Unseasonably Warm! (November 1-12)

What a fun couple of weeks we've had!  I will take this warm weather in November any year!!!

It was my crazy idea to have the boys rake up leaves and put them on the trampoline.  I didn't realize that they would then rake the neighbors lawns as well!  The fun they had for the following couple of days was well worth all the work it was to clean up the messes.  :)

 Mason went on a Fall treasure hunt at preschool and came home with these fun things!

It was fun to have a pumpkin patch in our garden this year!  And it's also fun to have the yard and garden cleaned up and ready for winter.  Love my pumpkin décor.  :)

Amazing.  The weather was so beautiful, it called for a picnic lunch with Mason!  Not every lunch is a fruit smoothie and a salad from the local Farmer's Market...but it's worth noting when it is!  Yummy and healthy!

Last Saturday, the 5th, was predicted to be sunny, a high of 74 degrees and not windy.  And that's actually what happened!  So thankfully we were able to take advantage of it and head over to the Lakes.  It was fun to take my parents along too and have a hand with putting the fishing boat in the water for the first time!

 It was also a good day to throw rocks in the water!

My heart was happy!  I really didn't think I wanted anything to do with the old, junky boat that Nathan purchased, but when we went on it for the first time, I was pretty excited.  :) 

 Levi claimed his seat!

 From the looks of it, Nathan was pretty happy too!  Love new adventures with my boys.

Dad, Nathan and the boys went out to see if they could catch any fish.  Some relatives that we ran into gave us some minnows they were finished with.  It provided some good entertainment and Dorian caught a fish with one of them!!!

 Mom and I soaked in as much sun and warmth as we could while the boys were fishing.

 Wow, nice catch Dorian!

 Mason told me that he caught 9 fish when they returned and then showed me how!  :)

 Some beautiful views from our cabin! 

We went out for supper with Dad and Mom and ate outside at the Okoboji Store overlooking the lake.  It felt like it could have been summer.  Such a fun day!

Dorian took home this project that he worked on at school.  Check out all of these great Statistics.  :)

Oh boy...this time change has been rough for Mason.  Plus he's had a cough for a long time now that he just can't get over.  :(

Nathan and Dorian went on the fishing trip he was promised on his birthday.  They stayed at the cabin last night and went fishing today.  He came home full of stories and excited about all of their adventures.  So thankful they could spend some quality time together!

October 2016

October 7: Dorian and Nathan left for a cadet campout so I took Levi and Mason to the Children's Museum!  They had fun playing together!

Happy 10th Birthday, Dorian!

Levi was so proud of the gift he gave and he couldn't wait for Dorian to open it!  How sweet! It was a card and colored silly putty.

 Dorian's favorite team is the Green Bay Packers!

 A new tackle box!

 And it even came with some tackle to get started!

 Nathan wrote him a note that says he'd like to take him fishing!

Reading a birthday card from Grandpa and Grandma Tintle.  And their gift came in the mail later.  He's very excited to have his own set of golf clubs!

Opening a devotional with a note from me.

 Brownies were a perfect after school birthday treat!

Charlotte's Web day in 2nd grade!
Levi couldn't wait to show his friends Charlotte...or more precisely, scare them with his gigantic scary spider!

 Spending the morning at the Apple Orchard!

 What a beautiful Fall morning with Mason!

 I think the Connell Red apples that we picked were the best I've ever tasted!

 Our preschool friends that joined us there!

Dorian's birthday party with his friends.
I was excited to get ready to have Dorian's friends at our house!

Jaden, Asa, Ethan, Brady and Noah.  What a great group of boys!  They ate cake and ice cream.  Dorian opened his presents.  They had a nerf gun war downstairs and played outside a lot!  We  roasted hot dogs and s'mores over a campfire.  And as it got dark, they played ghost in the graveyard.  I'm thankful that they had fun!

Birthday party with the Bolkema's.

Dorian was thankful for the Nerf gun and darts since he loves having Nerf gun wars!  And he also liked the candy and money!  Thanks everyone for spoiling him!

Since Dorian loves Mario Kart and Mario Brothers lately, we decided that it would be fun and entertaining to have a Mario Kart tournament!  Everyone played and the final winner was Ashley!  I think Grandpa and Great Grandma were the most fun to watch! 

 Mason has just started to figure out how to play and loves it too!

It was pretty special to have a Dairy Queen ice cream cake (at Dorian's request)!  Yum.  I love them too!

Sandy Hollow
Nathan took Mason to Sandy Hollow one quiet Sunday afternoon.  I love it when Nathan can find time to spend with his boys!

Park
It was fun for me to spend some time with Mason at the park.  The leaves were gorgeous, the sky was beautiful and the temperature was perfect!

Love how this turned out!
I really enjoyed walking down every aisle at Hobby Lobby to find the perfect containers to fit in this old soda box.  The box came from my Aunt Brenda's dad who owned a grocery store in Hull.  Love how it turned out and I love Hobby Lobby.  :)

Grandparent's Day
Grandparent's Day is so special for the boys!  Grandpa and Grandma Bolkema and Grandpa and Grandma Tintle were able to go this year!  Levi was bouncing off the walls with enthusiasm! 

While Grandpa and Grandma Tintle were visiting, we went to Sioux City to check out a new spot, Adams Homestead and Nature Preserve.

 The boys loved the animals!

 We attempted to take a family picture.  :)

 If only my boys loved family pictures as much as I do!  :)

 And then we went to the Lewis and Clark Museum which we hadn't ever visited. 

Baking Badge
Dorian worked persistently to earn his baking badge for Cadets!  He made chocolate chip cookies which we delivered to Mrs. Heynen.  He made brownie cupcakes which he shared with his friends at Cadets.  And he made homemade dinner rolls for our Sunday dinner!  What a treat!

New Adventures!
It's hard to believe that it's true...but we purchased (with the help of the bank) a little cabin that is right in between Little Spirit and Big Spirit Lake!  And the week after the closing happened, Nathan also purchased a small used fishing boat!  We were pretty excited to show the boys!

It turned out to be a cold, windy, and mostly rainy day so we turned on the heat inside and played some games!

Levi found his favorite spot!

 The footstool was just the perfect height for Mason!

 Thanks to our realtor for this fun blanket!

 We decided that there was a cubby for everyone in our family, plus Molly!

Nathan walked over to the public beach with Mason and found a couple of other fun spots to hike together while I went with the older boys to pick up pizza for supper.

Our top reasons for buying a cabin: quality family time while the boys are growing up, alternative investment, and a significant tax benefit (due to Nathan's consulting work/book sales income). 

Halloween

Levi was excited to be a vampire and Dorian decided just before we left for the Hallelujah party to be a Ninja!

 Mason made a super cute Fire Fighter!