Indian Summer

With the first snowfall in our forecast for this past week, I was spurred on to showcase the last of our photos from fall.  

I had either forgotten or had never really noticed how beautiful fall is in Minnesota.  It's stunning, really.  When the October temperatures were well above normal, and remembering that Minnesota winters are insanely cold, I tried to get the boys outside as much as possible.  

When the temps hit the upper 70s/low 80s in the middle of the month, we had a little water fun --- and I got a bit of free child labor.  Two birds, one stone.  I do what I can.  ;)

Nothing screams autumn like wearing your swim trunks in October, right???  

We continued to have absolutely beautiful days throughout the month, but now that it's mid-November,  I think it's safe for me to pack away the swim trunks.

His First Deer

My brother, Jeremy, hunts.  He's been hunting a lot with his bow the past couple weeks, watching and waiting to snatch his deer of the year.

This morning, he caught him.

Apparently he got home with just enough time to wash up before bringing Avery to school, so when Drew and I met them there (as we do every school day --- and Grammy and Reed happened to be with us, too), Avery was anxious to show us Jeremy's deer.

I'm thinking Avery means to show us a picture of Jeremy's deer.

Oh no.  He means to actually see Jeremy's deer.  Dead (obviously).  With the arrow still in it.  In the bed of his truck.

Riiigghhhhtt.

Getting home just in time to wash up before bringing Avery to school means not enough time to unload the deer.  So we got to see.

Let me just preface this by saying my children have never seen anything dead (which the exception of flowers).  Nothing.  Never.  So while I'm a bit hesitant to just show my kids a dead deer in the back of their uncle's truck, I also thought, "well, this'll be interesting...too interesting to pass up."

Jeremy says, "Now I gotta warn ya, boys, he's still a bit bloody."

Awesome.


{For those hunters out there reading this -- the deer had yet to be field dressed, so he's still in one piece.  It's one thing to see a dead dear, it's entirely another thing to see a deer with no guts.}


So everyone looks.  Yep.  Definitely a dead deer.  With a huge arrow sticking out of his side.  There was some blood, but not much.

My reaction:  "Wow.  Look at him."

Reed's reaction:  blank stare

Drew's reaction:  Silence.  I'm pretty sure his face contorted into several different grimaces before Jeremy closed up the bed.

Avery's reaction:  "Drew look at this! {while he grabs his horn to hold up his head}  His tongue is hanging out!"

After school, I asked Drew what he thought of Jeremy's deer.  He said he didn't like it.  Why?  "I didn't like the red stuff."

So there you have it.  Drew's first deer.

And probably his last.

Picture of the Day, Week 44

This week's photos confirm for me why I need to do things differently next year for our pictures of the day.  I had taken zero new photos since the first of the month.  None.  There are probably any number of reasons why I didn't pick up my camera this week (forgetfulness, lack of desire, too busy doing other things, which is probably while the blog has been quiet for a while) --- but I'm hopeful that a new outlook and a new plan for the new year will help revitalize my desire to document our family; the little moments, the big moments, and all the moments in between.

But for the next eight weeks, we'll keep at this, and I will attempt to be more conscientious of all that there is to capture and remember in our day to day life.

Here we go... 

Sunday {10.30.11}

Jeremy and Ashley invited the boys to attend a Halloween party that the MSU Mavericks athletics department was hosting.  There were games, candy, and lots of kids in costumes.  Despite an unwelcome appearance by Stomper, the mascot, both boys, Avery and Addy had a good time.

Monday {10.31.11}

Happy Halloween!

 Tuesday {11.1.11}

Post-lunch, pre-quiet time Cars videos online - sucks 'em in every time.

 Wednesday {11.2.11}
I don't know why we don't play more at Uncle Jeremy's house...he has way cooler toys than we do!

Thursday {11.3.11}
We still love to go the library to pick out new books to bring home.  Avery and Jeremy tagged along with us this afternoon when we went after school.  

 Friday {11.4.11}

On the short list of disadvantages to living where we are is no DVR.  Having to watch our shows online does have one advantage --- we watch less TV than we used to.  

