Grandpa

Ryan was the Prayer Person at Preschool today. This was his prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for my 4 wheeler.
Thank you for my Grandpa and thank you Jesus for letting me wrestle with him. (I like wrestling him).
Thank you God and thank you for everything.

Amen.

That about sums up what he thinks of his Grandpa! :) Love you, Dad!!!

Attempt

We attempted to take photos in the woods today, but we were up against numerous obstacles... #1 Mother Nature - it started to rain right when we arrived. #2 Falling acorns and sticks made it dangerous in the woods. #3 Injured children - (see #2) plus falling while running or climbing over logs didn't help. #4 Lost Child - when I was taking pictures of Carter, Ryan decided to go back to the truck (unbeknownst to me). I was almost reaching panic mode, going up and down the path, calling his name. Eventually he came over the hill, saying "what are you yelling for Mom? I just went back to sit in the truck." Sigh....So, here you go - my attempt at fall photos!

Weekend

What a fun weekend up north. The boys rode 4 wheeler, dirtbike, and played on the trampoline...for hours! Friday night we went to dinner with friends, Saturday afternoon we went to a movie and dinner again and today we had church and played outside before we came back. It was a busy weekend, but all fun - the kids had a blast!

Ryan getting more brave all the time on his dirtbike:

Carter and Grandpa rode 4 wheeler:

Ryan taking a corner:

More 4 wheeler action:

More dirtbiking:

Do you think we did anything other than 4 wheeling...

or dirtbiking...

all weekend?

Well...

we did take time to jump on the trampoline...

and watch sand hill cranes.

Gotta love life in the country!

Fall

We were on the way to my parents' house on Friday and I had to stop to capture these fall colors. In the cities, we have very few leaves changing yet, so it was fun to see a little color up north!!!

Just Because

Evan brought me a dozen roses last week. When I asked him why, he said "just because I love you." Yeah...right! When I pressed him, he admitted the rotary club came to his office selling them. That sounds more like the Evan I know! I'm going to enjoy them regardless of the reason he bought them! :)

Brooke's Birthday Party

The boys went to Brooke's Birthday Party at Pump It Up this afternoon. They bounced for 90 minutes and then had cake and ice cream. The bouncing is definitely a hit with our boys - they had a blast!!!!


Group shot:

Birthday girl and her cake:

Having cake and ice cream:

King Ryan on the Birthday Throne:

Wild

We took the boys to their first Wild hockey game last night. It was a pre-season game so the Suite was pretty quiet, which was nice. The boys, however, were not what I would describe as 'quiet' but it went fairly well, considering they are 2 and 4. They loved the Suite and running around, but I don't know how much of the game they actually took in!

Ryan and Me:

Carter with his Sprite:

A rare moment watching the game:

Again:

Ryan checking out the ice:

Carter telling Dad a story:

Intent:

Norby visited our suite, definitely a high point for the boys:

Norby held Carter:

Oh, yeah, and there was a hockey game taking place, too:

Terrible injury to a Columbus player:

Ryan chillin' in the chair in the Xcel Suite lobby:

Guard Frog

Nope, it's not a typo, instead of a guard dog, we have a guard frog keeping watch over our pond and fish at night. I happened to glance over at him when I was walking up to the pond one night and I had to snap a picture of him.

You can tell when my life is busy - fewer photos and fewer blog posts. I lost my jobshare partner over 2 months ago :( and have been working 5 days a week and still continuing with all the same activities with the kids on Thursdays and Fridays. It has been a constant juggling act, and I hope to hire a replacement very soon. I can't wait to have that 'balance' again in our lives!!! As for Bethany (my previous jobshare partner), she is staying at home with her girls full-time and found that is what works best for them. I am truly glad she found her happiness, but I miss her tremendously!!!! She was not only my work partner, but a true friend as well.

Park

Kids and I met Tracie and her boys at the Lakes Park yesterday. It was a perfect day for the Park - somehow we seem to be making up for lost time this summer with the great weather late summer/early fall. I love these days! Kids had a blast playing together!


On top of the tower:

Climber:

King of the hill:

Ryan and Lukas in serious conversation:

Carter, always a few steps behind, trying to keep up with the 'big' kids: