October 2015

 We have an apple tree in our backyard.  It was planted by the previous owners and it must have been planted only a year or two before we moved in.  This year it produced lots of apples.  Here are the boys picking the first third.

Truman decided to help me clean the glass on the doors.  He used a wipe and he had fun...let's hope he always thinks cleaning is fun :)

 Ben wrote all our names...he's doing so well writing his letters.

Sunday afternoon, Dave playing chess with Charlie and teaching Ben the game. 

This is the week I decided I was sick of the kids coming home and watching tv and being lazy.  So we found this youtube video of this boy doing science experiments and we decided to recreate his experiment at home.  The boys were shocked that I said yes.  To start out Ben was in charge of pushing pause and play so Charlie could write down all the ingredients and instructions.

 

 We made the outside of the volcano....everyone helped.

 True had no idea what we were doing, but he enjoyed every minute.

 We formed the volcano, then the boys painted it.

 After it was painted we let the dough and paint dry.

 When Dave got home we all went outside to see the volcano in action.  Charlie poured in the baking soda,

 then the vinegar

 Then Ben added the food coloring to look like lava.

 more vinegar for good measure :)

Then we did the baking soda, vinegar, and food coloring again, because it was so much fun.  It was such a fun way to spend our afternoon!

 EVERY night after bible reading and prayers Charlie reads to Ben in bed.  Ben usually falls asleep within minutes and then Charlie reads until Dave and I tell him lights out.  I LOVE THIS!

 I took a nap one Sunday afternoon and I came out to this?!?!  I was surprised to say the least.

 Yep, these are the boys' Halloween costumes this year.  I tried desperately to get them to be the 3 amigos, but Charlie said he'd only do it if he could have a gun and a horse????  I wasn't planning on them all matching, but they were all game and the price was right.

 As you can see, they played the part well.

 We bought extra ninja knives and a ninja bow and arrow from the Dollar Store.

They crack me up!

 So we decided to try no tv at all during the day for the older boys.  It is sooooo nice!  They actually play with one another and they play pretty well together.   Here they are playing the fishing game.

 It's moments like these that make my mommy heart melt to see my children getting along and enjoying being with each other.

 We're making good use of our apples by making an apple crisp to go with dinner.  I peeled and sliced the apples, Charlie and Ben diced the apples, and Truman helped me mix up the topping.  It's so great having helpers.

 Charlie came home with this note he had started making for his teacher.  He said he was writing it to give to her for the last day of school.  I seriously love this kid, the last sentence alone makes me want to hug him.

 The boys are really enjoying not having the tv on.  I have an old phone that I put kid games on (pancake stacker, starfall, pbs kids, lego creator,...), they all get a 20 minute turn every day as long as they were good the previous day.  So far their favorite app is starfall where they can listen to music.

 Here they are dancing around the great room listening to the music.

 Today the boys painted pictures with water colors.  They loved it!  It was Truman's first time and he felt like big stuff painting next to his brother.

 Today I made homemade play dough for the first time.  It was special because I infused the play dough with essential oils.  The blue one is lavender, the yellow is lemon, the green is peppermint and the red/pink is cinnamon (which wasn't an oil it was actually cinnamon...because I don't have that oil yet:)  ).  The boys loved the play dough...especially the smell!  I don't know that I will ever buy play dough again-score!

 Truman will take any chance he gets at cutting with scissors...even if it's play dough.

 Here Charlie is helping Ben with his sight words.  Charlie can be such a kind and encouraging big brother.

Halloween!

 Here's my 3 Ninjas!

 They were SO excited!

 Here's Truman with his jolly, goofy pumpkin.

Charlie with his spooky pumpkin and Ben with his monster pumpkin (it had 6 eyes).

Charlie was VERY good about being enthusiastic with his "trick-or-treat" and "thank you" and Truman kept saying, "Momma next house??  Trick-or-treat and thank you?!?!"  It was so cute.  He though it was pretty awesome to go house to house and get treats.

 Truman found these snowboarding goggles/glass of Dave's.  Truth be told the last time I saw him wear them was when he was making home made salsa and he couldn't take the onions any more...poor guy was tearing up like crazy in the kitchen.  Anyways, True found them and insisted upon wearing them ALL day.  They kept falling off and I kept putting them back on, but it was too funny.

 True learned how to pedal his bike!!!!  He has been so close for a month and he went out today and did it right from the get-go.  I'm so proud of him and he was so proud of himself.  He kept saying, "I did it".

 

 

 Every Monday after I pick up Ben we wait at this rock for Charlie and the girls from our carpool to get out of school.  The boys eat a snack and jump off the rock.  In this picture they resting, ha!

Well, I am tired of buying crackers at the store!  I don't know what half the ingredients are and I feel like we go through them so quickly so I decided to try making them homemade.  These homemade wheat thins were a big hit!  They were super easy and it probably cost me fifty cents for enough crackers to fill them all up (they covered the parchment paper in the picture).  I only used 1/4 of the dough too...so that's four days worth of snacks for 50 cents.  I'm hoping to try homemade saltines and granola bars next.

Annual "Hunting" Trip:

Dave took Charlie and Ben "hunting" with him this year.  They met up with Kody, Joe, Papa and Uncle Bruce.  My boys had a great time!

 Joe and Charlie

 Love this one of those 3 little boys

 Uncle Bruce and Kody

 The 3 Hunters

 They apparently named that big rock "Submarine Rock"...it seems fitting.

 Snuggle time with Dad

 Joe and Charlie

 Kody and Dave

 Kody, Ben and Dave

 Shootin' stuff with the bee-bee gun

 Joe and Ben

 Talking at camp

 Brothers

 They're dirty, that means they're having fun :)

 Working hard around camp

 Campfire time

Dave and the boys.

Charlie Quote:  Charlie was corrected for doing or saying something and he said, "You need to be more pacific."

I'm feeling extra blessed and thankful for this precious time with my family.  The days are flying by and I feel these years passing quickly.  I hope my boys see these memories as, as special and as fun as Dave and I do.