I'm going to be like Jeremy.

Walter has been talking about when he gets bigger lately. He's talked about becoming a doctor and today he told me this. I like it.

I had a lovely weekend with my mom's group at one of our friend's cabin. I got in some much needed girl time and came back feeling refreshed with my patience restored. Perfect.

The boys obviously had a wonderful guys weekend with Jer. They also got some special time with Grandpa Monster and Grandma Joanne. They had kid's choice on what to do and enjoyed time at Under Water World at the MOA. When they got home they were excited to tell us about all the cool fish and creatures they had seen, particularly the alligator fish.

Finger Toothbrushing

With Tricia out of town for the weekend with her girlfriends, the boys and I attempted to have some serious fun!

On Friday, we started the evening with a game of touch football in the neighborhood triangle. Owen's favorite route is a left to right post. Walter just likes to take hand-offs. After the game, we made up Berry and Coconut ice cream bowls, and watched a few movies that we had earlier picked up at BlockBuster. Walter's choice was "The Chipmunks Halloween" and Owen picked a Veggie Tales episode. I picked 'getting some shut eye'.

On Saturday morning after breakfast we went bowling at Cedarville Lanes. Owen started the day with a strike down the middle. Walter countered with two spares and took home the honor of beating his brother in both games that we played. Owen confirmed that he wants a bowling birthday party.

After the bowling we grabbed a quick Mexican lunch and picked up a pumpkin at a local stand. I only call it a Mexican lunch because it was at a Mexican restaurant....Owen had a hot dog and Walter had a cheeseburger. I went with the tacos. I'm not sure if the sour stomach was from them or another Gopher loss.

Once we got home, we carved our first pumpkin of the year. It was a scary two headed monster with each boy responsible for drawing a face. After they were drawn, Owen did the carving (see the pictures below), and we saved the seeds for roasting. The seeds must have been good since we had them all down within a half hour (check out the recipe I used: Pumpkin Seed Recipe ).

After the pumpkin carving, we headed back to Blockbuster because the boys wanted to rent a few Wii games to play. Walter picked Mario Galaxy 2 and Owen picked Carnival Mini Golf. When we got home, we decided to go back to the triangle for a little more touch football before we played video games. After the video games were over, uncle Moogs came over and we played a few rounds of UNO. Walter won the first game and Owen won the other. Uncle Moogs is still dusting off UNO cobwebs.

As we were getting ready for bed, we remembered that Griffin had eaten their toothbrushes earlier in the day. As a result, I gave them an ol' boy scout lesson in finger toothbrushing. It was a fun end to a fun day.

- Jeremy

I was just trying to recognize.

We were in a rush to get out the door this afternoon to pick up Owen. When I asked Walter to come get his shoes on for the third time, this was his reply. I love hearing words come out of his mouth that he has heard before but doesn't really understand what they mean yet.

We spent the weekend in Wisconsin Dells celebrating my mom's big 10.10.10 birthday. It was such a fun weekend full of smiles. That place is heaven on earth for kids. We went to a different water park every day, went mini-golfing a couple times, played plenty of video games, won plenty of cheap prizes and went on the Ducks...the boys even went twice! Talk about a party.

Last week the boys brought me in to their classrooms to show me what they are working on. Walter was quite proud to show Owen and me around his room. He brought us up to the loft/reading area a couple of times and read us a book in another area of his room. Owen showed Walter and me the bird cards and a few other reading materials. His skills floored me for sure. It was a true pleasure to see my boys take such pride and show such joy in their classrooms.

I want to show you Walter.

Sunny Hollow had a open house of sorts this evening where parents get to go into the classrooms and the children show them what they are working on individually. The boys and I were done with Walter's class and moving on to Owen's class as we overheard Walter's teacher ask a girl if there was anything she wanted to show her mom. The little girl, Lola, responded with "I want to show you Walter." I hear a good amount about Lola and apparently Lola is equally talkative about Walter.

We are loving fall and living up the 70 degree days. This weather reminds me of our beautiful wedding day...which was nearly 8 years ago now. We spent last Saturday exploring the Afton area, enjoying nature centers and nature hikes.

Last night Owen came running out of his room to tell me his tooth had come out. It is tooth number 3 and sure is a big one. I absolutely love his new smile!

Is that part of Oceania?

Owen was telling me about a map that he is making at school and I was asking him what color different continents were. When I asked him what color Australia is, he asked me this. You take my love of the world, cultures and travel combined with my kindergartner coming home and clarifying my geographical skills...and now you know why I have a hard time thinking of sending the boys anywhere else but Sunny Hollow.

So I can't find my cord for my camera (time to clean upstairs!) so I can't share any photos from the great times we've been having lately, including a trip to The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins with my parents. So instead, I will share this lovely drawing of a lion by O. We are talking about redecorating their room and this was an idea for an African safari room. The final theme decision has not been made yet. It wavers between this, space, jungle, Star Wars, western, ocean and Toy Story. I have a few other spaces to decorate before we get to their room anyway, so we will continue to waver.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

I admit it, I love presents. I'm especially giddy on Christmas Eve and again on April 12. So, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised when my son wants to start his birthday list two months before his birthday.

