Amimal Parade

Brody's preschool had a circus party so I made sure our zebra costume still fit Brody.  Of course when he put his costume on the other boys wanted to wear something too.  Ollie still fits into the turtle costume and Colt was a little snug in the Elephant.  

They had an Animal parade. 

I love Ollie's expression in this picture.

Ollie's skateboarding

Ollie likes to do everything his big brothers do.  Skateboarding is no exception but he has his own style of riding.   I was able to get a little bit of video and will hopefully get some more later. 

Ollie's 2nd Haircut

Ollie's hair was getting out of control.  He had the beginnings of a mullet and it was really starting to drive me crazy.   We finally got out the buzzers and cut his hair. This is his 2nd haircut.

The before.

The back...

We switched shirts since his other one had long sleeves.

He was not very happy during the process but he sure looks darn cute now. 

Monster Trucks

Brad had a cross country meet and it was pouring down rain so I decided not to go.  Instead I took the boys to the Lowe's workshop.  This time they made Monster Trucks and Ollie banged the hammer on anything he could find.   We only had one smashed finger for the two Monster Trucks but the boys loved them.  The best part is they have a light on top that actually works. 

Dad's Night

Last week they had Dad's night at Brody's preschool.  Brody kept telling me it was only for dad's and I wasn't allowed to go but that's ok because they will have mom's night in May. 

I was excited for them to have their special time together and also for Brad to see Brody's preschool and meet his teachers.   I sent the camera with Brad so he could take lots of pictures.

They came back and both had a great time, except they forgot to take pictures so I took one of them with all the prizes, candy & crafts Brody came home with. 

Two of the highlights were pumpkin pie and the pinata.  

I'm looking forward to Mom's night in May.  :)

More Apple Cider

I was about to take a picture of Colt when my memory card said it was full.  Fortunately, Lori took a few pictures of Colt at the Apple Cider press.  

I love that Brody's preschool allows siblings to tag along on the field trips.  It makes me happy knowing that Colt can experience some of these things too.  (and Ollie)

Just a glimpse....

Often people ask me how I do it with three little ones.  I usually give them a few answers.  My boys are pretty good little boys.   I love what I am doing.  And you should see how messy my house is.

One area I feel I need to improve in is general house maintenance.   I often get frustrated with myself and wonder why I never seem to have a good handle on things.   The other day I realized that most of my battle has to do with an adorable 19 month old boy that lives in this house. 

Here is a little sample of what he can accomplish in less than 3 minutes. 

I will take the blame for the shirt in the middle (the last bit of laundry that needed to be put away).  

The trucks may have been put there by his brothers.

Ollie's work.

Tray table off the portable high chair.

reusuable bags pulled out of the stash

The fishing game

Box of stacking letters

Chuggington game and pulled out all the little bags of pieces.

the bowl

And who knows what else.  

Now I know part of the reason I feel like pulling my hair out many times throughout the day.  And I'm sure he did most of this while I was still cleaning up after breakfast. 

Oh the joys!  I wouldn't trade it for anything else.  

Hay Maze

After we finished the tractor ride we got a quick picture with his class.  The only trouble is the photo area makes it hard for the kids to see.  They are all squinting.

I tried to take a picture with all 3 boys but they weren't in the mood and I didn't have the patience to make it a perfect picture. 

A little snack break.

Cousin Abi & Andrew and our friend Gunnar met us at the pumpkin patch.   The kids spent quite a bit of time in the hay maze and had a great time. 

You may have noticed the change in clothes.  When we left our house it was warming up, but the farm was still overcast so it was very cold.  Once the clouds burned off it was very warm and we had to take of the layers of clothes.  

It was such a nice day to be outside. 

Harvesting Pumpkins

The second part of the field trip involved a tractor ride and picking out pumpkins. 

Ollie had a difficult time walking through all the vines but he easily spotted pumpkins to pick out.

The only bummer was that the tractor was ready to go before we had our pumpkins ready.   We quickly grabbed one for each boy and hopped back on the tractor. 

Apple Cider

Brody's preschool had a field trip to Fall City Farms.  We are so thankful that we were able to take siblings because all the boys had a great time.