 Saturday {11.5.11}

Grace was less than a month old when we moved to Illinois, and we've watched her grow from a distance.  We were finally able to celebrate a birthday with her today at her 5th birthday party.  What a blessing!

Halloween Night

Recognize these guys???

Mover Rich and Mover Dave wish you an Imagination Mover Halloween!

We just got back from trick-or-treating, but if it were up to Drew, we'd still be canvasing the neighborhood!  We got all dolled up in our costumes a bit before 5:30, so we could head out to snatch a few treats.  We went to a couple Trunk-or-Treat events before coming back to our neighborhood to walk our street.  It's so fun this year, now that Drew has caught on to the concept, and Reed is old enough to follow suit and do what Drew does.  As awesome as their costumes are, they aren't recognizable to many people.  A few kids the boys' age knew who they were, but no one over the age of 40 (and some younger) had a clue. :)

It was a fabulous day.  Drew had an Orange Party at school this morning, then spent the afternoon asking, "Is it dark yet? Is it time for candy?"  I have a feeling I'll be battling the "Can I have a piece of candy?" dragon until next year!  Ah well.  To me, it's just another joy of childhood!   

{Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf stopped by earlier this afternoon, too!}

**************************************************

So.  The costumes.  Pretty awesome, right?  Just give my mama allllllll the credit.  She is the coolest.  And can work her mad skills like nobody's business on that sewing machine!  I had been wanting to make Mover costumes for the boys since last year.  I had seen one that someone had made from a blue NASA flight suit; they had taken off the astronomy patches and attached the appropriate Mover bling instead.  I searched for flight suits but came up empty handed.  Purchasing an authentic Mover suit would've set me back $75...each.  So that was definitely out of the question.  The only option left was to attempt to make one.  And that never would've happened if we weren't currently living with my parents!  So there you go.  Another perk for our situation!  Anyway, my mom and I found a pattern for a jumpsuit, and we just happened to find some clearance fabric that was just about the right shade of blue we needed.  Mom had yellow and red fabric in her stash, and we had to purchase two zippers, elastic, a red hat, and the iron-on logos for the back.  All in all, the materials cost under $30 - for both costumes!  Thank goodness the labor was free - the time my mom put into these babies would've cost me a small fortune!  She did everything involved with the assembly of the suits - I cut the fabric and fashioned the gears, stripes and nametags, but mom did everything else.  The suits turned out great.  The boys love them, and so do we!

Oh!  And how did the boys decide which Mover they would be?  Drew chose Rich because he doesn't wear anything on his head. :)  And Reed was Dave by default because a red hat was easier to come up with than Smitty's cowboy hat or Scott's wobble goggles.  :)

I asked mom if she'd make two more suits for Brad and I, so we could complete the set.

She said no.

:)

  

Preparations

Halloween isn't my favorite holiday.  Well, maybe I should be a bit more specific.  I strongly dislike scary halloween.  Skulls, guts, blood, gore - no.thank.you.  Cute halloween, however - princesses, animals, children dressed as fruit - I can do cute.  And while my children are still young enough to do "cute," and while I still have control over what their costumes will be, we're gonna do it, baby. 

With our fall decor packed away in boxes, we didn't do anything by way of decorating for the season.  But we did pull a few things together to prepare for the big candy day tomorrow.

Prep Step 1: Pumpkin carving.

We went to Jeremy and Ashley's for a carving party... 

 

...and here are the kids carving their pumpkins!

Oh wait.  You don't see the kids?  

Oh that's right.  

That's cuz they

were here

 and here

and here.

It's just far too much fun to be with your cousins and have free reign of the garage, the backyard and all the toys while adults are distracted with pumpkin guts and sharp knives.  

 A quick break to pose with his pumpkin.

 When Drew saw that I had started on his McQueen pumpkin, he wanted to help.

 He did well, but those small cuts are pretty tricky, so his patience was tested as I widdled out the small pieces.

 Our end result.

 Cute, not creepy!

Prep Step 2: Craft Project.

