Fall School Pictures

I love the kids' school pictures....they look so great! They are growing up so fast!

Bowling Adventure

For good behavior after pictures in October, we decided to take the boys bowling for the first time. Well, technically the first time if you don't count a daycare field trip the kids took when they were three. It was so cute watching the boys try to figure out the different ways to hold the ball. Connor always tried to do it the proper way (as best he could), which usually landed in a thud and then a slow roll down the lane. Brady decided pretty quickly that he was going to do the granny role which resulted in a decent amount of pins knocked down and a strike or two.

 

 

 

 

Claire - 6 months old!

Way to go Connor!!

I am a very proud mommy...Connor learned to tie his shoes! We had bought him and Brady both tie shoes back in August with the urging that they need to learn how to tie shoes...it is a childhood rite of passage! Connor came home from school announcing that he knew how to tie shoes now. I immediately responded with "that's great, show me". Apparently, Ms. Bunner, a retired teacher that helps out occasionally, took all the kindergarters that did not know how to tie shoes aside for a one-on-one repetitive lesson.

Of course, he had to let someone else teach him and would not take instruction from his parents. I have a feeling that is how it will be on several things....parents don't know anything!

Ever since then, Connor has been a huge help to us with Claire and Brady's shoes. That is until Brady had to go back to Velcro due to size limitations/availability in new shoes.

Fall Festival

It's an annual tradition to head to the Fall Festival at least once during the week. In the last couple of years, the focus has moved from the food to letting the kids ride rides. This year, we purchased unlimited wrist bands for the boys since they had so much fun riding rides last year! I was the lucky parent of the four to also get the unlimited wrist band to ride with Brady when he needed an adult companion.

Working on best mom award and trying to ensure adequate daylight time, I picked the boys up early from school to head to the Fall Festival. We also met up with the boys' best friend, Carac and his mom. The dads joined us later in the evening. We spent the entire evening in the kiddie ride area with a parent occasionally disappearing to go grab some food. I felt like I spent the majority of my evening in a state of dizziness and I am pretty sure Chris paid some of the ride attendants to go extra long for better pictures of me!

The boys had a lot of fun riding as many rides as they could that evening, some more than once!

Fall Pictures 2010

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we made an attempt at family pics in the park on a fall Sunday afternoon...three kids and two adults does not make for a coordinated group photo. It was always one of them! Got some great personality shots though! Great example of their personalities...stubborn and bossy, defiant and defensive!

October Weekend Fun

Friday night, we made a spur of the moment decision to do something different than our usual "unwind the week" at home. We went out to dinner at one of our family-friendly choices, Red Robin. During dinner, Connor commented that he wanted to do something after dinner rather than just go home and I was in complete agreement. So, we decided to take the kids to their first high school football game where our friend coaches. Little did I know that it was Homecoming weekend and the stands were packed! The boys had a great time watching the game, the cheerleaders (who were directly in front of us), and Connor enjoyed monitoring the scoreboard. It was a fun Friday night and something to be repeated since Connor was so disappointed that we left the game early!

That Saturday, Chris and I had received free tickets to the Philharmonic Broadway Nights. While the boys enjoyed time with their grandparents, we had a kid-free dinner at Rafferty's before heading to the Philharmonic. We saw Chris's dad and Donna there (dressed appropriately alike - like father, like son), saw a few others we knew, and we had excellent seats. If we were any closer, we would have been conducting!

Sunday, we were going to get fall pictures in the park of the family. As usual, I underestimated the amount of time it takes to get everyone out the door for pictures and then I also underestimated the level of cooperation. Connor was not very cooperative at all, so the boys lost the opportunity to play on the playground afterwards. However, we did keep our promise to visit the Goebel pumpkin patch, where the boys had the most fun with the loft slide (which was free). We decided to cut our time there short due to the cold with a promise that we would try to return another time.

My boys...the planners

At dinner one night, the boys were planning their evening of activities after dinner. They were discussing making a deal about the plan and agreeing on it. I only requested that baths be somewhere in that plan, so Connor stated it would be in the middle. They made a plan, apparently agreed on it, and then "presented" the plan to us to be sure we agreed.

Step 1 of the plan was started...Brady decided he didn't like the plan and was making his own plan. He then disappeared upstairs to start the new plan. Connor, so confused by Brady's departure from the plan, said he needed to have a meeting with Brady. He then started re-negotiating the plan with me. Somehow, the bath was falling off the list.

The other night, Connor was having trouble deciding what he wanted to order from McD's. Brady came up with a plan to get one of each, cheeseburger and nuggets, and they could then split. Great thinking Brady...that sounds like a plan!

We think it is so cute that our boys have those discussions with each other and make decisions. We will take that as a good sign! A friend commented that they come by it honestly!

Fun at the Doctor's Office

Daddy got a kick out of Connor's statement that "he was brave for his flu shot". Daddy was the brave one as he took all three kids to the doctor today. The nurse took note of that also since daddy did the same thing back in August. It was a scheduled visit for the boys flu shots, but turned into a full-fledged doctor appointment. Brady had a really infected toe that needed amputation, I mean medicine, and Claire came down with a nasty virus. Good thing Claire has reserves with her 20+ lbs as it hurts for her to eat right now. She received lots of loving instead!

Weekend getaway to French Lick

Each September, we try to take a mini-vacation with the kids. This year, we decided to spend a weekend of fun in French Lick at Big Splash Adventure and Indiana Railway. As an added bonus for the boys, we invited the Johnson family to join us. After swim lessons on Saturday morning, we met up at Chick-Fil-A for lunch before we were to hit the road. We were hoping to show up in French Lick and have the joint vacation be a surprise, but we ended up spilling the beans before we left town that we were meeting our friends there.

The boys (Connor, Brady, and Carac) had a good time playing in the water park that afternoon and into the evening. They made their way around the water park spending time in the lost river, time in the bigger pool where you could play basketball, and lots of time in Buccaneer Bay. They loved Buccaneer Bay where they played on the slides over and over again. Claire loved playing in the water sprays. The daddies got a chance to try out the large slides. The majority of the time, the parents played the role of referee and lifeguard. There were good times and bad times between the three boys...sometimes feelings would get hurt if they ran off from each other or picked a different slide partner. By the end of the day, the boys were exhausted and ready to get a good night's rest.

The next day, we let the boys spend a couple more hours back at the water park. We then had plans to head over to the Indiana Railway for a 2 hour train excursion. The boys had a good time and sat back and relaxed for the trip. I think their favorite part was the tunnels. After fun-filled days with the Johnson family, we then headed back home.

Mommy and Claire

We didn't plan this...if I remember correctly, Chris dressed Claire while I was getting dressed. We coordinate so nicely!

Boys are tough (and oblivious)

Brady came home from school with a nice black bruise and goose egg on his forehead. When asked what happened, we got a response of "I don't know", "no, I didn't fall", "what bruise on my head". I asked if he cried when it happened - "no, I was brave". Later in the conversation, he said he fell INTO the wall. Hmmm...I guess as long as he isn't bothered by it, we shouldn't be.