Love our Fall Hikes ...

One of my favorite activities we do as a family is hiking out by the lake and at the dog park. This is especially enjoyable in the fall because the weather is pleasant and the colors of nature are just exploding! Plus, the kiddos just love to get out and be free. During these hikes, we really don't have any deep life-changing conversations, but we do get to see a side of the boys we don't always see when we are in town. They just seem so much more relaxed. As do Corey and I, I suppose. Below are a couple of pictures we snapped along the way. The first two are my favorite. Mostly, because this scene is natural, not posed. All three of the guys were just taking a break, taking in the scenery and it was just perfect. I had to play around with adding some layers to the photo - I still can't decide which I like best. Love my guys so much!

The boys, Katie and I in the thick of the fall foliage. Love it!

Reindeer Gage = )

Big rock

Silly boy

As much as Riley loves to run, he never wants to leave the river's edge. He truly loves just sitting here and taking in nature. This place just calms him. It's beautiful.

Gage backed into a hollowed out tree. I wish I could remember all the crazy tales our storyteller was creating about this tree. Such an imagination!

Another tree that had mushrooms growing out of the side. Just thought it was cool.

Another of Riley's favorite places, listening to the waterfall.

Riley's new favorite time passer ...

So Riley is completely and totally obsessed with trying to climb to the top of everything right now. Trees, fences, the roof of our house (!!!!!), the walls inside our house (!!!!!) - oh, he is so agile and determined it is almost scary sometimes. Here are a few pics of his accomplishments = )

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Riley

Now I see him!

Totally natural, just maxin' and relaxin' in the tree yo!

How does he even think to do this? There is no surface he will not try to conquer!

Boys being silly ...

What boy doesn't love a big dirt pile?
Riley certainly does - he played on this thing for hours!

Gage specifically asked for me to take a picture of him "being a bathing beauty" -
Where does he come up with this stuff?

Road trip to Pratt - Corey "loving" the drive - me loving the rainbow in the background!

Gage's "video game face" - total concentration!

Dressing up in daddy's shirts

Proof that sometimes they really like each other and don't need to be constantly wrestling!

Chair gymnastics

Cool dude

Gage can't get enough baths now that we have "bath crayons" -
this boy sure loves to get his art on!

The outfits this boy comes up with crack me up. Here he is a  "hunterman vampire cowboy!"
Oh Gage, may your silly imagination continue to flourish!

Sword wielding ninja pajama boy!

Bye Bye Tooth #2!

The second bottom tooth fell out, soon the ol' grey tooth on top will follow suit - can't wait!

The next generation hunter ...

Corey took Riley along on his first dove hunt this year and boy oh boy was Riley excited! Unfortunately my mind was lost as usual and I didn't get pics to document their first haul - 2 birds. Corey was a little disappointed as usually he gets his limit, but the time spent with Riley far outweighed any number of birds! Riley didn't shoot any birds this year, but he got a lot of practice blowing the tops off of sunflowers = )

Another lesson in gun safety

A quick pose before the expedition

Showing some crazy cool moves - 'cuz that's totally part of hunting ; )

Making a deal with the faithful bird dog, Katie = )

Our little pumpkins ...

The boys pretty much did their own designs and most of their own carving this year. They are so proud of their pumpkins! And, of course, Corey and I are very proud of our "little pumpkins" - they are getting so independent sometimes it scares me and other times it just makes me so happy to see them growing up so much!

Mazzy checking out the Jack O' Lanterns -
owning a black cat = automatic Halloween decoration = )

Cheesing it up checking out the insides

Grrrr ... psycho bad guy Halloween faces

Just being silly

And some more!

Sunday Bonding ...

So we've started some one on one time with the boys every Sunday after church. First we go to church as a family, then out to lunch. Then we split off in pairs - Riley and Corey to Kung Fu class and Gage and I to Art class. We are having so much fun and learning so much together! I need to get a pic of Corey and Riley doing some Kung Fu moves, but in the meantime here's Gage with 2 of his favorite art pieces - the boy most surely does love his creepy characters!

Freaky Frank and Spooky Skull

Our little William Tell ...

 Corey has been teaching Riley to shoot the bow and he is a natural! The look of pride on Riley's face when he makes a great shot is only matched by the look of pride on his daddy's face = )

Loading the arrow

Getting the target in sight

The pull back and release

Right on target!

Riley lost his first tooth! (finally ....)

Shee!



Shmile = )



First Day(s) of School ...

This year, the boys' first days of school were staggered. Riley started on Wednesday, then Gage on Thursday. It turned out to be a good thing - Riley got to feel special as the big brother getting to go first, while Gage got to feel special by having an extra day with mom all to himself. I am so excited as the new school year starts and wish the boys much success!

Riley's first day - li'l brother waiting in the wings.

Thumbs up! Let's get this party started!!!

Gage's first day. Excited and a little nervous at first - but he ended up having a fantastic day!

Getting a little more excited now ...

The boys together.

He we go!

After doing such a great job on their first days we went to 3 Spoons to celebrate. A yummy way to celebrate the big day!

Roller Skating!

So, on the last weekend before school starts, we thought we'd take the boys to do something they've never done before - Roller skating a skating rink. Wow, this was so fun - and boy, did we get our exercise! I forgot what a great workout this can be!!! Also, they had these great "trainers" the kids could use until they mastered their balance. Such a great idea! Riley did pretty well right off the bat and used his trainer more for a trick supporter than anything else. Gage, on the hand, was just crazy. He would just go as fast as he could until his feet either could no longer keep up or got tangled up amongst themselves and he'd crash. So silly! Can't wait to do this again - sure wish we had one of these in Lawrence!

Daddy giving Gage a few lessons before we let him loose on the rink.

Riley all strapped in and ready to go!

This was a pretty common sight = )~

Riley skating like a pro!

Oops! A little spill just as the camera snapped. Of couse, he still has a smile on his face = )

Taking a break.

Showing off some skills!