Happy Halloween and...

Happy 11th Birthday to our chocolate lab, CODY! :)

Cailean was home all day with the boys yesterday since it was a Teacher Workday. He took the boys on a bike trip along the American Tobacco Trail. I was at work and missed this adventure, but I definitely heard about it. :) They biked and biked and biked!
When I got home from work we had dinner and then the four of us headed over to NC State to watch the first game of the Baseball World Series, which is pretty much just a scrimmage. We stayed until around the 6th inning and then headed home. They had a lot of fun watching the game and kept telling the guys when they got an out. hahaha

This morning it was raining, so we didn't make it to the parade in town. Bummer! It is such a great parade listening to all the different high school bands. Oh well. We headed over to Dick's Sporting Goods and bought Ian a new pair of sneakers and socks before shopping at Super Target. Cailean decided to head over to Chick-fil-A for lunch and then home to watch the rest of the NCSU/FSU football game.

A few minutes after 4pm Cailean got a call from work that he was needed to help fix a plane in Hartford, CT. ARGH!!!!!! The plane to get up there was leaving at 5pm. So, he hurried out of here and headed to the airport. This was the first time we were not going trick-or-treating as a family. So, the boys got on their costumes and we headed over to Melvin's and Norma's to visit with them for a little bit. Then, off to mom's and then to see Pam and Vinnie. Here they are...

After we went to a few houses in Vinnie's neighborhood, the boys and I went to the Nelson house for some pizza and drinks. Once finished and it got a bit darker, we were off trick-or-treating. Hard to believe I was wearing capris and flip flops on Halloween night! The kids were very hot in their costumes and didn't last as long as I thought they would. Here they are with their buddies, Ben and Luke with their silly faces on:

Ian and Gavin were sound asleep by 8pm tonight! Maybe I should say my Red Power Ranger and Batman were sound asleep by 8pm tonight! LOL

Forgot to Post These...

Oops...we were at a birthday party over the weekend for Vinnie at Green Acres. Yes, it was our third time there and of course it seemed like a first time for the boys. We stayed for about three hours and finished the big event on a hayride with the birthday boy!

Look who we ran into at the corn maze...Jenn, Scott and Steven!!!!

Yes, we're in North Carolina and not in Vermont in this picture!

Ian, Vinnie and Gavin on the hayride

Gavin's Halloween Parade

Cailean sure did miss a busy week to take off to hunt. We have been on the go this week! I'm exhausted!! I actually had to wake Ian up this morning! I needed to be at the grocery store before school to pick up one more supply for Ian's Fall Learning Experience in his classroom today. We just didn't have a second to do that yesterday. So, there we were...walking into Kroger...Gavin sporting his Batman costume (thanks Jessica for letting us borrow it for the week!) and scared a girl probably around his age. She kept staring at him! LOL After that he didn't want to wear the mask. ARGH.

After we took Ian to school, then we were off to pre-school. We were waiting in the hallway before entering his classroom, so we took this photo:

He was the first kid to arrive, so I captured a picture of Gavin with his teachers: Miss Cindy on the left and Miss Susie on the right...they are GREAT!!!
The parade has started...

Best buddies! Connor as a NC State football player standing next to his sidekick, Batman!

The 2 Batmans: the other kid is in the other 3 year old class. I have no clue why he made that face! LOL But, it's really funny, so I needed to post it for you to see.

The kids sang a song about pumpkins and once again...our son chose not to sing it. However, I heard it over and over and over and over all afternoon!!!!! I said, "Why didn't you sing that song to me this morning?" He says, "The other kids sang to you." LOL LOL

The event ended in enough time for me to head over to Ian's classroom to help with the Fall Learning Experience. Basically, it was a variety of centers and at each center there was an activity centered around the fall season. Very nice activities, too!!! I tried to snap a few shots of Ian, but was unsuccessful. Operator error I guess you could say. :(

After school Ian's friend came over and played for a few hours and had dinner with us. After he left, I had to hold down the fort and do the outside work as well. LOL I've been enjoying taking care of the leaves using the leaf blower! That backyard is lookin' very nice these days! :) I'm pretty proud of myself, as you can probably tell. hee hee

Here, There and Everywhere!

Ian went on his first field trip as a first grader to the NC State Wildlife Center this morning. Cailean and I take turns chaperoning, so I went on this one (Cailean is out of town anyway) and Cailean will be the one to go on the next one. Ian's class is really a well-behaved class and Mrs. Harris does a great job organizing those kids! So yea...we were in the mud, in the swamp area, kids are having a ball. I made Ian wear his OLD sneakers (a little small, but they sure did get muddy)! Here we are...heading down into the muddy area.

