October 2022

October was a month of soccer and Fall/Halloween activities. It seemed like we were non stop going to something. Carter loved going to soccer practice and being with his team, though a little less enthused to kick the ball when it wasn't "his turn." Jefferson also loved the friend/team aspect but really started "attacking the ball" and was even named MVP at his last game. We took our annual day trip to Park City and took a nature walk through the changing leaves, took an art stroll and got some ice cream on main street. We spent an afternoon at the pumpkin patch playing on swings and slides, picking out pumpkins (Jefferson chose a squash like Thor's hammer this year), and eating home made caramels. Of course we couldn't make it through October without baking pumpkin cookies! We made it to the museum a few times with friends, and Carter spent a crazy amount of time building cranks and gears. It seemed like we had 2 fall breaks because Connor and Alec came to stay with us for a few days of their break so we went to another pumpkin patch and checked out some goat heads and  a mini corn maze and then of course rewarded ourselves with ice cream. We went to the huge pumpkin bash and the kids loved all the bounce houses and the cotton candy. And then we had a picnic up the mountains surrounded by the colorful leaves. This year we were Curious George, Professor Wiseman, and The Man in the Yellow Hat for Halloween, Jefferson wanted to do his own thing (he is growing up-tear) and chose Pikachu. Halloween festivities consisted of costume parties, trick or treating at the car show, seeing the Witches, a parade and party with cousins, seeing some kid friendly haunted houses, the school Halloween parade and then breakfast for all those that stood in the cold to watch the parade, and of course a night of trick or treating, hocus pocus, and our jackolantern pot pie. Rock and roll still seems to be the vibe at our house, and Carter created yet another drum set, though the coveted possession of both boys right now, much to our annoyance, is cards- Pokemon, football, and baseball! We have had numerous household crisis when Carter can not find his beloved Jim Acker, he even said he wanted to be Jim Acker for Halloween next year. It seems Jefferson has retained what he learned this summer climbing, because he scrambled up a wall without any ropes and then fell into a foam pit during his fall break. And Jefferson ended the month interviewing his grandpa Dennis about his mom, and making an ofrenda for Dia de Los Muertos for his great grandma Emma.  

September 2022

September was full of some twists and turns. We spent some time in the mountains on our last hike of the season and checked out Oktoberfest. Carter couldn't get enough of the live music. And we found a secret kid area by the slopes with a make shift teepee and swing the boys enjoyed. We celebrated meeting our summer goals (hiking 12 times, and biking up around the lake 10 times) with Jefferson's favorite- Maxwells pizza and Zeppes for dessert. We celebrated Grandma Great's 92nd birthday with a visit and a word game- which she won. What a smart grandma we have! Brad rushed off a bit unexpectedly for a week to Bosnia in order to help his oldest brother who was super sick recover and come home. His brother thankfully was able to recover and chose for the time being to stay in Bosnia. We are thankful for the grandparents and friends who stepped in to help with the kids while he was gone. While Brad was away we had some fun times at the Latinfest and the museum with friends. Jefferson was given his new favorite possession- a "teal" bandana at Rufio's (cousin Liz's dog) bday party. He started wearing it to every soccer game and practice. Brad was able to tour around Bosnia a bit and said he was surprised how similar the mountains looked to our mountains. While Brad was in Bosnia Jefferson made 3 goals in one of his soccer games! So fun to see his progress and interest grow with the sport. Soon after Brad got home, Mary took off for a girls trip with cousins and aunts to Nashville. It was so fun to walk Broadway and listen to the live music everywhere at all hours of the day. We ate and danced and sang and shopped and had a great time. It was perfect weather and we even checked out the Loveless Cafe- the biscuits really were the best. While Mary was gone, Jefferson pulled out his wiggly tooth at school and was proud to get another dollar from the tooth fairy. Carter is full of energy most days until he absolutely can't stay awake a second more and crashes for a nap even in the hammock during a rain storm. He continues to love the drums and makeshifts drum sets everywhere with anything in sight. The latest idea for nightly concerts is using the shutters to hold the microphone and then singing to the wall- with pool noodle guitars of course. You really can't make this stuff up. We just laugh with the newest rock band inventions they come up with and the songs they sing.