Pumpkin Patch

Here we are at the Pumpkin Patch, yet another fun Halloween activity. I know a lot of you out there are getting a little burnt out of all the "Halloween-ness," but I'm still enjoying it all. At the Country Mercantile store in Pasco, they put on a lot of fun for the family. They had 2 mazes for the kids to go through, and Spencer absolutely enjoyed running around and climbing the mounds of hay. He did it like 7 times! The boys went through some bounce houses a few times and Carter could do it all by himself. We ate yummy kettle corn, the boys tried their luck at a soccer shootout- and Spencer rather surprised us. I think we may need to put this kid in soccer, cuz what a leg! They had a live Jazz band that was fun to listen to. They even had pony rides. Carter absolutely enjoyed himself, while Spencer is just getting too big for that kind of stuff. We went on a tractor ride to go get our pumpkins. Carter found a cute little white pumpkin in the shape of an apple and on the ride back found 2 more little white ones that he insisted he have and carry all by himself. It was quite a treat seeing him balance 3 pumpkins. Spencer found a perfectly round, orange pumpkin after we told him that he had to carry himself back to the wagon, --so the enormous one he picked out first went back. The carving will commense tonight, so wish me luck.
All in all, it was just really fun to spend an afternoon with the family. The boys had fun, the weather was wonderful, even hot! and we got some great pics too, which I'm discovering how much I'd like to get into photography.
Happy Halloween tomorrow!

Pumpkin Patch

Halloween Festivities

Well we've already enjoyed some Halloween festivities and Halloween is still 2 weeks away. One party at my work, where the kids dress up, get to do some Halloween crafts, play games, eat lots of sugar, and even participate in a little parade. (but we didn't do the parade this year) After the work party we went to a ward party, which was really fun. The kids loved the food, were highlighted on stage for their costumes, and played some fun games after as well. Spencer enjoyed being Steve McNair from the Tennessee Titans and Carter enjoyed his pirate getup and even had a great impression of what a pirate says, ARRRRRR!
Enjoy the pics!

Randomness

I haven't had a whole lot to write about lately, just a few little things that I will mention. First, let's start with Spencer. This kid of mine continues to amaze me. His goodness, his abilities, how likable he is! I went to help out in his classroom Tuesday and having the kids read their assigned books to me, and then I get to grade them and write a little update on how they're doing. It was so fun! I show up and as soon as I see Spence, a smile just spreads on his face and it was nice that he was pleasantly surprised, (cuz who knows how long that'll last, seeing his own mom at school.) Anyways, I got to hear all the kids read, even Spencer, and I'm just so impressed at his level of reading, he's able to sound out words like magnificent and scientist, but what I was most impressed with was how he read his story to me and then was able to retell the story in amazing detail. The kid has quite a memory. Which leads me to my next thought, of how if Spencer with his amazing memory is able to retell all these details from a story at the age of 6, how is he going to remember his childhood? What will he remember of me at this age? Did I yell a lot? Get on him too much? Have no patience and a short fuse? (kind of the truth right now) He's such a great kid with so much potential, that it really makes me want to step it up. My focus is to make sure he feels safe, loved, and comfortable about himself, which I'm sure is every mother's goal, but for me right now, I have really felt a need to make this my priority.

Now on to Carter. 2 words loud and loud! But we are working on this, and I think he's really understanding that he shouldn't yell so much, but breaking this habit will definitely take some time. I admit, that sometimes I'd like to cut those vocal chords and enjoy the quietness, but then I wouldn't get to hear his sweet voice when he's not yelling. He is talking up a storm and says the cutest things! His "I love you Mommy, Huggies! and That's Funny!" are some of my favorites. He just really enjoys hearing his voice, which I know runs in the family, and you can't help but smile at all his lovely enthusiasm.