Fun With Leaves

Ever since the leaves have started falling, Cole and Jack have been begging Bryce and I to somehow play in the leaves.  Since the trees at our house are still pretty young, we don't get many leaves.  (Trust me, I am not complaining.)  However, we were able to go over to Pa and Nana's to help rake up their leaves...of which they had plenty.  The boys had an absolutely awesome time jumping and being buried in the leaves.

They were also such good little helpers and made short work of the pile we had built.  This is why fall is the best!

Monkey See, Monkey Do

I mean really.  If Cole has his shirt off, Jack must have his shirt off.  If Cole has socks on his hands, Jack must have socks on his hands.  On and on the list goes.  Cole is very good about it, and I think I've convinced him that Jack just does it because he loves Cole so much.  

Even a trip to the park is a case in copy-catisms.  I have to admit, though, it's pretty dang cute.

Candy Bandits

After 2 trick-or-treats at work, we almost considered not having Cole and Jack go out to the neighborhood.  However, in the end, we couldn't deny them that wonderful Halloween night rush...

However, the candy....good heavens, the candy.  Especially Jack's pile.  I guess we'll be sugar rushing at our house for the next 6 months!

Punkin' Carvin'

About two days before Halloween, Cole asked when we were going to carve our pumpkins.  Hm.  I guess that would be tonight.  Here we go!

This little beauty was the pumpkin we got from our garden.  Isn't it adorable?  I loved the perfect shape and color.  While I wish we had gotten more than one, I can't complain with the one we got.

I even got Cole to de-gut his own pumpkin. 

Meanwhile, Jack got to decorate his pumpkin with pipe cleaners and markers.  He especially enjoyed the double-handed drawing. 

Not bad for a last minute project, right?

University Kids Harvest Carnival

Every year for Halloween, University Kids puts on a pretty awesome party.  (However, MUST we call it the Harvest Carnival?  Is Halloween really politically incorrect now?)  Each room has something fun for the kids to do, and all the kids absolutely love wearing their costumes throughout the day.

We started in the pinata room.  After about 20 kids, it quickly became apparent that the pinata was not going to come apart.  One of the teachers asked if one of the adults wanted a go, and we all looked at each other awkwardly.  Then I basically shoved Bryce into the middle of the room to do it.  He took care of that pinata once and for all.

Then he decided to wear the carcass of his victim as a hat.

The boys, of course, were superheros.  I mean, was there any question?

Jack enjoyed getting his face painted with the item of his request - a white star.

And Cole was spooky with his double-ghost look. 

As we left the school, I couldn't help marvel at the teachers and their ability to teach their way through the day, and then party all night.  These are some lucky kids!

On Turning 5

Cole has been looking forward to his birthday for quite some time.  He has been so excited to turn 5 and to move into the "Kindergarten" class at University Kids.  He's been doing wonderful in school, and is learning his letters and "Popcorn" words.  He has also been diligently educating all of the other kids on super heroes, Transformers, and all other important subjects.  His teacher says he quite often leads an impromptu exercise class on the playground, and I've come to pick him up only to find him leading the kids around the grass like cats.

Cole has also started a Karate class at the Little Gym, and it has been so good for him.  In fact, his birthday fell on one of his Karate nights.  I asked if he would rather go home and open presents, or go to Karate and have less time to play with his gifts.  He chose to go to Karate.  I've seen the positive effects in him - a willingness to try new things, and a deeper sense of confidence - that I hope can continue. 

Cole's favorites right now include superheroes (although, he did announce to his pediatrician that he likes DC characters better than Marvel), Transformers, and watching Teen Titans Go!, or any other superhero show.  He loves music, and his current favorite song is Macklemore's "The Ceiling Can't Hold Us." 

I'm always amazed at how deeply Cole thinks through things, and how many questions he has about they way things work.  He wants to be an engineer when he grows up and I have no doubts as to his abilities to do that.  He wanted Legos for his birthday, and he and Bryce spent two or three nights putting together this quite detailed Arkham Asylum set.

He's also a wonderful big brother to Jack.  Recently, he's been working to teach Jack how to count and how to share.  He is so proud when Jack tries something new, and watches out for him constantly. 

For his birthday, Cole and Isak had a shared party at Discovery Gateway.  Of course, the theme was superheroes, and everyone had fun creating their own character and "training" in the secret hide-out.

Happy 5th Birthday, Cole!  We sure do love you and are so happy you are a part of our family.

 

Super Brothers!

Watch out, bad guys.  There's a new crime-fighting force in town.  They'll capture you with cuteness!

Silver Lake

I can't believe it's fall already.  The year has just flown by.  We headed up to Silver Lake to check out the leaves, but got some snow instead.  Unfortunately, the pathways were all slushy and icy which made for an interesting hike.  I think my dad was about ready to strangle my well-meaning attempts to help keep him from sliding.  

However, the big ticket of the day was throwing snowballs.  The boys discovered how much fun it was, and the walk around the lake took twice as long as normal.  Next year, we'll definitely work to avoid the snow!

Cornbelly's: Take 2

Remember last year's failed trip to Cornbelly's complete with 45 minute long line to get in?  This year, I was determined to outsmart the process.  Bryce and I decided to arrive right at 10:00am one Saturday morning.  The Saturday morning we picked?  Conference weekend.  Seriously, we had the place almost to ourselves. 

We started out going down the big slide.  Jack loved it.  Cole...not so much.  (No surprise.)

Jack mostly wanted to drive stuff...

While Cole enjoyed the bounce houses.  And yes, he is wearing a Spiderman costume.  That kid sure loves to dress up.

And then there was the point in the day when Bryce and Cole discovered gigantic Legos.  I mean, really, is there anything else in life?  Bryce promptly commenced building a Lego house.

We rode ponies...

And ran through the corn maze.

There were lots of great places to take pictures:

But this is my favorite.  Cole is in his super-hero element while Jack copies his every move.

I sense a new tradition!  Especially the tater tots.  You haven't lived until you've had those suckers deep-fried.  Yum!

Fun With Smores

Every so often, you have a perfect night that begs for you to make a fire.  This just happened to be one of those nights.  The boys loved helping Bryce get the fire started.  They also giggled non-stop and wanted to roast far more marshmallows than they wanted to eat.  And thus, a boy's obsession with fire is born...