BYU Football Game–October 15

When we found out that BYU would be playing the Oregon State Beavers in a football game, Jake immediately began making plans with all of us to attend.  Even though Jake and Stacey ended up coming up the weekend before for the century ride, they made the trek the next weekend with my parents to Corvallis for the game.  We had a great time watching BYU play, (despite the groundhog dayish third quarter).  James came along with us while Davis and Landon spent the day with Uncle Kelly.  They had a great time with him too.  Here is a picture Jake took of us at the game – with everyone pictured except Jake and Ethan.

Lee’s Farm Pumpkin Patch and the rest of Jake and Stacey’s Visit–October 8

Shane and Jake left really early for their century ride, so Stacey and I had all morning with the kids.  They started out by playing a little Wii while Stacey and I got ready to go.  It was actually more Landon and Davis playing, while Kallie and Ethan pretended to play.

We left just after that and made an adventurous trip to Ikea with five kids.  We had a couple of things to return from our last Ikea trip on Labor Day weekend.  We escaped with only a few small mishaps, and then headed to see Jake and Stacey on their ride.
After that, we headed straight to Landon’s soccer game.  We were a little late, but he still managed to play a great game.  The kids, unfortunately, discovered the slightly wet dirt by the baseball diamond, and although they had fun and entertained themselves during the game, we had to wash all of their clothes when we got home!

Of course, in true Jake-and-Stacey-visit fashion, the day was far from over.  We headed home to let the kiddos nap, then went to the Lee’s Farms pumpkin patch.  We always love going there to see the animals, enjoy the activities, and best of all, eat the delicious pumpkin and apple spice donuts!

Here is how much we have grown since last year’s trip to the pumpkin patch.

     

The first time, Jake just sent Ethan down this slide by himself.  He came shooting out of it so fast – it was hilarious!  Jake decided he better go with him the next time.  You can tell by the pictures it’s a bit of a rough ride!

   

Stacey and I going down the Jack and Jill slide, then Shane and Jake going with James and Ethan

 

When we got to the bounce house, they were almost closing, so we had all the kids in there with no one else there!  They had a lot of fun jumping around together.

   

James in the bounce house, and enjoying one of the yummy donuts.

         

Not sure what Davis was thinking about in this picture!

 

We had a monster of a time!  We’ll see you next year!

Thanks Stacey for all of the AMAZING pictures!!!

Harvest Century Ride–October 8, 2011

Just days after Shane got his new road bike for his birthday in August, he and my brother Jacob signed up for a 100 mile bike ride in Hillsboro.  Shane had already been biking to and from work most days of the week since June, so he just had to add the longer training rides on Saturdays.  His longest training ride was 67 miles, so the 100-mile ride was still quite a bit longer. 

There were several rest stops along the way, so we waited at one of the rest stops at mile 82 to see them ride in and to cheer them on. 

The kids waiting for their dads to arrive.

       

They looked pretty good for already riding for almost 5 hours! 

Their total ride took them just under 6 hours.  I thought that was pretty impressive for their first time!  And most impressive of all, they didn’t even come home and collapse, but instead went with Stacey and me and the kids to the pumpkin patch. 

Around the House

Most of September, we didn’t have any major events around the house – just the usual day to day activities.  Here are a few pictures from around the house:

The three boys all still in their PJs after waking up in the morning

 

James pushing around his dog in the shopping cart.

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Every Wednesday, my friend Jenn and I do a swap with our kids so we can go help in the older kids’ classrooms. Eve and Davis always have a great time together. Last time, they wanted to play in the sandbox, even though the sand was wet. Davis kept lying down in the sand – maybe enjoying the sunshine or pretending he was spending a day at the beach.

The two smiling and dirty kids!

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And finally, here is a series of pictures of James sitting in his chair.  He likes to bring this chair out from the boys’ room and carry it to the perfect spot.  Sometimes he sits there and watches me clean up and “talks” to me, but this day he brought a few books with him and sat and read them.

       

Latest Sayings

Landon is my rule-follower.  I am not sure if this is true of all oldest children, but he is always very sure to follow the rules, and he worries if he ever thinks he or anyone else is doing something "against the rules."  The other night, when Shane was gone at the church, the boys and I went outside after dinner to play some soccer in the backyard.  Landon and Davis each had a soccer ball, and they ran from one side of the yard to the other, kicking their ball and scoring goals.  Davis, while playing pretty good, would every once in awhile use his hands to move the ball in a better position for kicking a goal if he was having a hard time getting it there.  Landon was sure to quickly let him know that was against the rules.

Eventually, Landon became so frustrated with Davis doing this that he decided to go play some basketball instead.  Davis soon followed, and for a few minutes, they each had a basketball and shot a few baskets.  Landon decided to go back to soccer, so he got his soccer ball and started kicking it up and down the field again.  Davis of course soon decided to go back to soccer too, but for some reason, he decided to use his basketball to play soccer with.  Instead of getting upset with Davis, Landon exclaimed, "Davis, that's great!  Now you can use your hands because that's a basketball!"  Davis was thrilled, and they were able to play soccer for quite a bit longer without Landon getting upset that Davis was breaking the rules.  :)

Davis lately is very interested in his age.  Last month, I told him that he had turned 3 1/2, and since then, he always tells us and everyone that he is 3 1/2.  He likes to show me how big is muscles are, how far he can jump, how high he can jump, and how fast he can run since he is now 3 1/2.  The second day he went to preschool, my friend Jenn picked him up to drive him there.  As soon as he got in the car, he told her, "Jenn, I was just eating lunch and I turned 3 1/2!"  (He also regularly mixes up all meals, frequently thanking Heavenly Father for dinner when saying the breakfast prayer, etc.)

He often talks about turning four, and that someday he will be six like Landon.  A few days ago, Landon and Davis were playing around with some binoculars.  They each had a pair, and when Davis looked at Landon through the binoculars, he exclaimed, "Wow Landon.  You're HUGE!  You are seven now!"

And, just so I don't break any of my brother David's blogging rules, here's a quick picture of the boys eating a snack after their naps.

First Day of 1st Grade (Sep. 6) and Preschool (Sep. 8)

It’s official.  My boys are growing up!  Landon started first grade, and Davis started preschool two-days a week.  Landon has adjusted well to going to school all day, although I miss him not getting home until 3:00!  He has a great teacher and he’s excited for each day.  He especially likes riding the bus home, because he gets to sit by one of his good friends from Kindergarten who is in a different first grade class. 

Davis started Tuesday/Thursday preschool at the same school Landon went to, and he has the same teacher.  He has been excited to go so far, and besides his good friend Eve, he is making other friends in the class too.  His favorite parts of preschool so far are snacks and the playground. 

Davis and Eve on their first day