october recap part 1

And here we go with falling behind and catching back up. October began with the children wanting to start a massage stand. I'm not sure what that means, but i think it was a success?

Also, we played games with our old friends Kyle and Rachel Olsen and family. I'm not sure I like being at an age where I can have old friends. I mean, I've been friends with Rachel for over 20 years. How is that possible?!

My niece Jocelyn loves "guys." Which is what she calls all the characters from Star Wars. I couldn't even get a good picture of her because she just wanted to talk to the guys. (The library was gearing up for their annual Star Wars family fun night later in the month.)

I never order school pictures of my kids, but I did remember to take a picture of Kate's pictures. Time will tell if I remembered to do the same for the boys or not. I can't handle how beautiful and smart and kind Kate is growing up to be.

I think this was walk to school day? I obviously only took one terrible picture, but the police and firemen and cheerleaders and Cosmo were all there. Can you spot any of those things in this picture?

Jude made a bed for Nate and tucked him in.

Kate's ballet class allows parents to come and see the progress they are making about once a semester. I love sneaking in and seeing how much fun they have together.

Jaker's Jack-o-lanterns with the cousins! Thanks Granny and Papa for a fun FHE!

It was super crowded, but then again, every time I passed the pumpkin patch it looked super crowded. It's a popular place!

It took several tries to get a picture where no one was giving someone else bunny ears.

Hayride! Lenna photo bomb! Kate really is happy!

Me and my little boys.

 Corn maze. We definitely didn't go through the proper way, but we made it out!

Jude really wanted to touch the kangaroo. The other children weren't as interested in the animals, so I mainly have pictures of Jude.

Taking a dive into the corn pit. I guess something from swimming lessons stuck?

So, when Colin was in 1st grade, he was required by his teacher to enter Reflections, and he got an Award of Merit (a medal) for his submission. It was lovely, and I was very proud. I'm proud again this year, because Kate's story "If I Were a Fish" won an Award of Excellence (the next step up, a trophy). She was also required to enter this year. It was fun to sit at the computer with her and have her dictate her story to me. I let her say whatever she wanted to, and the only guiding I did was to say, "Tell me more." I'm really impressed and I love her weirdness.

So, Star Wars night at the library finally arrived. All the children had a costume to wear. We went with the Hiatts, and it was enjoyable chaos.

R2D2 and some guy.

  

Jude was scared of the guys. Addi protected him.

Making lightsabers.

Practicing lightsaber skills until someone starts crying.

Darth Vader showed up, so we had to get another picture. I took some for the Hiatts, but apparently Lenna never sent me any of the ones she took for me.

There was a prize wheel with the games upstairs, and we all took a spin. I won a tshirt! It's cute!

The kids scored gift certificates to the Pizza Factory (a total of $30 worth! Gray won the grand prize of $25) and Papa Johns and Sonic and Culvers. Not a bad evening for the Silveys!