Bauman Farms

We had our preschool field trip to Bauman Farms on a cold, but dry morning. Brandon took the day off so he could come with us and help with Brody (who was hiding on his back). First was a hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Pumpkins, gourds, and indian corn were picked and put in bags.

Then off to the cider press to watch the best apple cider in the whole world be made! Everyone got some apple cider and a fresh, warm donut. Yum!

The kiddos got to pet the farm animals.

Brody just chillin' while my other 3 boys...

went a sliding!!!

Yep, just one of the boys:)

Porter in his element.

Who knew that a room full of hazelnut shells could be so fun!

Once again, this field trip was a huge success and a fun family day. I look forward to it every year!

Pumpkins & Caramel Apples

Nothing says Halloween like carving pumpkins and making caramel apples! So for Family Night we decided to do just that!

These two guys are such good friends! As hard as it can be, I am so glad that they are close in age.

And check out those apples! They had a great time with the sprinkles!

Porter going to town on his!

Hudson wouldn't possibly eat anything healthy, so he stuck with the caramel and sugar sprinkles.

Now, on to the pumpkins. Porter chose a Pluto pumpkin and Hudson chose a Daffy Duck pumpkin.

Fantasy Trail

We have a tradition every Halloween to drive to the middle of no-where to visit the Fantasy Trail.

We walk around the trail looking at Halloween lights and decorations. It is a fun family activity to do for Halloween.

Hudson was scared the first time we went around, even though the decorations are not scary at all.

And the favorite part of the trail are the slides at the end!

I'm glad we started this family tradition when Porter was just a baby and will keep it going each year for Halloween!

Muah!

I wanted to add this video of Brody. Soooooooo dang cute! Sorry it's sideways... don't know how to turn it.

My Sweet Little Guy...

Is 9 months old!

Is so curious of the world around him.

Has decided to crawl on his hands and knees instead of scoot on his tummy.

Has two little pearly whites on bottom. (He was not happy that I was trying to show his teeth off!)

Pulls up on everything!

Brody is growing & changing so much. We love him and are so glad he is a part of our family!

Soccer

Porter was so excited to play soccer this year!

It was so funny to watch the "games".

Porter was great at scoring goals... in the other teams goal! Guess we'll work on that for next year.

I love this picture! It show's Porter's personality. He got hit on the head with the ball and this is how he reacts. I LOVE this little guy!

Watermelons & Monkeys

For Family Night on Monday we did a bunch of yardwork and then for our treat we picked the watermelons that were growing in our garden. We have been enjoying all of the yummy veggies from our garden and this is the first time we have grown watermelons!

And I just wanted to add this picture.

That's Porter jumping off the swing mid-air.

My little monkey and dare-devil.

Eight Months

I can't believe it's already been 8 months since our little Brody was born!

He is the sweetest thing and so easy-going!

He's not crawling yet, but gets everywhere doing an awesome army crawl on his belly!

I just want to eat his little cheeks up!

PRESCHOOL!

Another year of Preschool is here! The summer went way too fast, but this house was so ready for preschool to begin again! This year, Hudson gets to go to Preschool. He has been sooooo excited!

Porter and Hudson with their Teacher:)

Hudson was all grins the first day.

He felt like such a big boy!

And Porter feels like a Preschool Pro, now!

Train Ride

I am sooooooooo far behind on my blog, so I decided to post my most recent happenings, and then hopefully slowly get caught up. But we'll see, because preschool starts next week & I am going to be busy with that.

This weekend was Brandon's birthday and we celebrated the whole weekend. Friday night we went on a date. It was so nice to have a break from the kiddos. We went to P.F. Changs and a movie. On Saturday we drove into Washington to ride the Steam Train in Chahalis. So much fun!

Hello Mr. Conductor!

Waiting for the train at the train station. Those two are best friends!

Porter was happy to have a little friend come on the trip with us.

Hudson leaning out the window... not too far, of course! We are responsible parents:)

Brody was just glad to be with the people he loves.

Cheese!

Porter mesmerized by the view.

After the train ride we came back to Portland and went to Red Robin for Brandon's b-day dinner. On Sunday we had his family over for dinner and my famous chocolate cake. Yum! (sorry, no pics, though) It was a great birthday weekend.

The Big One-Zero

Ten years ago today I married the love of my life! I am amazed that ten years has gone so fast! I really still feel like we are newlyweds, which is a good thing, right? This guy of mine is such a good husband and father. I am so blessed to have Brandon and three little but amazing sons in my life and to know that we will be a family forever! I love Brandon so much and can't wait to see where we're at for our 20 yr, 30yr, 40yr... anniversaries!

***I know you probably thought I dropped off the face of the earth, but I'm still here! I just don't know where July went!!! We have been sooooo busy having fun and now I can't believe it's time to be getting ready for another year of preschool.  I will slowly be updating what we have been up to, but the Summer's not over yet and there is still a lot of fun to be had, so I'm not making any promises:)