October

Soccer
Levi and I enjoyed watching Jason's soccer game at Northwestern even though it was a little cold out!  I love one on one time with the boys.

Pumpkinland
I joined Mason and his class at Pumpkinland for a field trip!
It was fun to feed the goats.

 We learned some new things about pumpkins at Pumpkin School.  :)

 The model train set was fun to watch!

3rd Grade Play
Levi was so excited to dress up like a deer for his play that he performed at school for the 2nd, 3rd and 5th graders.

The Beauty of Fall
We found a couple of days over the first weekend in October to head to the cabin.  Dorian attempted tubing but realized when he fell in that it was much too COLD!  We had one more look at the pelicans on the rocks and then took the boat out of the water for winter.

 We saw many huge flocks of birds flying south!

 The leaves on the trees were bright yellow and there were crunchy leaves to walk in!

 The boys spent some time fishing while the docks were still in.

We spent some time packing up the shed and getting everything ready for winter before we left.  And then on our way home, we saw our first snow flurries in the air!

Recess
How fun to get a text from Mason's preschool teacher with a picture of the sidewalk chalk art that he created at recess!

Celebrating Dorian
Birthdays are so exciting!
Levi and Mason had planned out special gifts to give to their big brother.
Mason excitedly gave some baseball cards and some coins and wrapped everything himself.

 Levi made a handmade card and couldn't wait to give him a new fishing pole!

 Dorian requested Dad's homemade pizza for supper and Mom's Oreo Ice Cream Cake for dessert!

 ELEVEN candles to blow out!  We love you dearly, buddy.

 Oh no!  One left!  What could that mean?!?

Shopping
Mason went with me to do some errands in Sioux Falls one Friday while Dorian and Levi were at school.  I was able to accomplish what I wanted to do and we enjoyed our day together!  That's impressive because usually after attempting to shop with the boys, I convince myself never to do it again.  :)  Mason had fun playing with the train table at Barnes and Noble.  :)

Party Time

 Thanks to Aunt Heidi, Aniah, Eden and Adria for the Dual Ball Shooters!

 Thanks to Aunt Kerry, Ashley, Emma and Claire for the bow and arrow!

Thanks to Great Grandma Bolkema, Uncle Brian, Aunt Katherine, Mikayla and Caden for sending money and a card!

Grandpa and Grandma know what team you like!  Thank you for coming to the birthday party and for the Packers attire!

 Goldfish, Sweedish Fish and Gummy worms reminded us of our fishing loving 11 year old!

 On Sunday the Packers played!

Homemade Cider
I joined Mason and his preschool class one morning to learn how to make apple cider!  He also got to pick some apples to take home.  His favorite way to eat them was with peanut butter.  :)

Charleston, South Carolina

Friday, October 20, was our travel day and we made it for Jill's wedding rehearsal dinner that evening.  

On Saturday morning/afternoon we decided to head over to the ocean!  After looking at the weather forecast, we realized it was going to be our best day to be outside.  We didn't have a lot of time so we told the boys that we were just going to go for a walk and collect shells.  Mason spotted a park before we even reached the sand and I couldn't convince him that the ocean was going to be much more fun.  :)  So while I was watching him play at the park, Nathan sent me the following picture!  I guess just going for a walk wasn't very realistic!  Dorian and Levi were jumping in the waves in their clothes within minutes of arriving!

 Mason soon discovered the joy of the sand, shells and ocean water!

 Dorian and Levi were so excited about collecting shells!

 Dorian's collection.

 I turned around to see that Mason had written his name in the sand!  How precious.

 Levi's collection!

 Mason.

 Dorian and Levi loved jumping in the huge waves together!

Preston and Jillian's wedding! 
All the boys looked very handsome in their tuxes!

 The photographer was very sweet and let each of the boys take a picture with her camera for fun!

 The ceremony was beautiful!  Congratulations Jillian and Preston!

It was wonderful to see family and so many extended relatives.  The weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding.  The food was delicious!  The boys had fun trying every appetizer (at least once)!  By the end of the night, Mason was sleeping and Dorian and Levi were excited to light sparklers to send off Preston and Jillian!

On Sunday, we joined the Tintle relatives for brunch and then went out to the beach with Dad and Mom Tintle.  Nathan rented boogie boards for the boys!  We had fun for a short time but unfortunately it was windy, rainy and felt much colder than the day before.

On Monday, Mom and Dad Tintle took Dorian and Levi to tour a Navy aircraft carrier, destroyer and submarine. Nathan and I took Mason to the South Carolina Aquarium because it seemed to be a better fit for his age.  It was fun to let him take the lead.

 Mason took a lot of pictures of fish, including this shark photo!

 The scuba diver was waving at Mason.  :)

 Mason touched a sting ray!

 Nathan and I each took turns feeding them!

 There were many fun LEGO creations throughout the museum.

While we were eating lunch outside, we spotted dolphins swimming in the wild!
Mason got to touch a shark, alligator, turtle, horseshoe crab and starfish!

 I really enjoyed seeing the Sea Turtles!

In the afternoon, we drove to downtown Charleston and found a fantastic place to eat dessert!  Then we met up with Dorian and Levi and went out for supper with Dad and Mom Tintle.

 On Tuesday, we woke up very early to travel home.  The boys were excellent travelers!

Ice Cream
I made the boys come with me to Sioux City to return the tuxes and surprised them with a stop on the way home for ice cream at Wells Blue Bunny!  Yum.

October 27
Dorian had to get 2 permanent teeth pulled.  :(  It was hard to take him, but I'm thankful that it went as planned.

Writing
Mason has been really interested in letters, the sounds they make, and writing!  I love it when he makes something for me!

Mason worked for a long time one afternoon and surprised dad with a door full of papers when he came home from work!

Halloween
I think I was so consumed with making sure everyone had the right clothes to wear for our trip to Charleston, that I forgot about planning costumes for Halloween!  Just before supper, Levi cut out a nose and ears out of construction paper and used Molly's leash to be a dog.  Mason and I found a few things we already had in the house to dress up as well.  :)  We enjoyed a meal of Nathan's homemade pizza for supper.  Dorian did some studying for a test while I took Levi and Mason to a few houses to trick or treat.  And Dorian and Levi joined some friends that came to the door to do some trick or treating in the neighborhood.

The boys each picked their favorite candy to pass out to Trick or Treaters that came to the door and enjoyed eating some also!  Mason wanted to write a sign that said, "You may eat it" on his candy.  It was pretty sweet!

It's always fun to share the highlights of our lives together!  Even though we are keenly aware that sin and sadness affect everyone, God keeps reminding us to be thankful for the blessings all around us.