Siemer's Pumpkin Patch + Red Wagon

While Kile and Chris prepared for Dylan's birthday party, I thought it would be fun to take the kids to pick apples. I think everyone in the family was excited to go! This was the last weekend of the Apple Festival so I figured there were still going to be a few left for picking. I was wrong. Mom fail. 

All the kids were disappointed when we had to pack up in the car. Instead of going back to Aunt Kile's, we went to a pumpkin patch which also had activities for the kids. We went there last year and rode the train but that was about it. 

We didn't buy any pumpkins this year, as we already had some at home, but we did take advantage of the games! 

Hunter and JP had the option of riding the train or going down the giant slide. They chose 30-seconds of fun.

Charlotte chose 5 minutes of fun riding "Little Toot." She was so excited! She waved and waved as they left the station. 

As the train drove around for a little bit, her thoughts about the train completely changed.

By the end, she looked terrified and was overly anxious to get out. Did you have fun? *nods head* Do you want to do it again? *Vigorously shakes head*

Before we turned to go, Perry spotted pedal cars in the corner. I completely forgot about these! They definitely got their ticket worth on these! There wasn't a line of people waiting to use them so the lady let them go around a few times. JP went around once and had to take a break. Hunter could have spent all day doing this.

They attempted to race, but Hunter cheated by cutting through the middle of the track...

They had so much fun! I kind of wanted to try them out too...

Charlotte was mad she didn't get a turn. (She wouldn't have been able to reach the pedals!) We spent about 15 minutes watching the boys go around. By the end of it, Charlotte was almost asleep in Perry's arms. If she had her blanket, she probably would have been,

We weren't the least bit surprised when she fell asleep in the car. We had stay up WAY past our bedtime the night before.

The last time we were in Spokane it was for my friend's wedding. It coincided with Hoopfest downtown. The kids really wanted to play on the Red Wagon, but we said no way. It was much more peaceful downtown this trip. 

The first time she made it to the top of the wagon, she sat like she was going to go down the slide, but later got up and went back down the stairs. Eventually she braved the slide.

I was surprised she didn't fly off the end!

And I made this happen. Hunter hated every minute of it so I didn't have a lot of time to go back and forth between the original picture and their set-up. But hey!

Next time we'll work off of this one!

My Nephew Turns One!

He's not quite a one year old yet, but since next weekend is Halloween, we celebrated a year gone by with this little guy! Isn't he adorable?! I think he looks like his momma :)

 My sister baked this guy a pretty sweet cake. I didn't get a good picture of it, but the cake we ate (which was delicious!) was green with some grass added in the corners, and Dylan's football cake sat on top of it. This was no little football either!

 He made sure to eat every bit of it too! What a mess he made! He probably made more of a mess than my three kids combined. Way to go bud!

Nom nom nommm!

Check out those messy fingers! I could just eat them up!

Tell your brother "Happy Birthday, Casey!" Ah heck no! Hahaha! I love his eyes in the last one! Oh no you di-n't!

 After Dylan destroyed his cake, the dogs were quick to clean up the mess. Roxy ate most of it... There were a total of 6 dogs at the party, which almost out numbered the kids.

I caught this little ham being ridiculously cute eating his cake. He actually only ate the frosting!

I think it's safe to say everyone enjoyed watching this little cutie yesterday afternoon. He sure is loved by all! 

It's Time for the Corn Maze!

Since I began working in February, our family time has really decreased and I hate it. Recently I expressed I would be okay working one day a week if other people needed/wanted more hours. My wish was granted, even though I'm sure my pocketbook isn't going to be so in love with the idea once the decreased paychecks roll in! 

On my first Sunday off, I suggested we head over to the corn maze. It's become a tradition in our family; one the boys ask about year round. While it was a little windy out, the kids had a lot of fun!

Charlotte loved wandering through the kids' hay bale maze. She was so cute to watch as she navigated to the middle of the maze to get to the slide. 

Not a very good picture, but the slide is a large culvert. Hunter loved it too! As Charlotte became more comfortable going down the slide, she started getting more adventurous by going down backwards. 

They ran into one of many dead ends in the corn maze so I made them stop for a picture. Hunter's eyes are closed in all of them...

After the maze, they did a little bit of free play. Charlotte went back for more rides on the slide, cheating the system and just climbing over all the bales to get to the middle faster. She was so good as waiting in line for her turn too. I don't know that I've really taught her that. She's so patient, unless we're at the grocery store...

We let the kids pick out pumpkins to bring home as well. I was a little surprised with their choices. Hunter picked out a small white one. It's lopsided and can't stand up like a normal pumpkin. JP chose a small orange one, ignoring all the green ones. Charlotte picked out the largest of the kids' and struggled to carry it. Adorable.

