fun at school!

>> October 27, 2017

 These last 2 weeks have been so busy with activities at school. And Matt and I have been lucky enough to be there for most of them. It started last week with Lucy's first field trip to the pumpkin patch! Lucy's preschool didn't do field trips so she was extra excited to go and even more excited that Matt would be chaperoning. Because of work schedules and other upcoming school commitments I knew I couldn't be there so Matt took the day off and spent 3.5 hours in the dumping rain with loads of kindergartners running around beside him. While the weather didn't cooperate for most of the trip they both had a great time.

 So many kids!
 Luckily Lucy and her buddy wore matching rain boots so it was easy for Matt to keep track of them.
 Later in the week Carter and Simon played some Harry Potter before I took Simon over to the bookstore. It's so funny...while he wants to do everything his older siblings do (ie. Harry Potter) he still has his own strong personality and seeks out every sports book at the bookstore to read through.


Wednesdays are usually my favorite days of the week because the kids have early release so we have a few extra hours in the afternoon for play dates, riding bikes or playing outside. But last week it was cold and wet so I surprised the kids with homemade caramel apples as an after school treat! While it was incredibly messy to make and eat, it was pretty fun too.





 Carter was sick at the end of the week so I had an unexpected day at home with just the boys while Lucy was at school. We pulled out games, chess and trains to pass the time before taking long naps in the afternoon. Thank goodness his fever ended quickly and we were able to keep our weekend plans the same.


 Over the weekend the kids convinced me to carve Lucy's pumpkin from her field trip. We are saving our bigger pumpkins for this weekend so they don't get too rotten before Halloween but they really wanted to roast some seeds. So I happily obliged because it was a tiny pumpkin and hardly made a mess.



 The weather has been so much better this week and we've been able to play outside every afternoon! With the beautiful fall leaves on the ground and the sun shining...it doesn't get much better. We took over the cul-de-sac with ALL the sports equipment and played until dinner.



 I spent 3.5 hours volunteering in Lucy's classroom earlier in the week and then got to go into Carter's class on Wednesday to teach the first cooking lesson of the year. I'm the cooking docent this year and am so excited. His teacher really believes kids should learn basic life skills besides spending time doing reading and writing so we have a monthly cooking unit to go along with whatever they might be studying. This month...pumpkin muffins! The kids got to scoop out the seeds from sugar pumpkins, we roasted them and then used the homemade puree to make muffins. It was messy and a little hectic but by round 5 I had it mastered and every single student devoured their muffin after recess. Success!

 And finally, the next day I spent more time at school chaperoning Carter's first field trip of the year! We headed down to the Seattle Art Museum for some time in the art studio and touring the gallery. There were so many beautiful exhibits and the kids really enjoyed learning more about the elements of art and identifying them from various artists.






We ended the day at the park for Lucy's last soccer practice of the season. Matt came home from a week away and we ran and played until it was cold and dark. 
Another week down, a busy weekend planned and then...Halloween!

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a soccer weekend.

>> October 17, 2017

We are settling into the new routine of school, preschool, work and sports and I think I'm finally finding my groove. Waking early to get in a good workout, have some alone time and pack lunches before the busy day begins...it's all feeling normal now. I'm really loving my days home with Simon too. It's fun to have a toddler to go on adventures with and he has such a big personality, I just love our simple conversations. The other day I took him to the Children's Museum to play for a bit. It's so nice to have a huge play space nearby for those cold, rainy mornings. 
He spent the majority of time in the water room and then hung out in the airplane telling me over and over again he was flying to Seattle. Seriously, for the family whose kids tend to have speech delays or articulation concerns he has blown us away. He is talking so much and is learning tons of new words each week. 
 Before we left I had to use the bathroom. Simon has a very similar personality to Carter. Always on the go, busy busy busy and likes to explore. I always have to have my hand on him anywhere we go. So public restrooms aren't so simple when he wants to crawl on the floor and touch every.single.surface. Yuck! But this little seat was fun and new so I set him down while I peed. And sure enough, he realized pretty quickly he could unlock the door and push it right open! Thanks Simon. Who needs privacy anyways?!

 The rest of our weekend consisted of soccer. Lots of soccer! Lucy had another game and did so great playing defense. She stopped a goal and really improved her footwork down the field.

 Love this team!
 Then, on Sunday, we headed into Seattle for the Sounders game. Lucy scored free tickets from her summer Sounders Soccer Camp and we knew everyone would love watching the game. In the past 3 months all the kids have been to a Mariner's game, Seahawks game, Aquasox game and now Sounders game! Sheesh - we are apparently a sports loving family.
 On our way in to the stadium we stopped at the Mariners Team Store to look around. Pretty sure we could buy all of Simon's Christmas presents there this year! Simon loved seeing his favorite players on the wall too. He ran right up to get his picture...love his love for sports!

 We settled into our seats and quickly realized the sun was blaring into our eyes. It was so bright we couldn't see a thing! Luckily, Matt's brother, who has season tickets, invited us down to his section so we could have a better view. The kids loved spending time with their uncle and his friends too.

 And the best part? Besides a great game and 4 goals by the Sounders, we made it on national TV! Such a fun night, can't wait to do it again.


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a preview, pony and patch.

>> October 12, 2017

1. The Preview - We are so excited for Halloween this year and couldn't help but wear our costumes just a few times before the big night. Best part is we can wear these costumes all the time - because when you are a Seahawks and Mariner's player it's all just fan gear. Win win (and super cute athletes if you ask me!)
 2. The pony - Lucy has been so excited to go on a date with me to see The Little Pony movie. I thought it didn't come out in theaters until November so we were both surprised when opening day was last weekend and we could sneak away for a little girl time. But, let's be honest, this movie was absolutely awful! I couldn't even tell you what the actual storyline was because I spent half the movie trying to keep my eyes open and the other half looking around to see what other parents might be sound asleep. The good news was Lucy loved it and I still got to spend some quality time with my favorite little girl. But next time, I'm choosing the movie!



 3. The patch - Yes, we went to another one! I'm trying to take advantage of these sunny fall days while we have them and Simon loves running around outside so it's a win for both of us. This farm definitely wasn't my favorite but we still had fun playing in the sand and corn pit and riding another tractor. It's still a bit weird to me to only have Simon during the day. I didn't realize how much the other kids entertain him when they are all home together!













If the weather improves next week we might try to make one more visit to another farm before Halloween - and then...trick or treating!

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