The Pumpkin Patch

The Saturday before Halloween we took a trip to a local pumpkin patch (Mabey's Pumpkin Patch in South Jordan- a great find!) to pick out some pumpkins and take some cute pictures. It was getting a little late in the season to be picking out pumpkins, so the choices were limited, but we still found some great pumpkins to take home. The kids had lots of fun running around the pumpkin patch and picking up pumpkins. Jefferson was ready to buy almost every pumpkin but we talked him down to his favorite two (one of which was "for dad"). Mason loved picking up the small pumpkins, and Jackson was fascinated by the tractor going around.

For FHE on Monday we carved the pumpkins. I carved a mean Jack Skellington and Jefferson had Nate do a traditional Jack-o-lantern face. Jefferson had fun scooping out the insides of the pumpkins. Mason and Jackson weren't interested.

See's Candies

On Friday, my dad noticed an ad in the newspaper for the Grand Opening of the See's Candies store in Draper. It said they were giving away free samples of chocolate so we said "we're there!" As we were heading out the door, I thought "maybe I should grab the camera" and then was like "what for? there's nothing I'd want to take a picture of." Boy, was I wrong. Good thing for camera phones! We pull into the parking lot only to see a bunch of cars painted with the See's logo. There were two Ford Model A's (a 1929 Convertible Roadster Rumbleseat Street Rod and a 1931 Sedan), a racecar, and a delivery motorcycle with sidecar. The kids were instantly drawn to them. They even were allowed to sit in them! So out came the camera phone to snap some pics (it's just a shame I didn't have the camera so the pictures were better quality).

The boys had a great time. Mason loved standing at the steering wheel, Jackson had fun climbing into the rumbleseat, and Jefferson loved everything, but especially honking the horn.

Some Pics of Mason

Mason is really getting good at climbing. He loves getting up as high as he can. He has become so good at it that we have to take the bunkbed ladder off during the day so that he doesn't climb up to the top bunk. Here's a picture of him climbing the ladder I had briefly set up to add some decorations to Jefferson's wall:


He also loves kicking back while sitting and putting his legs up. We had him in the booster seat strapped to a stool and he couldn't resist putting his feet up on the counter:



And here he is taking a break:

Update on Early Intervention

Jackson now gets a speech therapy/feeding (yes, they can be related) visit each month in addition to the twice-a-month visits he gets from his primary EIS. And, his primary EIS is now Marsha, who is the specialist that came while his original specialist was on maternity leave. Yea! We liked our old specialist, but Marsha just really hit it off with Jackson and she even helps Jefferson with some of his problems (like interupting and speaking too loud, etc.). And it turns out that Marsha was really upset that she wouldn't get to see Jackson again, so she was super excited to become his primary EIS. So it all worked out.

Train Table

Nate finally finished the train table that he's been making for the kids. There's still a couple things we may change (like maybe repainting certain sections), but for now it's good enough for the kids to actually use. They were all very excited when Nate brought it in and all immediately started grabbing some trains and cars to push around. Yea! Finally a completed project! Now to finish the powder room remodel...

Jackson and Mason and the Soccer Ball Giggles

I recorded this clip the other night because Jackson was having such a fun time rolling the soccer ball off the bed and having Mason go fetch it. I just love his laugh. Unfortunately, Jackson ended up being in the shadows most of the time but it's the audio that I really wanted.

Hide-and-Seek

Mason initiated a game of hide-and-seek with Nate and so Nate grabbed the camera to take a couple pictures of Mason trying to be sneaky.

And then Mason was caught!

Children's Discovery Gardens

Early in the month I met one of my old roommates, Sarah, and her two kids, Jackson and Paul, at Thanksgiving Point for an afternoon out. We went to Children's Discovery Gardens, which I had heard is a fun place to go, but I was disappointed with it. If I were to go again, I would definitely pay for admission to the main gardens which then include admission to the Children's Discovery Gardens. One of the cool things about Children's Discovery Gardens is the Noah's Ark sculpture which has a splash pool around it. It was drained when we went, so the kid's weren't able to play in it, and due to the recent outbreak of cryptosporidium infection (which causes severe diarrhea) only potty trained kids would have been allowed in the water (which would have knocked out Paul, my Jackson, and Mason from splashing around). That was our first disappointment. Another sad thing was that we were the only people in the gardens which lessened the kid's enjoyment (at least it lessened Jefferson's). Even with the disappointments it was still fun to get together with Sarah and we at least ended the outing on a happy note by going to the Soda Fountain for ice cream and frozen yogurt.
Here is one pictue with Jackson in the shadows and a couple of Jefferson (the other kids wouldn't cooperate):

Almost a month? So sorry!

Wow, I can't believe I've let a month go by without posting to my blogs. For an explanation to at least one of my MIA weeks, read this: The Twilight Obsession. It's not that I haven't had anything to post about it's more about the complete lack of energy that I've had for a couple weeks and the above mentioned item. I'm here now to give some updates and share some recent pictures. I'm sorry to post so many items on one day, but I want to get up to date and I'm determined to get it done now. Enjoy!

Bedtime Stories With Daddy

Nate is so good about reading bedtime stories to the kids. Here's a picture I took the other night (and like usual, the really good pose was gone by the time I got back with the camera - Mason left the group):



I know that Jefferson just settles for me reading him a story when Nate is out of town or working late.