Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween, hope yours was as great as ours.

We have been bad parents, this is the first year that Branson has got to participate in any Halloween activities. We always figured he really didn't know so there was no point in spending the money and fighting with him over candy. Last year he enjoyed handing out candy and seeing the people dressed up that came to our house. We knew that this year would be his first year he actually found out about Halloween, but I had no idea how much fun I would have with him.

Cutest little fireman around.

Branson had a party at preschool on Halloween. He went on a trick or treat parade followed by a party at the school

He came home from school with a load of candy.

 Our first stop trick or treat stop was at Papa and Mimi's house. 

Same thing different day.

 We basically let Branson have freedom with his candy, it was very interesting to see how little he actually ate. He wanted it all open and then he just organized it, when he got down from the table I threw it away and he never asked about it again.

We have a turkey in town, it was coming around on a regular basis, but we hadn't seen if for awhile then on Halloween Branson was looking out the window and yelled "Mommy! The chicken is back!"

November 1st. What a day to have a dentist appointment! B was a champ.

He did so well they decided to get X-rays this visit too. It always amazes me how cooperative he is for other people.

 We have made great progress with toothbrushing since his last visit, so hopefully that continues so we can keep reporting no cavities!

Oktoberfest

Forrest and Kati came to visit. It worked out for them to come the weekend of the Leavenworth half marathon, so we all decided to run it. 

Forrest brought Branson a rocket, it was a hit. We heard 3, 2, 1 BLAST OFF a lot!

B took every bit of advantage of having his Uncle and Auntie here and packed their days with fun for him.

Friday night Mom, Dad, Holly and Bryan come and brought Bryan's parents. It was fun having everyone here. 

Auntie Holly is always a hit to have around.

Just a glimpse into my life.

She loves her daddy (and her creepy toy that Papa Dave bought her).

Saturday we did the Leavenworth half marathon. The parents watched the kids, so we could all participate. The course changed a bit since the last time we did it. It had a few more miles of trail running in it. It was beautiful and I actually think I enjoyed it more than before.

With all the wild fires around us last month there was talk of canceling the event, the air quality was moderate two days before the run so they decided to keep it going as scheduled. The smoke put a huge damper on Josh and my training, but we snuck in runs on our weekends when we were hiding from the smoke on the other side of the mountains and that proved to be enough to get us through it.

I made it! Almost...0.1 mile left.

Dad walked back and ran the last mile with me, it was nice to have someone to finish up with.

Branson loved the treats he got to help us eat after the run. 

Look at that face...her sweetness kills me!

Here we are, the runners and the kids.

It was so much fun having everyone here, but the morning after they left we had laundry to catch up on, good thing I had some good helpers.

B got his three year pictures last week. Dakota was a great assistant to her mommy and they were rewarded with ice cream. I seriously love these two and their friendship.

I think she is having a little bit of fun.

Josh has been doing a good job of helping out around the house. He takes the kids on adventures so I can get things done. He took our kids and Dakota out exploring the other day. They hiked down the ski hill and back up, pretty impressive. 

Fall is definitely here and the smoke has cleared so we are making use of every chance we can be outside.

Walks with friends

Multiple trips to the park each day.

Update

Branson started preschool today, I am hoping that him being gone for a couple hours 2 days a week will free up a little bit of time for me to catch up on blogging or a few projects around the house. Realistically it will just mean some mommy/Quinnie time and I am happy with that too.

  

When I picked him up from school I asked him how school was and he just shrugged. I asked him if he wanted to go back again and he said "Yes!" so I am assuming everything went well...at least hoping so.

 Fall is here. Cool mornings and warm afternoons mean interesting outfits. B picked out the outfit that he wore to gymnastics this week. 

Branson went farming with Papa last week. 

When he got home Joel and Sarah were here, the park was the perfect end to a fun day.

 Branson got his first big boy hair cut.

We went to Home Depot to get one lightbulb and had to have two carts. The sibling quarreling has started here.

Branson went to "help" Jason and Sue with yard work. He pushed his wheelbarrow over there.

In the most exciting news of the past week...Holly and Bryan are engaged. They haven't set a date yet, but we are super excited for them.

Harvest 2012

We got a new combine this year. That combined with a smaller year means record fast harvest for us. Which is nice, but a little sad for my little farmer. Branson only got to go out one day this year and he soaked up every minute that he could. I dropped him off in the morning with Josh and expected a call to come get him sometime that afternoon. It never happened. Branson came in with Daddy that night.

Family trip to the grain bins.

