a picture of everyone together here is the closest.  Cousin Andrew drove his tractor from house to house, Uncle Jason was a native American, and baby Abbie as a tiger from Daniel Tiger.  We had a wonderful time with everyone!

Pumpkins!

Spooky Fun - Halloween Parties!

First we had Dawson's preschool trunk or treat event.    It was a very nice little event held after school so that everyone could attend.  There was pizza and cupcakes and a craft to do. Then his teacher announced each child and their costume as well as their siblings too.  Due to rainy and windy weather we did the trick or treating inside the school. 

The soldier, Mrs. Norris (cat from Harry Potter) and Harry Potter

This year I am able to go to Carter's Halloween Party and Ava's Valentine Party.  In Carter's class we did the mummy wrap game.  Here he is being wrapped up with another student by his teacher.

Can't even see him!  He had a blast doing this game.

Enjoying his snack

Carter showing off his ghost and pumpkin that he carved in his group.  He choose the fish nose and they named their pumpkin fishie (the fish nose was something they did in FFF.)

Although I couldn't be in her class, I took a picture of Miss Ava post party.  She was rocking her black cat shirt and candy corn bow.  She loved the game they played with the vampire teeth and marshmallows.

Happy Halloween!  More celebrating to come!

Pumpkin Patch with Explorer Girls

Ava is participating in a scout-like group called Explorer Girls.  Ava has really enjoyed the meetings so far and for October we met at a pumpkin patch.  This was in the afternoon before Mike was home, so I was able to bring the boys with me.

Funny story about this picture, while the girls were lined up and smiling Dawson and Carter were close by playing pumpkin bowling.  During a quiet moment Carter yelled at Dawson "Holy Smokes, you're good!"  It caused a chuckle throughout the group.  It was sweet to hear big brother pumping up little brother's bowling skills.  

Wow, another pumpkin picture.

It was just a quick trip but we did get to lasso some steers, walk through the corn maze and take a chilly hay ride.

These slides built into the side of the hill are so much fun!  It was a great way to burn a some energy before bedtime.    

Silly Stories from the week

This weekend Ava, Dawson and I were discussing our favorite songs.  Here are Dawson's:  

1.  The Littlest Worm (a song I learned in girl scouts)

2.  Carol of the Bells by Transiberian Orchestra

3.  Bad Blood

Quite the eclectic mix!

Recently Mike was playing a math facts game with Ava and Carter.  It was supposed to be a competition to see who could answer the question first, so Mike was allowing Ava and Carter the opportunity to figure it out first.  Well afterwards Ava wrote this note to Mike:

Why

Do you not know your facts?  You should know it now.  10 + 10 I know that it is 20.  4 + 4 = I know that it is 8.

Don't worry Ava, Daddy knows his math facts!

Speaking of math facts, this little boy is so interested in math right now.  We've been playing an addition game together, and I think it is the cutest thing now that he has figured out how to use his fingers to solve problems.

Yup, she is my daughter.

We went to play at the park at the clubhouse this afternoon and she brought her new book.  Eventually I convinced her to put it away and get a little exercise.  But the minute we started walking home she decided to walk and read at the same time.  That takes talent!

Camping with Scouts

Carter went to a camp out this weekend with scouts.  It was really chilly, less than 32 degrees at night.  But Mike and Carter found a really good way to combat the cold: two sleeping bags zipped together with mummy bags inside and camp rolls to keep them off the ground.  Toasty warm!

S'more time!

Apparently they had a great time at the nature center watching hawks get fed and learning the names of different animals.  They also did a lot of hiking.

They found a geocache!

And it snowed.  That did very little to put a damper on his fun.  He had a great time!

A tale of two brave souls

 Every year the local park system hosts a haunted hayride that is put together by the high school students.  It is advertised all over the school, but Carter has never wanted to go.  Ava has been begging to go, and so I offered to take the two little ones while Carter was camping.  They were really pumped to go, but I talked to them about how it was going to be scary.  People were going to jump out and try to scare them.  But they insisted, they wanted to go to the hayride.

When we got there Ava saw two actors and changed her mind, she did not want to go.  But Dawson still did!  After talking with one of her friends, Ava got up the courage to go and we decided to sit in the middle of the hayride.  She could put her head down on my lap whenever she didn't want to see something scary.

The before pic:  Brave little boy convinced that he would love it.  

During the ride he did great until the chainsaws came out.  He was in my lap so fast and clung to my neck.  I told him over and over all the secrets:  the chainsaw has no blades it can't hurt you, that is a person in a mask, that isn't real blood, it's just like paint.

Ava enjoyed it!  She really liked watching the dance studio do the thriller dance.  Dawson got off and said "I hated it."  It's funny because there were kids there far younger than Dawson and they had no problem with it.  I guess every child is different and some are just more sensitive to it than others.  But I have a feeling that next year Ava will be begging to go again.

And as you can guess Ava and Dawson slept with me last night, but that's ok I enjoyed the company!!

Spending Time with my little one

As a Mom, I have to admit that I am endlessly amused by the little conversations that I have with my kids (as evidenced by this blog.)  Lately Dawson has done a lot of contemplating on his career path.  At one point or other in his life he has wanted to be a train engineer, fire fighter, volcanologist and more recently a priest.  But right now his imagination has been captured by the idea of being a part of a search and rescue crew for the Coast Guard or maybe a helicopter pilot that combats wildfires. 