A few days after carving pumpkins, we added to our Jack-O-Lantern collection with some Jar-O-Lanterns.  I found this idea in Family Fun magazine, and it turned out to be an absolutely perfect craft for the boys.  It was simple enough (glass jars + masking tape + orange paint), with a really fun result.

Prep Step 3: Baking.

We made the ghosts last year, and they were definitely delicious enough for a repeat this go around.  I had seen the witch hat cookies in a magazine and figured them to be a fun, and easy, alternative to anything else we might try.  And with *candy* being the end result of all of this Halloween mumbo-jumbo, I didn't figure we needed to go overboard in the sweets department.

Prep Step 4: Costumes.

This is definitely the icing on our Halloween cake!  I had an idea.  I wanted to make it happen.  The boys were in agreement, and very excited about it.

I went to the fabric store with my mom, and found the perfect pattern, to which I vaguely remember mumbling "I can do this" before promptly turning the pattern over to my mother.  My mom, my mom.  She made these costumes happen.  She put in I don't even know how many hours behind her sewing machine and at her ironing board mulling over the pattern, figuring it all out.  She used to sew clothes, but that was when I was 2.  So it has been a few years since she's attempted clothes-making.  And she had to make two!  TWO costumes, my mother made.  And let me tell ya - they.are.awesome.

The boys gave their costumes a trial run yesterday when we attended a community Halloween party as a fundraiser for the food shelf.  They played a few games to win some prizes and candy.  And again today, they got their candy on at MSU, where some of the Maverick athletes were hosting games with more candy prizes.

Step back, folks.  Sugar high to commence in 5...4...3...2...1...

Happy Halloween Eve!

Picture of the Day, Weeks 42 & 43

 Sunday {10.16.11}

We all got together for lunch to celebrate my parents' 39th wedding anniversary.

 Monday {10.17.11}

Brad "hired" a work crew to help rake the leaves.  They look like they're hard at work, don't they?  Don't let them fool you...they did more jumping than they did raking! But then again, so did Brad! :)

Tuesday {10.18.11}

This table is old, unstable, and probably dangerous for small children to play at.  But it is also very special, and holds many memories.  It's the "kids table" from my grandparents house, and it's so fun to see the great-grandkids sitting at it.

Wednesday {10.19.11}

When traveling, we frequent the drive-thrus, and now that Reed is a tish older, we're able to eat in the car.  I do squeeze myself onto the floor behind the passenger seat to assist the young man; who wants to clean ketchup and mustard out of the van upholstery?

Thursday {10.20.11}

The boys got some serious Grandma and Grandpa bonding time when we visited them for a few days this week.

Friday {10.21.11}

We headed to Des Moines this afternoon to spend a bit of time with Brad's sister and brother and their families, wherein Drew got some serious s'more pointers from Aunt Glenda!

Saturday {10.22.11}

The Des Moines Race for the Cure with the Gushee's!

Sunday {10.23.11}

One of Brad's favorite things is to attend his nieces' and nephews' sporting events, but since moving to Illinois, we weren't able to see them play very often.  We took the opportunity to watch our niece, Alison (left), play soccer before leaving town this afternoon.

Monday {10.24.11}

Halloween preparations are under way!  Pumpkin carving tonight at Jeremy and Ashley's resulted in these fine creations: Lightening McQueen, a funny face, a scary face, a football, and another Lightening McQueen.

Tuesday {10.25.11}

Reed wasn't quite ready to wake up from his nap this afternoon, and I guess Addy thought it looked mighty comfortable!

Wednesday {10.26.11}

We hadn't done any art projects at home since, well, since moving, and it was time to get our craft on.  Painting Jack-O-Lanterns onto glass jars was just the fix we needed.

Thursday {10.28.11}

I would like the entire retail industry to know that if they had carts just like the one's CVS does, it would make every mother's shopping-with-children dreams come true.  

 Friday {10.29.11}

Ghosts and witch hats are our homemade Halloween sweets this year.  Make that multi-eyed monster ghost cookies (thank you, Reed).

Saturday {10.30.11}

A poptart picnic breakfast in Grammy's room.  Drew's been asking to do this for weeks!