I love how my boys love the outdoors. They are so active and their imaginations are perfectly wild! We went down to my sisters for Thanksgiving, and all they wanted to do was be outside.  I honestly have stopped telling them to not climb. It is a waste of my precious time and breath.  I’m sure this annoys other people to death.  Actually, I’m positive it does.  After dinner we took a short walk to the river, you know, to make room for dessert!  The boys were so happy. They could have skipped dessert if it meant staying there a little longer.  Running, jumping, climbing, exploring, inventing new characters to be. They just love it there. The English language doesn’t have the words fully express how much they enjoy their time outside…. especially when water in involved!  If they are anything like their father this love will follow them into adulthood.  I love to be out there too, but at the end of the day, I’m ready to return to my house and relax.  Not those three. They could pitch a tent and live happily ever after, out in the outdoors. It makes my heart happy to see them in their ‘natural habitat’.

I’m so very thankful for the 3 guys God has chosen for me.

I’m considering a lamp on the kitchen counter for some added light to the prep area. This little number caught my eye and I am in love! I think it needs to leave Target and come to my house right away.  

****WARNING: Bragging Mother Post Ahead!!!****

Last year Fred tried out Bible Quizzing. He was very hesitant, but we told him if he absolutely hated it we would never ever say the word quizzing ever again. He ended up loving it. This year both the boys are doing it. We were going to make Bam wait until 3rd grade, but our church has an awesome 1-2 grade team. The young ones have the same questions and everything.  They had their first quiz meet of the year this weekend. They both did a great job. They are very good study buddies. And it is all them. We do not sit with them or make them do any of their homework. It is all self guided. 

During the meet they have a few breaks. It’s hard to sit still for 48 questions! It’s even hard for the parents. It ends up taking about 1.5-2 hours.

Fred’s team got 2nd place out of, I believe 40. Bam’s team got 8th place, but no trophies for that. Maybe next time.

They were so proud of themselves and each other. They both got perfect on their 20 memory verses.

It’s never to late post our Halloween pictures right?   Good because we’re late!

Fred dressed up as Indian Jones and Bam was a puppy.  We didn’t get a whole lot of pictures this year.  This year at the harvest party they were off running around doing their own thing.  No more Mommy walking them from booth to booth. But still young enough to want to go to the Harvest Party.   On Halloween, the boys had their last soccer game of the fall season, and then we were off to Nana & Papa’s to trick or treat up and down their street. 

All the cousins before they all got seperated and had to trick or treat in groups.

Believe it or not, but this is the first year we have gone to the corn maze.  The boys and I went last week with the preteen Sunday school class, but Jason was unable to meet us there. So we went this week. We have gone  to pumpkin patches, and straw mazes before, but never the corn maze.  The boys and I had bought pumpkins earlier in the day while we were grocery shopping, so we just went on the tractor ride for fun.  We were going to do the scary maze, but that was before we were told it cost more money, so we just stuck with the tried and true unscary maze! We gave the flash light to the boys and let them lead. They did a great job. It only took us about 15-20 minutes. Of course since tomorrow is Halloween, the path was pretty worn down and obvious, but whatever, they got us through.  They took turns holding the light.  Jason kept trying to fall back and cut around to scare them, but it really was too busy.  So I just told them someone had been murdered in the corn field.  They laughed and said I was lying, but before they went to bed, Bam told me I sacred him! Bad mom award!  After a good game of hide and seek in the straw maze, some posed pictures, one where Bam dropped the camera taking a (blurry) photo of Jason and me, and some fresh doughnuts we headed home so the boys could get a good nights sleep for their last soccer game. All of this after it snowed yesterday, today was almost a perfect fall day! They are beyond excited for trick or treating tomorrow. I’ll bet it has nothing to do with going to Nana & Papa’s house. But it probably does.

Some nice man realized he bought to many glow sticks so he gave one to the boys.

Bam found a good hiding spot, then Daddy found him and pulled him out.

Jason was laying down hiding when Fred came around the corner. When Jason took the picture his breath made this cool fog effect!

Today the boys had their harvest parties in their classrooms.  Bam had his end of soccer pizza party.  I had the day off for parent/teacher conferences at my school.  All of these things happen in the fall, yet it snowed today.   Of course my camera fell out of purse in the car, so I have no pictures of any of these events.  Go figure.

Add this to things I can’t live without:

We started watching this a few months ago on netflix instant play. We were hooked within the first couple of minutes. We had been mourning the ending of Battlestar Gallactica, and we didn’t think anything would cure that empty feeling. We were wrong. We just started season 4, and we are still loving it! We are hoping to finish season 5 before Season 6, the final season starts in January. We are pretty confident we will be watching the finally with the rest of America. BUT just when I thought I was over the pain of Battlestar Gallactica, they go and throw this at me….

UGH!!! Don’t think for a minute that it is anywhere but the number one spot on our netflix queue!!

Now all I need is a picture of what Jason and I look like completely bundled up on the sidelines cheering them on!

This year we decided to try out our local soccer league, instead of the one in Nampa. We love this league! The boys are very happy with their coaches and team. Fred is definitely more serious about soccer than Bam is. Fred will be joining a winter indoor team, and Bam is just going to watch. Fred wants to keep up playing, using it for practice, so when he comes back in the spring, he is ready to go. Bam wants to try out baseball this coming spring, so it’ll be interesting how that schedule plays out, but I just know he’s going to have a blast. Until then, we have one more game to freeze through enjoy.

Trips to lots of parks
 

We went camping with my family. The boys spent more time in the water than the fish did. Not that we caught any.

Lots of produce from our garden. This is my first potato harvest. This was ONE plant! I had 5 plants total. Tomatoes were not so good this year.