A blurry picture of the three boys waiting for Farmer Debbie to talk.

Brody was picked to be the line leader and he lead his class to the start of making Apple Cider.  He was the first one to put the apple and he was a great example.   Colt is not in his class but he was part of the group for this field trip.

Ollie's attention span to anything doesn't last long so he was checking out pumpkins while everyone else was getting ready to make Apple Cider.

The apple press

Taking a sip of the apple cider.

Ollie was able to take a drink too.

Ramp Building

After we got back from apple picking Annika & Ryker stayed around for a little while and they started to build this ramp.  They had to leave before I could get pictures of them, but this was part of what the kids all started.  

The boys love to take these pieces of wood that we have on the side of the house and make ramps out of them.  Then they get their cars and send them down the ramps.   It's so fun to see their creativity and their eagerness to build something.

Apple Picking

Last Sunday after church, Brody, Colt & I joined the Welke's (minus Karl) to go apple picking.  We drove with Lori to a place near Tacoma.  The drive was long but the kids were very good.  When we arrived they told us they just ran out of apples.   Both Lori and I wanted to throw a fit but we managed to stay calm.  They did tell us if we were just going to make applesauce with the apples we could always pick up the ones that had fallen on the ground.  Since that is what we were planning on making this worked for us.  It ended up being the perfect thing for the kids, since they could actually pick up the apples off the ground.

There were a few battered and bruised ones but we did get two full buckets.

Colt, Brody, Annika & Ryker with their apples.

Ollie stayed home with Brad. 

Yesterday we went to the Welke's and successfully made applesauce and canned quite a few.   It was such a fun time and we hope to do it again next year (although we might double check on the availability of apples).

Kasey Keller Day

October 15th was declared Kasey Keller Day by our Governor.  For those of you who don't know who Kasey Keller is let me tell you.  Kasey Keller is the current Sounders (our MLS soccer team) goalkeeper.  He was born in this state (I believe near Olympia) and played professionally in Europe for many years, was on the World Cup team four times and returned to Seattle to finish his career.  October 15th was his last regular season home game.  He has not only been an outstanding goalkeeper but he has been a great ambassador for the Seattle Sounders.  We were able to witness this game and the post season events to celebrate his retirement.

We were fortunate enough to get a babysitter for an extended time so that we could arrive early and enjoy some of the pregame festivities.  This was the March to the Match. 

Brad being a little goofy.

This is my favorite part of the game.  This guy leads the crowd in the National Anthem.  And when I say leads, he really does.  He does not put on a show to highlight his talent he sings a few words and then lets the crowd do the rest.  It really makes the National Anthem that much more enjoyable and special. 

The crazy crowd always has fun banners at the beginning of the game.

We received these arm bands as we walked into the stadium. 

One of the great things about this game were the 64,140 people in the stands.  This is an extremely high number for a regular season home game in the MLS.  

This was one of the best games I have seen.

We were behind 1 - 0 and were playing pretty well.   At one point, late into the second half, one of our defenders made a mistake that required Kasey Keller to make not one, not two, but four great saves (within 12 seconds).   The stadium went crazy. 

A little while after this we scored the tying goal.  And then we scored the winning goal and ended up winning the game 2 -1.   It was a great finish to Kasey Keller's special game. 

The post game ceremony. Kasey Keller is wearing the yellow scarf.  It's hard to see him.

We know we are lucky to be able to enjoy these games.  It is especially fun that we both have so much fun going to them.  

Ice, Ice Baby

This kid continues to crack us up.   His little antics are just priceless. 

Our boys all love dancing to Ice, Ice Baby.  A few weeks ago I tried to get Ollie to say it and he hasn't stopped.  Often we will be driving in the car and he will pipe up,  "mom, mom, mom"  When I finally answer him, "yes, Ollie" he says "ice, ice baby." (Sometimes he needs to say ice four or five times before he says baby).  After he gets me to listen he will ask his brothers (Dodo, and Dote) to listen.  And of course if daddy is in the car he will get his attention too.

I was able to get this video of him saying it. He is a little camera shy at first but then he comes through with a signature ice, ice, ice, ice baby.