Pumpkin Time

Carter has been bugging us since the beginning of October to  carve pumpkins.  For how excited he was to carve them, he sure was offended when I told him he had to scrape the guts out of his own pumpkin.  He did end up sifting through all of the mess to pick out the seeds though, so I guess he warmed up to the slime. I typically love the finished project, but I’m not a huge fan of the process (or the mess).  Carter’s is the one with “the bandages for eyes, raindrop nose and toothy grin”.  Samantha’s is the surprised one.  She has known what her pumpkin was going to look like since we picked them out.  Mine is supposed to be a take on Frankenstein, but Carter informed me that it looks more like a monkey.  Rude.  Last year Grandma and Grandpa Forster were here for Halloween.  I kind of miss that.  Maybe next year (hint, hint). 

Star Wars

All I can say is it’s a good thing that we embrace nerdiness around here.  Yesterday there was a Star Wars thing going on at Discovery World down town.  I thought “it won’t be that big of  a deal, right?  How many people would really want to go see a bunch of grown-ups in costumes?”  Well, apparently Star Wars is a big deal and a lot of people would go to see people in costume.  A. Lot.  It was insanely busy.  But my little Star War loving Jedi loved it.  Never mind that he was too scared to pose with anyone but purple R2-D2.  And yes, he was wearing his Jedi robe and carrying a light saber.  One day, we will use these pictures as blackmail. I was laughing at with him all day.  Sammy had no problem getting up close and personal with Chewy.  And of all the characters Carter was scared of, he was most scared of these guys. And this one is his favorite.  Boba Fett or Jengo Fett, I don’t remember which one he was. All in all, a fun experience, but not one that I will be repeating any time soon.  The crowds were too much for me.  And Ben. 

A Change of Plans

This past week has been a big one.  Mike got a pretty big (and unexpected) promotion at work.  He is now the toy buyer at Kohl’s.  That means that he is in charge of the toy department for all of Kohl’s.  If a toy wants to come into Kohl’s, it has to get by him first.  We are super excited for it and I’m so proud of him.  At the same time, one of Mike’s best friends has taken a job at Pet Smart in Phoenix and is leaving Milwaukee.  All of this change has led to some serious introspection on my part.  See, Milwaukee has always been somewhat temporary for us.  We thought we would come out here, get a good start on Mike’s career and then move on.  Retail itself is a fairly transient field – people are switching companies frequently.  A lot of our friends have  moved on - it just seemed natural that we would eventually too.  At first we thought we would be here 5 years, and then we thought we could do another 2 or so, and then maybe a few more after that.  But after 6 years, Kohl’s has been really good to us and this latest promotion changes things.  This could be it.  We could very well be here long term.  As I watch our friends go through the transition of going to another company I am struck with a realization.  I don’t think I want to leave.  I have dear friends here that I consider family, this is the only place my kids have known, Mike really enjoys his job and we have some serious roots here.   We will probably never be moving much closer to family, so moving would just mean starting all over in a new place where we know no one.  I never thought I would say it, but Milwaukee really has become my home, and in spite of it’s flaws and shortcomings, I think it will be home for a long, long time.   It’s quite the change in our plans, but change is good, right?

Crazy Kids

My kids have always been really expressive with the faces they make.  I caught a few of them on camera the other day.  It started out innocently enough – whenever Ben sees Samantha in this little chair, he has to climb in with her. We’re all having a good time:   Then Carter decides to get in on the action, And the craziness begins.  Ben got some solo time in though:    This face is by far my favorite.  Carter used to do one like this when he was this age, without the huge open mouth.  He also likes to crinkle up his nose and breath really fast and hard through it.   The innocent look (notice the fresh haircut – no more shag!).  I could kiss those chubby cheeks all day.  But the open mouth seems to be his favorite.  Always has been. 

My new favorite

Song, that is.  I’ve had this in my head since I saw it on Facebook the other day.  Maybe it’s because I can’t tell what color Ben’s eyes are.  Maybe it’s just because it’s super-catchy.  Enjoy.

