This post is a testament as to why I should post daily, when I don't the posts end up being so, so, SO long. If you make it through all these pictures, thank you! You are a saint. :)
Yesterday I took down our Halloween decor and replaced it with Thanksgiving turkeys and cornucopias. Since we were blessing Matthew, I was feeling particular gratitude for God and the life He had blessed me with. I set my table for the family that was coming up for the blessing and I was just overwhelmed with joy. Fall is my favorite time of year. Sunday was great because we had just had a full and fun October brimming with Halloween activities and outdoor adventures and November was starting with all its prospects, not to mention it was raining outside (you know how I love the rain!) I got excited about a whole month to evaluate our blessings, not to mention a whole month to anticipate Christmas! November is a good month. When I think of October I think of fun activities, November I think of family and gratitude, and December I think of Christ's birth, his atonement and my faith. It just an interesting journey for me to go through every year.
But, enough about my strange obsession with months of the year...to the post. About October.
This post is mostly just little things around the house that I thought were worth taking pictures of, but they don't go with any particular story- yet collectively they tell some of the in-betweens of our life. So naturally it is one I will read over and over again in a couple of years but may seem a little boring to all two of my readers. haha. Enjoy!
(Oh, how I LOVE October!)
The only way we can get William to eat is if he sits on John's lap and eats John's food. He points to the exact bite he wants and is very particular about it. I make him his own plate every day in hopes that he'll come around, but I'm not so sure he ever will.
Matthew talkin about how he is growing to fast.
Matthew again. I remember when William wore this!
Caity started a new school this month as we moved to Rexburg. She really loves it, and I am so grateful. I love walking to school with her every day and I love helping her pick out outfits. :)
My favorite is when the days just start to get dark earlier and everyone gets home from their various activities and I give them a bath and all my kids are all comfy, cuddly and content and they sit and watch a movie together or we read a book together before bed time. It takes my heart to its happy place.
Brittany got me this candle for my birthday from Anthropologie, I love it!
More cuddly pictures.
Matthew has had quite a few play dates with Eden since we live closer now. It has been so much fun.
Caity loves having two girl cousins on the Brassell side!
While Johnny holds Matthew, William digs through the lucky charms for all the marshmellows. Stinker.
Matthew has been loving his baths lately, he kicks his chubby little thighs and flexes all his muscles then laughs and it is so cute.
For the better part of the month, Matthew had some kind of head cold, I'd have to prop him up for nap time so he could breathe, when I took this picture, I was so relieved I finally got him to sleep.
John's grandparents came up to visit! YAY! That was a big highlight of our October. It was so nice seeing them and spending time with them. We went to Mesa Falls and showed them campus. They also took us to a buffet which my kids are still talking about. French fries and gravy- please and thank you. Cinnamon rolls with a side of ham, why not? Yeah, they thought that was awesome. I miss them already.
Here we are at Mesa, so beautiful!
Brudders!
Sunday mornings usually involve building legos around here.
William loves, LOVES motorcycles. He will play with them for an hour, easy.
I have about a million pictures of lego masterpieces on my phone. They make me happy.
William getting ready to play "Trick or Treat" with Caity and Johnny.
Trick or Treat! Oh yum, Fruit Loops!
Aw, bath time!
We have been working on pouting and whining with Johnny this month. If he doesn't get three strikes he gets a small prize at the end of the day. Usually when I say, "Are you pouting?" I get this face:
"No, I was just JOKING!"
All ready for church!
Caity made the boys a bat cave one Sunday (remember Johnny's obsession with Bats from my Halloween post?) She is such a fun sister.
The boys like racing outside on our patio.
And by racing I mean, Johnny runs and William runs on after him.
Caity lost two teeth right in a row on the way home from school one day! I was so proud of her for being so brave. I need to get a good picture of her new smile.
Another new thing with Caity is her obsession with Taylor Swift, like seriously. She worked through recesses picking up trash to earn money for the book fair so she could buy Taylor Swift's autobiography.
It is so strange when Caity is in school because after having a girl for the past seven years, I am left with only boys. I love being a mom of boys and running errands with those crazies.
