Halloween . 2013

On Halloween night we enjoyed a pumpkin shaped pizza (very different from what Ryder was calling it - "pumpkin pizza"!).  Dessert was a scoop or orange sherbet with a chocolate chip face.  Definitely not "traditional", but a fun night for us!

I post the Brothers post each month (October 2013), but here's a few of the outtakes too!

Painting Pumpkins . 2013

Even though we don't celebrate Halloween, we still like to participate in traditions we can do together!

We chose to paint our pumpkins again this year!  It was too cold to go outside, so we brought a tarp inside, and let the boys strip down to their underwear/diapers.  They are allowed to paint wherever and however they would like.  Each of the pumpkins turned out perfectly!

The boys all loved the book "It's Pumpkin Day, Mouse!" - it was out for the month of October in the bedtime selection.  Patrick and I took the time to paint some of the smaller pumpkins with faces from the book - the boys thought it was hilarious!

Pumpkin Patch . 2013

Knowing that our October weekends were rather booked, we visited the pumpkin patch the last Sunday in September.  Unfortunately, they were closed - however, the owner still allowed us to take the boys' pictures!

This was our fourth year visiting this same location for pumpkins.  Although we weren't able to walk away with actual pumpkins, it was nice not having to compete with other customers for the perfect picture!

2012 | 2011 | 2010

(For the fourth year in a row, we visited the local pumpkin "patch" (it's really more of a farmer's stand).  This year, on an overcast Sunday, following church, we stopped by to pick our pumpkins.  Although they were actually closed, the owner agreed to let us take the boys' pictures at the pumpkin pile.  It may have taken MANY outtakes, but we were able to capture great shots of all three boys!  We may have to go back again in future years when they are closed - we didn't have to work around tons of people!)

Harvest Festival & Campfire . 10.26.2013

The weekend before Halloween our church held a "Harvest Festival" - indoor trick-or-treating and games and a bounce house outside.  The boys participated in a few of the games - primarily the toilet paper and pumpkin bowling, but they tired of it quickly because of how crowded the room was.  Jarrett missed the idea of using the pumpkin as a ball, and just ran for the stack of toilet paper!  Outside Ryder and Harvick were eager to play in the bounce house, but the final slide proved to be too tall of a climb.  Patrick was able to help Ryder reach the top, but Ryder was not happy about the height he had to slide back down!  The boys each enjoyed a few pieces of candy, as well as their first taste of soda (Sprite)!

When we got home we enjoyed a campfire in our backyard, roasting marshmallows to make smores!  The boys were all so careful to stand far enough away from the fire, while enjoying it.

  

  

Fright Lights . October 2013

We've made the choice to not celebrate Halloween until the boys show interest in the holiday.  Finding family friendly, non-Halloween events can be a little hard; but, worth the effort!

A co-worker of mine runs the "Fright Lights" at Willard Bay, so with her invite, we attended for the first time this year.  The boys enjoyed the maze - they could navigate it on their own, while we watched from outside, given the height of the stacks!  They had a blast in the hay jump, and wanted to spend the majority of their time jumping off of the stack.  We ended our night out driving around the lights a few times, with the boys picking out their favorite displays.

Black Island Farms . October 2013

I am so very behind on this blog.  Life has just put it on the "back burner".

Adding to our busy life, I recently discovered that I am not able to continue using Shutterfly for our family scrapbooks.  I had the 2013 nearly half way complete when I received notification that a book is limited to 1,000 pictures.  Never mind the fact that you can have 30 pictures/page, and up to 111 pages - a total of 3,330.  I was already worried I wouldn't be able to condense to the 111 pages, but being limited to 1,000 photos just wouldn't work for me.  So, I've had to search other options.  I think I've finally found one that will work (and, yes, I've been in contact with Customer Service to ensure there is no unspoken picture limit!).

One final note - my plan is to publish posts as I create them, but as I find time (a few weeks later), I will be moving them to the dates they occurred - so that I can find old posts more easily in the future (I'm confident I won't remember to check February 2014 for October 2013 posts!).

And, finally - the pictures!

We continued our annual tradition of visiting Black Island Farms mid-October.  For the first time, we participated in the "hay ride" to the farm's pumpkin patch, where each of us got to pick our own pumpkin from the field.  The ground was rather uneven, which made each of you a bit nervous to explore.  The pumpkins were still attached to their vine, so dad had to pick each one for us.  Once we gathered all of our pumpkins, we headed back to the main "Courtyard" for more fun!

We spent a small amount of time looking at the animals, but no one was really interested in it this year.  You all LOVED the tall hay slides, but still needed a bit of help to get up the rope ladders.  Jarrett was the first to tire of the slide, and found throwing the lose hay around much more entertaining!

The grain chute was the final slide. Ryder was big enough to ride on his own, but Harvick & Jarrett each had to ride down with Patrick.

Everyone was eager to ride the train - Harvick and Jarrett even shared a car!  After a few rides, Ryder and Jarrett jumped right into the corn box, while Harvick was a bit more hesitant to participate.

We stopped for a snack break, which included  an order of FRIED OREOS (dad's choice, of course!) - everyone enjoyed them!

The boys went down the kids' slide a few last times before heading out for the day.  We'll be back again next year!

Later that evening we went to Hooper's "Halloween Haunt" where we enjoyed cookies and hot chocolate.  The park is full of lit luminaries, and along the fence various vignettes are on display - the boys were all fascinated with the lit ghosts! 

Park City Vacation

For the past 8 days we have been away on vacation.  Our first vacation, not visiting family, with our family of five.  We have used our timeshare smartly (ie, trading our weeks for "off season" times), and had a "use or lose" week this year.  Patrick & I debated several possible destinations, but settled on Park City.  It's far enough away that neither of us would be tempted to go into work, or to get household projects/chores/errands done; yet, it's close enough that traveling with 3 toddlers for a week seemed feasible.

While Park City isn't glamorous, in that it doesn't have attractions specifically for children, it was a great trip.  We had something planned for each day, but really were rather loose with our routine.  We spent more consecutive time together than we ever have (and will continue this weekend...).  And, more time together without any family/friends as well (although, we did enjoy time with Patrick's mom & Ann, and my parents).

Harvick & Jarrett will not remember this trip long-term.  Ryder may remember a highlight or two.  But, we got to spend time together, and for that reason, it was a perfect (and much needed) vacation for us. 

Although I needed no confirmation that this trip was good for all of us, Ryder's bedtime prayer tonight confirmed it for me.  "...and, God, "fank" (thank) you for our vacation to Park City.  I "willy" (really) liked spending time "wif" (with) all of my "famiwee" (family)...".

Watching the snow fall outside.
(Ryder, Harvick, Jarrett)

Now...be prepared to be overloaded with recaps of the vacation on the blog...I may have taken lots of pictures...