Fall Leaves

Every morning this week Carter has made a comment about how many leaves we have on our lawn and how we need to make them into a pile for jumping.  But by the time he gets home from school we just don’t have time.  Today he had a half day and it was unseasonably warm so we finally got around to getting them raked into a pile.  It’s becoming a yearly tradition and other than the leaves that end up in the house, I think it’s a fun one! 

The first jump:

  Carter’s friend Gregory goes to the school down the street.  When the kids knew he would be coming they hid under the leaves and waited to surprise him.  They waited for a good 5 minutes, but it was worth it because he was very surprised.  He and his little brother Martin joined in the fun for a while.  

The kids have 3 weeks off school now for their fall break.  Hopefully it stays warm so we can stay outside!

Apple Picking, Take 2

Samantha had her first field trip today and I got to go with her as a chaperone.  There was a mix-up with the buses, so the rest of her class was late (we drove up separately).  I thought it would be a great opportunity to take some pictures.  There was a cute little pile of mini-hay bales by some crates of pumpkins I thought would be perfect.  As I was sitting Ben down a lady commented to her friend “oh look, she’s going to get some really cute pictures!”.  Well yes, in theory.  In reality, I got this:And this:And, well you get the picture.  Family pictures next week should be a blast. 

She did have a great time picking more apples (we only got 6 each, which was a relief after just canning a bushel and a half) and just hanging out.  It was a nice day off for her.  And I did end up getting one good shot (out of the 15 that I took).

I am the apple master

After no less than 20 hours in the kitchen, 14 quarts of apple pie filling, 30 pints of applesauce and 12 cups apple butter, I feel that I can now refer to myself as the apple master.  Add onto that the traditional conference cinnamon rolls, homemade bread for the apple butter and a double batch of pesto and it’s been a busy 2 days.  Maybe it’s the survivalist instinct in me, but something about fall makes me want to cook.  Luckily we are a family who knows how to eat :). 

In Honor of Fall

I made squash soup last weekend. 

I pulled up my tomato plants. 

We went apple picking today. I made these pumpkin cookies. 

We busted out our jackets. 

We pulled out the footie pajamas for the kids and put the down comforter on our bed. 

I wish we could have fall without winter, but I guess you take the bad with the good and life will go on.  Bring on the fuzzy yoga pants, fleece jackets and soups!    

The rest

The rest of our Utah trip was just spent hanging out and enjoying our time with the family. 

We went to Paul and January’s amazing wedding.  I don’t have more pictures to post, but seriously it was amazing.  Samantha has been obsessed with weddings ever since.  She went to one today as a matter of fact.  It was in our guest bedroom.  They make a super cute couple: We swam a lot: Samantha is absolutely fearless in the water, and she is so dang cute in her swim cap.  Any visit with Amber would be incomplete without haircuts.  Ben got his first.  He’s what Amber refers to as a “runner”.  He just kept tipping further and further to the side to escape the scissors.    We made a stop up in Rexburg to visit Mike’s mom’s grave and see his grandparents.    Grandpa took us to his lab and showed us how the machines work.  We got to wear goggles to be safe.   It was  a great time! 

And still more.

Last one, I promise.  We took the kids up to Stewart Falls earlier in our trip.  They did so well hiking out there that I am inspired to find some  trails out here to take them on.  Carter especially really seems to love the outdoors.  It’s like he’s in his element there.  We rode the ski lift up to the top of the mountain and then hiked down – which was easier for the kids, but murder on my still-sore calves and blisters from Timp.  All in all, it was a fabulous day – except for the part when I had to scramble down a black diamond run to retrieve Ben’s dropped toy.

You can’t tell, but Mike is terrified of heights and was a bit frazzled after Samantha missed the jump onto the lift and was almost taken out by it.  Ben had it easy in his carrier and I think he knew it.  See what I’m talking about?  Isn’t it breathtaking?  Man, I miss these mountains.  These are home to me.  And it kind of looks like Mike is taking a dump, but really he’s just trying to keep Ben on his back :).  Best buddies (for now).