Halloween

 Halloween.  pumpkins, costumes, candy, and jack o lanterns.

 

The boys had a great time carving their pumpkins this year.  I love this picture of Owen as he touches the slimy insides of his pumpkin.  Getting all slimy is the best.

 

After we carved our pumpkins, we were ready for Halloween.  It was a very exciting Halloween this year because Auntie Megan and the girls were here.  We had the best Halloween ever!

 

3 girls

3 boys

  A newborn, a princess, and little miss mismatch. 

 Peter Pan, blue ninja, and black ninja.  All ready for trick or treating.

First, everyone had to go over to Jake and Lauren's house for pizza.   Everyone except Grace.  Grace and I decided to stay home and get ready for the trick or treaters.  After dinner, it was time to get some candy.

After a short time, it was time for the little ones to come back to the house.  The bigger kids stayed out late with Jake and Lauren.

 Here is our little princess with her bucket of candy.

Helping me with baby Grace

And, here she is.  With two suckers.  So proud of herself and all her candy.

Auntie Megan

Auntie Megan, Amaya, and Adaline come to see us for a whole week!

On Saturday afternoon all three girls arrived in Thornton.  We were so excited to have them here.  To celebrate, Eli played them a little tune on his piano.

We also snapped a few pictures of my belly.

Our week had begun.  A week full of excitement.  The arrival of a new baby, a houseful of children, Halloween, and Owen's birthday.  We had a lot to pack into just a few days!

But, first we had to play at the park.

We love cousin time!

Avoidance

I was standing in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher on a Saturday morning.    Thinking about all the chores that needed to be done.  The list kept getting longer and longer and I was feeling a little overwhelmed.   Avoidance....I thought.  I have to find Bryan.

I heard the lawn mower start and ran outside to start my avoidance tactic.  "Bryan, do you want to see if there is any rooms up at Grand Lake"?   We had talked earlier about going up the mountain to see the fall colors.  I was doubtful that there would be any rooms left on short notice....but, I took a chance.  And, it was one of those things in life that was just meant to be. You are in the right place at the right time and life just seems a little sweeter. 

I could officially avoid all the housework.  We were going to the mountains. 

Our room was booked and we started getting ready for our adventure not knowing how special it would really turn out to be.   A weekend of the unexpected.

We drove through Rocky Mountain National Park and it was magnificant.  The fall colors and the mountains were breathtaking.

On our way through the park we were able to see elk and big horn mountain sheep.  The boys were really excited to see the all the wildlife.

When we arrived at our cabin we overheard rumurs that Grand Lake was having a firework show.  We were surprised that there would be fireworks in the middle of October.  Our neighbor explained that they were unable to have their firework show in July because of the fire danger so, they moved the event to this weekend.  Wow.  It was amazing because we had the best view in all of Grand Lake from the porch of our cabin. We were perched on top of a hill overlooking the lake.  We didn't need to fight the traffic or people, we just needed to set up our lawn chairs.

 

The boys LOVED the fireworks!  Each firework was more exciting then the last and Eli kept everyone around us entertained by yelling "fire, daddy, fire".  It was an unexpected event that made our whole evening more exciting.

Bright and early the next morning we were up and ready to head out to hear the elk bugle.  Of course, the boys had to wait patiently for us to get ready.  Our boys never wait very patiently but, here they are trying their best.  Laying in their top bunk.....

In the quiet, still morning on our walk to the lodge....I heard my first elk bugle.  We couldn't see them but, we could sure hear them.  We all stopped on the path and stood for several moments and listened intently.  Another unexpected event that made my morning more special.   It was very cool!

After a quick breakfast we headed back to Rocky Mountain National Park and it wasn't long before we spotted a huge bull elk in a clearing.  We pulled over and spent some time watching and listening to the bugeling elk.

Here are the boys watching the elk.

It didn't take the boys long to run off and explore....trying to find a place to fish.  

Here are some pictures of the boys as we enjoyed the fall weather and listened to the elk.

Bryan and I love this picture.  We were trying to get the perfect picture with the mountains in the background.  Needless to say, we never quite got that perfect picture.  But, we love this one because it says so much about all three boys.  They certainly aren't going to pose nicely when asked.  Instead they will climb and play and be wild.

 After many attempts....the perfect picture of our little Eli.

"Mom, when can we fish"?  "Dad, are we going to go fishing?"  The boys were asking us every 5 minutes about fishing.  They had watched enough elk.

So, fishing we went.

As the boys fished, Eli and I walked around the lake and went to the Tahoe to take a nap.  Just as I was falling asleep, Gabriel knocked on the window.  "Mom, look at my fish". "I caught it all on my own".  He and his dad were very proud.  No help and he caught a big one!  Another unexpected event....realizing my son is old enough to fish on his own.

Eli and I wanted to watch the boys fish so we headed down to the dock.  The boys were having a great time.

 

And, Owen and daddy even caught a fish!

