{Dare we call her the Favorite?}

My children have a special place in their hearts for their Auntie Carol!  She is very loving and always so good to them. She is patient with them, spends time doing the things they like, and listens and talks to them.  She takes time out of her busy schedule to come out and visit and we love having her with us.

We were all ecstatic when she called and told us she was coming out to see us during her Fall break.  She arrived just in time for Halloween!

Mya had a preschool Halloween party, while the boys were at school, so she had all of Carol's attention, and she loved it!

Young at heart!!!

Mya's party was up in Oak Glen, so we took Carol to our favorite apple orchard, where they make apple cider donuts.

Donuts and apples were devoured!

Enjoying Breakfast, Mya Style...Cookies and Eggs!

Owen feels the need to always "Smother Carol with Love!"

Training wheels were removed and Carol enticed Owen to ride his bike like a big boy!

The minute Ian and Drew got home from school they had her outside and moving!

Ready for some intense Trick or Treating!

The only way we were able to get Carol to sit down and do her work, was to give her the candy bag.... good motivation to grade papers!!!!

Many tears were shed at the airport from Mya when we dropped Carol off at the airport.  She didn't want her to leave and was determined to go with her back to Colorado.  I felt her pain.

I always beg Carol not to leave and she says that if Kenny can support her lifestyle, which includes traveling all over the world, she would stay!  I really need Kenny to get a fat raise this next year, so we can keep Carol forever!

{Soccer Season Comes to a Close}

 I am sad to see the end of another soccer season!  My boys all played awesome this year and continue to improve.  Their love for the game also continues to grow!  We celebrated each boys soccer team with pizza parties all on the same day, so we had to divide and conquer to be able to attend each party.

I am grateful for our wonderful neighbors, the Garrets, who helped us get Ian to and from practices and who took him to his end of the season party.  Ian and Tristan have played soccer together since they were 4 and they are great buddies!   Ian and Tristan towered over their team mates and led their team to many wins!  I have loved watching these two play together.

I attended Drew's party, because they had the best pizza!  He was in an older division this year and the intensity of the game was definitely increased.  We loved it even more!  Drew is on the smaller size for his age, but he is fierce and super competitive!  Each time he made a goal, he was jumping up on top of the players and giving high five's to his team mates.  He also did several headers, which earned him several bags of skittles from dad!  Drew thrives on the soccer field and it makes me so happy!

Owen deserved a trophy for, "Most Improved!"  Last year he would do somersaults on the field and pick the grass.  We debated to whether or not to have him play this season, and I'm glad we did!  Even though he never scored a goal, he played each and every game aggressively and was a great defender!  He enjoyed getting to play and was super excited about getting a trophy and a soccer ball bank.


Kenny and I are so proud of our little soccer players! It was a great season and we are grateful to the wonderful coaches who worked with our kids.  It is time to move on....basketball season starts in 2 weeks!

{Sundance Carnival}

Every year the PTA throws a carnival at the Sundance school.  The kids aren't allowed to wear costumes to school for Halloween, but they do get to for the "Fall" carnival!

We brought Drew's good friend, Robbie along with us for the fun!

Ninja Drew, Spiderman Owen, Ninja Robbie, Ariel (Little Mermaid) Mya, and Ninja Ian

Spiderman stops to strike a pose as he races around an obstacle course!

Ariel and Spiderman decorated pumpkins to take home.

Mia and Mya, or should I say Snow White and Ariel

 These two love playing together even though there is an age gap!

Ninja Ian coaching Mya on how to choose the winning duck!

Ninja Drew picking out another prize before running to the next game, as Spiderman throws another bean bag.  It was hard for me to get pictures of Drew because I let him loose and hardly saw him for the remainder of the night!

Musical Chairs

Mya took first place on this game!

Ian won lots of prizes at this game.

The kids all came home with a big bag of prizes and bellies full of nachos!  It was a fun night playing with friends and teachers!

Ian and the best principal in the world, Mrs. Kenny!  She is absolutely amazing and knows every kid by name.  She is always giving the kids high-five's and hugs.  She is like the energizer bunny and the kids all adore her!  We feel so blessed to be at Sundance school!

{Pumpkin Patch Field Trip}

Mya and her preschool friends met at the Oak Valley pumpkin patch for a fall field trip.  She was ecstatic about going and picking out her own pumpkin to take home.  

Preschool friends

Her favorite little boy friend, or jack-o-lantern Brody, and black cat Mya!

I was really excited for her to feed the goats, however her reaction was not what I was expecting!  I had to take her out crying and clinging to me, as the goats nibbled at her shoes as we made our escape!  She has a major fear of goats!

She much preferred the bunnies!

Riding in style with Brody and baby Wyatt out to find the magic pumpkin!

She found all kinds of pumpkins she wanted to take home, but I told her she had to be able to carry it herself!

She ended up with a cute little pumpkin and an ear of corn!  We had a great time exploring around the pumpkin patch and being out enjoying the beautiful fall weather!

{Bike Rodeo}

Drew had a great time at his "Bike Rodeo" cubscout pack meeting.  The boys rode through several obstacle courses, raced, and learned about bike safety from Police Officer Harris!

Drew was excited to have taken 2nd place!

I love the skills that boys learn through the scouting program!

{Summers Boys Bringing It Back}

I sent Kenny outside to find the boys for dinner, and after 10 minutes of waiting for them to come inside, I went out looking for them all.  I was surprised to find Kenny and the boys in-line skating around the neighborhood!  Kenny hasn't had on a pair of in-line skates, since the day he proposed to me July 7, 2001!

The boys were having a blast skating around with their dad!

11 years later and the man can still skate and keep up with the boys!

Ian is wearing my skates, so I think in-line skates will be on our Christmas wish list this year, so we can all go skating together!

{Tooth Fairy}

Ian is almost 8 and has only lost one tooth, which was pulled by the dentist.  His tooth was loose and ready to come out, but he wouldn't let any of us touch it.  He can be so stubborn!  He was supposed to be sleeping, but he is the master of procrastination, and kept getting out of bed to look at his tooth.  

 He tried to pull it out, and kept wiggling it with his tongue, but it didn't pop out, like he hoped.

 We tried a string, but he freaked out and wouldn't let me pull it.  He came up with his own idea to use a clothespin!  Unfortunately, that didn't work either.  I told him how my dad was so good at pulling teeth, that the neighbor kids even came to him when they had a loose tooth, and since I was his daughter, I would be just as good!  He didn't buy it and even asked to call Grandad.  Grandad and Ge gave him some encouraging tips and calmed his fears.  Ge recommended he try eating an apple, so we tried that too!  With no luck and still refusing to let me touch his tooth he demanded,

 "Mom, I'll let you try if you give me $20!" I told him he was crazy and then I remembered the power of the i-phone.  I handed it over to him and told him he could play a game while I wiggled his tooth.  He agreed and I yanked it out with one swift pull!  He was surprised at how easily it popped out and was super giddy!

The drama of one tooth lasted over an hour, but at least it is out!  The tooth was slid under his pillow, even though he said, "I know the tooth fairy isn't real, so you can just hand me over the money!"  This boy is causing me gray hairs, but I sure do love him!