Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Camping

Late in September, we went to Taum Sauk Mountain to camp.  For those of you who do not know, Taum Sauk is the highest point in Missouri, and that says a lot!  ;)

Jack and Patrick enjoyed helping Daddy set up the tent.
Charlie enjoyed finding things on the ground and seeing how quickly he could put them in his mouth before Mommy saw him.  Sometimes, she had to get a quick picture before taking it away from him!


Jack brought his backpack with him so he could collect all kinds of treasures.
Family picture at the campsite:
Daddy and his boys on our short hike to the look-out point.
Patrick wanted to walk with Charlie.  He is such a good big brother (most of the time).

Family picture at the look-out:
This was our view of the night sky.  Beautiful.
Charlie woke up before dawn and Jim got up with him.  They walked back to the look-out and watched the sun rise.  When I got up, Charlie was enjoying his breakfast and it was COLD outside.  I believe it was in the upper 40s, which doesn't sound too cold, but when you are sleeping and eating outdoors it is!
Then Charlie did his morning stretches to prepare him for our 3 mile hike.
Everyone is ready to embark on our hike of the Mina Sauk Falls Trail.
Patrick did amazing!  As an almost-3-year-old, he surprised us by hiking without complaining the first half of the trail.  On the back 1.5 miles, he complained, but walked the entire way!
Charlie caught up on some much-needed sleep.
We made frequent stops to examine nature.
Jim and Jack pondering life at a clearing in the woods.
Mommy and Jack and mountains (Missouri-style).
About halfway through, we stopped by the waterfall (that was barely flowing) for a snack.  I put the camera away for the second half of the hike.  The boys had a great time and keep asking when we can go camping again!

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Bubbles!

In September, our street had a block party where we got to meet a lot of our new neighbors.  They rented a "Bubble Bus" and the kids loved it!


Hey Mom! Look at my feet!
Did you see my feet, Dad?
Patrick's clean feet:

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Soccer

This post contains pictures from 3 different soccer games.  The first picture is of Jack with his favorite coach (Daddy!) before a game.
Jack (number 15) is in the thick of it.  Kindergarten soccer involves a lot of swarms of kids going after the ball.  You will see assistant coach Jim in the background.


Jim having a coach's "chat" with Jack on the sidelines.  
Juggling the ball?
These pictures are from a third game, where Jack got his first goal!

While Jack played soccer (far right), Patrick rode his bike around the field.

Cookies

Jack's class has a pet (stuffed) dog that they named "Cookies" and each student gets to take him home for a night and then write in his journal.  Our first turn with Cookies was in September.  Jack had a lot of fun with him and even took him on a short bike ride.
Patrick showed off his mad biking skills, too.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Pictures in the Park

This afternoon, I brought the boys to a park to take some pictures.  I needed one-year pictures for Charlie and three-year pictures for Patrick.  Jack didn't want to have his picture taken, but quickly changed his mind.
Our big 5.5 year old kindergartener:
 Our sweet 3 year old:
Our cutie pie 1 year old:

Happy Fall!

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Jambeque 2012

We had great weather in early September for the Jambeque this year.  Jim and Jeff put on another great party!
My Aunt Kathy and her band came to play.
Patrick sang into this microphone.  Later, Jim and I sang a song together and Patrick came up to the microphone and helped sing, too.  

Charlie enjoyed his first Jambeque.
Jack's good friend from preschool came!
Love this family!
My rock star!
The Jambeque hosts:
At this point, Charlie was almost walking.  He would take a few steps on his own, but preferred to walk holding onto someone or something.  These days he is walking everywhere independently!  In this picture, Charlie's Godmother is helping him along. 
One of my favorite pictures:

I trust him.
Jim's brother Paul and his wife Margaret:

These sweet girls were so cute with their headphones on.