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| 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! |
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| 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! |
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| (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!) |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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! |
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| Watching the snow fall outside. (Ryder, Harvick, Jarrett) |
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| Brothers . September 2013 (Harvick, Ryder, and Jarrett) |
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| (On August 31st, we headed to Kaysville Ponds to watch the morning balloon launch (part of the Antelope Island Balloon & Kite Stampede). This year the boys loved watching the balloons as they were inflated, and then launched into the morning sky. We packed a picnic breakfast (fruit and yogurt, with sandwiches picked up from Carls Jr.), and enjoyed it on the nearby bleachers. The boys took advantage of the open space at the park, and ran around for about an hour! Although we miss out on the events on Antelope Island by only attending the morning launch, it works out perfectly for us. We just wish they launched more than three balloons!) |
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| Antelope Island Balloon & Kite Stampede . Morning Launch . 2013 (Jarrett, Ryder, and Harvick) |
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| (Last year, we had Ryder's pictures taken by a photographer for "Back to School". With all 3 boys headed "back to school" this year, we went to Ali (Clearly Seen) for her mini sessions. Ryder and Harvick participated well...while Jarrett took a bit longer to warm up. It didn't work out to get shots of the boys' backpacks and lunchboxes with them, so we grabbed a shot along the fence where we could see their names embroidered! Ryder is so excited to have his brothers join them at school! Harvick & Jarrett also get excited when we talk about them going with Ryder - and, they love to wear their backpacks! It will be another 3 years (Ryder in 2nd Grade, Harvick & Jarrett in Kindergarten) before the boys are in the same school together - I'm hoping they are just as excited then too!) |
