Soccer

Today was our first Saturday in almost two months without a soccer game. It was wonderful. While we were blessed with good weather in all but two games, it was getting cold and rainy! The last two games we got absolutely drenched. It was miserable.

Seth and Sam had a great soccer season. This was their second year playing and they were some of the oldest on the team (they play co-ed with other 5 and 6 year olds). We sure could tell the difference between their confidence and aggression level from last year to this year! What a difference a year makes!

Sammy is a super aggressive player! He played physical and wasn't afraid to bump people around. He learned how to shoot with both his right and left feet this year. He would usually score at least once a game and was a joy to watch play! He was always mentally keeping score (although not very accurate about this!) and gave good high-fives after scores. And from the look of these pictures, he plays with his tongue out--exactly like I always did!

Seth greatly improved this year as well. He was sometimes harder to watch, simply because he holds back quite a bit, which causes him not to play to his potential (oh man, if I already feel like this, how is it going to be in more important matters!). Instead of charging towards to ball or opposing player, he would hold back and wait until they came to him. It also took him about half the game to "get into a groove" and then he would be more aggressive. But, by the last few games, he realized his defensive tendencies and really excelled as goalie. It was fun to watch him gain confidence!

Twin attack! 

We were blessed to have visitors to the boys' game three times: Grandma DiDi, Katie and her kids, and my parents! Unfortunately I didn't get pictures with all of them. But here's the boys' number one fan: Joshy.

Actually, more than anything, he was just kind of a pain at the games, frequently requesting to "go home." I finally got smarter and brought lots of snacks and his own chair. Being a little brother pretty tough stuff apparently.

 Seth, Josh, and Sam

Goodbye October

October is gone. Here's some snip bits of our life this month:

The enormous maple tree that we love so much for it's shade during the summer has become my nemesis this fall. It dumps piles this big in 2 days. I'm trying to get them up to keep the grass alive (I may have learned my lesson the hard way last year), but it's tough! The plus side, the kids (and puppy) have gotten to play in some killer leaf piles.

Ben has been great at helping me keep up with yard work this fall. He's planted 4 fruit trees for me, pushed a thatcher around all our lawns, and used his expert fire skills for a huge burn pile. Yes, that's a blower he's using to get the pile burning. Keepin' it classy out here in the country.

Joshy warming his hands on the pile.

We've spent a ton of time outside because of the mild weather. The twins brought back the hand-truck trailer, and this time Josh got to participate. He LOVED it and acted like a king being pulled around on a chariot. He definitely got the most turns.  

We fulfilled fall fun list item "carve our own pumpkins." I'm always thankful when it's nice enough to do it outside, keeping the mess away from my house!

Year 2 of using the drill for perfectly round eyes. The kids each got a turn drilling a polka-dotted pumpkin!

The boys and I with our jack-o-lanterns

I had a feeling that Josh was going to refuse to wear a costume. Unfortunately my intuition was correct. Like the stellar mom I am, I stuffed him in it anyways, thinking that maybe if he saw himself in the mirror, he would think that it was funny and wear it. Nope. He screamed and rolled the round trying to tear it off. Stubborn child. He wouldn't even wear a dress-up fireman jacket. 

Ben's hunting trip fell on Halloween this year, but thankfully Diane came and helped me all day. She even endured sideways rain during the boys soccer game. Here's everyone soaked afterwards.

We decided to forgo trick-or-treating this year in favor of our church Harvest Party. It was fun and I was so thankful for Diane's help there since all Josh wanted to do was hold an orange balloon and have me carry him around. Didn't Sam and Seth make cute cowboys?

One of the games was "pick the nose for a prize." Disgusting!

Sammy fishing (Seth in background)

Seth's turn

Notice Josh's balloon. That's all he wanted upon walking into the Harvest Party. A balloon. So we got one and he carried it around all night. 

So I survived Ben being gone two out of three weeks, including Halloween by myself. But the cool part was, I wasn't by myself. God has placed such amazing people around me. Not only were we busy both weeks visiting friends and family, but I also had neighbors who checked in on us and made sure we were doing okay. There wasn't a day that someone didn't come visit while we were outside, or that someone didn't call or text to check on us. The kids got to do lots of fun things like swimming with cousins, having friends over, hanging out with grandparents--not to mention some fun traditions we now have when daddy's gone: like breakfast for dinner, Chipotle for dinner, and a movie night. (But we definitely like life much better when daddy's home!)