Each kid had a cup and a net and they were able to go to town. Most caught tadpoles and some caught some other little critters.

We see you Mrs. Harris!

Ian taking a moment to pose with two of his classmates.

Ian's ONLY soccer coach he has ever had...Coach Rob! Ian was given the Most Coachable and Best Footwork Award!!!!!!!!!! We're proud of you, kiddo! You are so happy on that field and you are such a great team player.

Coach Rob giving one last pep talk to the Cyclones. The fall season ended today in the rain.

After the game and trophies we actually had to wait a few minutes because mom's car battery died. I happened to have jumper cables and Rob did the work while Leslie and I stood chatting in the rain. Then, the boys and I headed to Kingswood for Math Night and we were all pretty beat. I even offered to just drive them straight home, but Ian flipped out and wanted to go. Ian did a few tables there and then we headed home to get ready for another busy day tomorrow!

Gavin spent the day with Pekai and had a fun time playing hide and go seek. He was all giggly when I picked him up! He and Sammy played in their van during the game and I guess they had a ball. LOL Gavin does such a great job going here, there and everywhere with me. Tomorrow is his big day with the Halloween Parade! Look out Spiderman...BATMAN is coming! :)

More Pictures for Everyone

Cailean and Ian bought their supplies for the vests they'll need to wear to their Y-Guides meetings for the next three years. That took a few hours today to put together and they did turn out pretty nice. I'm used to being there for everything with Ian, so this is going to be a big challenge for me. I'm not going to know what is going on at these things and he and Cailean are going to have fun on these trips and activities, but I want to go as well. ARGH. For those of you who don't know what Y-Guides is all about you can google it. It's similar to Scouts. They work towards badges and feathers. It's just for dads and sons. They are in tribes (10 kids and 10 dads) and they each have names. Ian and Cailean are Little Eagle and Big Eagle. So, we're doing Y-Guides for now. Ian and his buddy are actually in the same tribe, so that's good.

Wednesday night we found ourselves back at the fair with mom since she couldn't go with us Monday night. We were given quite a few ride tickets from people leaving, so the kids enjoyed more rides. I'm glad the fair is just once a year, but the place is amazing. Ian ran into one of his classmates...out of all those people he saw her. I fed them dinner before we left and they were allowed one treat that night. Gavin chose cotton candy and Ian chose a caramel apple (hoping his front tooth would fall out because it's very loose!!!).

What an arm!!!!! Go Ian!

Gavin's turn now...a strong righty!

Cailean got this on video! Goal #1



and Goal #2! or maybe I have it reversed...lol...

Oh What a Night!

What a day I should say! Gavin took his class pet (yes, we've had Lucky since Monday!!!) to Kingswood this afternoon and wanted to show Mrs. Geiger! LOL We ran into a few of the teachers and one of them was Mrs. Harris, Ian's teacher. SHE IS HAVING A BABY!!!! She told the class this afternoon and Ian was sooooo cute telling all about it at home.

We rushed home from school this afternoon and Ian did his homework and then the kids got a quick bite to eat before we had to leave for a 5:15pm soccer game. Ian played great and even scored 2 goals! The second was done with his right foot (he kicks mostly with his left)! Cailean took video clips and happened to get his second goal. I'll upload another day and post that!

After the game we raced home and I gave Ian a quick shower before he and Cailean went to their first Y-Guides meeting. Gavin and I went to Cold Stone Creamery for the Kingswood fundraising event. Lots of people were there and it was great to see! Of course everyone wanted to know where Ian was!

Cailean and Ian got home from the tribe meeting and their names are Little Eagle and Big Eagle. Ian has already earned a bead and has met some great kids from what I hear. This is sorta driving me nuts because there is no schedule and I don't know the events...when they are...what they are doing, etc. UGH. LOL LOL Anyway, a great day for everyone!

Oh, Ian asked me today if there was going to be a UNC Fair because the fair is called NC State fair, so he thinks it is for the NC State fans! LOL LOL

State Fair

Don't forget to click on the photos to enlarge them!

We headed off to the State Fair (just about 15 minutes from our house) Monday after school. Still an amazing event! Soooo much to do and see! Cailean has not been to it in the last few years because usually he is on a hunting trip, but he's not leaving until this weekend. Trying to find a night when we could all go was impossible, so we'll go with mom Wednesday night and see the animals and do all that stuff. Monday night was the rides!