JP wanted me to take this picture. You'd think he'd at least smile for it?!

Before we left to go home and watch football, we stopped at the petting zoo. Hunter and JP put their "masks" on to potentially scare the animals. So thoughtful of them...

Charlotte wasn't having much of the petting zoo and preferred if we weren't even there. 

We spent the rest of the afternoon as a family on the couch watching the football games, and me checking my fantasy team over and over. I also surprised Perry a few days before by buying all the ingredients for his dad's chex mix called "Nuts and Bolts." He had the boys help him whip up a batch the night before and then they all nibbled on them throughout the day. It was a perfect afternoon!

2015 Family Photos

We haven't had a good family picture in at least 3 years. It really just hasn't happened since Charlotte was born. I've been putting it off for quite a while... Every year on, or around our wedding anniversary, Perry and I take a picture holding the picture from the year before. This year I planned to do that again, but have a photographer take the picture in addition to a few family photos. Right around the time I was planning on booking a session, a friend of mine offered to trade me services - a cake for her son in return for a photo session. It was perfect!

For our anniversary this year, I planned on surprising Perry with tickets to the home football game. He's been wanting to go to a game for quite a while, but the timing hasn't worked out. This year there was a homegame just two days after our anniversary AND it was homecoming. I was planning it for at least 9 months. Unfortunately for us, it didn't work out this year either. Perry was going to be a groomsman in one of his friends' wedding that day. Instead of going to the game, we spent the weekend in Whitefish without the kids. Grandma had JP and Nanny took care of Hunter and Charli. So nice to not have to tend to the kids at the wedding/reception. 

Because I took the whole weekend off of work, I opted to do the photo shoot that Sunday evening when we returned home. It was a beautiful evening out too! We couldn't have asked for a better night...just a couple better attitudes. Perry and JP really don't like getting their pictures taken... I've been in suspense the last week waiting to get the pictures back from her. 

 Because I don't have many pictures with the kids, I asked for one. 

 And one of just me and Charlotte too! I love how this one turned out!

Even though Hunter isn't looking, this one is a good representation of the kids. Charlotte being all cute and adorable, JP with his "look", and Hunter not paying attention. :) 

2015 Soccer Season Off To A Good Start

It started out as a rough morning for us. Everyone was extra tired from yesterday, and I was wanting to sleep for an extra half an hour. Charlotte woke up around 7 and came running to my room announcing, in a not-so-quiet voice, "I'm wake, mommy! I wake mom! I wake up mommy!" Oh good job, Charlotte...And then she turned on the lights. UGH. I'm so not a morning person. I then found Hunter trying to sneak a bunch of snacks out of the pantry, followed by another pillow fort making the downstairs a disaster. Not what I wanted to wake up to...

We made it to the soccer field with a couple minutes to spare, after hiking clear across the rain soak grass in my heel boots. What was I thinking? 

 JP got his jersey right before the game. He's number 5 and thinks it's super cool, since he's 5. (Hunter 6 in baseball and was 6 years old too..)

 Before the game began, Coach Debi went over the basic things, like how they were going to kick off, and which way to kick the ball. They also decided they were going to be the Sharks when they wear their blue jerseys and the Dragons when they wear the red pinnies. 

JP was chosen to kick the ball off to start the game off. Woot woot!

 Not to be confused, that's about the only time he kicked the ball...There was a little bit of standing around on his part. 

 Occasionally, he would throw it in, or do a corner kick? whatever that is...

But more likely you could him chasing after everyone and running to where the ball was before it was kicked away. He did great regardless. Other than practice the other day, this was really his first time playing soccer. 

 At the very end of the 2nd quarter, he just stopped playing. He instead stood in the center of the field staring at me...like this. 

 There was a little confusion after the half when they switched nets. JP was told to go near the net so he could be ready to kick it in. He instead opted to be the goalie against his team. Ooops!

 

He took a break on the sidelines for a little while, and then came in without his coach's "okay" so they played 5 on 4 for a while before she noticed. 

At the beginning of the 2nd half, it started to lightly rain. By the end of the game, everyone was pretty wet and ready to go. JP said he had a lot of fun and is excited for his next game. I just hope the weather is better! 

JP's First Soccer Practice

I was feeling really, really bad this spring when I signed Hunter up for baseball because we had agreed that JP could play soccer. Then I missed the sign-up deadline for soccer and JP was heartbroken, especially when he found out his friend was in soccer... After talking with his pre-school teacher a few weeks ago, she referred me to a recreational-based soccer club, who has a season in the fall. I put off looking into it a little too long and missed the deadline by a week. I really didn't want to have to break the news to him again, so I emailed and asked if I could still sign him up after the deadline. I'm glad I asked too because they were able to find him a spot. Phew! 

