Catching Up

We are now into the second month of school, chilly October mornings, jackets and coat weather, and our second month of soccer. I love the month of October and the wonderful things it brings such as cold nights to sip on hot cocoa, fall colors emerging in nature, caramel apples and pumpkin flavored everything, and the anticipation of Halloween and the holidays just around the corner. Here's a little catch up of what's been going on:

Riley -- All the soccer craziness as the soccer city director is starting to die down a bit now that we are into the season. Coaching Kendle and Morgan's team and is finding coaching little boys is much more difficult than he thought! Ha. Busy as always with work/traveling and working hard to come in as the top salesman at the end of the year and earn us an awesome travel voucher for a vacation. Go Riley go! He went to a Seattle Sounders game this past weekend with some friends and said it was crazy but a lot of fun.

Kendle -- Probably the busiest out of all of us. Enjoying school as a 5th grader. This year she is a Peer Helper and also involved in Kids on Stage and the Mad Mallet music group. She LOVES Mad Mallets and thinks it's a blast. She has practice for that three days a week after school. She's also still plugging away with piano lessons at my insistence. Soccer is going great and her team is first in their league. She has scored 4 goals so far and made some great assists. Their last game on Saturday she battled with the other teams top player for a good two or three minutes back and forth with the ball, and finally beat her to smash a great goal in. It was awesome, just proud she kept at it and didn't give up. She hasn't played keeper that much as they need her out in the field more, but the one game she played keeper for half the game she made some great saves. She seems to still be ok with having her dad as her coach and tries not to roll her eyes at him too much (because she knows he'll make her run). Ha! She started AAU a few weeks ago and has awesome coaches we are very excited about. Although she is the youngest on the team and they are playing up at the 6th grade level, she is enjoying it and says she is learning a lot. She got asked to sing a solo in the primary program and hopefully it goes off as good as she's been practicing.

Morgan -- Morgan is growing and getting so tall and skinny. He has no baby fat left whatsoever and is getting a serious six pack. We call him our little muscle man. I try and feed him as much as I can but that boy never stops moving, running, or jumping all day. We decided to wait another year to send him to kindergarten and he is doing school with me during the mornings instead. He enjoys it and is a good listener most of the time and let's me help and correct him when needed. He loves to learn about new things and how things work. He is probably the only five year old I know that can tell you about pumps and pipes and all the water workings and things about a farm. He's also become a collector bordering on the edge of being a hoarder. He is always asking me for jars to keep and store more things in that he has found outside, his treasures. His favorite movie right now is the Sandlot and we recently bought him a new pair of high top Converse which he thinks are the best shoes ever. He is loving soccer and we are working on teaching him not to tackle and knock people over so much. (Save that for football in a few years)

Cooper -- Is quite the character. He reminds us of Charlie Brown sometimes and also does this little thing we call the "Cooper Shuffle" where he kind of just slumps his shoulders and sulks away when he doesn't get his way. He loves to draw and color and takes it very seriously with a studious expression on his face. He can be a stinker sometimes, but he is ALWAYS the first one to tell me thank you after I serve them up meals, get treats, etc......Obsessed with Thomas the Train and trains in general and talks about them all the time. Loves to sneak into my purse and eat all my gum. For some reason, he is always the one that is writing with pen all over himself or something else weird like that. Can usually always make me laugh with his mischievous smile.

Kale -- Slightly more dramatic than his twin brother and likes to put lots of extra attitude into his words to get his point across. Also completely obsessed with Thomas the Train and all other trains. Knows all of Thomas and his friends names. Tries to be a sneaker and get into my baking cupboard and eat all the chocolate chips and marshmallows. Is usually one of the last to fall asleep at night and keeps his other brothers awake. Pretty independent most of the time and wants to do things himself. Loves to sing silly songs with me and his brothers or sing along to the radio in the car. Gives good little hugs and squeezes.

Both boys have been potty trained since this summer and it is awesome! So thankful for that. They are getting so big and already wearing most of Morgan's clothes from about six months ago. Can't believe they will be 3 next month.

I've been not so patiently trying to get over these nasty colds that seem to just keep coming. I was attempting to keep my running routine up and train for another half-marathon the end of the month but I've been hit with another bad cold that has me all stuffed up and barely able to talk. My energy level is just wiped out between that and doing all the other day to day tasks. But I'll keep my fingers crossed that I can get better this week. I've been diving into baking season now that the weather has cooled off and keep finding so many new recipes that sound good to try out. I try and keep every one's schedules straight, sports uniforms and practice clothes washed, after school/pre-practice snacks and water bottles ready to go, and all the random soccer gear, cleats, and what not rounded up. I love that now it is dark earlier, all the kids are going to bed earlier and I have time to catch up on my shows I DVR. I don't feel like my life is all that exciting, but I can't complain. I'm thankful for all the many big and small blessings in our life and for this family of mine.

