What a busy, busy month! (lots of pics)

As if life with 2 kids could be anything but, right? We started out with a visit to Thomas the Tank engine, as you've probably seen in a previous post. But that's not all! These kids keep me going: pear harvesting, chick petting, generally goofing off and of course, Halloween!

This photo falls under the 'generally goofing off" category. I was working and the boys came into the office to show off Gavin's "rock star" costume. Fabulous!


We harvested an incredible amount of pears from a neighbor's tree. We had 4 groups picking pears and there were still more than we could possibly use.

Gwydion found the perfect pear.

Gavin helped too!
Break time!

And then it was back to Grandma's house for playtime.

And a visit with the new chicks.

Gavin got some snuggle time with Grandma.

We were also lucky enough to have a short visit with Papa Rick. I don't have a lot of pictures because the boys were too busy running in circles. I could barely get them to sit still for this one!

And... another goof off pic. Michael got the boys a DDR mat, in anticipation of a long, cold winter of homeschooling. Watching them try it out was hilarious.

Toward the end of the month, I realized that we hadn't yet bought pumpkins, so off we went. Gwydion found a pumpkin drum.

Of course, both boys picked out pumpkins very quickly.

I tried to get them to sit still for a nice pic...

...but they really wanted to run circles around the hay bales.

and visit the scarecrow.

There were also sorts of animals to pet. Goats, sheep, alpacas, and even some oxen.

And ponies to ride. Gavin sang a song about riding a horse the whole time.

On the way home, we had ice cream. In Grandma's car!

At home, Papa helped with the carving. The boys insisted that the insides were too gooey and the needed gloves.

They both look a little grossed out, don't they?

But in the end the sticky mess was worthwhile.

Trick-or-treat!

Day Out with Thomas

Last weekend was our annual family vacation to see Thomas the Tank Engine in Oklahoma City. Sure it is only 2 hours away, but the boys love it. We stay in a hotel for a night, which they love almost as much as they love seeing Thomas. And of course we eat out for every meal which is also quite a treat. Here are a few pics of the happy little guys. The event is held at the Oklahoma Railway Museum, so there are several old steam and diesel engines on the premises, as well as other types of cars.

Gavin and Gwydion were so excited to get inside that they could barely stand still for this pic.

They both very much enjoy playing trains.

And here they are finally getting to meet Thomas. Gavin was too busy staring to turn around for the picture.
This is their favorite engine aside from Thomas. It is one of the oldest engines in Oklahoma, built in the late 1800s. Gavin loves anything with gears or wheels and was rather disappointed that he couldn't make the big wheels turn.



There's also a caboose from late 1800s, which you can see below. The staff at the museum is working to restore it.



And finally, here's a picture of Gwydion, posing with the statue of an engineer.

September, school, and more!

Wow it has been a busy few months! I've been neglectful of this blog, I'm afraid. We've had a wonderful summer with lots of swimming, trips to the zoo, bike rides, etc. Oh and we got a video camera, which Michael was supposed to use to take videos of the kids. Gwydion has taken it over though, and records endless play sessions with trains, cars, and even his own music videos.


Without a doubt, this is our favorite thing to do at the zoo. Who needs animals when there are trains to ride?

The playground is a close second, of course.

We've also had loads of fun with Legos, of which both boys are very fond.

And even a little brotherly snuggle time.

There is even snuggle time on the computer! I'm so glad they're finally starting to get along.

We've also had birthday parties with water balloons....

and indoor playgrounds...

and of course, pizza!

We've also started school at home. Gwydion loves it and he's learning so much!

Pictures from the end of June.

How did July get here already? June flew by. It was a busy month, even more so than usual. Gwydion's school had a fundraiser/art show which we attended. Gwydion was in one of the performances, singing train songs with his classmates.

Gwydion graduated from Kindergarten. He received awards for walking 25 miles over the course of the year for the school's track fundraiser. He also got a book club award for reading over 2700 minutes.



We went to the zoo:



Played some music:


Added on to the shed, thanks to Papa and Gwydion:


Did some art projects:


And of course, opened the pool!!! This is where they spend the majority of their outside time. They're both little fish.


And this is what happens post-pool party.

A quick little update before summer really gets started...

Gwydion recreates the set from one of his favorite music videos. The boy LOVES Animusic. If you're not familiar with it, you can check it out here: http://www.animusic.com/

It really is pretty neat.

The finished set. We had to take LOTS of pictures from several different angles for his photo album.

Sweet little angels reading together. Things like this do happen sometimes!

Gavin gets creative and decides the roof pieces for his train station are shoes.

Treasure hunting at the lake!

For us, that means walking around until you see something metal, then using the metal detector on it to confirm. Silly boys! We did find a few neat things though, shells, some fish bones, and we saw lots of turtles and birds.

And of course, we stopped at the playground. These boys love to swing!


Gavin takes a quick break before heading back to the swings.

Gwydion's 6th Birthday

Gwydion had a fantastic birthday. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited! He had a cake with a big number six and some sparkler candles and Wall-e cupcakes. Both were a big hit.

The sparkler candles were really cool but a little hard to blow out. So of course, Mom helped.

Gwydion carefully selected presents to open in an order known only to him.

He had a fantastic time opening all of his presents, especially since Dad was there to help with the tough boxes.

The party lasted for about two hours, with fun and games and racing around outside. Even after the guests left, Gwydion wasn't ready for a break. He had to test all of the new colors in his giant box of crayons. And of course, nothing would but for Gavin to choose a separate activity- making animals out of Playdoh. Good thing Dad has some artistic talent. He and Gavin made cute little turtles, frogs, birds and ducks.