Well, I didn't really enjoy the entire time at the fair. We were walking by a big area that said, "GET YOUR FLU SHOT HERE." Cailean was all about that and I was ticked because I can't stand shots...let alone getting a shot at the FAIR in front of my own kids and everyone around. Not a smart idea, I didn't think. So, I was rude, short and not happy. I won't tell you everything I said! It was a good thing the camera was in my pocket. Cailean had the nerve to actually ask for it. Yea, right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not that good of a shot, but I needed to take a pic of the ferris wheel!!!! You can barely see the boys in the picture.

I always love visiting the UNC TV area because the kids tend to watch shows on this station. Good ole Curious George!!!

Off to the Farmer's Market...they got to pick a few items, get them weighed and received money for selling their goods and then spent the cash in the store!

This was Gavin's and Ben's first "big boy" ride without any grownups! Luke and Ian were together and Ben and Gavin were behind them.

Gavin and Ian buddied up on the swing. Ian said he was about to get sick afterwards!

The boys were excited to meet up with their buddies and hit the rides!

It was a great night at the fair and we're looking forward to heading back with my mom Wednesday night. We only saw about 1/2 the fair, so there is still plenty more to do and see. Stay tuned for more pictures.

Until then...we have a soccer game, Y-Guides tribe meeting, Kingswood fundraising event at Coldstone Creamery all tonight! How will we get all this in? Well, we're all at the game. Then, Ian and Cailean head to the Y-Guides (father/son event) and Gavin and I head to Coldstone.

More Pictures

A view of Green Acres from the hay wagon

This is one of Gavin's favorite parts of Green Acres because after you milk Bessie, the cow, you can choose a piece of candy. Notice the bucket in the back left? LOL

There were more farm equipment when we went to Green Acres than when we went a few weeks ago. Lots of climbing to get to the driver's seat, but Gavin figured it out.

New Windows and Visitors

Thanks for coming!!!!

On Friday the contractor started the installation process for our windows, so Cailean was overseeing it all while I was at work and the kids were at school. They'll continue on Monday and hopefully it'll be finished. We'll see.

We've had a great weekend and it's hard to believe our guests have already left. We visited the local corn maze and made it through, but we did miss 3 numbers. What is up with that? The kids had a ball and it was great to let them run free. Of course this was after soccer practice when all they did was run. I'm including Gavin as well because he and Sammy chased each other during the entire soccer practice! Anyway, got another hayride in and all that fun stuff.

The weather is getting cooler and I'm just not ready for this at all. I have to go through the bins of clothes to see what fits for Gavin and what Ian can get through for another season.

This morning we headed off to church and introduced Uncle David, Sarah and Ben to the Bob Evans staff! We had a great lunch and then had to say our goodbyes. The boys and I headed to the grocery store and then home to start the neverending laundry, get the fall clothes out of bins (haven't gotten that far yet...bins are in the rooms) and just trying to organize. I'm tired and just want to lay on the couch and do NOTHING.

Phew...What a Day!!!

Wow, what a day. I came home from work, got the boys dressed for Ian's soccer game, gave them snacks, fed Cody and went out the door. The game was unbelieveable! We've been working a lot on passing the ball during the last few practices and it totally clicked tonight! They were calling for the ball, kicking it to each other and moving the ball up the field. Ian had his best game EVER! He played a lot at left offense tonight and was right where he needed to be most of the time! He managed to even get a hat trick! Yes, THREE goals!!!!!! He was totally on fire, remained open and his teammates kept feeding him the ball.

We came home, had dinner, gave them warm showers, read books and got into their warm beds (flannel sheets now)! Ian wants to get his rest because he is excited for his Fun Run tomorrow morning at school. They get to run/walk/skip laps around the track for 15 minutes. I'll race over there from work to catch his class go.

Aunt Cindy and Uncle David flew in tonight. They missed Ian's game because the flight was delayed. We haven't seen them yet, but we'll head over to mom's tomorrow after work/school. Tonight I've been running around taking care of things and getting ready for our company as well as the installment of new windows starts tomorrow. Fun times!

Cailean bought a pumpkin today and we were given one by mom's realtor, so the boys have been hiding them. First they put them under the computer desk. Then, they (maybe just Gavin...not sure) put them in the living room and covered them up with pillows and blankets. They crack me up!

Oh, on the way home from Ian's school, they were talking about trophies and how Gavin will get one after he plays soccer in the spring. Ian told him that he'll play on a smaller field and not a big field like Ian does. Gavin says to Ian, "Will you cheer for me?" LOL

Ian told me tonight that Mrs. Harris kept calling everyone "lovelies." LOL LOL He says, "She loves us!" LOL LOL Too cute!

Rain, Rain and More Rain

First, we'd like to say HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY to Sarah!!!! We're glad you liked our singing. Your cousins practiced a lot and Ian was helping Gavin with "birthday" instead of "dirtday."