Good Monday

I love Monday mornings that get off to a good start. So far this morning I've got the kitchen clean, dishes done, floors mopped, laundry going, and two happy little boys running around outside in the fall sunshine. I'm sure they are up to no good, but I'll just try and be content for letting them play for a minute and not worry about what they're doing.

On Saturday we went to my grandparents house in Hermiston and the kids got to have a "pumpkin hunt". My aunt Alaina that lives in Heppner has a big pumpkin patch and she loaded up whole bunch of pumpkins to bring down for all the little cousins. They loved going and finding them hidden all over the yard. There were even a few tiny ones stuck up in the trees. I thought that was such a fun idea, we might have to make it a tradition.

After that we spent the rest of the evening at my parents house and had dinner and birthday cake for my brother Richard. The kids also enjoyed some candy apples that grandma Melodee made. Some of the kids got messier than others:

{Kale}

Tonight we are going to decorate some pumpkins and roast some smores for family home evening. Morgan asks us pretty much every night if we can make some, so we figured we would have a nice, chilly, fall marshmallow roast. It's definitely cold enough at night to sit around a fire.

October Is Here

Well, I'm officially slacking on my blog. I can't believe I only posted three times for the WHOLE month of September. I guess I could say I just haven't had the time, but I think more than that I just haven't felt the motivation lately. But, vowing to do better from here on out and into the future. Moving on......so here's what's been going on with the family:

Kendle:

Kendle has been one busy little girl. She has been playing softball games two or three nights a week for the last month. I kind of love the night softball games under the lights, although it is really starting to get chilly. She has really improved since the spring season and has had some stellar hits. Her last game she had some great plays at pitcher and third base - one in particular from third where she ran up on a grounder and just zinged it clear to first base (seriously like the hardest throw I've ever seen a nine year old make) and *bonus* the girl at first actually caught the ball. It was amazing. It was one of those things you see your kids do and your heart nearly leaps out of your chest with pride. This week she has her last two games and although there's been some ups and downs, I think she is really going to miss it. Soccer is also keeping her busy with a few practices during the week and games every Saturday. Her team is undefeated so far and are a fun bunch for the most part. Kendle loves playing keeper and she has been working hard on improving her kicking and getting the ball far down the field with accuracy. She is pretty aggressive and will go out and dive on the ball to make saves and sometimes I have to cringe when someone almost kicks her in the head, but I guess I better get used to it. She is also making some great plays out in the field and consistently scoring goals to help her team. Her last game she had a hat trick - three goals all back to back in the first half. I think it has been hard sometimes to have her dad as her coach, but I hope that she sees that all the hard work and running (lots and lots of running) that he has them do at practice is paying off. I love seeing the determination on her face when she is going after a ball or trying to catch up with someone when she's playing defense. Ok, that is a lot about sports! Her first month of school went by in a flash and she is really enjoying it - her teacher, her classmates, and pretty much everything else. I can't say enough good things about her teacher this year, she has gone above and beyond already in some things she has done for Kendle and I'm thankful for that. In Kendle's "spare" time when she isn't at softball or soccer or reading a book, she's been enjoying learning to roller blade with her roller blades she got for her birthday and also jumping on our new trampoline. She's also excited that at her last orthodontist appointment she got her expander removed (no more metal on the roof of her mouth) and she'll also be getting her top braces off soon. Pretty exciting stuff!

Morgan:

Morgan has been growing like a weed over the last few months. Jeans that I bought him for preschool are starting to already look a little short. He is so skinny though, that it is hard to keep up with the growth and not have him drowning in the waist. He's a little muscle man and has a little six pack. He has loved jumping on the new trampoline and helped his dad put it together. He has figured out how to do some flips, but yesterday he kneed himself in the face while doing one and gave himself a gushing bloody nose. Might need to lay off of those for a while. He also got to go hunting for the first time last week and he was pretty thrilled with himself even if (according to Riley) they only got to see and shoot at a few birds. Just the fun of getting up early with dad, getting his cool camo gear on, traipsing through the fields, and stopping to get breakfast afterwards, pretty much made his day. He loves to help me make cookies, measure the ingredients, and dump them all in. He's also a quiet cookie snatcher when I'm not looking. It would be great if he could learn to play with his little brothers a little better, but for the most part he is still a happy fun boy and I enjoy the quiet time in the afternoons we get to spend together when the twins are napping. He is starting to like to read books with me more and some of his favorites right now are "The Story of Ferdinand" (the bull) and "The Little Old Lady Who Wasn't Afraid of Anything." We're hoping to get him playing some indoor soccer soon.

