Jenna (one of Erik's sisters) and I have every Wednesday off so we try to get together to play at least a couple times a month.  That's not as easy as it sounds when there are 4 kids and 4 different nap schedules to follow!!  A few weeks ago we took advantage of a warm, sunny fall day and went to the apple orchard.  It was great because the place is basically deserted on Wednesday mornings so we had the tractor ride to ourselves and our pick of the apples! 

Mason (20 months), Violet (3), Isaac (9 months), Kade (5)

One of my absolute favorite pictures of the Mason Man!

Could he be any more proud of the ginormous apple he just picked?!?

The apple bags were kind of small.

A few apples (about 3 per child, except Isaac) may have been partially consumed 

before ever reaching the inside of the bag.

My mom's side of the family came over for a little get together a couple Saturday's ago.  The boys could not get enough of Lauren and Zach (my cousin's kids).  Hard to believe Zach and Lauren were the ring bearer and flower girl in our wedding when they were the same ages that Kade and Mason are now!

Morning Car Conversation With Kade and Mason

Kade:  Do all kids grow up to be adults and dads?

Me:  Yes, they all grow up to be adults but not all of them become dads.

Kade:  Do I have to get married?

Me:  No, you can do whatever you want when you become an adult.

Kade:  Good, because I just want to marry you.  But what can I do if I don't get married?

Me:  You could do anything.  You could get a job or travel.

Kade:  I think I'll get a job.  I think I'll be the guy that puts gravel down and then drives a steamroller over it!  And, also I'm going to build decks.

Me:  That sounds like a good plan!

Mason:  Mom? Mom? Mama? Mom?

Kade:  I'll probably need to buy a bobcat when I become an adult.  And a skid steer.

Me:  What Mason?

Mason:  Hi.

Me:  Hi, Mason!  Kade, are you going to build houses too?

Kade:  Yep!

Me:  Good!  You can build me a house!

Kade:  Mom, I can't do that until I'm an adult.  And, you'd need to call the right cell phone number to get a hold of me.  If you call the wrong number, I won't answer.

Me:  Are you going to give me your phone number so I can call you?

Kade:  Ummm....(overly long pause while he thinks about it)....sure.  But I might be pretty busy.

Mason:  BYE BYE!!!  BYE BYE!!!!

Kade:  Bye bye Mason!  I'll see you when I pick you up and we can have snacks with Dad!!

We took our last camping trip of the season the first weekend in October.  It was a perfect fall weekend, crisp air and warm sun!  It was the first time we've ever camped with the boys when we had to use the furnace.  Good news, the furnace works :-)

Kade was so excited to fish.  He was certain we were going to have a fish fry for lunch that day.  Unfortunately the fish just weren't biting.  There could have been any number of reasons why:  the "Cars" fishing pole, the lack of bait, the 5 year old in charge of casting the line….  

…but he sure did look cute trying!!  And he had fun--that's all that matters.

Poor Mason had to deal with my "death grip" while we were standing on the dock.  There was absolutely no way I was setting him down!  

After a short time Kade got bored with the dock and my arms/back were beyond numb from holding the little grizzly bear for that long.  So, we moved on to the beach where Mason could dump sand on his head and Kade could see if those elusive fish were hanging out there.  They weren't.

Eventually Mason got sick of wearing his hat and Kade got sick of holding the pole so I took over both duties.  Luckily the campground wasn't very busy that weekend so no one was around to see me :-)

The boys' new favorite spot to play with their toys--on the table right in front of the tv.

I just love this picture!  

Someone had just asked him where his nose was, I swear he's not picking it!!

Builder Boys

These boys like to build!  They like to play with Erik's tools.  They like to hammer nails into random pieces of wood.  Kade's idea of a good time on a Saturday afternoon is to build something.  He whines and cries until Erik comes up with a building project for them to work on.  

One time Erik and I randomly mentioned that we should build a little shed for all of the boy's outdoor toys.  Kade happened to hear that conversation and got it in his head that he and Erik needed to build it.  The above picture is what they came up with.  

Kade spent about 2 weeks working on this "shed", sometimes spending 5 hours a day on it.  Then a storm with a strong wind came and knocked it down.  It was devastating.  Luckily I had another project in mind that I wanted them to accomplish...

…a bench/shoe storage for the garage.  Everybody won with that project!

Mason's idea of a good time is to hang out in a vehicle with the keys.  He whines and cries until we open up the car doors and hand him the keys.  For awhile we let him have the real keys.  Then one day, when Erik and I both happened to be in the house at the same time, we heard the car start.  We ran out to the garage to find Mase behind the wheel of a running car with a HUGE smile on his face.  From that day on, we give him pretend keys when he's playing in the car!

 

My little mechanics, fixing their rides.

Grandpa H likes the Alaska shows just as much as Kade does.  He decided that his grandkids needed a "hunting cabin" at the farm.  He's spent the past few months tinkering on the cabin, finding random building materials laying around the farm.  Kade has spent more than a few afternoons helping.

A before picture...

The final product!!

No hunting cabin is complete without guns,

a fire ring, and a mini horse!