october 2013 and halloween fail

We had a nice Halloween this year, but for the first time EVER, I didn't get a photo of my boys on Halloween night in their costumes- mom FAIL! I know that all my Facebook friends are giving a big moan of disappointment that ours wasn't one of the 500 photos that popped up on their feed, but I'm sure they'll all recover quickly.  Wade took the boys out to trick-or-treat while I held down the fort (read: sat at home watching a movie and passing out candy to the 10 people who came to our house).  Our boys are now at the get-as-much-candy-as-we-possibly-can-stage of trick-or-treating, so they stayed out for an hour or two and tried to hit as many houses in the neighborhood as possible.  They're getting pretty good at it.  

NInja Jack about to attack that donut. The one and only photo of any of my boys in costume. :(

We did carve pumpkins (by "we" I mean Wade).

And yes, I did take more photos of pumpkins and snack boxes than I did of my own children.  

The boys are also playing soccer and I've added some equally disappointing blurry photos of that below. It's going well.  All the boys LOVE playing and we've added some new equipment at our house to help them practice.  They've been earning pieces of Halloween candy for playing 15 minutes of soccer in the yard. :)  

 

pete's 1st backpacking trip

Wade took Pete for his first ever overnight backpacking trip in October to the Superstitions.  Peter had been planning and talking about it for months and to say he enjoyed it would be an understatement.  I believe this will be the first of many such trips.

september mind explosion

I am just going to list the things we've been up to over the last month.  

They are in no particular order, but I think my mind will explode unless I get it all out:

-Wade's grant proposal due to the NIH (This Saturday or whenever the government decides to reopen).
-Cristi working on graduate school papers/quizzes/reading/projects. I'm almost done with my first class and so far, I still have an A!  I'm really enjoying it.
-Peter's first mountain biking experience.
-Cristi gets certification to teach in AZ.
-Jack and Ben are both sent to the principals office. :(
-Cristi re-evaluates her parenting choices and determines that she has a lot to learn/perfect.
-Wade's grant proposal.
-Cristi going back to the gym, getting into a routine, training for a half-marathon, trying to lose the stress weight from the last 2 years (I'm down 4lbs, I'll take it!).
-Church camping trip including: zip-lining, "sleeping" in a cabin, hiking, exploring, apple-picking, football, walkie-talkies, exercise/dancing, Ben's own interpretation of exercise/dancing, playing with friends, and lots of hot cocoa.  I wish I'd taken more pictures and written down some of the funny things my boys did/said. They had a blast, of course.
-Working on Wade's grant proposal.
-A night out to see Spirit Family Reunion, a bluegrass band, play in Tempe, AZ.  Missing Nashville.
-Cristi subbing at the boys school sometimes a couple times a week, as needed.
-More working on Wade's grant proposal.
-Starting soccer practices and the first game!  The boys are all enjoying it as usual.
-Cristi volunteering each week in Jack and Ben's classes.
-Yard work, yard work, yard work (of course).
-Hunting and destroying scorpions (inside and outside of the house).
-Wade's grant proposal may be the death of him.
-School fundraiser selling cookie dough (it's over and grandparents to the rescue on that one!).
-Wade is stressed out over his work because of a, what do you know, grant proposal!
-Counting down until the grant proposal is done and turned in!
-The weather in Arizona is starting to cool down (think 90's during the day, 60's during the night)= more bike rides, hikes, running outside.  Yay!

Enjoy some pictures from the camping trip:

Pete

Ben

Jack

back to school

The three cuties on their 1st day back (debuting some long-overdue new haircuts as well).

  

And our "Teacher Survival Kit's" turned out great this year.  Hopefully it contains some things to help their teachers survive a year with my boys!  

Just a cute one of Jack

And a cute one of Ben

china meadows 2013

This year at China Meadows included: 

marshmallow roasting,

fishing,






canoeing,






hiking,






skinny-dipping (only the 6-year-olds participated in this one),


bb gun shooting,






rock-fort adventuring,


beautiful scenery,




moose sightings,


and time with Grandma and Grandpa V!


So, pretty much, 3 little boys in heaven!

of crawdads and mud castles

While visiting family in Nevada, we also went up to Tahoe where my step-sister/bestie Nancy met us for the day. Since they moved to Sacramento for a 1-year internship, she's only a few hours away from Tahoe which made it a perfect meet up spot.  And boy is it just as beautiful as I remember!  If you ever get the chance to visit Lake Tahoe, it is well worth your time. Brad and Tirza with their 3 boys, plus Nancy's 4 boys, and my 3 = 10 boys (zero girls) playing in the lake, catching crawdads, building sand castles, and just having the time of their lives, while mommies mostly sat and caught up on life.

Andrew, Pete, and Josh in their crawdad fortress.

Nancy and I with her youngest, Jacob.  I was sure to get plenty of cuddle time!

BBQ Pit after a long day at the beach= my boys literally falling asleep at the table!  Of course, they wouldn't sleep in the car on the way home.

home still means nevada

During Wade's "Mancation," I drove the boys to visit my mom and Carl in good 'ol Fallon, NV (wished I'd taken some photos with my mom). While there, we also got to visit with my brother Brad and his wife Tirza and boys in Reno.  They have three boys (Owen, Chase, Trevor) and all of ours had a blast together.  We were also lucky enough to help celebrate Trevor and Chase's birthday's with them while some of Tirza's family was in town too.  Fun!  

Pete helping Trevor decorate his birthday cake.  Trevor turned 1!

Presents!  Chase turned 3 and he shares his birthday with his little brother Trevor, 2 years apart.

Sprinklers.

Ready, set, GO!

Pete and cousin Owen dancing?  Martial Arts? Shooting bows?  Not really sure.

Me and nephew Trevor.

  We got to see my grandmother, Billie Jean and enjoyed visiting with her for a bit. She is 86 years old!  From her and my grandfather, she has 5 children, and many, many grand-children and great-grand children.  

With Great-grandma Beach and her favorite doll.  She told me that her mother, Gladys (we call her Nonnie) made it for her, right down to the hand-knitted booties!  What a special keepsake.

Group "Selfie"

Ben's first "Selfie"

Jack's first "selfie"
Did I mention that I hate the word "selfie?"  I hate typing it and I hate saying it.  Isn't there some other word we can use to describe a self-photo taken by yourself that implies holding the camera out in front of you with your arm extended?  Hmm, I'll think about that one.