Wheelin' & Dealin'...

I love preschool field trips.  Seriously is there anything more dreamy than discovering what a blacksmith does with a bunch of four and five-year-olds on a beautiful crisp fall morning with a baby on your back?  I am not even being sarcastic when I say there is not.

My head stone should say something like, 

"The most grateful mama in all the land to have gone on nearly every single school field trip."  

  

We went to Wheeler farm with Miss Amy's four-year-old class whom Ace is a part of.  It's comprised of all boys with the exception of two brave little girls, "The Chloes" -- whom Ace pays ZERO attention to.  :)  

I love seeing my boys with their peers.  It's fun to see when they lead, when they follow, when they speak out or when they listen intently.  So many sides to their little personalities that I get to watch when we're in a "school" setting.

Ace is such a social little bug at school.  He is also a little smartie pants.  He is quick to volunteer and give answers and he wraps his arms around little friends as they peer through animal cages.  He is also a little wild.  When the tour guide, Miss Teena, asked them to be cows in the milking barn Ace was a "wild bull" who bucked at the farmer.  Of course.  I guess they can't all be docile.  :)

The blacksmith was a hit.  Ace raced into Ryan's office afterwards to tell him all about making iron into tools and "fings".  "You have to get it really hot and when it's glowing orange you can bend it like play doh!"  It was impressive to watch and man, oh man, that Blacksmith deserved five stars for his "teaching little ones" abilities.  Rapt attention!

Boone tagged along on my back and took it all in.

He is nothing if not quietly observant, patient as can be and happy-go-lucky.

My highlight was seeing Ace interact with his brother as the "big" and not the baby.  I would have stayed at the duck pond all day to watch him wrap his arm around his baby brother and smile and coo at him... Be still my heart.

 

By the time we called it a morning, little Boone was off in La La Land, dreaming of sheep, and pigs and cows and other "fings".

And his mama had to reign herself in to not kiss those little cheeks and lips right off his face. 

Thanks for letting me tag along, fellers. 

XO

Corny...

I checked Kaelster out of school an hour or so early the other day

to fully enjoy the prettiest fall day at a fall festival with all my lads.

When I snagged Kael from the office and brought him to his brothers in the car he said, 

"Mom, do you know what happens when you get checked out?"

I could tell my big boy was MOST serious so I played right along, "NO!  What happens?"

"Well, a voice comes into our classroom 'over the air' and says, 'Mrs. Williams, Kael is being checked out.'  Then Mrs. Williams says, 'OK Kael, gather up your things, you're free to go.'  So you go to your cubby -- (only he says cuvvy and I can't bring myself to correct him) and you get your stuff, then when you're walking out everyone is like, 'OH MAN!  You're SO LUCKY!' and then you go to the office. And it's just soooo, so awesome!"

I died.

Celebrity Status via a one-hour-early impromptu pick up.

I'll take it.

Also worth noting -- they must still be little because we spent a good HOUR in the corn pit.  Boone loved it just as much as his big bros.  I loved watching it all.

I'm still finding kernels of corn here and there and it makes me smile.

There was a haunted house (rated G).

A pumpkin painting station for flexing our artistic muscles.

A corn maze that they actually found their way out of together.

Bounce houses, go carts, fighter planes, and a roller coaster.

Sadly Ace was NOT tall enough to drive a go cart but disaster was averted when we spotted the face painter and our little Tiger got his stripes for the 1,024th time.

Then there was a tiny chocolate Frosty for all from Wendy's -- 

And the happiest, most grateful, and tuckered out kiddos in all the world.

Let's clink our hot cocoa mugs together and add another swirl of whip cream, shall we?

Happy Fall Y'all.

In Da Club...

This past weekend during the down times at the "Red House" the boys built a clubhouse with their cousins.  A huge shipping container had been included in a delivery and Grandpa & Grandma left it out knowing a few little folks with big imaginations would put it to good use.

Sure enough, nails, hammers, screws, drills, and saws found their way out of the garage and into the little clubhouse where busy hands crafted chairs and shelves and tables for their new space.

It was so fun to watch them busy at work.  Plus it entertained them for hours on end.  They asked for a clubhouse sign, which we helped them create and hang.  They used old deer horns as "coat hooks" and made "pretend axes and hammers" to decorate the walls with.  They fashioned a door knob of sorts with PVC pipe and a tennis ball to ensure privacy.  It was adorable.

I'm sure the clubhouse will be a source of entertainment for many trips to come.

Behind the clubhouse is the ever popular "sand pit".  This trip Wyatt showed Dax the art of building an irrigation system for their make-believe farm.  There was a water tank, an "upper reservoir", a canal system, a ditch, a lower reservoir.  It was impressive.  I'm thinking we'll have to take down our little collection of plastic farm animals for the next trip so you can really understand the entire cartography of the farm and it's water system.  :)

Play is work for little minds according to Grandma Gail, the educator.