My dad emailed me some photos of what Vermont received this week and I am just sooooo lucky to NOT have to deal with that this early! Growing up in Vermont...it was always a wonder if there would be snow BEFORE Halloween or after. I have many memories of trick-or-treating in snow, too. But I don't know...October 13th for snow doesn't seem to be a good sign for that state right now!

We are getting rain in our area though. I know we need it, but now is not the time. We were supposed to have new windows installed today and now that has been changed to hopefully Friday. Since Sunday we've had no curtains or blinds, so I sure hope we can get all that taken care of soon.

Aunt Cindy and Uncle David fly in tomorrow night and Ian is scheduled to have soccer. It's also time to register him for basketball...yup, 6am tomorrow morning! At least now I can register him online. Looking forward to seeing the Blumgarts! :)

Nothing major to report. Just trying to keep up with my work, Cailean's outdoor and indoor projects on the house and staying on top of things for Ian's and Gavin's schools. It's also the wonderful time of hunting season (joy), so I'll be holding down the fort for 2 weeks. LOL

Catch of the Week and The Things They Do and Say

Catch of the Week is the Character Development Program at Kingswood and last week the character trait was Self-Control and Ian was chosen in his class, which means he got his picture taken today and was able to go to the office to get his pencil! A very proud moment for Ian! Now, let's practice Self-Control at home, Ian! hee hee

I really should carry around a tape recorder because the words/phrases and things they do are too much!

It took Gavin about 15 minutes to get ready to go get Ian from school today. Why? Well, he had to pack up his important items into little cases he has and carry them down and then put them in the car near his seat. Items would include beads, things he made at summer camp, money, chapstick, harmonica and who knows what else he found.

Ian tells me that everything is easy. It doesn't matter what it is, but it's easy.

Gavin didn't say the grace with the kids at his Lunch Bunch. Instead he just watched Miss Brenda and stood up there looking all cute and bashful. On the way home I asked why he didn't say it and he says, "Because the teachers told us if we didn't want to say it, then we could just listen. So I wanted to listen."

Ian calls up my brother tonight and says, "Uncle Matt, will you donate money for my and then spells out F-U-N - R-U-N?" He randomly spells words as he talks. When Ian finishes dinner he'll say, "I'm d-o-n-e...done!" Tonight Gavin starts with, "I'm m-a-c...done." LOL He picks some letters thinking he spells out words. He is quite serious about it, too.

Gavin constantly says, "Oh my gosh." Sometimes it sounds like, 'Oh my garsh."

And who knows what tomorrow will bring...

NC State Football Game

Cailean took this photo last Friday! Love the boots on Gavin, eh?

Thanks for the smile, Gavin...argh! I was obviously bothering him by taking a picture and not watching the game!!!

Right in with the Sea of Red! All decked out in his NCSU attire!

Ian eating his dinner!

We had quite a Saturday and the weather is what gave us a headache! 50% chance of rain! We made it through 55 minutes of Ian's soccer practice before it started to rain. It didn't last long though, but we went home and checked weather.com and saw that 4-6pm would be clear, so we could go to the NC State football game!

I was given a bunch of tickets, so we decided to take my grandfather, too. The kids, Cailean and I picked him up (of course he was not dressed appropriately, so I had to find his NC State shirt, hat and black suspenders since the maroon ones would totally clash while Mimi was taking a nap). My grandmother was looking forward to peace and quiet for a few hours!

We left in a hurry and headed to the stadium. Cailean dropped us off in front of the football complex and we waited for about 20 minutes or so. We met up in the seats, but that was interesting because we weren't all sitting in the same area. We had to do some rearranging and sweet talk the worker there to let us through once we saw that people weren't taking up this one area and we had an 88 year old with a walker!!!! It was an experience! Gavin's FIRST ever Wolfpack football game and my grandfather is always in awe at a college event!

To all the family members out there...Cailean was our escort and he drove right up to get us, so he didn't have to walk far and the seats...Pop-pop didn't need to go down many stairs. LOL It was very cool that Pop-pop got to be there for Gavin's first football event!

Hey,
We've been staying over at mom's at night to be with my grandparents while mom is in VT. The kids have been great and we've been able to be on King St at 7am to be with Cailean while I head off to work. Cailean and Cody will join us tonight at mom's. They do miss their Mimi. Wed night Ian was looking at the window watching for her plane with tears running down his face. He ended up calling her to say goodnight (plane was late leaving due to weather in NY). Gavin is asleep before his head hits the pillow.

