Pumpkin Goo

My kids love the pumpkin goo. I really can't touch it (I have texture issues :)) but they love to dig down there and get it. I love this picture of them pretending they're horrified by it.



We usually go to one of my brothers' house to carve the pumpkins but since my mom was sick, my brother has an arm in a sling, and I was sick Monday night, I decided to just have Scott and the kids do it here while I died on the couch. We missed the party but the kids had fun.


We usually go much more detailed with our pumpkin carving but threw that to the wind this year and went simple. I think it came out rather nice. I hope you all have a great Halloween, and I hope I can practice some restraint and not eat all my kids candy....good luck.

Marathon Madness

Scott ran his 3rd Marathon this last weekend and I'm so proud of him. I'm usually proud of him when he accomplishes this as well as his 3 triathlons but this run was different. This one was especially difficult because it was cold, rainy, windy and just plain miserable out there. It even started snowing in Massachusetts at some point. A friend of mine also ran and she finished with hypothermia and frostbite. The kids and I met Scott at finish line. First, we had to walk about 3/4 of a mile in the pouring rain to get there, then we stood there in the cold/rain for a long time in the freezing cold. I was ill prepared as a mom I must say, as I didn't bring any gloves or boots or umbrellas for the kids. Kasey had his little umbrella, and Jordan and I had ponchos on but the kids still had soaking wet/ freezing feet and hands. It was crowded and they got pushed/shoved quite a bit also. Then when it was done we had to walk back in the rain to the car. Kudos to my kids however, who did very well trying not to complain.

Can you see Scott in this picture? He's smack dead in the middle with a gray hat and black shirt. There wasn't many places to stand up high and I had a terrible shot. Plus I was bundled up, trying to keep my 2 hands on both the kids so they wouldn't wander, holding the umbrella over Kasey, and trying to get the camera out of my backpack and keep it dry. So, I did a horrible job of documenting Scott's experience. Thankfully my friend Lisa's husband got this good shot of him coming around the stadium towards the finish line. Thanks Nolan.






Here is the brief video I got of Scott crossing the finish line. Gray hat, black shirt. Once I got a clean shot, a lady with a HUGE black annoying umbrella got right in my way at the crucial time. If I hadn't had my kids with me, I might have gotten quite verbal with the nice lady. &%^&*
At this point, Kasey had started crying and he cried all the way back to the car...poor kid!! If you listen you can hear him crying on the video.

Poor Scott was shaking all the way home in the car and his arms and legs were numb. Not once did I hear him complain. This is something not a lot of people can do. I for sure could not. I'm so proud of Scottie for finishing in "just" over 4 hours. Your my hero xoxo. :)

Pumpkin Patch and Hayrides

We went to the Pumpkin patch this weekend. We do this every year and the kids had a blast. Jumping in the hay, picking pumpkins and riding on tractors. What more could boys want?



What the? Love the look on Scott's face. We just bought a new camcorder and this was our "virgin" trip with it. I love the fact that it fits in my pocket!! :)


Am loving this shot of my two cuties in their Oliver Twist hats.


Mommy jumps in the mix. There is this long stone wall that surrounds part of the patch. Great place for a picture.


Sorry so many pictures. This is more for my benefit I guess but usually my kids aren't fond of picture taking but this year they cooperated and I was soooo happy.


Toothless wonder.


Pumpkin peeping...
Hope you all had a great Columbus day weekend!

Beautiful...

I love Fall in New England. Autumn has always been my favorite season and when I went away to college and then stayed away for a total of 12 years, I really learned to appreciate fall in New England all the more. I've been to all parts of the country and I have to say that nothing beats it! It's beautiful!

I love the crisp air and watching the falling leaves. For some reason, watching the leaves fall brings a sort of peace to me. I also love wearing socks and compfy cozy clothes like sweaters and slippers....gotta love cuddling up with a warm fuzzy blanket!! Call me weird but I love it, and this season is all too short.

This is the weekend we always go leaf peeping. The last 5 years we have been going with my SIL Maline and her family. We couldn't all go this year so we canned the leaf peeping this weekend and instead will see each other next weekend at Scott's marathon. These pictures are in my back yard but I still missed the leaf peeping. Oh well, there's always next year. We love this time of year, pumpkins patch, hay rides, walks in the woods finding leaves and acorns, Fall festivals, leaves crunching beneath our feet and jumping in a pile of them. All of those who haven't experienced fall in New England need to come visit us...so book that plane ticket for next year, Columbus day weekend.! See you there!

Playing in the Grass

This picture came out really cool. Is mommy allergic to grass? Why yes she is...do her kids care? Why no they don't!! My kids love throwing grass for some strange reason.




Wrestling


Little video of the kids throwing grass at me! If I didn't love them so much I'd have to beat them!! I love the the giggles.

Girls Night Out

As I have mentioned before, I have still kept in touch with a lot of my junior/Senior High school friends. That's 30 years and counting. We all went to dinner last Friday night and had a great time. We all are concerned for, and can still laugh with each other. There were 9 of us there and 2 couldn't make it. Three of them have just recently got back in touch with us and we're so happy they did. I don't know many people who are still in contact with that many friends from their school 30 years later. I'm so happy to call these girls my friends and that we can all still depend on each others friendships. We've all been through a lot together. Cheers girls!


Tamara and I.


Karen, Laura and Beth


Kathy, Shelley and Tamara

Soccer Star!

Jordan has started playing soccer for the city of Johnston. So far he loves it and he's pretty good I must say. Jordan has problems with his feet. He has to wear orthodics in his shoes but he also has a medical condition called Pes Equinus. This gives him a lot of pain sometimes in his feet and it makes it difficult for him to keep up as he runs on the dorsal part of his foot and his heal doesn't touch the ground much. This also causes him to tire quickly. He might have to have surgery soon on both legs and I hope it doesn't ruin his ability to play soccer because he really likes it, is a very active boy, and he really gets in there!. Until then, we'll keep him running.





Hmmm I think I'm seeing Jordan displaying a little of the "secret Gooch shove" Daddy uses when HE plays soccer! Ha!



GO JORDAN!!!!! #16!!!!