Crafting it up Conference weekend

We found some fun kids crafts online, so we spent a long weekend at home crafting it up. Here are the eager crafters making pipe cleaner spiders.

Here is the finished product.

Next we made some bats. They are kind of hard to see here but they turned out cute.

Though it is not really a craft, we did make Halloween sugar cookies. Here is the decorating process.

This was the last and most involved thing we did. These little ghosts were messy to make but ended up being fun. We had little lights to put under them so they lit up at night, but I never got a picture of that. They were extra spooky though.

A little Ian update for you

It has been a while since we have told you what this cute growing boy has been up to.

He really likes Kate's room. It may just be because her room is the first one down the hall, but if I can not see him that is the first place I check. Here he is enjoying her princess cash register.

His hair is getting longer and thicker. Here he is right after a bath and you can see that it has some body to it. It is pretty light so you can't see it very well in pictures but at least you can not see the veins in his scalp through his hair anymore.

He can give one heck of a kiss. He does not give them up all the time, but when he does watch out because you will get a lot. And if you find yourself on the receiving end I hope you like open mouth kisses because that is all he gives.

He does not like to be alone when he is sad so he will crawl around looking for someone to pick him up. As you can see, he can be a bit of a mess by the time he finds comfort. And then instead of giving needed comfort, sometimes his mom lets him cry a little more while she gets the camera.

He loves the bath. If the shower doors get left open he will go stand next to the tub and dream of the time he can bathe again.

Here are a couple faces that we see from this boy with so many expressions.

Did you look at this picture and think it was of Kate as a baby? Because it could be. I think he has a lot of Jake and Kate in him ,but here he looks all Kate.

This is his "being shy so don't look at me but I will stare at you" face.

Silly kid.

"How you doing?"

"Quit with the pictures."

This boy of ours is one happy fun kid to be around. If we are out and about he is more than willing to just hang out and take in the sights. It has been harder to keep him on the same schedule because of everyones schedules, but he sure rolls with the punches. He is more shy than any of the other kids but luckily he warms up to people pretty fast. Jake and Kate love him, sometimes a little too much. He sure loves them too. It seems like he is picking up new things every day. It is crazy to think he will be one next week. We are so happy to have Bud Bud around!

Labor Day Weekend

Bryan was able to come home for Labor Day weekend, which was so fun. It was his birthday so it was great to be able to celebrate with him. Here is his traditional chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting cake. He was actually turning 33 this birthday not 3 like his cake indicates.

On Labor Day we went to a little town called Wellsville for their parade. Here we were waiting for the parade to start. It was unusually cold that morning so the kids are pretty bundled up for it being so early in September.

Ian was not so sure what to think of all the loudness, but luckily Bryan was more than willing to help him feel better.

Waiting for the candy.

Here is the other place Ian liked hanging out.

It is hard to believe this happened two months ago. Man time is flying by!

First days of school

Now that it has been months since this happened, it is about time it is documented.
Here is Jake. He got a short haircut a week or so before, but it looks super short in this pic. He has always loved school and this year is no exception. His teacher had nothing but great things to say about him at his parent teacher conference and we just found out yesterday that he was Student of the Month for October. He got to have lunch with the principal and all the other Students of the Month today. He sure is a great kid.

Here is Kate. She also seems to love school. And her legs seems to bend backward in this picture. They don't really bend that way though. She comes home with lots to say about her days, including if anyone got sent to time out. We sure love this sassy girl.

Oldie but goodie

Remember this Bry?

Still so true!

A little more Jake and Ian fun

County Fair

I don't know what it is, but every year we go to the fair it turns out being perfect weather. We got the kids unlimited ride passes because they wanted to spend as much time as possible there. In the afternoon Bryan took Jake and Kate to start riding rides while I stayed home with sleeping Ian. They spent several hours and then came home for dinner and we all went back for the evening. The afternoon was warm without being too warm and by dark we all put on the jackets we brought. We had some treats, listened to music, and the kids rode rides till we were all exhausted. What a great time.

Bear Lake

Even with all the traveling we did this summer we were able to squeeze in a few trips up to the lake. I guess that is part of what makes summer feel like summer to us. Ian was not mobile yet so it made it really easy to keep an eye on him. Jake and Kate love everything about being up there. The only bummer is that it was a bit on the windy side. Other than that there are few things that beat a family day at the lake. Good times.

He must be ours

We have a picture of Jake, Kate, and now this one of Ian all sleeping in this johny jump up. They jump so much they put themselves to sleep. It is almost like it has magical powers.

Harmonica Jake

We may not need to worry about lessons if baby Ian is the only one who has to be entertained by his harmonica playing. I love that these two are such good buddies, by the way.

Burns

On the drive between Meford and Logan we passed through a city named Burns. There is a huge slide at a little park in town that we have never stopped at with the kids before. We thought we would give it a try.
Here they are swinging on the huge swing set.

Ian hung out on the blanket in the shade.

Jake and Bryan making their way up the ladder. Bryan looks like a little kid compared to the slide.

And down they go. The boys said it was fun. Kate did not dare go down. Maybe next trip.

Reunited and if feels so good

Now that Bry is taking some trips for work we get to see these scenes playing out. This is when Bry was getting to Medford from Houston, where he was working at the time. The kids are always so excited to see him again. I have to admit I am pretty excited too.

Around the house

Here are a few pictures of around the house happenings while we were in Oregon...
Because I am so smart the three of us got locked out of the house. We stayed pretty entertained though.

Kate clowned around.

I put the kids to work washing the van.

Kate fell asleep almost every time we went to run errands.

Kate and Ian watched princess movies in my parents bedroom. I don't think Ian had much of a choice.

Ian played on the floor. Looking surprised.

Kate watched movies in goggles.

We had a great time. I guess we should do it again some time.

Bowling

On one of our last days in Oregon my dad suggested bowling. My kids love bowling!
Here is Jake's approach.

This is a little long, but a good example of every time Kate bowled. It took a long time.

Ian was a pretty good sport and spent the time getting passed around. Here he is with Aunt Rachel.

Here is proof that my dad was there too. It turns out I did not get many pics of him:).

Rock climbing

Another great idea my dad has was to take the kids rock climbing.

Here is Jake all harnessed up ready to go.

And Kate.

Kate was the most brave her first time up the wall. She made it pretty far before she wanted to come down.

Jake was a bit of a spider monkey. He made it pretty far the first time or two, but after that he climbed all the way to the top. That is over 30 feet! For a boy who used to claim to be afraid of everything, he sure seems to have no fear of this. He ended up climbing all the way up four times.

The first time he made it to the top.

And here he is repelling down. I have to admit even that was a little scary for me but he loved coming down the wall "like Spiderman". He did so great we might skip the little league and soccer stuff and stick to rock climbing.