Halloween Fun!

 Let me just start by saying that I don't think I am a big fan of holidays in which the sole reason for celebrating them is to get candy! All I hear now is, "Can I have a piece of candy?" But as you will see in these photos... they are cute enough that it makes enduring that constant question almost bareable.

  We had a great Halloween this year. We went to 2 trunk or treats on Saturday and then hit a few houses in our neighborhood on Sunday.  The first trunk or treat we went to was at our friends, Chris and Michelle Stratton, church. Jared and I got to satisfy our love of babies by holding Baby Sebastian and Michelle looked fantastic! Derrick was a little hesitant at first but quickly caught onto the idea that if he said just 3 words (Trick or Treat) he would get handfuls of candy dropped into his bucket! It might have been (in his mind) two of the greatest days of his life! LOL!
  And of course my other boys knew exactly what to do! The only challenge was trying to keep them within 100 feet of Fred and I.  Derrick walks a little slower and his older brothers decided to leave him, and their parents eating their dust!
  So here is the costume run down:
Fred: A Cowboy
Me: A pirate wench on Saturday and a cow girl on Sunday
Tyler: A Ninja
Jared: A Ninja Fighter
Nathan: A Pirate on Sunday and A G.I. Joe on Saturday
Derrick: The Cutest Tiger on the Planet!!!!

  Let me close this post with this one final thought on the Halloween holiday: How come my children can never find their shoes, homework, glasses, ect. but know exactly what and how much candy they have in their bucket? And if their mother sneaks some of their candy (as if that ever happens) they know exactly what piece of candy was eaten without their permission! Hope all of you had as fun of a Halloween as we did!

The Year of the Soccer Players!!!!

 This year we had 3 boys playing soccer.  Nate was a little hesitant at first, but by the end of the season he was chasing after the ball with the rest of the kids! At the first game, Nate came off the field crying after only a couple of minutes. Here is the conversation that happened on the sidelines:
  Nate: "They are pushing me out there!"
  Me: "Yeah, that's kinda one of the main parts of soccer."
  Nate: "Well, I don't like it!"
  Me: " Push them back... but nicely. Don't get carded! Heh heh!" 

 So after some sweet talking from yours truly, he got back out there.  And what did he do? He forgot about the kids with the ball... he just started randomly shoving kids and pulling off their beanie hats! I had to pull him off to the side and explain to him the difference between going for the ball and being a soccer bully!!!!! I won't lie, Fred was a little proud of his son who wouldn't take any guff from the other team! LOL!
Tyler and Jared were on the same team this year.  Fred assistant coached as much as his travel schedule would allow.  Tyler is starting to get really competitive.  One time his coach asked him to sit and when he came over to the side he said, "I hate sitting! I want to play the whole game!"  Tyler is a great offensive player and Jared is a great weapon for defense! It is hard to run over such a solid kid! I am so glad that my boys embrace and enjoy these activities.  They learn so much and make great memories! 

The Only Way To Survive the Summer

 As the title says, the only way to survive the AZ summer heat is to get wet... as much as possible! We have some wonderful friends who have let us use their pools.  It has been a great way to keep cool and also practice the skills the boys are learning in their swim classes.

This is Derrick and Nate's first year doing swim class.  Nate is loving it and moved up a level after one session, but we always knew he was part fish! Derrick took some convincing! One morning he was helping me say our morning prayer and I asked him to please bless that we are safe at swim class.  He said this, "Please bless swim... I no go swimming!" But now there are a few pool games we learned that he tolerates. It is nice to not have him cry the whole class anymore!

We have also gone to the lake a couple of times with our jet ski.  Fred has been working long hours since his promotion and so we haven't gone out as much as we would have liked, but some is better than none! The boys got pretty creative jumping and doing somersaults onto the tube while on the shore! Surprisingly, there were no injuries! Even though the heat here is pretty brutal during the summer it is great swimming weather! No shivering uncontrollably when out of the water, and you dry off really fast!

As If 4 Boys Wasn't Enough...

For Nate's birthday in January we decided to get a puppy.  We went and picked out a female yellow lab who was adorable.  I will be honest and say that I was eyeing the largest male puppy the whole time. So when it came time to go and pick her up we discovered that her brother was the last one left with no owner yet.  So I gave Fred the look and he caved! Ha ha! So we headed home with 2 beautiful puppies named Maximus and Nova.  We were told that Max was going to be huge so we named him after the gladiator!

He and Nova are 8 months old and he is 75 pounds! Nova is a a very sweet and mellow girl.  She is much smaller than her brother and will be a great breeding candidate.  She really likes Fred and greets him enthusiastically when he gets home from work.  I am hoping that Duke will lose a little weight trying to keep up with the pups.  He is getting a little portly!

They are a fun little crew! I really like it when I throw a rope down on the floor or a stick outside and watch the 3 of them tug on it at the same time! Makes exercising them a lot easier! And here's a tip... I read a great training book called The Loved Dog.  It has been very helpful!

Scenic Sedona

   This year we have had the opportunity to go to Sedona a couple of times. Both times Fred had to do some work there and so we tagged along.  While Fred was working the boys had a great time swimming 

It is so beautiful there and our family had so much fun hiking the different trails.  I, who is not that wild about heights, prefer the trails that stay close to the ground! But of course that makes me boring... that is my boys opinion!

As we were walking on the trails I was thinking about the beauty of the world that Heavenly father had created! I wished that we lived closer so that we could take our dogs on the trails as well as the kids.  It would be a great way to get Max and Nova, our new yellow lab puppies, some exercise!

Labor Day Fun!

For Labor Day we went to Canyon Lake, and yes, this time I was healthy and got to join in on all the fun! The Bogel Family went with us and we spent the day having a great time. The boys got to fish for the first time and Tyler loved it. He can't wait for his Papa to come and visit so that they can go fishing together! He caught 6 fish! While the rest of us were eating, swimming and taking turns on the waverunner, he was sitting and waiting for the fish to bite. He didn't even go on a ride on the wave runner, which is very unusual for him!Nate had a bad start to the lake trip. He got stung by a bee about 5 minutes after we got there! And on the side of the head...weird right?! Of course it happened the ONE time I didn't have my first aide kit with us! So he had to deal with the pain until it wore off. But he was a trooper and was up and playing about 10 minutes later! 

Derrick a lot of the day sitting in his little chair throwing rocks. He and I would fill up the cup holders in the arms of the chair with rocks and was sure to let me know when he needed a refill! It was also fun to watch him try to play with Gracie! (She is 15 months old) They both couldn't quite figure out what think of one another.
I am so glad that we were able to go and have fun with such a FUN family. The Bogels are awesome and thank you Mitch for being the expert fisherman!

Going Private...

We have decided to go private and so please comment with your email address so that I can add it to my list! Thanks!