Kohl's 30% off

My catalog has a 30% off, the code is HOLIDAY30, or if anyone needs to borrow it, let me know!

Jack-O-Lanterns

I bought the "Mr. Potato-head" pumpkin decorations thinking I might get by easy this year, but no such luck. Andrew decided he wanted to carve the pumpkins. He chose the Vampire, and Colby's is the witch. Colby loved pulling all the slime and seeds out of the pumpkins, but I could hardly get Andrew to put his hands in the pumpkins!

Happy Halloween!

Here are our Halloween pics. Andrew wanted to be Batman this year, and I was able to talk Colby into reusing the Thomas the Tank Engine costume I made for Andrew. Andrew stayed home this morning, but I took him to school after lunch since he has felt fine this morning. Should be a fun evening of Trick-or-Treating!

Photo Ops in our backyard

I have been wanting to get the boys out to the old school house for quite awhile and get some photos of them. The weather was perfect tonight, so we seized the opportunity, sick kid and all! These are by no means professional pictures, but I like the black and whites. The boys are very tough to work with because they always have something better than holding still on their mind! When we got home, I told Colby that he had not listened very well and he said "I didn't want to" very matter-of-factly! We had a nice little talk about listening after that! Hope you enjoy!

Home with Andrew

I am home with Andrew today. Last night, we started to notice that he was looking a little ill, and not feeling well. This morning he has been running a low grade fever and his throat is a little sore. He has been lounging on the couch all day. He didn't eat lunch, and while I was on the porch doing laundry, he went to his bedroom, shut the door, got in bed and went to sleep. Hopefully a day of rest will have him well enough to enjoy Halloween!

The great outdoors!

Sunday we loaded up and headed to the creek to cut some firewood in preparation for what we fear may be a very cold winter. Not only is it a great workout, but the boys love being outside being "boys." As you can see, the boys were checking out the creek, I think already making plans to swim once summer rolls around again. Colby would have really liked to have gotten into the water Sunday, but amazingly, I was able to talk him out of it! Being out in nature and seeing how pretty and serene it can be, got me thinking about a future project. I would like to build a fire pit and simple shelter in the general vicinity of the creek and the pond we fish at. I can already envision the boys as teenagers camping there in the summer. I think that will have to wait for spring now though! I have also added a new picture of the puppies. I think they have at least doubled in size in one week!

Haunted Hay Maze

Saturday night Andrea, Lauren, and I took the boys to the Haunted hay maze. After map quest sent us on a wild goose chase, we discovered that the maze was 5 miles straight south of my house! We stood in line for a little while waiting to get to enter, then the adventure began! At first, it is as though you are walking through a haunted house. Once through it you are outside in the hay maze, with two scare actors down, the big question was "How many more?" We wound our way around with the guidance of Andrew and his glow necklace. Round and round we went, with no scare actors yet. We enter a large open area with a tree in the center, then through a passageway to another open area with a few options for exits. Little did we know we would revisit this exact area three more times before finally making our way out. Back the way we came thinking the exit must be the other way. Dead end after dead end lead us back to the large open areas. This time however, the scare actor who had hid so well the first time that Lauren had touched his prop, got us good. We leave the way we came with the kids both saying they want out and don't ever want to come back. Round and round again, all knowing in the back of our heads we would have to face the scare actor again. Lauren and I went ahead to find the exit and Andrea stayed behind with my frightened kids. We thought that talking to him might save us a scare, so we enter the circle, start scouring the edge for the way out, when Lauren says "He's coming", I turn around and he is right over me, I probably jumped 10 feet high, and I knew he was there!! But it was worth it, we found the exit! After going through the maze, you follow a rock trail through their back yard that is full of old and odd trinkets. Then to the outdoor kitchen for a roasted marshmallow, and the concession stand for popcorn. Andrew had marshmallow from one cheek to the other by the time we got home. When we got home, the fire pit was still hot from roasting hot dogs for supper, so we made smores. Colby was so tired by now, he could hardly feed himself. All in all a very fun Autumn evening!