Halloween '14

After much deliberation, the boys both decided to be pirates for Halloween this year. And of course, what pirate is complete without his ship? Once the bug was planted in Marc's ear, he really got into the idea (no surprise there) and had the boys helping him every step of the way. Jack christened their pirate ship the "Binkie Bouncer", and after only one trip to Home Depot for cardboard, the ship's construction had begun. Marc exceeded my expectations by a mile. I had tried showing him photos of pirate ships that I'd found online, but he scoffed at the idea of following anyone's design but his own. Because he is obsessed with illumination, he added orange and yellow lights to the mast, and had blue lights under the ship to represent water. My grand idea was to add strobe lights to the cannons, which Marc then hooked up to a switch that Jack operated from the back (or rather, the aft). Believe it or not, these are all things that we just had laying around in the garage. (I am not sure if this makes us crafty and creative, or just hoarders.) In addition to their work on the Binkie Bouncer, the boys also helped me with their costumes, and were proud little pirates on a slightly rainy October 31.

Decorating their spy glasses

Sam covered his spy glass in sequin jewels.

The Binkie Bouncer

Captain Jack

Swashbuckling Sammy

Arrrrgh!

Avast!

Halloween with the Wolf Pack

Autumn Adventures

After we arrived back home from our wintery weekend in New Hampshire, it was time to switch gears and get back into the Halloween spirit. We were up to our usual fall favorites...trips to Manfredi Farms for pumpkins, visits to the cider mill, the annual Raploski trip to Buttonwoods farm for the corn maze and other adventures, and a trip to the Roger Williams Zoo for the Jack-o-Lantern Spooktacular. My parents came into town for a visit shortly before Halloween, so they were able to join us for some of the fun. Sadly, a lot of the photos were on my phone, which happened to fly off of my car windshield before I could upload them, but here are some of the photos that did make it!

Jack and Sam ride the hay wagon at cousin Kasey's school party.

Construction worker Jack hangs with the big kids at Solitude Springs.

I am obsessed with this jack-o-lantern from the Spooktacular.

Sammy at Manfredi Farms

Goooo Spartans!

Obligatory hay bale photo at Manfredi Farms

Croquet with a wooden shoe

Carving pumpkins with Daddy

Once it was time to scoop pumpkin guts, Jack decided it was time to take a break from "that disgusting smell."

A Weekend in New Hampshire

As Marc is wont to do a few days before a long weekend, he told me that he wanted to take the boys to New Hampshire over Columbus Day weekend a mere 2 days prior. As I am wont to do because I require notice for such things, I initially said no. (Am I really that same girl who once moved to California on a whim?) But then I thought about it, and realized that these boys aren't going to be little forever, so we may as well take spontaneous trips while we can. So we loaded up the truck and headed up to the world's tiniest cabin in the White Mountains. The boys were SO EXCITED when we got there because it was child-sized AND they got to share a bedroom. They were even more excited when we told them that the next morning we were headed to Santa's Village. They jumped on my and Marc's bed yelling "YAY!!", then Jack said, "Sam, let's go say 'yay' on our bed!" so they ran like 18 inches to the next room and jumped on their own bed yelling "YAY!!". Finally they calmed down and snuggled up in their cozy little room, while Marc and I watched television in the living room/kitchen right on the other side of the thin wall.

On the train at Santa's Village

No grown-ups allowed!

The boys found all 26 elves!

Jack's first 3D movie.

Sam didn't keep the glasses on for long.

Feeding Santa's reindeer some carrots

Flying high

Sam checking out Jack and Daddy on the chimney drop

Jack and Daddy brave the Flume (the 2nd of only 2 rides that Sam couldn't ride)

The next morning was so freaking cold, but Marc and the boys went out and played on the two playgrounds at the "resort". Then we headed into the beautiful mountains for a day at Santa's Village, a Christmas theme park. It sounds super tacky, but for a Christmas-themed park, it was actually pretty well done. There weren't any creepy characters walking around, and if you wanted to see Santa, you had to go find him in his cabin. The rides were awesome, all geared toward kids, and Jack and even Sam could ride the majority of them. Both boys had a blast on the rides, and looking for elves throughout the park. Sam wasn't crazy about visiting Santa, but Jack didn't hesitate to tell him that he wanted a "remote control police vehicle with buttons on the side and a remote control."

Greeting some of the many deer at the Polar Caves

Crouching Dragon Hidden Tiger

So, so steep

Exiting one of the caves

The lovely White Mountains

Love.

My boy

Miner 49ers

For our last day in New Hampshire, we drove down the Kancamagus highway to see the gorgeous White Mountain foliage, then took a trip to the Polar Caves, which were formed by falling boulders thousands of years ago when a glacier passed through (or something like that...). The scenery around the Polar Caves was stunning, and worth the trip, but the caves might not have been the best bet for our crew...they were difficult to pass through as they are super narrow, we had to carry Sam up and down steep steps, and I kicked Jack in the eye while trying to get up the stairs in one of the caves. But despite this, the boys had fun and even went "mining" for gems afterward. Marc bought Jack a suction cup bow and arrow in the gift shop, and of course on the way home when we asked Jack what he liked best about the weekend, he told us that he couldn't wait to tell his friends and teachers about his ($8) bow and arrow... Ahh, memories...

School Days

Oh boy. I'd planned on keeping up with this blog throughout our busy fall, but apparently life got in the way. But I just can't skip such an important time in our family's life...Jack is now in school! Well, preschool, two mornings each week. He did so well on his first day of school, the only one crying was Mommy (but only after I walked out; I didn't want Jack to feel badly). I was so proud of him, Jack's teacher told me that Jack was a "kind friend" who helped the other children who were having a tougher time there. Jack even did well the following week when Marc and I went on our first vacation away from the kids. I was freaking out that Jack would have a difficult time with all of the changes happening at once, but he (and Sam) had a ball with their Grammys while we were gone, and Jack's teacher again said that Jack did great at school, and that he's a very well-adjusted child.

Preschool orientation

Ready for his first day

Buddies

I am so proud of Jack for his kindness and for adjusting so well to a new routine. I miss my sidekick, but also appreciate the time that we have together when he is home with me. And let's face it...there are times when we both need a break from each other! Sam is still attending the parent-child class at the Waldorf school with me on Wednesday mornings, and it's fun to see him there "on his own", without his big brother. He's really coming into his own as well, and I could not be more happy that both of my boys are happy!

...sniff...

Getting down to business