November Tidbits

With November being the beginning of the holiday season it also means things pick up and we get a lot busier.  The boys are getting so big!  One day as we were packing up for church that hit me.  So I decided to snap some pictures of our big boys.

 Carter is hilarious!  He is constantly making us laugh and smile.  He's really in to drinking things with straws lately.  He loves it.  Here he was one morning drinking his yogurt.

 Ethan and I had some fun doing projects in November.  One day we had "Turkey Apples" for a snack.

 We actually made this apple print wreath in September, but Ethan wanted to get his picture with it.

 I love it when they do things together and actually get along!  They were watching a DVD together one morning and they just laid there so nicely!

 I was so grateful Tristan was home for Thanksgiving this year.  He actually flew in on Thanksgiving Day, so we got up early and went over to my parents' house for breakfast and the beginning of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  We left from there to pick Tristan up around 10.  Surprisingly, traffic was great and the airport wasn't too crazy.  We were back in town by 12 and we got to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with Tristan's family this year.  His sister, Tiffany, and their family were here visiting from Utah so we went over to his mom's house to visit and, of course, EAT!

I headed out the next morning with Kelly to do some traditional Black Friday shopping.  We went around 5 a.m.--so we weren't as crazy as some people!  We didn't do any door-busting, but we did enjoy some Starbuck's treats, the Fred Meyer sock sale and some other good shopping.  It was actually kind of nice that it wasn't so crazy since most people seemed to have gone out on Thanksgiving night.

That evening the boys opened their Christmas jammies so we could start getting ready for Christmas fun!

 I also let them open their book early this year (every year we give each of them a book to add to our library) because it was Elf on the Shelf.  I wanted to be able to have fun with our elf before Christmas was over!  It took a few days, but Ethan finally decided that she (I didn't even know there were boy and girl elves) should be named Penguin.

 Penguin sitting at her post taking notes for Santa.

 One morning Ethan found her reading in a fort!

 Carter's reaction...can't tell if he's impressed or not!

 Another morning she was making mischief in the bathroom.

Penguin is actually kind of a lazy elf.  She doesn't always get into trouble at night, but the boys don't seem to mind, which is good for me in case I forget.  I'm sure as they get older I will have to be more on top of my game, but for now I'm enjoying being low-key.  I'm sure it will be a fun tradition for our family for years to come!

Boys Weekend

The first weekend in November I got to attend Time Out for Women in Portland, OR.  I was gone for a night--my first night away from Carter--and left my boys here to fend for themselves!  The conference was wonderful and it was so nice to go and spend some time with some friends and be uplifted!

Saying goodbye on Friday morning

 Tristan dropped me off at Denise's house and then he and Brian took the kiddos out a nature trail since they were both single dads for the weekend!

Carter looks like he had a great time exploring and running around!

 The next day Brian and Tristan took the boys out to Priest Point Park.

Ethan and Caitlyn

Enjoying the playground

 Carter looks like he loved this toy!

 Cute little Emma

 Ethan trying out the slide

 Carter lovin' the swing

 All worn out at lunch time!

 Saturday afternoon Tristan took the boys out to try to get a handle on the leaf situation in our front yard for me.

Putting the dump truck to work!

 Silly boy!

 Lovin' fall!

I got home Saturday night just in time to put Ethan to bed.  It was a wonderful weekend and I was so grateful for Tristan taking the boys on all on his own.  I know that's not easy, but he did a great job!

Halloween

We had a lot planned for the day of Halloween, so we started off the morning with some jack-o-lantern and ghost pancakes and ghost bananas.

 The we set to work painting our pumpkins!  We had really wanted to do them sooner, but Tristan was gone the first part of October and we were busy leading up to the day of Halloween, so we did it on Halloween.

Ethan painting his pumpkin

 Me working on Carter's pumpkin

 The finished products:  my pumpkin and Tristan's pumpkin

 The finished products:  Ethan's spider and Carter's ghost

 Heading out to make the rounds!  Carter, the elephant; me, the cat; and Ethan, the pilot

 Carter found a leaf!

 Our first stop was to see Grandpa and Grandma Walker.  Carter was so snuggly!

 The boys with grandpa and grandma

 Next we stopped by Grandma Bernard's for some yummy Halloween snacks!  I'm not sure what happened to Ethan, but my guess is he was too busy playing to come take a picture!

Grandma Bernard and Carter

 Then we stopped by Kelly's house for her annual Halloween gathering and trick-or-treating!  Carter started out in the wagon, but didn't want to stay there for very long!

 Ethan and Caitlyn at their first house

 Carter decided to give it a go with dad.

 Two of my favorite guys!

 Afterward we stopped back by Kelly's house for a bit and said our goodbyes.  Not before Tristan got some more silliness in, though.

Our last stop was by Brian and Denise's house for their Halloween gathering.  No pics becaus we were all pooped, but it was fun to visit and the kids did great even though it was way past their bedtime.

It was a full and busy day and it was so fun to celebrate with Tristan this year for a change!

Schilter Family Farms

Allisha and Rich asked us to get together with them to head out to the pumpkin patch one pretty afternoon.  We hadn't taken the kids to this particular patch before, so we were excited to see what it was like!

Skyler, Caitlyn, Dylan and Ethan measuring up!  Carter wouldn't stay put long enough, so he didn't make it into this picture!

 Next stop:  the hay bale maze!  The kids really had a lot of fun running around in the maze.

Caught up with Ethan

 Carter and Daddy

 Ethan found Caitlyn!

 Next up was the hay loft.  This was by far the hit of the day.  The kids loved playing in the hay and I'm still finding bits of it in my laundry!

Ethan climbing up

 Dylan, Ethan and Caitlyn deciding whether they want to jump or not

 Ethan and Skyler post-jump

 I took a leap with Carter.  I love how his eyes are closed.  He had fun jumping, too!

 Carter playing in the hay

 Once we were able to pry the kids away from the hay we stopped at one of the mini playgrounds they have.  Ethan was thrilled to find some tractors he could actually drive!

 Carter testing it out

 Brothers driving together

 Ethan trying out the slide

 Me and the boys

 There was a place for pumpkin bowling and while we were playing a pumpkin split.  Carter picked it up and started eating it!  That kid will eat anything!

 Me being silly with the boys

 Hopping on the hay ride to head out to the corn maze

 On our way to the maze Carter discovered all of the pumpkins nearby.  He loved sitting on them and running around them.

 Skyler, Ethan, Dylan and Caitlyn getting ready to head into the corn maze

 Ethan in the corn...He looks pretty happy here, but he actually spent most of the maze worried that we "were lost".  On top of that, we forgot our Ergo and Carter was a hot mess because he was tired.  Poor Tristan was wrangling him the whole time trying to get him to fall asleep in his arms.  Needless to say, the corn maze was not the favorite part of the day.  Maybe next year!

 When we got back we headed to the petting farm.  The boys loved the kittens!  In fact, after playing and petting the kittens they weren't really interested in any of the other animals.

I love how intently both boys are just staring at it!

 Ethan holding one--his dream come true!

 We stopped at another fun little playground they had and let the kids run around some more.

 Carter and Emma chatting it up

 Carter riding the tire horse

 Ethan on the tire tractor

 We had to stop by the hay loft one more time, too.  The kids just loved it so much.

 Headed out to pick out our pumpkins

 Ethan found his!

 Carter loved EVERY pumpkin!

 Headed back to the car

It was such a pretty afternoon and it was so nice to visit with friends while the kids played.  The pumpkin patch is definitely on of our favorite October traditions!