Off to Cracker Barrel tonight for their typical Friday night adventure. Tomorrow we have soccer practice at 11:30am and then I was given 6 tickets to the State football game and we'll take my grandfather. We haven't told him yet...it will all depend on the weather, I think. Hopefully no rain.

The boys are headed to a birthday party on Sunday afternoon at WiiiBounce. That will be fun!!!

We're getting our windows replaced next week and we're also having visitors! My aunt and uncle from CA are flying in Thursday and then my cousin and his girlfriend are flying from NY for the weekend. Short trip, but can't wait to see them!!!

Two Cute Boys!

Ian had another soccer game tonight! The kids played hard and we only had two subs, so they definitely did lots of running. Ian primarily played left offense...seems to be a good fit for him!

Gavin had a great day. He did quite a few worksheets that I found online. He does a great job matching and he was so excited when the papers were coming out of the printer! We headed over to Pekai's a little too early, so Gavin wanted to swing by Grammie's and Pop-pop's to say HI. So, we did that for about 10 minutes. He walks in and says, "Ooohh laaa laaa." LOL It's one of his new favorite phrases. He picked up on it last week because my grandfather says it a lot. Very cute! Sometimes it ends up sounding like, "Oooohhh wa wa." I was very happy seeing my grandmother cutting fabric with a pattern at the table. I have such awesome memories of her sewing and sewing and sewing and sewing. The last year or two she has been dealing with medical stuff, so I was grinning today!

When I picked Gavin up from the sitter's we stayed longer with my grandparents. My grandmother woke up from her nap and came out to the living room. Gavin says out of the blue, "Grammie, will you come watch Curious George with me? I saved you a seat on the couch!" OH MY! What a cutie! So, she came right over and sat next to him. He was telling her all that he did. When it was time to leave I put him in the carseat and then realized I should go back in to make sure she could get up from off the couch!!!!!!!! LOL Phew! She was already walking outside to see us leave.

My mom is flying up to Vermont tomorrow night to attend a funeral for a very close friend and to support one of her best friends. Cailean and I decided we'll "camp out" and be with my grandparents. I told the boys tonight and they are excited to stay over there!

Oh, Ian will be calling many family this week or this weekend about his Fun Run. The students are raising money to help with the Media Center. :)

No Title!

Gavin brought home some interesting information from school on Friday. He has been learning sign language and he showed us how he says Good Morning in sign language. Well, he does it really fast and it actually looks like he is doing a swear word rather than Morning. The one when you put one hand on the bicep and then pull that hand up to the sky. LOL Ian has been showing him how to do it correctly. It is cute to have Ian and Gavin communicate by doing sign language.

I talked to my brother this afternoon and he told me I needed to add more paragraphs, so I'll do my best! I already did more than three sentences in the first paragraph, but it all related to the same topic!!!

Friday night we ran some errands and then ended up playing soccer with Ella and Sophia. Watching the four kids play is adorable. Tonight Gavin told me that Ella and Sophia are cute. Ian was all redfaced. LOL

Saturday we had soccer practice, Cailean painted the trim on the front part of the house, and we met up with a Kingswood family for dinner.

Cailean has been working LONG hours at work lately and putting in some OT. Broken planes and all that, but he managed to hunt for the first time Friday night. I haven't quite figured out how sitting in a tree and being quiet for so long can be fun.

We pretty much finalized our spring break plans for March. We were given another timeshare for a week at Disney during the boys' vacation week (thank you Lyfords!!!!!). It goes Sat-Fri. So that Fri night we booked a hotel room and will stay there with Cailean's family and go to Sea World that day! We decided we'll do Magic Kingdom one day and we're adding Sea World to another day. I wouldn't mind taking a boat to Fort Wilderness. Cailean's brother will be there the week after us. I wish Sarah and Ian had the same spring break this year!!!

We did the church, Sunday School, Bob Evans events this morning. The boys and I did some Christmas shopping (yup, I think I told Cailean 5 times today that I'm proud of myself for starting now) after lunch and then ended up at Party City. I hit the jackpot for Ian's costume. Won't tell ya what it is...you'll have to wait for the unveiling on October 24! Yup, you'll get a sneak peak because we're going on the Spooktacular Trail with another family that night in Morrisville!

We headed over to mom's and went for a bike ride. We cut it a little short because my oldest (no names mentioned...haha) seemed to have some hearing challenges that I was not impressed with, so back in the truck and back home.

We've got some guests coming over for dinner tomorrow night and we'll be toasting marshmallows!

Let's see...what's on the agenda for this week? Two playdates for Gavin after school on Monday and Wednesday at local parks, a soccer game Tuesday night at 6:15pm, and a NC State Swim Meet Friday night. Not too bad!

Matt, how did I do with the paragraphs? :)