Matthew in his Elmer Thud hat! Rexburg is cooooooold.
Sending silly pictures to dad while he studied.
Four kids later, we finally invested in a Bumbo. Best. Purchase. EVER. Matthew got a little tired watching Caity color, he slept this way for a good thirty minutes!
As I mentioned in my Halloween post, John went and worked on a cattle ranch for a couple of days. We missed him!
John had to assist the farmer with herding the cows, de-thorning, and giving immunizations. There were some crazy instances that sounded a little like running of the bulls!
He sent home some beautiful pictures.
William really missed John while he was gone. He kept saying "No, Dada." whenever I tried to tuck him into bed or play with him.
Johnny and Caity coloring and talking about bats and school buses and other important things.
William and Matthew hanging on on Mom and Dad's bed while Caity and Johnny play with Legos.
For the first part of the month, we got to spend time with family while we waited for our apartment to open up. Here are "The Matt's" together.
Spencer giving William a piggy back ride.
We were there for the LDS general conference which was an amazing conference. John was able to go to Priesthood Session with Spencer and his dad and I was able go to the Women's Session with my parents and sister. (for the record, Spencer is standing on his tip toes, I think John would want me to include that.)
My little sister, Rebecca came home from her mission in Puerto Rico and we were able to meet her at the airport, it was so good seeing her again.
David also flew in from Seattle, then James and Tayci surprised us and flew from Texas. Matt was at between semesters and at home so for the first time in four years all five kids were together. It was awesome. We took some impromptu family pictures.
I don't know how to describe it, but it felt so right to have everyone there together again. We only had one night with everyone there and it was one of the best nights I have had in a long time. I hope it isn't that long again.
While we were there, Caity got to go to school with Brittany- that was a dream come true. Caity basically wants to be Brittany when she grows up. John also got to go to the classroom and meet Brittany's class. Caity says she is going to have tee pee in her classroom someday.
I love this picture of Matthew. It is SO him. His squishy cheeks and knobby little chin and wily hair, oh I love him!
We went rock climbing with the Jensens. It was a blast. They were setting up a haunted pathway so while we all climbed and repelled, the kids got a kick out of all the haunted decor.
Repelling was a bit freaky, but thrilling at the same time. I used to go rock climbing at Hiese a lot, so it was fun to go with John, Shaylee and Kevin.
Shaylee with Eden and Matthew, I'm not sure Eden was too keen on sharing Mommy.
The kids crashed on the way home from climbing. It was funny.
As I mentioned on my Halloween post, we went to the ice caves.
Here is Johnny being a bat.
Caity the cave explorer.
The opening of the caves.
Remember how I mentioned Johnny's obsession with bats? He wears this like every day. Seriously.
One day while I was doing homework, John took the boys bird hunting. They brought that bird home and made a quesedilla. Johnny ate the whole thing. William was pretty grossed out by everything, but Johnny was fascinated. He helped John clean out the bird and held its heart and everything.
My mom made John a case of applesauce. All the boys drink it straight from the jar. (Above is William) We have seriously gone through 11 jars and I have had only one bite of applesauce.
This was more the last weekend of September, but we went paddle boarding! We borrowed the boards from a friend at the US Attorney's office and had a great time at Quinn's pond in Boise.
Matthew's swing kept breaking for a while and he would just sleep right through it, haha.
We moved this month! Good bye Woodhaven house! We thought we would save some money and get the smaller Budget truck. Ha! That cost John hours of refitting things. He is a serious tetris champ. I especially like how John put cardboard boxes over the windows of the truck because he was afraid of vandalism- haha, in our quiet happy Boise cul de sac, vandalism. He is funny. The night before our move, our neighbor Leah came over with her kids to say good bye. They brought each of us a going away present. Leah made me a quilt with each of my kids' sillouettes and each of our kids received a stuffed animal. Nathan got John a pocket knife. We are going to miss them.
This last picture is one John took of the boys before he took them to the library for story time while I was at school. He thought it was funny because he knew I would never take them in public like this, haha. They raided my "donation pile" to find the perfect outfits. haha.
Boys.
So there you have it, October according to our phones, minus Halloween. :)