Cooper (on the left) and Kale (on the right):

Our little guys will be turning 2 in November. Where has the time gone? It's been a whirlwind I can tell you. Wow, these boys are hard to keep up with. They have gotten into quite a few predicaments lately. The other day Cooper pulled his trike from the back patio inside the house, rode it through the house to the laundry room, and proceeded to somehow put two or three scoops of laundry detergent into the back compartment on the trike and also dump more all over the floor. Pretty much every day is filled with little surprises like that. Towels pulled into the bathtub, toilet paper pulled into the tub, pen on furniture, flooding the kitchen sink, getting into the charcoal in the fire pit, plugging and unplugging every chord they can get their hands on, randomly recording shows on tv, pulling all the baby wipes out, squeezing lotion everywhere........the list could literally just go on and on and on. Some days I even get tired of hearing myself be a broken record of "No, no's", "Stop that", and so on. They are squirmy and wiggly and fast, and starting to not let me hug them or cuddle as much. They are little jokesters and love to play and tease. I know they are good boys deep down, they do lots of sweet things so that I know they still love me. While I'm changing one of their diapers, the other one will hug me across my back and lean on me. We call these "backwards hugs" at our house and they are Cooper and Kale's favorite thing to do. It is cute too how at night when I am reading Morgan a story before bed, they insist on having books in their cribs to read as well. They are such good boys about always wanting to say their prayers at night, and always fold their arms at church for the prayers. They are also adamant about holding the hymn book at church as if it is some great prize. It is the first thing they want to do after we arrive and sit down in our seats. They must have their own, and they will not share with me. Ha. Cooper is pretty stingy and likes to take anything away that Kale has that is making him happy. He is kind of the bully of the two and is always beating up on  Kale. He always has to be first and has to sit in the front of the tub during bath time. I am trying to get them to share with each other but it is not easy. Kale most of the time is the big cry baby and will come running every time he feels slighted. He is better about sharing, but is also quick to go grab anything Cooper puts down for a few seconds. Kale is starting to talk a little more than Cooper and I'm hoping Cooper will start catching up. I'm looking forward to them getting along better and being good friends. I pray for it every night.

Riley is super duper busy with work this time of year. The fall is always a super big hustle and bustle and even when he is done and home for the day, he's never really done and still is getting calls and making arrangements for sales and setups. I was hoping for a calmer fall with him not coaching high school girls soccer this season, but combined with being Kendle's coach and also being the t-cysa city director this year I feel like not much has changed. But, it's all for good reasons so it's ok. I think he is somewhat enjoying coaching Kendle's soccer team, but I know he gets frustrated with some ideas of things he wants the girls to do and then maybe it's just over their heads just a little bit. He is a great coach though and the girls seem to respond well to him and not get offended when he's yelling instructions to them during the games.  The city director job is pretty tedious and thankless for the most part, (most volunteer positions are) but he has persevered and the hard part is pretty much over now that the season is a month in. He has been getting some little projects done here and there for me in his spare time, we even got one of our new outdoor lights put up and installed on Saturday, now I'm just waiting for the other three to go up. :) We bought half a cow and Riley also surprised me with a pig (isn't that what every wife dreams of?), so we are officially stocked up on meat for a long time. I give Riley a hard time that he is obsessed with meat and he keeps talking about all these different ways we can cook everything and yada, yada......I just try to smile and be glad he at least likes to BBQ and cook a lot of it.

I am SO excited it is officially fall and we are having some cooler fall weather. I think as I get older I enjoy the cooler weather a bit more, it's like a nice crisp refresher after the summer heat. I've been getting out the fall decorations and went and bought some huge containers of mums this weekend. Also found a good deal on some big urns to put them in by the garage and the front door and some smallish pumpkins to add autumn flair.  It sure makes everything look happy and festive. I love all of the oranges and reds and yellows that are starting to be seen in the foliage around here. I love the month of October and all of the fun things it is filled with. Birthdays, holidays, lots of sports and outdoor festivities and next week I'll also be getting a new niece! Can't wait. I loved listening to General Conference over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed every talk. I especially loved President Monson's talk where he told the story of being a young boy and leaving his five dollar bill that he had worked so hard for in the pocket of his pants that were sent to be washed. It was a sweet coincidence that he told this story, as just the night before I had a long conversation with Kendle about how she can start earning five dollars a week to save up for some things she has been wanting. She did not seem to think that five dollars was very much money and that it would take forever to earn enough money for the things she wanted. I'm glad she could listen to our prophet tell his story about how hard he had worked for that "small" amount of money and how sad he was that it would be ruined and that he had the faith to pray for it's safe return. I'm looking forward to getting my new treadmill set up and being able to get back in a really good running routine. I feel like I am going to be starting at square one since my workouts have been somewhat sporadic since the summer, but I know it will feel good just to be doing it consistently again.

Well, I guess this super long post can make up for my lack in posting last month.