I'd say it was a highly educational weekend at Wayne Wonderland.

40 weeks...

Today our little Boone Raef is 40 weeks old.

Nine months in - Nine months out...

And he's shakin' all about.

There was a moment in December of last year when I knew he would be a busy bee.  We were sitting at a greasy spoon in Heber after a night of tubing in the snow at Soldier Hollow.  The boys were flying high and we were trying to calm them before our food arrived.  I said, "Watch your baby brother -- he is almost as jazzed about tonight as you guys."  And we all watched as Boone waved hello - kicked with glee - and spun about in my womb like a regular little tornado.  My stomach lurched and morphed right before all of our eyes and that was when Boone became the most real to me and probably to his brothers.  Another little lad to love and adore.  I don't know how we got all the very best ones.  :)

I feel so lucky when I see him healthy as can be.  As hard as it is to watch him achieve milestones in record time, I wouldn't have it any other way.  It's a blessing that he is growing and developing and getting big (despite my heart strings that protest on the regular).

At nine months Boone loves:

His Brothers

His Dad's whiskers

Being Outside

Tagging along in the Baby Back Pack

Baths and Water

Food that he can feed himself

His Bottles (But Mama has to hold it for him)

Kitchen utensils

Exploring in every drawer and cabinet and garbage can and toilet

His Mama :)

Boone doesn't love being left alone.  (It's far too quiet for him)

Holding his own bottle

Pacifiers (much to my dismay)

Holding Still, Especially when getting his diaper changed.

Snuggling to fall asleep.  Give that boy his space!

He just had his first tooth cut through his little gums this weekend.  It's his bottom right one and it caused us all quite a bit of grief.  He went on his first elk hunt this weekend and he has decided cheese & chocolate is where it's at.  :)

We love you little busy body.

Thanks for coming to join our circus!

XO Always.

Elk Songs & Sentiment...

My boys are going to think going on a bull elk hunt is an annual thing.

We've gotten so lucky and become somewhat accustomed to someone in the family drawing a tag for a bull elk.   Well gents... You don't know how lucky you are.

Ryan and I wanted them to be there.  We wanted them to hear the music of the elk.  To listen to those big animals sing their haunting notes.  Watching little men crane their necks and hold their breath as they waited for the next bellow in one of nature's best songs was a favorite moment.

We wanted them to see the vibrant gold leaves in the sun rays juxtaposed against the evergreen trees - that color palette with it's prismatic light belongs solely to Mother Nature.  A camera can never quite do it justice, but when you witness it with your own eyes, you know you're seeing a masterpiece.  

We wanted them to think they were part of Grandpa's big bull hunt.  When my sister-in-law, Carrie got her world record elk two years ago, my Kael "was there".  And by that I mean he was at the Wayne house with Grandma and Sophie, but when they got the call on the radio that a kill had been made, they jumped in the truck and helped load that big animal off the mountain.  If you could hear him talk about it you might think he actually made the kill shot.  In his mind he played an integral role from start to finish and he was a key part of the hunting posse that shot the trophy elk.  We wanted a similar situation for Dax and Ace and even little Boone.

So we schlepped.  I packed every article of tiny camouflage clothing our house holds.  I planned layers for varying temperatures, and boots for snow, and boots for hiking, and hats for tiny noggins. And we made it to our spot.

It was worth it.  They heard the song of the elk.  They saw the colors of fall.  They smelled Mother Nature's sweet breath and they "helped" load Grandpa's big bull elk off the mountain side.

We did it all in the territory that their Great Grandpa Torval helped establish.  He built roads there.  He hunted there.  He logged there.  He employed many locals there and it's somewhat revered ground to us now, as we've heard the stories of our ancestors who spent their days and nights in this beautiful country.

Will they remember all the details?  Nah.  But I hope they remember being together in a beautiful place.  I hope they remember the feeling the warmth and love of family, despite fall's chilly temperatures.  And I hope they remember how generations all came together with one common goal.

 

 There is so much we can't control in parenthood... but we can look back for inspiration and look forward with motivation and expose our babies to the best of who we are.  When we press repeat on the favorite parts of our history, we mindfully sculpt and shape theirs.

 The trophy this weekend was two-fold.  A trophy elk that Grandpa bagged.  And award winning memories with some of our own as we add pages to the greater legacy.

Thanks for letting us ALL be part of it, Dad.  You're passing the torch.  And as their parents we will feed the flames, inspired by the sentimental depth of our own memories you & Mom created for us.