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.

Wings Over Washington

We took the boys to an air show last night at the Pasco airport. We all had a blast! I stumbled onto the idea after seeing an advertisement in a coupon magazine. So I bought the tickets online. I packed up all the things the air show website recommended and off we went. The day was a huge success. This is how it started. Online, it said that parking would cost $10, but when we got there it only cost $5. Then, when we went to go in and hand them our printed tickets from the internet, the guy tried putting a VIP band on Rob and I. I tried to stop him and explained that I didn't buy VIP's, I bought the Adult passes, but he assured me he was right. What am I going to do? Argue with a wonderful man who wanted to upgrade our bands to VIP? that's right! Rob said, this will probably be the first and last time for us honey. So in we went with our special green bands, (not your low class red bands.)
They had 2 bounce houses for the kids, airplanes all spread out for you to look at. Army forces recruitment booths, one of which thought I should join, yah right! I said no, it's not for me! The guy was pretty persistent. He really wanted me to sign up, just goes to show you how desperate they are, now doesn't it! But our little Spencer didn't back down. He did 10 pushups on the asphalt! and scored a free poster. -what a stud. ---We found our spot along the runway, laid out our blanket and set out our chairs, and then Rob found out just what VIP meant. There was a special taped off area for the "special" $35 per person people, where they served a catered buffet BBQ dinner, complete with the most delicious chicken and steak, side dishes, and drinks one could enjoy. (Rob mentioned that if we drank beer, we really would have saved some money.) It was delicious, and here's the funny part. I mean if someone gives you something for free, you better bet we're going to enjoy it. They started serving food at 3:30pm 30 minutes before the show started. So we went and had a bite to eat. And then yes, we went back at 6 for round 2. They also had tatoos and face-painting for kids, Spencer became a cheetah, which freaked Carter out for the next 10-15 minutes, because Spencer wouldn't stop hissing and crouching like a cheetah cat waiting to pounce his next meal, which apparently Carter thought was him. Oh brotherly love-
We went back to our spot just before the show started, grabbed a bag of cotton candy and placed our ear protection on.
They had a really cool opening presentation and a pilot even sang the Star Spangled Banner while he flew all these aerobatic moves in his airplane. They had a long procession, almost parade, of all the counties fire and police departments and their vehicles. Bomb squad, armed forces, hummers, cars, trucks, boats, and then some.
They started with an F15E jet. This sucker was so loud! It traveled faster than the speed of sound. Rob and I thought it was so cool! Then they had the Canadian Blue Darts hit the air, all 9 of them, where they did some spectacular flight formations and even drew a heart in the sky. At one point, they had 2 airplanes fly directly at each other and then at the last second turn and just miss one other--Spencer turned around and said to me, "that was awesome!" Even Carter sat still and just watched all the planes. He loves airplanes though, everytime one flies over our house he has to stop, point up at the sky, and yell airplane momma! They had a few other free falling planes and one really quiet, bomb dropping airplane that could maneuver so easily. It was just amazing to watch. Lastly they had an old WWII airplane fly alongside another one and it gave Rob and I chills! The music was great, fun atmosphere, and you couldn't have picked a better night. Even though we were facing the sun, it was completely overcast and just a cool pleasant evening full of 3 hours of watching different airplanes do amazing tricks. I mean we scored a great deal, saved over $40, the boys had a great time, Rob and I did too. Spencer & Rob even got their picture in the paper, check it out!
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/galleries/gallery/327364.html

Go Cougars!

Such a lucky kid! Rob received tickets to a WSU game and took Spencer Saturday night. They left right after Spencer's Flag Football game to make it before kickoff. It was a 2 hour drive. They packed a lunch, their Cougs shirts, rain gear, and a blanket. They called and I got to talk to Spencer, and I could tell he was just grinning from ear to ear having a great time watching some football with his dad. They enjoyed the game with a 34-9 win over the Portland somebody's? It rained on them pretty hard, so Rob asked him when he wanted to leave, and Spencer said, "Not till the game's over." Ya gotta love it. Rob tried to keep him as dry and warm as possible, but let me just tell you how wet the blanket and all their clothes were when they got home. It was close to 11 when they got home, Spencer had fallen asleep in the car, so Rob carried him up to his bed, laid out all the stuff to dry, and I got to hear how cool it was the next day.
Go Cougs!