October Sunshine

We were blessed with incredible fall weather here in October. It was sunny and warm for most of the month and we spent as much time as possible soaking it in before the rains began.

We visited Papa's pumpkin patch one afternoon. It was a Friday when there was no school and the place was almost deserted - it was awesome! It's hard not to take a ton of pictures of cute little boys with pumpkins. ;)

Mason absolutely adores Spencer and looks forward to playing with him after school every day. Spencer leaves for school before Mason is awake in the morning. Lately when I go in to get him up, Mason asks where Spencer and Daddy are and then says, "I miss them so much!" with a little catch in his voice. It's sad and sweet.

We walked to a bridge that crosses the Tualatin River one morning while scouting out spots for family pictures. We didn't find a good spot and it was way too long of a walk for Mason. Not our best outing ever!

Mason and I spontaneously stopped at Baggenstos pumpkin patch while on the way home from an errand one day. We didn't get another pumpkin, but they had lots of fun activities for kids. The tractor was definitely Mason's favorite.

Darwin made this awesome bookshelf for Spencer's room! It looks so nice and it's great to have enough room for his books. Thanks Darwin!

Crunchy leaves!

We played in the forest in the park by our house several times. One huge tree has this neat cave where the dirt has worn away from the roots. Mason thinks it's cool.

Soccer 2017

Spencer finished his 5th season of soccer at the end of October. It was a really good season for him! He had a great coach, Eric Anderson, who was the assistant coach for Spencer's last soccer team so they already knew each other. Spencer's ball handling skills and his willingness to fight for the ball grew a ton this season! He worked hard and it was fun to watch him improve so much. He really enjoys sports and I think it's so good for him to learn to work as a team. It helped that his team (The Strikers) lost one game, tied one game, and won all of the others. They worked well together and we were a little sad when the season ended. It also helped that we had awesome weather for soccer this fall - only one rainy game! I'm pretty sure we only had one dry game last year!

I'm a crummy sports photographer, but here are the few pictures I got:

Most of Spencer's games were during Mason's nap this year. I tired to get him to nap in the stroller during the very first game. Those eyes stayed closed just long enough for me to take this picture and then he was off and running the rest of the time. ;)

Way to go Stikers!!

Now on to basketball...

The Beginning of Fall

Sometimes, the weather on Oregon fall days is stunningly gorgeous. We didn't have many of those kind of days last fall, so I'm appreciating and enjoying them even more this year.

Mason fell in love with picnics over the summer. Our picnics usually consisted of pulling his little table into either the front or back yard for lunch. He still asks for a picnic every sunny day.

Alan doesn't watch a ton of football because he's too busy in the fall, but Mason saw enough to learn that he likes it! He loves to "play football" in the backyard with anyone who is willing.

Kiki loves to be outside too. She discovered that she can jump onto the top of the fence from the trampoline and our grill though, so we've had to limit her outdoor time. Maybe I just need to get her a collar and let her go. Maybe her survival skills will surprise me. I feel bad keeping her cooped up all of the time.

I love the way the garden looks all wild and overgrown at the end of the summer.

Another robot!

What is Spencer doing?!

Mason was really excited to help me decorate for Halloween this year. Holidays are so fun with three-year-olds! (I've been taking an on-line photography class and have been trying to take more pictures at home than I normally do to practice.)

Edy Ridge always holds their Fun Run in early fall. Spencer was REALLY excited to try to beat his record of 11 laps in about 25 minutes. Mason was excited to give the wolf a hug. Both of their wishes came true - Spencer finished 12 laps and Mason got some love from the wolf!

4th graders get to wear cool headbands!

It's pretty awesome that Spencer's Dad and Grandpa get to time the race!

Big boxes in the garage provide lots of entertainment.

I love the color my hydrangeas turn in the fall!

Mason always tells me that he is "a really big boy now" and likes to help me do jobs. Sometimes. He was super proud to empty the silverware basket one morning. It took him about 15 minutes. ;)

 "Autumn ... the year's last, loveliest smile."  -William Cullen Bryant