Creepy Critters and a Halloween Sneak Peek

Our mommy/boys activity this week was the Creepy Critter Hunt at the Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. We had so much fun! We started with a scavenger hunt around the farm to find ghosts, mummies, and spiders. Here we are with a mummy. Once we found them all, then we got to make a "delicious craft".

Once we finished with that, we went on a carriage ride.

See - it was fun. Look at our smiles (and the partial terror on Sam's face that mommy won't make it onto the carriage before the horse pulls away).They had the farm all decorated for Halloween - including this "scary" haunted house.
I went on a pony ride - Sam wouldn't go this time. And, of course, we fed the goats. Here's Sam posing with one of the bossy ones. We'll have more pictures to post from this week later.
Sam Alert: Hey everyone - I wanted to provide you all with a sneak peek of our Halloween costumes for this year. But all you get is a sneak peek! Here's me . . . .. . . . and here's Mason. Any guesses? All I can say is that we are pretty darn cute if we do say so ourselves. Sam out!

Oh what do you do in the

Autumn - time?

That's an easy question for us . . . .

1. Finish up our decorations for Halloween - here we are digging holes for our spooky headstones.2. Help mom make some new Halloween decorations. We are very good helpers!

3. Play soccer! This season has gone by quickly. I only have one more game and one more practice. It's been fun to be on a team and play a sport.Here's part of my cheering section - they say they're loud, but I'm so focused during the games, I don't even hear them! Perhaps the crumbs on Sam's face tell a different story - maybe I should have eaten my snack before going back out to play.Here's my break-away for a goal - s c o o o o o o r e!
4. A trip to our favorite Pumpkin Patch.
This local pumpkin patch near our house is the best! They grow a huge variety of pumpkins - it's so hard to choose the very best one.Look - we harvested pumpkins and "a Sam".

We were able to catch a hay ride around the patch this year. Daddy stood guard over our pumpkins - so that's mommy and the boys riding toward the back. You'll get to see the pumpkins we picked later - when it's carving time.Sam Alert: Hey everyone - Sam here. Mommy always says that "play is the work of childhood". So . . . we take that motto seriously at our house. Here I am helping daddy get an upper body workout.And here I am heading to the car after soccer. I really am laughing even though it looks like I'm mad. And just another cute picture of me at the pumpkin patch. We got some of the coolest pumpkins this year. Surprisingly, only one of the pumpkins in the wheelbarrow with me made the final cut. I made the cut too - just in case you were wondering! Talk to you next week.

BFF's

"A" is my BFF. I've known her since I was just a tiny, little guy. It's great to have a good friend!

Our B I G Day Out

Wow - talk about a nice warm, summer-like week! We tried to make the most of it and enjoy lots of time outdoors.

For our mommy/boys night out this week, the boys chose the Dinosaur Museum again for "Pumpkins Please". We made pumpkin hats and went on a pumpkin scavenger hunt through the museum. Super fun!We did some art projects - we just can't get enough of painting. The messier the better!Then, on Friday, we had a B I G day out - daddy and mommy both took the day off and they surprised us with a ride on the Heber Valley Railroad. The fall leaves were out and the day was beautiful and warm. Trains are the best! Look at some of the pretty pictures of the fall colors that daddy took:
Such a pretty day!The boysAnd, as always, a quick trip down to the river to throw rocks during the train stop at Vivian Park. Trains and rocks . . . that is a great day!And the other sign of a great day . . . . exhaustion. This is what the back seat looked like on the way home. And today, we went with daddy up to the cemetery to take flowers to Grandma June's grave. He had a vase put in so that we could put flowers in it whenever we want. It turned out great! (PLEASE don't judge us - yes, we are in pajamas out in public in the middle of the day! What can we say . . . it was a slow, relaxing day around the house!)

Sam Alert: Hey everyone . . . we are loving the warm weather. And I really really loved the train ride. I had the best time!Here's one more picture of me from this week - nap time. I'm such a silly sleeper! Sam out.

Our Busy Week

We started the week with another outing to Thanksgiving Point one evening. This time we went to the Dino Museum for Scarecrow themed events. She told us stories, and we made ghosts, and she taught us a scarecrow dance. Here I am helping to teach the other kids how to do the dance.

We then took some time and went through the museum - always fun! Sam was a little scared of the scarecrow lady but he wasn't afraid to pose for a picture with a dinosaur.