We hustled out of the house this afternoon and were *only* a couple minutes late - got to love 5:00 traffic...But getting out of the house with 3 kids is a challenge alone! JP had a little meltdown when we arrived because Hunter brought JP's soccer ball to play with while practice was going, but JP insisted that he needed it for practice. There were plenty of extra...The things they fight over...

 They did a couple drills at practice, like throwing the ball in-bounds and dribbling. 

 After about half an hour, they played a little game to practice chasing the ball and getting it to *their* net.

 JP did great! He was always on task and it was so much fun to watch all the kids! Coach - "What do you do when someone takes the ball from you?" Little girl - "Start crying." Ha ha ha...

 Since the kids started school, Missoula doesn't seem so big. We're slowly but surely getting to know people. This little girl with JP, above, went to the 2-day pre-school with him. He says he doesn't remember her though.

This little boy has quickly become one of JP's friend's at school. Other than the two in his class that he went to pre-school with, this is the first kid that JP remembers what their name is. (Coincidence? He's the tallest kid in the class. Hunter also picked the tallest kid in his class last year to be friends with first.)

After practice Perry took the kids to the soccer net so he could shoot some goals while I got clued in to where all the games were and what to wear...JP looks so small in the net!

Our First Week of School So Far

We're officially a week into the school year and so far it's going *fairly* smoothly. We're still trying to get back into the swing of the things but we're getting there! I am very anxious for Perry to get the lockers done that he's been working on for the last couple weekends. So far it looks great! I love when I can draw and describe something I want, and he can build it for me. Like the gate at the top of our stairs - the best idea I've had in a long time! More on the lockers, next week?, when they're done!

JP has been enjoying school so far. He knew two kids in his class from the start, so I think that helped him adjust a little - not everything was new! One of the kids he knows is my friend's daughter, and she is so stinkin' cute! (I think JP can agree too, though he won't admit it to his mom...) They don't sit at the same table, but he was sure to tell me the arrangement. "I sit at the orange table and she sits at the red table behind me. I can't see her, but I know she can see my back!" *said with a lot of emotion and googly eyes. He also asked if he could take some candy to school to give to her... Ahhh!

But not everything has been so cute with him so far. Last week he went to school in the morning and a mid-day bus brought him home around 12:30p. That length was perfect for him. It was adorable to watch him get off the bus the first day - he sat by the window and waved at me as the bus approached the stop. SO CUTE! This week though, the bus ride home has been a little hard him. On Monday he and Hunter got into a spitting fight because JP didn't want Hunter to sit with him...so Hunter spit at him and then JP spit back... They both got in trouble from the bus driver and since that made poor JP mad, he ran across the road after getting off the bus, and then got in trouble again for not waiting for the driver to signal them across. That plus mom not letting him eat his snack in the living room caused a HUGE meltdown after school. Mom is so mean...

On Tuesday he waited for the driver to signal him across the road, but he was looking on the verge of tears when he got to me. Apparently "some kids older than Hunter" were pinching him on the bus. It didn't hurt, but he didn't like it. They also tried to take his backpack and that really hurt his feelings. Perry asked Hunter to sit with him on the bus, or near him, so if it happens again, Hunter can help JP out in the situation, or more likely, so we can get more information on what is going on. I expected problems on the bus, but more so between Hunter and JP.

Hunter and I are having a couple struggles this year too. He has homework this year, and he hates it. Each night he is supposed to read for 15-20 minutes and complete his math homework that should only take about 5 minutes. He's pretty good at math, but absolutely hates reading. I think he just needs more confidence. He hates sounding out words and when he reads he just mumbles and it so frustrating because I can hardly hear what word he's saying... So that's been fun. Yesterday brought a form home explaining how each child needs a homework helper. The person he selects will be available to help the him with his math homework each time homework is sent home. The person he selected? Not mom or dad. Neighbor Dan. And when we explained that he might not be home all the time to help him, he selected neighbor Darrell, who he hardly talks to. Honestly, Dan would be a good choice for him because Hunter adores him. But I really don't think it would work out. Maybe every so often we could work something out with him though... Hunter doesn't know it yet, but I signed up to be his helper. Kind of an obvious choice. Maybe in a few years he can be Charlotte's helper?

We're also struggling to wake up in the morning. And by we, I actually mean ME. I hate getting up before 7am. I am just not a morning person! I'm really surprised we were never late for the bus last year. A couple close calls but we made it. Hopefully we can keep the streak going this year! Tomorrow should be fun waking JP up since he has soccer practice tonight...