Happy Halloween!

For us, Halloween started with a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Jake and Ben took a little while to warm up to the baby calves, but once they did they thought it was great to pet them.

Here they are, scouting out the pumpkins.

Bingo, Jake found the one he wanted!

And Ben too, but he couldn't figure out how to lift it.

Jake carried his pumpkin all the way to the wagon, grunting and groaning the whole way. Funny thing is...he often tells me his backpack is too heavy for him when he doesn't want to carry it. Now I know better! Ben and Nancy watched in awe.

After a hard day of pumpkin searching we checked out the scarecrows.

A few days later. The boys couldn't wait for dad to get home from work to make faces in the pumpkins.

I was so surprised, Jake and Ben just got right into it! They pulled out the slimy insides and seeds with a little help from dad. Isn't being the picture taker a great job? My hands didn't havev to get messy at all!

Notice most of the rest of the pics we took are dad and Jake. Ben wasn't overly enthralled with the process. It was not entertanining enough. But Jake was fascinated.

The finished products! Dad's is on the right and Mom's is on the left.

Now to try on costumes. Thanks to a friend who loaned us these great suits.

This is the only smile we got from Ben while wearing the suit. In fact, the actual night of Halloween when we were getting ready to go to the church Harvest Party I asked Ben if he was ready to put on the dog suit and he just started to cry. Needless to say, it wasn't worth the battle so I put him in a Halloween t-shirt instead and he coycotted being a dog.

Jake on the other hand loved it and wanted to try it on too.

Here is Ben's new custome. Here we are at the party where every time we got to the front of the line the boys would cry and back out. It was a bit overwhelming. Ben finally found a corner to sulk in. Poor kid!

When we got home and picked up the mail we found packages from Grandma and Grandpa Parsons. What a treat!

Both boys got homemade PJ's, a card, and stickers.

Jake is saying "thanks Grandma Joan".

And off to bed they go wearing their new PJ's. What a fun week!

What Does Mike Do?

I get asked this question all the time so I thought I would take a moment to brag about one aspect of his work. Here are some pics of the house his company built in one of their master-planned communities in Richland, WA. It is a beautiful property overlooking the river. The house won many awards in the Tri-Cities parade of homes, including Best Overall and the People's Choice award. Development isn't the only thing his company does, but it is a big part of it.

Our First Family Vacation

Over labor day week we went to Coeur d'Alene with my sister and her family. It was a crazy time with 4 kids under 3yrs of age. It was definately a learning experience...how to vacation with kids. We had a good time but came home exhausted! With all these pics you would think we captured everything but we actually forgot our camera so we were at the mercy of my sister to take shots for us. Since we didn't hang out together every day we missed many great pics. How sad!

Uncle RJ and cousin Maddy, Mike and Ben watching the boats. Below are some pics of the favorite activity of the kids...beach time!

Maddy, Jake and Ben checking out the view from our deck.

One day we took a bike ride along the lake. Here we are stopped for lunch.

Apparently the ride was exhausting for Ben! He fell asleep and slumped over on Jake's chest. Jake was such a good big brother. I asked him if he could let Ben sleep there and Jake said yes and rested his chin on Ben's head. After awhile though, Jake started asking me to take Ben.

A family paddle boat ride.

Morning cartoons. Maddy is a sight in the morning isn't she?

Mike was pretty popular when he introduced the kids to pop rocks. Jake would just put them in his mouth and hold it open while they popped. Ben shoveled them in!

Waiting for the St Marie's parade to start.

Harvesting candy at the parade. It was quite the frenzy once the kids caught on that candy would be thrown from pretty much every float, truck, or motorbike that went by. And with their cute smiles and waves, wouldn't you throw them candy?

Jake going down the big slide at the St Maries playground.

On the way out of town we stopped to see Mike's childhood friend. He has fond memories of raising his gold prize pig on her farm. She was a strict "old" woman back then...Mike learned many a life lesson on her farm.

Mike touring St Maries and reliving his elementary years around town.

It's about time!!!

I know, I know, it has been wa-a-ay too long since I updated the blog with our family news. From a family vacation to Coeur d'Alene to a parade at Salmon Days it has been an adventure. Hope you enjoy some of our recent and not so recent pics!

Grandma Joan and Grandpa Bob came to visit in September to watch the UW vs BSU football game. My brother, Jeff, and his family came as well. It is so fun now that Jake remembers my parents and looks forward to their visits. As I was uploading this picture today Jake was squealing over Grandma and Grandpa. He said "Look, there is our friend, Grandma Joan!" Everyone is our "friend". Here they are with the boys after Sunday morning church before heading home. We miss you!

Cousins Jonah and Norah were here to visit in September as well. Jake and Ben had a great time playing with them. They are enjoying rootbeer floats out on the deck after dinner in this picture. Nancy isn't used to having to share Jake so she tried to sit on the boys side. Norah's feelings were pretty hurt since no one wanted to sit by her but in the end we worked it out.

Uncle Steve is a real hit around our house. We have a picture of him playing ball on the fridge and the boys are always pointing at it and saying "there's Uncle Steve playing baseball!" It was so fun for them to have him around. You could just see the adoration in Jake's eyes! Ben was a little more hesitant but as you can see here, Steve slowly won him over.

I showed this picture to Jake and it has been the inspiration for much role playing. He pitches to Uncle Steve (me or whoever is willing to pretend to be Steve) over and over. Steve usually gets a hit and now a lot of times loses the bat too!

Just having a plain old good time! Here they are sitting on eachother's laps and yelling "cheese" for the camera.

singing..."Bob the Builder, can we fix it? Yes, we can!" Can you hear him?

Ben loves Jake's bed and is always climbing into it with him. Here they are at naptime snuggled in and ready for sleeping. Ok, so not really ready for naptime. Being in the same bed makes them too hiper! But posing for the camera, nevertheless.

With baby on the way, space being limited, and Ben being enamored with Jake's bed we decided it was time to bunk them! Ben is now in the bottom bunk and looks like a little spec in a sea of covers. He loves it though and is sleeping great. Jake is on the top bunk and everyday he tells me "I love my bed, I love my ladder!" This is their first night in the new beds. The next morning when we heard them chatting back and forth Mike shot out of bed like a cannon and rushed into their room. I am serious, I have NEVER seen Mike move so fast. I asked what they were doing in there and Mike said he had visions of Jake leaning over the top bunk to chat with Ben and falling out. Needless to say, I am sure I will never figure out how to get Mike out of bed that fast again! But the boys were fine and we haven't had any issues except keeping Ben off the ladder. He thinks he should be able to climb it like Jake but his legs just aren't long enough. We also moved all the toys out of the guest room and into the boys room so now they spend all their time in there. It is precious!

Getting ready for the next float to go by in the parade. Jake and Ben sport matching raincoats and hats that our beloved babysitter Gail made for them last year.

Yes, that is my child laying flat on a dirty, yucky stormwater grate in the middle of the street during the parade. He has taken to doing this with all grates because he likes the sound of his voice echoing when he yells down it. He also likes to throw things down it. Unfortunately the picture on the right is after cleaning Ben up. He was a mess. If you can see, he had dirt lining his mouth from actually pressing it against the grate. Oh, Benja, Benja! Always dirty, always getting hurt, always all boy!!!

Dad and the boys watching the parade.