A snack plus a video of the coast guard rescuing people during a hurricane.

It amazes me that he knows little facts like the top rotors give the helicopter lift while the tail rotors steer the helicopter (apparently he learned this from a mighty machine video.)  He also has been planning out his search and rescue crew.  He has been enticing me to join the coast guard with him because he wants me to be his co-pilot.  Mike gets to be the person that mans the hoist.  What a vivid little imagination he has!

He loves company and hates to be alone.  On this particular day while we were waiting for his siblings we took a walk and saw that they were using an asphalt ripper on our road.  Of course we had to follow and stare to investigate.  One day we were reading a book and he got really teary because the main character was feeling lonely.  He told me he is really lonely during homework time.  Carter, Ava and I are busy and he has no one to play with.  I felt so bad!  I've been trying to give him "homework" or a special job to do so that he doesn't feel so left out.  Love you so much, my sweet little boy!  

Ava at 6.5!

My lovely little Avaroo is now six and a half.  What a fabulous little person you are becoming Ava!  So many words to describe her little personality, and I'm sure that I've said this all before but it is worth repeating: kind, loving, generous, smart, silly and funny. 

This girl is now the queen of the monkey bars.  She can zip across these things like it is nothing!  Some of her other gross motor accomplishments are turning cartwheels and jumping rope.  It is so funny to watch preschoolers try to jump rope, it's usually one to two jumps at a time.  But I've seen her really take off!

Beautiful inside and out

This summer she has been doing a little bit of bike riding without training wheels.  But in the past two weeks she has really taken off.  She can start herself on her bike, without an adult to hold her steady.  I'm so proud of this accomplishment because she really was scared and did not want to try at all.  In fact for a large part of the summer she did not ride her bike unless I asked her to try.  It kind of reminds me of her behavior when she was only one and learning to walk.  For the longest time she refused to walk without support, a walker, small chair to push around or a hand to hold.  She was very capable of walking, but fear really held her back.  But with bike riding and walking, she eventually figured it out!

But her very biggest accomplishment has been the huge change in her attitude toward school.  I'm so happy that a new teacher and a new class has made a difference in her behavior.  I'm so very happy to say that this year she has not had one day crying while she gets on the bus.  In fact, this morning she got on the bus without even giving me a hug or kiss goodbye.  This is huge!

We just had parent/teacher conferences last night and you are doing great in school!  Your teacher told us that you are so responsible that she doesn't even need to come in for the day, you could run the classroom!  You are very well behaved and making lots of friends.  There is testing done on the computer  at school three times a year, and you have done so well in math, it really surprised me!

Happy Half Birthday, my sweet little one!  You are my sunshine!  

Weekend Fun

This past weekend we went camping at a KOA.  It's a little different experience, and I have to say I missed the hiking opportunities and beautiful scenery of the state parks.  But the kids had a blast, and it was fun trying out a yurt.  It came fully loaded with a queen size bed, bunk beds, a sleeper sofa, refrigerator, television, microwave, grill and most importantly a keurig.

There were so many activities for the kids.  They spent a lot of time on the jumping pillow.

Carter boy

Jumping Girl

There was also trick or treating.  Dawson was Harry Potter, Ava was Hermione Granger and Carter was an army soldier.

Later on that evening there was also a flashlight candy search, so we came home with loads and loads of candy.  

They had a ball at the playgrounds too.  There were four different playgrounds and each one had different features.  

A little horse made out of a tire

On Sunday we were outside so long that I got a little sunburn on my face.  We were outside pretty much from 9:30 in the morning until 7:30 at night.

They also had a blast riding the pedal cars around and around

and around.

Oh, the paddle boats.  Do I have a story about these.  It's a story better shared in person.

Then there is Dawson.  He found a plastic butter knife and decided he was going to use it to carve a match.  

Then it was back to reality on Monday.  Ava my sensitive little heart was crying Sunday night because she didn't want to leave.  I understand little one, we all wish we could be on vacation forever!

Carter's Last Football Game

On Saturday Carter had his last football game.  He was able to score a goal, and Mike got it on video!  Great season, Carter boy.  We can't wait to see you play next year!

Family Pictures

Our family pictures are in!  These are the first family pictures we've had taken by someone other than a tripod since Carter was a baby.  Although the temperature was very nice that day, it was a little windy.

Ava and Pirate Pete's Big Day

 On Saturday Ava finally had her long anticipated date.  In the morning Carter's football game was cancelled so we all went to Home Depot for the Kid's create workshop.   This month they made fire trucks.

Now that we have done a couple of these workshops, Ava and Dawson have gotten much better with the hammer.  Carter just goes to town without any help!

Hard at work

Then I took Ava for her date:  her very first build a bear experience.  She has just gotten wind from other kids at school that build a bear even exist.  So off we went!  It was pretty fun to pick out the bear and outfit.  They have so many cool accessories too, she was eyeing the sleeping bag and camo tent for her bear.  She also got a really cute backpack to carry the bear.

I love these individual moments with each child, it really helps me to focus on one child at a time and get into deeper conversations.  Not that every date has to be so elaborate or expensive, but just time spent together.  Love my little Avaroo!!  Thanks for the fun time!