As Eli and I were standing by the water skipping rocks, I heard a strange noise from behind me.  It was some sort of grunting noise.  Who is that? I thought  And, I turned around.  Right behind me was a moose.  Way to close for comfort!   I froze and looked at Bryan with panic.  Then, I made sure that I was between the moose and Eli and I just stood very still.   Thankfully, he didn't pay a bit of attention to us and ran right by us. 

 

He was headed towards the river.....on some sort of mission.  He ran right by the boys and Bryan was able to snap a few pictures before he ran off.

 

Here is a picture of Gabriel watching the moose swim across the river. 

Really, I never wanted to be this close to a moose.   It was just another unexpected event that made my day more exiting and gives us a really cool story to tell.

As I look back over the weekend, I am so thankful that we decided to go instead of staying at home and doing chores.  There were so many pleasent surprises on our trip.  And, yes my avoidance tactic worked....for a little while anyway :)

The Tigers

The Tigers.   Thornton Junior Football League.   Tackle football for 8 and 9 year old's.  Practice 3 times a week and games on Saturday's.

Gabe's passion.  He loves football.  He loves getting all his football gear on and going to practice.  He loves the games.  Bryan and I continually try to convince him that soccer would be better.  He's not listening.  He wants to play football.

Gabe is the smallest and youngest member of the Tiger's.  He has never played tackle football before and has a lot to learn.  Even through all of this, the players on his team have taken him under their wing and have helped him through the season.  

Gabe's position is nose tackle.  He stands between these two players and they keep him focused and make sure he doesn't go off sides.  Number 92 goes to Gabe's school and keeps an eye on him at school also.  Looking for him after school and making sure that he is ready for practice.

Friday Night Lights.  The Tigers were ready to play under the big lights.  They were so excited and they played really well.  The whole family had a great time cheering on the Tigers.

Here is a picture of Gabe tackling those bigger players.  Good job, Gabriel!

 

And, we can't forget our mascot.  Bo.  Bo always came to the games ready to cheer on the Tigers.   Here he is cheering on the Tigers with "The Eye of the Tiger".

 

Even though this is not the sport that we have choosen for Gabriel to play, we are very proud of him for the progress he made through the season and his determination to play.  It's just one of those traits that I so admire about Gabe.  He knows what he wants to do and doesn't let anyone or anything detour him.

Time in the morning

An early morning ride....before Owen goes to school at 11:30.  Time for brothers be outside together.

We head down to the cul de sac so we can pedal faster and feel the wind through our helmets.

Once we get there Owen decides he wants to ride down the big hill headed towards the school.

Eli and I decide to wait for him at the top of the hill.  And, while we are waiting we buckle and unbuckle his helmet.  And, buckle and unbuckle his helmet.  And, buckle and unbuckle his helmet.

And, right before we have to go inside for lunch...we find a new friend.  Rolly.  We stick him in our pocket and head inside, ready for school and the rest of our day.

At Grammy and Gramps's

Before Grace arrived, we took a quick trip to Buffalo to visit Grammy and Gramps and to do a little elk hunting.  We wanted to squeeze in some fall traveling before winter set in and the baby arrived.

We arrived in Buffalo late....really late Friday night.  But, not to late to fit in a few quick games of basketball.  When you arrive in Buffalo, no matter how late it is....Gramps is ready to play.  The best thing would be for us to all sleep in however, the boys are to excited and get up ready to start their day....bright and early.

There is so much to do but, the top priority this morning is to catch the "ditch monster".  The ditch monster is always in Grammy and Gramp's ditch this time of year.  And, these big trout really like to hang out under the bridge and wait for a tasty grasshopper to float by.

So, bright and early it's out to the field to catch some grasshoppers.  Yellow bellied grasshoppers if we can.  Gabe and Gramps say those are the best kind.  After we have bait, it's time to FISH.

And, it didn't take very long.....the "ditch monster" was caught.  And, it went straight into Gramps's big red bucket.  And, this fish became the boy's favorite toy for the rest of the day.

There is nothing better then a bucket, a fish and a rope.  It will entertain my boys for hours.

The afternoon was beautiful.  So, I found a chair and parked myself in the front yard with the boys.  We brought out a few toys and enjoyed the fall weather. 

Eli was not as interested in playing with the fish but, there were several things that kept him busy.

Specifically, pushing buttons.  Especially if it's a door bell.  This "toy" never gets old.  A second favorite button is the garage door opener.  In fact, shortly after we left last time the garage door repairman had to come and fix the garage door opener.  He asked Gramps if it had gotten any excessive use....Gramps just laughed to himself thinking of all the times Eli had pushed the button over the weekend.   Oh, Eli and his buttons.

If it's not a button, it is something that he can open and close.  With much concentration, Eli will figure out how to work any kind of button or snap.  This happens to be the snaps on my camera bag.

After our afternoon of fishing and playing the boys loaded up in the Yukon with binoculars and camouflage and headed up on the mountain to look for elk.  Eli and Grammy and I enjoyed a nice quite evening at home.

We headed back to the big city on Sunday but, had such a good time in Wyoming.....fishing, hunting, and pushing buttons.