Pumpkin Carving Time!

It was finally time to carve the pumpkins from the pumpkin patch! Mom scooped out the guts, Dad was the official carver and Sam designed the faces.

Sam wanted to carve his pumpkin just
like in his "Five Little Pumpkins" book.

Dad working hard -- he's a great pumpkin carver!

The final product -- and a sneak
peak at the boys' costumes!

Sacked Out

After spending a great day with his Dad at the Portland Children's Museum, Sam was having a little quiet time in his room. He was so worn out he fell asleep on his beanbag reading "his Bible". For some reason he has taken the book Emma and started calling it his "Bible" -- we don't know why.

Haven't we all fallen asleep reading our Bibles at one time or another?

Family, Friends & Fun

This past weekend we headed up for a visit to Poppy and Grammie's house. The boys had fun spending time with them and doing all the fun things there are to do there.

Sam loves to "make bubbles" in the sink. Armed with a turkey
baster and an egg beater he can get quite a bunch of bubbles.

The boys loved getting to see Auntie Paula!

Saturday afternoon we headed to the bowling alley to meet up with the cousins for a little fun. Five bowlers between the ages of three and seven provided much amusement.

At one point, Eli threw the ball overhand down the lane, Kate had a ball going so slow that someone had to go get it and Mae made the only strike! I am amazed that there were no dents in the floor -- balls were dropped more than rolled in this game. It was a little crazy -- but they all had fun!

Mae, Eli, Kate & Sam watching the action.

Sam liked to use the ramp when he bowled.

Zak and Dad hanging out at the ball return.

Sam barely edged out Ava for the win. Grammie pointed out
that his score is higher than her normal score!

Brunch with Grammie and Poppy after church!

Mr. Independent

Yep -- Zak is getting to that stage where he wants to do everything by himself -- and he's not afraid to let you know when you're interfering!

Last night at dinner he decided that he preferred to eat all his food by himself -- nothing on a spoon from Mom. Why he chose chicken enchilada night to start this, I don't know. Very messy -- but he was quite pleased with himself.

He insisted on using a spoon -- he loved putting it in his mouth. He also attempted numerous times to put food on it -- unfortunately gravity got in his way every time.

He went straight from the highchair to the bathtub -- he required more than a damp paper towel. It's a good thing he loves bath time!

The man in charge!

Don't be fooled by the spoon in his
mouth -- there was nothing on it!

Food on the spoon attempt #37.

The food with fingers worked every time!

He loved chicken enchiladas!

Zak's Favorite Shelf

This evening Zak spent about 15 minutes amusing himself with the bottom shelf. He cleared it out and proceeded to play with puzzle pieces. He was having a great time -- but every time I went to take his picture, he would stop what he was doing and flash me a grin!

I was so hoping he would fall asleep in the shelf -- but no such luck. That would have been the perfect picture!

Doing a puzzle Zak's way -- free form!

Getting cozy.

Just lounging around!

Sam's Bible Study

A few weeks ago I started the fall Bible Study at our church -- we're doing Beth Moore's Esther study. It's very good. In an attempt to get it done with a little peace and quiet, I've been getting up early and doing it before the boys get up.

This was working well until last week, when Sam started getting up earlier. So, I told him I was doing my Bible study, but he could read books quietly on the couch while I worked on it. Sam decided he was going to have a Bible study too -- so he got out his Adventure Bible and his notebook and pencil and sat down next to me. He wanted to know what I was reading about. I told him we were studying the story of Esther -- and showed him where it was in his Bible -- we had just read it together a couple of weeks ago. Then he wanted me to write "Esther" on his paper. He then proceeded to write out "Esther" and the number reference that was in his Bible -- we didn't even know he could write numbers!

The next morning, he was up early again -- so he got his Bible and his notebook and told me he was going to work on his Bible study too -- he wasn't finished with Esther yet. He's done this almost every morning for the last week -- sometimes he's even done it all by himself! He has wrapped up Esther and has now moved on to David and Goliath.

Although there are quite a few more distractions with Sam joining my Bible study time -- the questions are abundant! -- I'm more than happy to encourage him!

Sam's notebook page on Esther.

Sam's notes on David and Goliath.

Sam's First Field Trip

Today was Sam's first field trip! His preschool class went to a really neat pumpkin patch. It had a hay pyramid with tunnels, a maze, lots of animals to pet and a hay ride. But Sam was most excited about riding on a school bus!

Matthew went along to help out so he was able to get a few pictures of Sam's fun day.

Sam's class on the bus.

Looking at all the animals.

Sam petting the calf.

Those are some big tires!

Climbing the hay pyramid.

Getting ready to go through another tunnel!