Fall Frenzy!

So with flakes beginning to fall around here I figure it is about time I posted some about our fall.  It has been a fun one, with a trip to Florida and Disney World right in the middle of it (I will post more about that later).   

Around here we spent several evenings and many Saturday mornings on the soccer field watching Maren do her thing.  It was a tough season as they added in the off sides rule and midfielders for the first time.  On top of having a new coach, who was fabulous and knows soccer very well, but she expected a lot of the girls, including regular homework, which was a big change.   While it wasn't a huge scoring season for Maren, she really learned her positions well and became much more of a team player.  She also learned a lot of new foot work and some beginning framework to some plays that had a big impact on all the girls on the field.

Meanwhile, Amanda and the boys tried to keep cool and busy on the sidelines.  Amanda and Spencer came up with a few team cheers and always brought Maren's tiger to cheer along too.

 

After Maren's last game she and I went watch a game at the local University, Colarado Mesa.  The weather was crazy, rain, hail, and snow all within an hour of each other.  But we braved it and had a good time.  The funnest part was watching her play soccer with the other kids on the field at half time and showing up a few older boys who kept taunting her.  They were so surprised she could keep up with them.  The other part was watching the lights click on her head, as to how they could really move the ball up and down the field while staying in their positions.  Her comments where gold!  "So that is why they have midfielders and defenders, to kick the ball hard to the offense", and my favorite "It is like a giant game of monkey in the middle".  She was shocked by how physical they got on the field, but loved watching them head the ball, and juggle to control the ball.  Definitely something to do again next year.

Jacob has had a few field trips this school year already, including this one to a fire station. At first he was very shy about being there, but Amanda worked her magic on him (she got to tag along as her school had flooded that morning) and he was good to go.  I thought it was super cool that they let them turn on and off the hose and hold it while it sprayed a little. 

We decided to give the no training wheels a try this fall since Jacob has such great balance on the two wheel scooters we have around.  He didn't get it the first time around, but a few weeks later he asked to have them off again and he really took off.  He loves his new found speed and the ability to go off the curb.  His favorite right now is riding though the giant leaf pile on the curb waiting for pick up.  

He was also very excited to be included in our tradition of jelly bean bingo that we play every six months as we listen to our church leaders at General Conference.  Up until now he has been napping when I pull it out, but as the naps have slowly been phasing out, he got to play.  As you can see his board is completely empty, as he had no patients to wait for "bingo", he just gobbled his candy right up at the start.  And was subsequently bouncing off the walls the remaining hour and a half.  Not what I intended with that one!

 Maren made these gems while she was listening to conference as well.  She got a kit from her great Aunt Suzy for her birthday and they were so much fun to create and then watch spin around the room.

 

 We took the kids to a local pumpkin patch and it was fantastic, they had pony rides and animals to feed, and this giant slide that ended in a huge pile of this dry corn, and this big metal barrel full of the corn for the kids to play in, as well as a giant trampolines, a mini train ride, and and a hayride pulled by real horses.  Definitely a keeper for a fall family tradition!

And these two cuties are my twin nephew and niece that stopped by while on a road trip with my brother and his wife.   We had just got off our plane back from Disney World.  I was so glad our timing was so perfect.  They had a blast jumping in the leaves with Jacob and I had a good time catching up with them and their sweet family!

 As you can see Jacob was in leaf heaven for several days!

Halloween was quite a fun endeavor this year, as we got back from the trip just a few days before.  I felt very ill prepared in the costume department, but somehow managed to pull it off.  

 Jacob was a power ranger (still obsessed with the show here at our house), Maren was Hermione (posing with "Harry Potter" of course), and Amanda was Professor McGonagal also from Harry Potter.

I am so sad I didn't get a better picture of Amanda's costume.  She had a green robe on, which she and I threw together the night before, and an owl broach that was perfect.  She really looked the part.  She also made her dad's mask and insisted he wear it if was going to accompany them trick or treating.  they had a fun dance at her school, which she loved, ahhh her first dance!  And lastly, of course you can see she is on crutches.   A few days before leaving for Disney World she pulled her achilles tendon running up the stairs.  We got a boot and some crutches and voila she was good to go, thinking she would heal within a few days.  Needless to say it is so much more complicated than that as we are going on week 5 and it is not healing at all.  After some x-rays, blood tests, and an MRI we have discovered several things.  One, her bones are not as dense as they should be, so she is likely not getting enough Vitamin D, which did show up low in her labs.  And two, her tendon is separating from the bone, Achilles tendonitis, which should have healed by now but hasn't likely due to her bone health.  So off to an orthopedic we go this week.  I am just hoping we can get some good help and it will heal quickly so we can get her off those crutches.  They get old very fast around the house, and at school.  But for Halloween she scored as she was pushed around the neighborhood in our chariot stroller and everyone gave her extra candy as they felt sorry for her and her poor dad pushing her.

And last but not least, my sweet boy Spencer who I wanted very much to be this cute this dinosaur, rebelled and was....

 a Ninja!

And a very cute one at that. He was also fun to watch in his costume as he loves doing ninja moves all over the house.  I loved his kindergarten parade, and the class party and seeing all the cute little kids all dressed up.  I have volunteered a lot in his classroom this fall and it has been so great.  I love watching him learn and interact with the other kids.  He has a great class, and some good friends already.  And he is learning to read and write right now which is so awesome to watch come about.

As for Dave and I we have been keeping busy on our terms.  Dave started a new job this fall working for the same hospital but switching from clinic work to urgent care and the student health clinic for CMU.  It was a BIG change for all of us.  As he is now working 12 hour shifts several days a week, rather than M-F 8-5 type work that it had been previously.  And initially it was crazy as he was working both jobs through the transition.  But now he is down to one job and it is much better.  Some long days, and others are fun.  Having him around to help with the carpools is awesome, and who knows maybe we'll even manage a few spontaneous dates when all the kids are in school!    Dave also celebrated a birthday, and despite a stomach bug going around the house, we celebrated with lots of gusto.  We filled balloons with 37 reasons why we love him and he had to pop each one to read the responses.  My favorites were "because he rides to the Colorado river with me"(aka a canal by our house-Jacob).  Spencer loves "that he plays legos with me" (notice his present to his dad below).  Maren said "because he has an i-phone" and Amanda said "because he has interesting discussions with me"

And I have been loving having those few hours to get lots done everyday.  So far I have filled it with lots of canning and drying of local fruit (we are so stocked this year, yeah!), volunteering in classrooms, field trips, and getting errands run without kids.  Love it!

And as you can see I have been keeping up the biking despite the turn in the weather.  Actually this was a trail we had been wanting to try but didn't realize the elevation it was at.  There were a few snow patches but mostly it was clear and it was such a great ride.  Definitely on our list for next year.  I did take a bad fall on another ride, and I will admit it shook me to the bone and I have been a much more cautious rider over the last few weeks, but I am grateful no bones got broken and I was able to walk out. Because with all going on it would be hard for mom to be hurt these days!