October

October this year was a month of sunshine and beautiful fall leaves.

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." - F. Scott Fitzgerald

We spent a lot of time outside and it was lovely.

Our one and only pumpkin grew to the size of a bouncy ball and Mason made a cool hat out of a flat kickball. Haha!

Mason had fun helping me decorate our Halloween tree.

Spencer ran his 6th and final Fun Run at Edy Ridge. He made his goal of 13 laps in about 25 minutes and was exhausted, but happy. I didn't get any great pictures because Mason wanted to run after I snapped just a few pictures of Spencer. Mason wound up doing 3 laps. Uberthons counted the laps again so it was fun to Dad and Grandpa there.

Mason picked out a cool, new toy with his birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa LeFevre.

The boys made a tent to relax in while listening to General Conference.

We visited an apple farm one Saturday evening.

We celebrated Debbie's birthday with chocolate pumpkin cheesecake. So good!

Mason got to go on his first field trip with his preschool class. He was SO excited!! We went to a small pumpkin patch in St. Paul. The kids got to see and touch different kinds of pumpkins and gourds, grind corn, take a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch, choose a pumpkin, pet farm animals, and play on a little playground. We also took sack lunches and ate while we were there. Mason had a fabulous time and came home completely worn out.

We have transitioned to quiet time instead of nap time every afternoon for Mason. He still falls asleep for a few minutes most days though. I found him like this one day. He's wrapped in a sheet.

Alan and I took to the boys to our favorite small pumpkin patch so Spencer could get a pumpkin too. It was such a nice day!

Mason bugged Kiki a little too much and she got his cheek with all five claws. :(

The day of the Giant Pumpkin Regatta was really nice so we decided to go for the first time in several years. It turned out to be so crowded that we couldn't even see the races, but we walked around and did a few activities. Mason got a spider painted on his hand and the boys played pumpkin checkers.

Mason and I joined Spencer on his class field trip to The Oregon Garden. Mason was thrilled to be with the big kids and had a great time running around the garden. Spencer had a good time and I thought it was a great field trip. I hadn't been to The Garden since before Mason was born. It's such a beautiful place during every season.

Spencer also played a lot of soccer in October. His team did well and we didn't have any rain until the very last game so we were all happy. Mason still got bored during the games, but he was so much easier to handle this year. Spencer had another good season and improved a lot. Much to his embarrassment, Spencer's coach gave him "The Blooming Sunflower" award at the end of the season in honor of Spencer's growth. Haha!

The Rest of September

Besides the beginning of school, we had lots of other fun in September. Darwin and Debbie shared the apples from the tree in their backyard with us. It only took us about 15 minutes to pick all of these on Labor Day. We ate lots of them fresh, I dried a few, and made a lot of applesauce with the rest. Both Spencer and Mason love applesauce so it makes great food storage for us.

Labor Day evening turned out to very exciting and dramatic for my family. Katelyn went into preterm labor at 28 weeks. Sweet Evelyn Kate was born at 11:51 pm on September 3rd and weighed only 3 lbs 1 oz. She has been in the NICU since then. She has had ups and downs, but is mostly doing very well. Katelyn and Zac are exhausted with trying to spend as much time as possible with Evelyn while still taking care of John (2), working, and living life. They hope to bring her home by her due date on Thanksgiving.

While Elise was in the hospital with Katelyn waiting for her emergency c-section, Elise got the phone call letting her know that the birth mother who had chosen them to adopt her baby was also in labor! Isla (think island) Elizabeth was born at 12:31 am on September 4th and weighed 5 lbs 5 oz. Elise and Eric immediately drove back to Wyoming (they had just returned from meeting their birth mother that same day!). The next few days were extremely stressful as they tried to located the birth father and prayed the birth mother would go through with the adoption. Heavenly Father helped to smooth over some hurt feelings and anger and everything worked out just fine though. Sweet Isla had to suffer through nicotine withdrawals and has had reflux, but the whole family is happy and adjusting to life with a newborn again. I don't ever remember seeing Elise so happy.

My heart is so full for both of my sister's families. Both of these baby girls were prayed and fought for. Evelyn was an IVF baby (so is her older brother) and Elise and Eric had been waiting to add another child to their family for eight long years. Evelyn and Isla are miracles in the truest sense of the word.

These two goof balls are my miracles!

Spencer started 5th grade soccer practice in August, but his first game was at the beginning of September. We never buy team pictures so here are my attempts at a nice, posed shot. We were thrilled when Spencer got the same coach he had last year. Coach Anderson has an amazing talent for motivated his team to work and improve their skills while being fun and firm at the same time. Spencer loves to play for him.

I hung out at the playground with Mason during the first game. It was too far from the field for a good shot of Spencer, but I couldn't help being a little in awe of the beautiful area where we live. It was a gorgeous view.

Last picnic of the season with my buddy on our back patio.

It's hard to believe that we have nieces and nephews old enough to go to college and serve missions, but we do on the Rasmussen side of the family. Geoff's oldest son, Evan, gave his farewell talk in Middleton, Idaho at the end of September. Alan had two smaller races and a big cross country meet that kept him busy all day Saturday, so he couldn't make the 7-hour-drive, but I decided to be brave and took the boys by myself. I had never attempted a trip that long without Alan and was a little nervous, but it turned out alright.

Darwin, Debbie, Alicia, and Erica all made the trip to Geoff's house too. It was so fun to see all of them! We spent Saturday evening playing with cousins, eating pizza, and watching the BYU football game. Well, some people watched. I visited. ;)

After a yummy breakfast for Braden's birthday, we went to church to hear Evan speak. He gave an amazing talk and sounded more like a return missionary than a young man just about to serve in Philadelphia. Alan and I feel so blessed to have such amazing examples for our boys. Evan is going to be such a wonderful missionary! There are great things in store for this young man.

Spencer, Mason, and I had to get back on the road right after church. It was a long drive home, but the boys enjoyed their movies and I listened to a good audio book. We had a nice pit stop in the Gorge and got home just in time for Alan to feed us dinner. It was a super short trip and I wish Alan could have come with us, but I'm so glad the boys and I could go. Family is so important!