I love fall, I always have. There's so much to do! And so many chances for great photo opps :) Ryan, Liam and I have been having a good time supporting the cousins' soccer teams. Jeremiah and Benjamin are both good players and it's been really fun watching them run their tails off up and down the field.
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| I absolutely LOVE the way Jeremiah runs... he pumps those arms really hard back and forth! |
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| Such a proud player! |
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| Did I mention that Jodi is the coach? |
These two cousins are like two peas in a pod- if only we had brought another chair.
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| Liam was a very involved fan... cheering and jeering as needed. |
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| Messing with Grandma's glasses. |
Glamour shots of Liam and Daddy, Jeremiah and Coach Jodi.
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| Hi five Coach! |
Benjamin's final game was about a month later. We went last season to watch him play and he was so timid and he fell down a lot. But this game was totally different! Benjamin has a confidence now that is so wonderful to see, and he has clearly made a lot of friends on the team.
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| Benjamin, social butterfly. |
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| I'm ready for my close up! |
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| Hi guys... I'm Benjamin. I don't care if you are on the other team :) |
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| Liam came to see Benjamin's team, but had to represent Sporting KC as well. |
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| Acting as self-appointed goalie :) |
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My soccer guys.
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And then, it was time for the pumpkin patch! I absolutely love the pumpkin patch and this year we found on in Gardner, Kansas called "KC Pumpkin Patch" that was really a day long adventure. For $10 you gain entrance and get to partake in jumping mats, trains, lots of slides, petting zoo, barn games and other activities. And then, of course there is a pumpkin patch with a hayride to and from.
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| The boys in the BIG chair |
All of the cousins found their favorite thing to do.
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| Benjamin was a wonderfully protective cousin on the train. |
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| These two funny guys rode in the caboose! |
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| Ryan hates to ride bikes, but apparently doesn't mind helping Liam. |
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| Look at my little guy being so big! |
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| Pure joy from Dominic! |
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| Benjamin led the pack on the slide |
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| Ryan had as much fun as Liam |
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| This train cost $1, but at least it went a little faster and these two loved it. |
And then the boys found the Pirate Ship- and pretty much everything else didn't matter after that!
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| Captain Benjamin welcomed all to come aboard. |
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| Some of the crew found sneakier ways to come aboard. |
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| Some dangerous pirate cousins! |
But it IS a pumpkin patch after all, so while the other guys went into the corn maze (and apparently had a little bit of a problem getting out- yes, I mean the adults too), Liam, Grandma, Jenny and I hung out with the pumpkins.
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| They make great chairs too. |
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| I'll take that one over there! |
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| I got this. |
The hayride back was a good time for family photo opps.
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| Jodi and her little man (the big man was home studying). |
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| The Margherios had fun getting silly (especially Mr. Benjamin) |
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| We got a little silly too. |
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| And in the end, I tried to get a posed pic with Liam and a pumpkin. |
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| But he was more interested in the gourd instead. |
While weekends at the pumpkin patch and scheduled soccer games are a lot of fun, sometimes fall is best enjoyed in the little moments, like a quick ten minutes in the front yard playing in the leaves with Daddy.
On Thursday 18th, West held their Safe Trick or Treating event for Harvesters. It is a crowded but fun event where various clubs and organizations set up booths for kids. We went with Stacey and Vivi (the cutest pumpkin ever), and everyone loved seeing Mrs. Flurry's little Elvis. The four of us had a great, while chaotic, time!
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| The four of us as we arrived |
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| Posing for a photo opp while hoping for the candy nearby |
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| Well thank you, thank you very much |
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| Stacey and her little pumpkin |
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| What, have you never seen a mini Elvis before? |
On October 19th, the Writer's Workshop classes held its annual Writer's Walk. It was a chilly day, so Liam wore his comfy monkey outfit. Becky brought him and he had a ball! Especially when he saw the hay game!
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| Me and my comrades in arms- Lauren Scholtes and Dylan Carter, fellow WW teachers |
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| Dramatic Readings are my favorite part of Writer's Walk |
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| My student Haleigh helps Liam write on a pumpkin. |
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| But he was more interested in the hay. |
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| Which got all over him! |
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| My favorite picture of the day- my happy monkey! |
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| Lauren's little guy Reid is just 5 1/2 months younger than Liam... she had to get her fix. |
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| And then we found the rake. And nothing else mattered. |
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| Playing in the hay with a student. |
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Being goofy with Mommy.
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Finally, it was time for the Real Deal- Halloween! We had a great time in the Prairie Village shops from 4-6. It was a beautiful day, so Liam went as Elvis again. By the way, everyone seems to wonder how we got him to wear the wig for 3 hours. I just told him it was his new hat, then Ryan wore it a couple of times, and we reminded him that when we go outside we need our hats on. And that was that. Plus, I like to think that he just knows how cool he looks.
He was very popular and even got his picture taken for the Prairie Post, the online paper. It was posted by the next morning.
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| Hugging trees with Daddy |
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| Family shot hugging the tree- well, I'm bigger than the tree, but you get the idea. |
After the Village, we stopped by Pam and Tony's and then met the Margherios out in their neighborhood. Peter Pan, Bob the Builder and Elvis sure make a great trio!
It's been a busy October, but a fun one. Once again, as Marcia would say, "It's fall y'all!" Lesson well learned.