ChelanMan

Holly and Bryan were inspired after watching the Ironman in Coeur D'Alene and signed up for the ChelanMan Triathlon.  We loved it because that meant they stayed with us and we were able to go cheer them on.

We took them berry picking with us before hand.  

My little berry picker. Branson did such a good job and loved every minute.

 

Quinnie loves blueberries so she was in heaven grabbing handfuls and stuffing them in her mouth. 

Time for some bragging now...

Holly and Bryan did awesome. Here they are coming out of the water. 

And finishing up, they survived and even had smiles on their faces. I think it was a successful event.

Weekend Warriors

Real quick recap of what we have been up to. Our weekends have been packed, just the way I like them.

Josh's band had a "gig" which meant lots of practice time and little family time. He repaid us for being gone by a family Saturday. The weekends we are home are usually filled with house work, so it was fun to have a family day close to home. We explored Leavenworth and came home just in time to hit up the school carnival.

Super Dad!

 

See what I mean

We walked all around town then headed down to the Icicle River. We found a park on the way, so off course we had to stop and play. Branson loves to sing and was singing away as he ran around wild. Soon the other kids joined in. Josh called him "A regular Jukebox"

Branson was a trooper with all the walking and did a great job keeping up with us. We rewarded him with a cookie.

The carnival was a hit. Every game handed out candy as a prize and we could see the even ending with a hyper kid with an upset stomach, so Josh made a game out of him winning the candy then running and putting it in the diaper bag. I don't think he will be as easily fooled next year.

Branson saw the jail at the carnival and said he wanted to put Dakota in there, so Dakota put him in jail with her. They had so much fun in there we decided it would be a good babysitter.

Then Josh got put in jail with them

Holly and Bryan came for the weekend. Holly and I did the 10k at the Wentachee Marathon then the guys brought the kids down and we went to Touch-a-Truck. This event was made for our little boy. All sorts of trucks, cars, even a helicopter that kids could go in, climb on...

There was even an inflatable slide. We are considering one of these for B's birthday. Hopefully we come to our senses!

We were going to miss the Apple Blossom grand parade, so I took the kids to the Youth Parade. Thankfully Joel and Sarah volunteered to help out, the kids enjoyed it and I wasn't stressed having them both there by myself.

Branson loves having kids over. Whenever he sees anyone walking by our house he asks me if they can come play. Thankfully one of his favorite buddies lives a couple houses down.

We went to Holly's house for the weekend and Holly, Bryan and I ran Bloomsday. Josh can't pass up a trip to Coeur d'Alene with without a visit to Hudson's. B loved it too. He helped Josh gobble down his burger.

B is a fan of Auntie Holly. Snuggles from our two year old are hard to come by so you take them when you can get them.

 Too much fun wore Quinnie out.

We went to my parent's house Mother's Day weekend to spend sometime time with my mama. B loves this place. Chasing papa on his bike while he mows the lawn wearing his new shades and no pants. What's not to love?!

 My mom, grandma and I went to the ballet. When I told my sister our plans she replied "you are so cultured!" While the ladies were at the ballet my dad and Josh took the kids to the races. Yes cultured we are! B loved it. He is still talking about it and plays racecars even more than before. Before the races start he tells me " Put in your ear plugs mommy!"

Looks like Quinnie had a pretty good time too!

Mother's Day we spend the afternoon with one of my favorite mamas.

We took the long way home and enjoyed the view.

Another perk of the long way home is getting to stop and play with Uncle Joel and Sarah.

Last weekend the plan was to stay around home and work on the house. After a productive Saturday we decided to tag along with Dave and Kathy to Spokane for the night.

The best days end with the dirtiest clothes...

 

We saw a fire truck in the Best Buy parking lot, so we went over to check it out. The firefighters were so nice and even let B drive.

Some signs of spring around our place.

Mowing the lawn with Daddy.

B has been practicing eating sandwiches "like on the combine" in preparation for harvest. He is even nice enough to share them with sister.

Branson has been getting lots of practice riding his bike.

Evening cruises with friends

 

Quinn had her first sandbox experience. The binkie in her mouth was an attempt to keep the sand out. It didn't work so well.

 

Other News

Branson had his first dentist appointment. Brushing his teeth is something that we really struggle with, so I was a bit nervous. He did great, even sat in the big boy chair. No crying and no cavities!

 

Last but not least: we have a crawler. Quinnie has been working on this for a while, but was still only go for a few "crawl steps" at a time. Tonight Joel and Sarah were here and Sarah was playing with her on the ground and off she went. 

With two kids on the move now I am sure things will not be slowing down. Good thing we like things a little crazy.