Our current favorite dinosaur is the Triceratops. Did you hear about the two new dinos that were discovered in southern Utah and announced this week? They both are distantly related to Triceratops (Utahceratops and Cosmoceratops . . . . or something close to that). We've definitely been enjoying a warm and dry end of September. It makes for some fun nights playing in our sandbox. Sam has always loved to climb and do scary things. Soccer is going well. I'm loving it! My team had a tough game this week - our opponents were bigger and rougher than us. But we gave it our best try and had some fun. Here's a great action shot of me.And a great action shot of Sam on the sidelines at the game. He loves that Grandma L. comes to watch and ends up playing soccer with him the whole time! Don't think about which way the ball was supposed to be going - just applaud that he got it so high in the air!And today was a really big day for me . . . I had to give my first real talk at our church. Not just a little talk in Primary but a real live talk in Sacrament meeting. It was our primary program today and in addition to the usual speaking line they give every kid, they asked me to give a real talk. I've been practicing and practicing and had the whole thing memorized and I stood right up there and gave my whole talk - me, a little sunbeam (3-4 year old class). It was about the parable of the Prodigal Son. Lots of people came to support me - I felt so good after it was over. It's fun to learn new things and work hard to do something well. Here is a picture of me from this morning. Mommy says I'm all grown up! Can I have the car keys?Sam Alert: Hey everyone. Why did I not get to be in the program at church today? I know those songs they sang and I have Mason's story memorized (ok a little of it at least) since I've heard it so many times. Oh well - a few more years. I sang my little heart out from the congregation! Here are a few pictures of me from the week for your viewing pleasure.

This is how mom found me one morning when she came in to wake me up. Just watching a little "TV" in my crib.

And a picture of me from this morning as we got ready for church. I'm adorable! Sam out.

Lovin' Every Minute of It!

We are NOT going to let summer go without a fight! We were looking at pictures of our fun summer the other day and we really have had a lot of fun times. It just has gone by so fast that it doesn't seem like we had very much time. So while the weather is still good, we're playing as much as possible.

Daddy has started a night class again this year so mommy and the boys have decided to find fun things to do on those nights. This last week we headed down to Thanksgiving Point to the Farm Country and enjoyed some animals.T Point does fun kid's activities on some nights and this week was all about Bees. We got to "make and take" a cool bee.Of course we went on a pony ride but we also did something this time that we've never done before - the wagon ride. It was really fun!And of course one of our most favorite things is feeding the goats - there's always the bossy, pushy ones, but the little ones are so cute. Mommy was out of town for a few days this week - while the cat's away, the mice will play. How did Sam end up on top?Bug watching is always cool - a katydid. How did this get in the house for us to see up close and personal? Daddy!Soccer is going well - I'm having so much fun! We have a great team and a really great coach.

I love getting in to the middle of it all. Go red!

And yes, even though we don't keep score, I scored some goals this week (5 to be exact - not that any one is counting!)

Sam finds a way to keep himself occupied during the games. Here he is playing soccer with Grandma L.

I had a good cheering section this week - Grandpa and Grandma L. came to watch the game.

Then after the game, we headed up to the cabin for the rest of the weekend. Uncle Noley and Aunt Christy were busy this weekend and we sure missed them. Sam was incredibly excited to be headed to the cabin. Here he is enjoying the drive up.

Once we got there, Sam and I set up our "Rock Store". We collect rocks from around the cabin and "sell" them to our favorite customers. Sometimes they use pretend money and sometimes, for a really great rock, we get a penny or two.

The fall colors were absolutely beautiful. We couldn't resist taking some pictures - enjoy! Here's me and Sam.

And mommy, Sam, me, and Copper.

We got a couple of hikes in on Saturday afternoon. Talk about excellent scenery.

We even went for a hike just before dark and saw a doe. An owl flew literally right over our heads. And we found more colorful trees. Here's daddy and the boys.

We sat on the deck and watched the stars. We learned all about satellites and shooting stars - cool!

After a great breakfast and some good play time today, we cleaned up and headed for home. Time to get ready for another week.

Sam Alert: Howdy everyone. Who knew that playing the piano could result in bodily injury? I was trying to climb up on the piano bench the other afternoon and slipped. I bit right through my lip - oww! The good news is that I'm young and healthy (mostly) and so I heal up pretty darn fast.Here I am hanging out at Mason's soccer game. I bring my chair, my ball, my water bottle, and my snacks. I'm good to go!
And finally, just another cute picture of me from the week. I have a million of these! Sam out!