Farming Time

My mom and her brother own the family farm in Minnesota.  My Uncle Bruce still farms a bit of it.  We decided to trek up there, enjoy the outdoors and farm with Mom and Bruce for a day.

 Family friend, Loren, gave the boys the delight of riding in this monstrous farming machine.  What great fun!!

 Bruce, Me, Jonathan and Caleb

 Two happy tractor boys

 It's a farm.  There are tons of outdoor kitties.  The boys loved playing with them.  One was fond of them, the others just ran and hid.

 Bruce and the boys on the mower

Farming is hard work.  They were both sacked out in the backseat almost the whole way back to my hometown.  And, yes, there is still some finger-sucking by the oldest when he sleeps.  We've tried tape, we've tried band-aids and gloves.  When he is sleeping he takes them off... so we'll probably just be looking at orthodontic work.

A day well enjoyed... until our next farm adventure.

I like paint.

I like paint.  Jonathan likes paint.  Caleb likes paint.  So, we paint.  Birdhouses, paper, wooden stuff from the craft store, and PUMPKINS.  Lesson about paint: the washable stuff is junk.  The colors are watery (hence the washability, I imagine) and they don't stay where they are supposed to stay.  So, I've abandoned washability and just got out the tarp and the heater in the garage.

Halloween

Hands down, our most festive Halloween thus far.  However, my efforts at the festivities meant that I absolutely slacked in the photo taking.  I was also deterred by having to pull the huge jet plane that Jamie made out of cardboard and our wagon.  Keeping track of the munchkins and pulling the plane pretty much took all of my attention.  The photos were a distant third.

 My two ADORABLE jet pilots

 Jonathan and Caleb with the school buddies.  This group of kiddos is great fun.  We all hang around after the half day pick up time and the kids run and play.  As you can see, on Halloween, the ninja was trying to take down the SWAT team guy.  Jonathan isn't quite as much in the middle of the playing as the others, but he still has fun just running and playing with the friends.

Here is my best photo: sun in eyes, massive plane wedged between the rock wall the parking signs.  Jake and Josh: baseball players.  Jonathan and Caleb: co-pilots.

Fall Fun

Have I mentioned the leaves before?  The volume of leaves produced by sixty year old oak trees is a wonder to behold.  If you live in a neighborhood lacking these gems, let me give you a little taste... our neighbors have raked 3 times: each time with two piles this size in just the front yard.  There are still many more leaves to come.  All of the beauty and shade has a price.  We're hoping it will be a good money making venture for the boys in this house in a few years: raking.  If the wind blows from the northwest, all of the leaves left on our neighbor's trees are coming to our yard... yeehaw!

 My very talented Aunt Kathy made these robes for the boys.  They love them.  Especially the fact that they have hoods.  Amazing what things with hoods can become by way of "dress up".

 Football season for 5 and 6 year olds is over.  We are not going to rock the talent pool of the local football team, but we sure did have fun.  Jonathan had amazing coaches and he met several little dudes from his school so this all was a big win for him.  He mostly played center because in flag football, center is the best place for a little dude.  And, he was the littlest on the team.  The pizza party at the park was a great way to end a great season of fun!

Hitting the Links

Compared to my upbringing, we live in the city.  Not a huge city, but the city.  Golfing isn't quite as easy as the five minute drive we had to the local course where we could hop on without a tee time.  My dear dad loves golf... not fancy shmantzee golf, just the joy of hitting the ball, walking the course, and he is a master putter so he really loves that.  I grew to really like the relaxation of playing when it no longer mattered what my score turned out to be.  (I don't golf well under pressure.  At all.  Ask my high school coach.)  Jamie is just a good athlete and when he married me, he learned to golf.  All that said, we love to play.  

For J-man's birthday we got him a little set of clubs.  He loves practicing his swing the backyard with wiffle balls.  However, since his birthday, he has been begging to go to the course.  So, we headed to the closest public driving range.  Caleb brought these plastic type clubs we have and Jonathan brought his new ones.  They loved it.  Jonathan kept saying, "thank you so much, this was the most fun."  I told my dad we had awakened a monster.  He replied that it will be a happy monster. 

J-man

At six:
 - Loves to have books read to him... recent favorites include Mr. Popper's Penguins and The Boxcar Children series.  He told me after we finished several books in the Boxcar series that he would like to be a boxcar child when they lived in the boxcar.  I can totally relate.  I used to think that kind of thing sounded awesome, and I admit, I still kind of do.
 - Likes to have his clothes fit tightly.  I mention this because it drives both of us a little crazy.  He is not a large child so having clothes that are tight enough to fit his fancy means buying skinny jeans and cinching those things up to the max.  And, he is wearing the same couple of shirts repeatedly because they suit his fitting fancy.  I'm trying to be chill about it, but it does present laundry challenges.
 - Play legos for hours.  Mostly making his own crazy creations.
 - Loves, loves, loves dogs.  He is most understanding when I tell him why we aren't getting one right now, but I can think of nothing (except a sister) the sweet boy would love more than a furry friend.  His best friend is Grayson, the neighborhood golden retriever.
 - Fights with and loves dearly his brother.  They play amazingly well and they fight amazingly well.  They are both strong and feisty so it isn't a wonder that they seem to swing from fighting to playing and back with such ease.
 - Prefers to not have babysitters come.  He has informed me that he only wants to go to Aunt Carla's when we have something going on.  Too bad she has things going on, too, buddy.
 - Is growing in his compassion for his schoolmates... this is a delight to see and hear.
 - Loves to eat and his favorites are: flank steak, melon, pizza, chicken noodle soup, my green beans, Lauren M.'s banana bread, and toast at Aunt Carla's house.

This year has been a year of transitions for us with Jonathan starting school, but it has also been a start to a sweet season.  This gem of a child is the one who first called me "momma" and being the first means we always walk into the next phase of parenting with him.  Can't wait to see what the next year holds, my first little man!

Celebrating #6!

We celebrated J-man's sixth birthday last Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday was his party, Sunday we celebrated with just some fun traditions we enjoy.  For his party, we made an obstacle course for the boys to enjoy, and they all had a great time racing through it.  We also made a pinata that provided some good time for whacking on something.  Jamie, aka cake maker, whipped out a lego creation that delighted the birthday boy.  Every year he tells us that his cake was his favorite part of his birthday.

                                     

                                     

 Bruce and Stacey brought their new pup, Georgia, and Jonathan was delighted to have a chance to walk her.

 Good friends, the Engers, stopped by to wish him a happy day!

 My children are SO photogenic.  My sister's kids say "cheese" and smile when seeing the camera.  My children do weird things like this.

 Caleb had great fun picking out the extra long snapper/grabber for Jonathan as a gift from him.

 Birthday morning donut cake

Happy Birthday, J-man!  Such fun celebrating a delightful boy!