Fall Break: Part I

We hit up our local library for a morning during Fall Break. We were invited into the area where the books were sorted. It was quite fascinating.

Emma and Myles harvested Emma's sunflower seeds. My goal is to season and roast them today.

And we enjoyed having friends over in the backyard. It's been too quite since the Cramers left!

The Youngest

I think there are definite perks to being the youngest child and I can say this as the youngest in my own family. Myles and I are palling around this last year before he starts full-day Kindergarten next year. He is very inquisitive. He is especially curious about how things are made. I've resorted to YouTube to answer some of these questions: How are bullets made? How is water made? How do they make shoes? How do they make pillows? ***And so on and on and on!!  I've actually enjoyed listening to these videos and learning more myself.

"How bullets are made."

Spending waaaaaay longer than planned at Sam's Club to accommodate the children's book section.

The occasional afternoon nap in my bed.

All the creations with magformers and legos.

He caught a "butterfly" aka grasshopper. I wasn't going to pop his bubble though--I mean, look at that smile.

Getting creative for our Pre-K snacks for Halloween.

This little man has my heart and it's a good thing otherwise he may not make it to the end of each day. :)

Cub Scouts and Primary Program

Luke earned his "Wolf" in Cub Scouts. He had some great leaders that made it a lot of fun for him. He is sad that Cub Scouts is going away at the church level. We'll have to see what we can help supplement this program with.

The kids also had their Primary Program. They each memorized their parts and spoke clearly into the microphone. We had no idea what our wild card, Myles, would do, but he was quite charming if I do say so myself. :)

I failed to get a picture of all the children, but Bryan did sneak this photo of Mr. Myles.

We did enjoy some Sunday afternoon snuggles and games. I love when I don't have any church obligations after church and get to just chill at home! 

Luke Turns 9!

Luke recently turned NINE and requested an outdoor adventure with his dad. They hiked the Devil's Causeway, fished and shot guns. I think Bryan enjoyed this as much as Luke so I'm counting it for Bryan's birthday, too! Luke is non-stop action. He is always wanting to be on the go. Any day that he is content at home I feel like I should take his temperature and make sure he isn't getting sick. :) He continues to have a sensitive heart. I love when I walk by his room at night and see him kneeling on his upper bunk bed for bedtime prayers. He loves to watch and play sports. Bryan continues to read up on all sports statistics to satisfy Luke's endless requests of sports stats. So grateful to have Luke as a son!

Team Germany!

Myles switched to a different soccer league and their uniforms are legit! This league is more economical and better organized than our city's rec league. I do love Castle Rock, but their sports programs make me roll my eyes. Pretty sure my 4-year-old isn't going to be a pro soccer player and we shouldn't need to pay those kind of fees fo volunteer coaches. Anywho, rant over. Love this little German player who has quite the celebratory dance any times he scores. I really need to get that on video! :)

Spider Monkey

We celebrated Emma's (delayed) and Luke's (early) birthdays by going to Spider Monkey. It was a fun, sweaty time. We ate Little Caesar's pizza in the parking lot afterward--keeping it super classy! :)

Labor Day Weekend

We stayed close by for our holiday weekend, but still managed to get a lot done. We went up to the Fort Collins Temple on Saturday (about 3 hours away round trip). The McNeils joined us and we swapped watching each others kids at a nearby park while we each went. It was a good, but long day. We will be so happy when our Denver temple is open again in October. That night we joined the Salley's for an outdoor movie in their backyard along with some other friends.

Sunday, we were spoiled to dine with Groesbecks and try his homemade pizza--SO GOOD! Our kids provided the entertainment by arguing and fighting with each other. :) We also enjoyed a nice afternoon/evening at the new Deputy Parrish Park that opened right behind the kids' school.

Monday, we went up to Decker's and the kids and Bryan fished. The kids did better than I thought they might with stream fishing and spinners, ha! We still had our fair share of tangles and snags. Bryan managed to land a couple fish so we weren't skunked. I sent Bryan fishing solo the next weekend so he could actually fish. :) That afternoon, we closed down the neighborhood pool. Long live Summer! Colorado does have a wonderful September and this year has been no exception. I'm grateful for his because I am not ready for cold, snowy weather!

Myles' First Day of Pre-K

Myles was excited for his first day with Mrs. Kristen. She is wonderful (both Luke and Emma had her) and took Myles in last minute. We feel blessed that it worked out for Myles to go there---he is loving it!

Mrs. Kristen opens the door at 9:00 for Pre-K. A few days into school, we arrived a few minutes early and I told Myles he could get out and play on the grass. Well, he was so excited that he waited 2 inches from the front door anticipating Mrs. Kristen. It reassured me that I made a good decision.

Rockies vs. Braves

We caught a day game of the Rockies vs. Braves. I was unsure who I was going to root for given that I grew up watching the Braves. However, I couldn't name a current Braves' player. I guess the only reason I know any of the Rockies' names is thanks to Luke. :) It was a slower game, but the 8th and 9th innings were action packed and the Rockies won with a walk-off home run. Go figure that after five brothers I would ever want to set foot in a baseball stadium again, but I love it. 

Girls' Night

Emma and I had fun girls' night while the boys were gone camping. We met up with another friend and her daughter for a "fancy" dinner at Chili's, hot tubbing and nail painting at their home. Emma then had a sleep over with me in my room and loved watching TV in bed. The next day she watched cartoons in bed and helped me bottle pears. Love the time we had together.

Father and Sons Camp Out

Bryan took Luke and Myles to the Father and Sons campout at Chatfield Reservoir. Myles was pumped that it was boys only...to the point of giddiness. :) Bryan observed that, in reality, he spent little time with his sons because Myles and Luke were too busy playing with friends, ha! Luke skipped his soccer game that morning in order to stay longer and play on the lake.

Catching Frogs.

Livin' Large.

Day Date

We were invited to go boating with some friends from church. While the timing wasn't great for Byran's work, he made it happen and we had an absolute blast. Myles tagged along and enjoyed the boat ride. He attempted Wake Surfing with Bryan, but it didn't quite work out. It was such a nice break from the usual routine and good for my soul! Loved the sun and being on the water.

Tandem wake surfing didn't work out for Bryan and I either, but it was hilarious trying it out.