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!