Halloween Fun!

Halloween is like Christmas in our house - I LOVE it! We had so much fun... kicking off our neighborhood parade with the firetruck... trick-or-treating... bonfire with roasted hot dogs, ham & beans and of course - tackle football in the dark! (Safe, right?!) Fortunately - no broken bones - just a few tired kids (mainly me) and possibly a few extra pounds! Here's a glimpse of the fun!

First- here's Patrick & Nate during my "dress rehearsal" on Thursday night. Patrick made all sorts of silly faces & poses - but Nate would have rather been playing. You can tell by his glare - he's just not that into it! But, once he realizes candy is involved - he changes his tune on Halloween night!

Here are the boys looking at the firetruck and waiting for the trick-or-treating to commence!

And - they're off!

Here's Nate giving a very good pirate face! He was so funny - after every house he'd stop to check out what he got, and then he'd want to eat it right then & there! Nathaniel LOVES his candy - and did not miss out on one house!

This is my favorite photo -it was one of the first houses and they were SO excited! Here they are running back to show me what they got!

This is the Beam Reach "gang" - posing after one of the last houses. (Ava, Patrick, Max, Nate & Will!)

After hours of running non-stop (in the dark) playing football and soccer - we finally got the kiddos inside for dinner. Here are some of the kids who joined us - starting with Zach Lemming! He & Nate are in the same class at Learning Time!

To calm them down - we finally put in the Lion king. Nate is about ready to fall asleep here! This is Spiderman (aka Jake), Ava & Nate!

And finally... Patrick & Max!

This last photo is classic! I found Nathaniel lying on our kitchen table (with chocolate in his hand and halfway in his mouth!) - just about asleep! He didn't make it much longer. What a fun night!

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!

At the Pumpkin Patch!

Last weekend, we joined our friends the Watkins at Stony Creek Pumpkin Patch! We all had so much fun.... playing in the straw piles and picking out the "perfect" pumpkins. Here are the pics from that day!

Here's the Watkins family - Ben, Julia, Abby & Ella. Afterwards we went back to their house for yummy chilli! But, the kids weren't very hungry after eating about 2 pounds of sweet kettle corn - who can resist?!

Here's the pumpkin patch! Patrick loved his tall, curvy pumpkin! And Nate picked out one so big he had to roll it around.

Silly daddy!

Can't wait for carving time! Happy Halloween!

Our Man Mitch!

We've taken the boys to a few of the Governor's rallies & hog roasts! My mother thinks it's funny Patrick just calls him Mitch. Here are some of photos from their first political experiences!

Here's the Governor in the middle, with the campaign RV in the back. The boys LOVE to play in the RV - I'm thinking we need one at our house for something to do this winter!


Here are the boys sitting on an old fire engine at the Firefighters for Mitch event... Notice the sign above Nate's head that says "please don't let children climb on the firetrucks" Oops!

Patrick & Nate both loved pretending to slide down the old poles - talk about a dream come true!

Another favorite event was the Hog Roast in Thorntown. It was at a real farm, and the boys discovered what cows really smell like! Not good...

The piles of gravel were the best entertainment of the night. They were yelling here - Yee HAW!

Just a reminder - if you live in Indiana - vote for Mitch on Nov. 4!

Snow White - their first musical!

In early October, my mother and I took the boys to their first musical - Snow White! We borrowed the book & movie from friends (thank you!) and had a special viewing, complete with popcorn. Here are the boys enthralled with the movie below - with pillows & blankets. For weeks now, Patrick's favorite game to play with Mamaw is Snow White!


Here are the dwarfs from the show at Beef & Boards- they were great!

Nate did great - everytime the lights went down between scenes, he would look at me and say "over?"

They had rice crispy treats & apple juice for the kids (and parents too!) Here's Patrick with Mamaw (and Bears came along too!)

After the show, the boys sat on the steps outside - I couldn't resist a picture!

September Play Time!

September was filled with lots of play time with the boys! Here are Patrick & Nate eating popsicles (a favorite past time for all of us!)





Patrick took this picture of Nate, and I love it! I know Nate was thinking about how he wanted to take pictures too!

Nate LOVES sweets. Here he is - happy as can be with his cookies for dessert:) And, of course, his blanket is never for away.

Both of them love to help me cook dinner, which can make it messy all around. Here's Patrick stirring some soup and very proud!

This is one of my favorite pics. Patrick plays with his race cars often - re-enacting wrecks and finishes. Brian, was especially proud this night -because Patrick had built the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with his blocks - including the pagoda in the middle! What a genius!

Patrick's Soccer Uniform!

Patrick's playing Lil Kickers soccer again this fall. This time the class is divided so that first half is practice and the 2nd half is scrimmage. He loves that he gets to play "games" now! But, what he loves the most is the uniform. He's #3 & very proud!

King's Island

We went to King's Island over Labor Day weekend with Mamaw & Papop! It was a beautiful day. The boys had fun swimming at the hotel.... eating LOTS of popcorn (thanks Papop!) and playing hard at King's Island.

The car ride is always a favorite, and Nate LOVED anything he could go on with his big brother.

You can't go to an amusement park without winning a toy! Here's Patrick with his "hulk man" and Nate with this dog. They were both very proud.

Patrick thought it was cool to meet "Patrick" from Spongebog. He didn't want to say goodbye!

Nate loved the Scooby Doo Mystery Ride! Here he is trying to make ghost sounds... OOOOH!

But, Patrick's favorite part by far was Spongebob's water park that you could run thru! Brian went thru a few times and got soaked to the bone! Patrick ran thru about 15 times and could not have had more fun!

Thanks Mamaw & Papop for another fun trip!