Halloween

Will wanted to be a fireman again this year, and Jack wanted to be an astronaut. Jack is constantly stretching the limits of my creativity, which is quite limited. Thank goodness for the internet and all the ideas there. A few times I might have cursed myself for making his costume instead of buying it. It wasn't really difficult just time consuming, and there were things I wish I'd done differently. Samuel was a skunk which might be my most favorite baby boy costume I've ever seen. I just love it. Obviously, since all 3 have been skunks.

I helped with the church Halloween Trick or Trunk. That was such a big job. Not one that I really ever want to do again. Lots of stressful moments. It turned out nice though, and I was so, so, so happy it was over. I did make sure to tell one of the ladies I worked with that I loved them, but that I was never doing it again. ;) I might help in the future, but I don't want any part of being in charge. One of the fun moments--Jack won the best little kid costume! We scored 3 free passes to Bounce U! 

I was able to go to Will's Halloween Party at school. It was fun to see him in his classroom. He is SO quiet at school, definitely not like at home! 

We went Trick-or Treating with Miranda, Derek, and Mattie. Mattie was a super cute little witch.

Coming Back for Seconds

Before & After

Wildflowers

Will and Jack are always so sweet to bring me in flowers/weeds they find outside. They brought me this one and surprisingly it bloomed a few time times before dying. I love that my boys bring me flowers...melts-a-mommas heart.

Nap Time

Love Being His Momma

Fingers & Toes

Landscaping

We FINALLY did our landscaping. We had wanted to do it so many times but the timing never worked for us to do it since we wanted to do it ourselves. We finally made it a priority. We went to McMinnville and dropped W & J off with Mom and Joe, and we met Kay at Walker's Nursery. She helped us come up with a good layout and got us a great deal. She took S home with her, and Patrick and I headed back to Murfreesboro to drop the plants off at home and get a load of mulch. We then drove back to McMinnville to get the boys. We woke up early Saturday morning, and worked ALL day. We put the kids to bed and then went back out and planted the last few plants by the light of the van's headlights. Then we finished mulching around the plants and all the trees in the yard and the back landscaping. We finished a little after 11. We love it! It's not fancy, and we still need 2 more plants to finish it up. Nothing like a hard days work to make you really appreciate the end product.

This Boy!

Canyon Lake & Goodbyes

Mandy wanted to take us to Canyon Lake for our last day in AZ. It's way up in the mountains and some of the views are just incredible. It's about a 40 minute drive from their house. The kids had fun playing in the sand and the water and. Olivia was the only brave soul to try and swim, the water was a tad cold. Mandy packed a picnic for us and we enjoyed visiting in the perfect weather. It was just a beautiful day making the idea of having to say goodbye very soon really hard to think about it.

We had to snap a few pictures before putting the kids to bed.

Loved seeing Layla still sleeping with Bear. Reminded me of my sweet little Lay Lay. She has grown up way too fast. She wasn't feeling well and tried so hard to stay awake so she could hang out with me and Patrick, but fell asleep before we finished our packing. Love her so so much!!

Mandy showed me her kettlebell moves while examining mine. She convinced me it was time to move up in weights and generously gave me one of her 26lb kettlebells to get me started. 

We had such a wonderful visit with Mandy and her family. They were the best hosts and made us so comfortable. It was really hard saying goodbye the next morning. I'll never forget how tight Mandy and the girls hugged me. Poor Livy cried. It took all I had not to. I miss them all so, so much. It's too hard to be so far away from them, but I'm so thankful we were able to spend a few days with them. Miss them so much!

Hike

We started off Monday with a hike up a nearby mountain. It was of course hot and dusty, but that sky was worth it. The girls took a shopping trip a little later in the day, and then that evening we went to one of their favorite BBQ joints and then out for custard. Yum, yum, yum! Fun filled day!

Mesmerized by the ant colony         

Sheesh! Could this kid be any cuter?!? I think not.

Rugged Beauty

Playing in the Valley of the Sun

We decided we needed a cousin fix and headed to AZ for Will's Fall Break. With the exception of Patrick, we hadn't seen them in almost 2 years...too LONG!! We celebrated Porter's birthday Friday night, and on Saturday played outside throughout the day. That evening, we went to a HUGE candy store, got sugared up, and headed to a park to burn off our buzz. Layla and Patrick came up with several ways they could race each other and the younger kids played on the equipment. I love having the kids all together. So fun to see them interact and play together.

 Racing to the top. Somebody hates having her picture taken...

 Love the picture of Will skipping!

And the winner is...Layla!!

On Our Way to AZ

First family flight was a success! Seriously couldn't have gone any smoother. All 3 boys were excellent passengers every step of the way. Very thankful for the helpful, patient people who helped us out along the way.

"Relaxalizen"