If you are interested, I do have my Christmas list started...although I don't think mine will be quite as cute as O's! :)

My bones are shaking.

The boys were on a bike ride around the neighborhood recently while I was on foot and Walter told me this as he was going up a hill. Cutie pie! I realized sweet Walter doesn't get as much time on his bike as his brother did at his age. Now that Owen bikes like a pro and I got a new bike this year, we always go on big bike rides on the lovely bike baths near our house. Sounds like I have a new idea on how Walter and I can spend our afternoons together while O's still in school.

We had an after school picnic with some of Walter's besties on Tuesday. We went down by the lock and dam and enjoyed watching the boats, exploring the machinery and watching nature. Although I tried, I failed to get any great pictures of the boys. Next time you are with 3 three year olds fresh out of school, super excited to be together, pretending to be super heros, in a new and exciting place, I challenge you to get a descent photo! Here are a few of my failed attempts:

Can I have one that makes me laugh?

The new last request of the night from Walter is a kiss that makes him laugh. After the request, I dig into his neck and blow and kiss and tickle while he laughs so hard he is silent. How awesome is that!?

After two full days of school, Sunny Hollow was closed today for Rosh Hashanah. So today, the boys and I decided to head to a nearby apple orchard with some friends from school. Since 99.9% of schools just started this week, we had the place to ourselves! We had lots of fun feeding the goats and donkey, playing on the enormous playground and picking raspberries. It was like our own private farm. Fun, fun!

My cool is fun!

Walter started Sunny Hollow last week, with three days of an introduction to his classroom. The first morning after he was done, he came out and told me "I had fun, Mom." Now when I ask him about school, he will tell me "My (s)chool is fun!" He has made this nice and easy on me and I hope I didn't just jinx myself.

We spent the long weekend in International Falls visiting my sweet grandma. She had a sweet, beautiful smile on her face all weekend and hasn't lost her spunk! We enjoyed playing with all of the cousins, which Owen reminded me we don't see often enough. They had fun running around, playing football, building forts, exploring the woods, swimming, saunaing, and eating plenty of s'mores. Between the wonderful family and gorgeous lake, I'm in total agreement with Owen.

I'm walking on sunshine!

After dropping the boys off at school this morning, Jer and I came in and I put this song on. I love those boys, but it is going to be nice to have a few hours every morning to myself! Awe...

We had a great morning getting ready for school. We had a special breakfast together, complete with sprinkled donuts, and all piled in the van to head to Sunny Hollow. Walter was very ready to get there and get dropped off. Owen was excited as well, especially to see his friends again.

I'd tell you more about what we've been doing, but this time is precious! I'll fill you in later.

DQ is even open at night!

We were driving home from a friend's bbq late tonight and the boys were super excited when they saw the beautiful lights of DQ lighting up the night. Walter shouted this out to ensure I saw the amazing site.

I forgot my camera/computer connector cord at my mom and dad's house, so I have no recent photos. So here are a few flashbacks for your viewing enjoyment:

August 2005

August 2006

August 2007

August 2008

August 2009

Daddy even has cups here!

After a healthy week at my mom & dad's house, we met Jer in Steven's Point yesterday and spent the night with him. The boys were beyond excited to spend a night at Daddy's corporate apartment, so excited, it was a bit hard to fall asleep. I ended up trying to encourage Walter to stay in bed by laying with him, which didn't work so well as he continually found excuses to get up and see Jer, including the obvious "I need a drink". After getting a drink he came running into his room to tell me "Daddy even has cups here!" That Accenture knows how to treat their employee's well.

We had an absolutely fabulous time at my parents' house. The weather was warm so we enjoyed all the perks of their house: fishing, swimming, tubing, saunaing, fort building, bonfires, archery, swinging and alot of whatever else the boys wanted to do. Walter even got to go on his first tube ride, which he laughed and gave the thumbs up (which means 'go faster') through nearly the entire ride. Owen got some of his carpentry wishes fulfilled with my dad as they built a fort, a huge car ramp, and an enormous sling shot. Jer and I both agree the sauna followed by a jump into the water was our favorite...that and watching Owen become more and more comfortable in the water. By the second day of swimming, we was running off the dock at full speed and leaping into the water. He loved it!

Mama, watch this, watch this!

Walter is full of new tricks and stunts these days, which he loves to show me. It is usually some jump, twirl or fast run. He will say this to me over and over until I stop what I'm doing and watch. He watches me the entire time to ensure my eyes have not left him.

We have had a great week getting back to normal here! Yesterday we spent the day at the beach with some friends. Walter is not hesitant in the least in the water, he was up to his lower lip hanging with the big kids. Owen is becoming increasingly more comfortable in the water, too. We are heading to my parents house next week so I imagine both boys will be part fish by the end of our time there.

On Thursday, we took a day trip with Lindsay and Lydia to the National Eagle Center in Wabasha and to Lark Toys in Kellogg. We stopped along the way for a picnic by the river and enjoyed every minute of our time together. I feel so lucky to be able to spend a whole day with them. Fun, fun, fun!