"FALL"ing Behind!

Fall means "falling behind" with keeping you all posted!  It has been the busiest season yet for us.  There have been so many fun events for us these days.  Here are some highlights so far this month...

Soccer has officially ended- our team has improved as a whole and everyone had a great time.  Mommy actually enjoyed teaching U-6 soccer (a first for her as she is used to coaching high school soccer!)  We had only 6 games this fall season and will play together again this spring. I did great playing defense and kicked the ball away from the goal 3 times last Saturday!  I am a fast runner, but defense seems to be where I play best.

 Mommy made these little soccer guys for our last team snack.  She found a similar idea on Pinterest but tweaked it a bit to make the soccer ball a gumball instead.  She was deemed "the best coach ever" after this snack!

 My hockey GOAL clinic ended too.  This was just a jump start to the regular season which begins in November.  Because I had played hockey last year, I was ahead of many others in this clinic.  I even became the hockey "model" for drills on the ice.  My parents were so proud.

 Many skaters needed help with skating but not me- I am very steady on my feet and my skating is more smooth and quick since last year.

 All of us went to Grammy's to pull docks and boats out of the water.  We had a full day of outside play.  The docks soon became slides and the pine needles became snow.  We were a filthy mess after our busy and fun day "helping" out.

 Emmett hasn't quite built up enough stamina yet to hang with the big boys all day.  He is turning one in a month already!

 Fall means one major thing in our family- deer hunting season.  Daddy let Cooper and I scout in the woods for an hour.  For some reason, sticks have become our new favorite outdoor toy.  We saw a few deer and Daddy has officially started to act crazy with the hunt around the corner (Mommy is rolling her eyes right now).

All of the weekend fresh air made me one happy sleeper- striking my "happy pose" as my parents called it when I was a baby.  Zzzzzzzzzz

 The fall mornings are cool and crisp and the sunrises have been breathtaking.  Mom took this quick snapshot one morning heading off to work.  She was thankful for the calmness it brought before the craziness of Kindergarten :)

 We pulled our fall decor and we found some treasures in the Halloween box.  Daddy's mullet wig, some gnarly teeth and some "fun" glasses.  Do you think I look like the Wayne's World character?

 Cooper found something a bit more cute-our Mickey costume from years ago. One of the few items Mommy actually wants to keep.

 Caden's school had PJ night.  We wore PJ's, brought sleeping bags and pillows and filled the gym for a showing of the Chipmunks!  We had fun eating snacks and hanging out with school friends.  Cooper is a major groupie by the way.

Cooper serenaded Liberty with a song one morning... it went like this, "Liberty you are going to die soon, and go to heaven, and see Jesus and Grandpa!"  He then looked at Mommy and said, "This is a sad song!" We couldn't help but crack up... all of us except Liberty of course.

 Grandma Carla and Grandpa Jamie returned from a week vacation in London.  They went to the Vikings football game while there and took in the sights of the city.  They brought us these police helmets and double decker buses.  We love our toys!

 One tradition we have in the fall is lots of canning, freezing and sauerkraut making.  We have been busy with our garden harvest.  Grandma helped us get the kraut going- it is now fermenting in the basement and we are keeping our fingers crossed that the entire house does not get smelly because of it.

Have a great week ahead!  Happy Fall Y'all!

End of September Tidbits

Where did September go?  We have to admit, it was one of our busiest months to date- Mom started teaching, I started Kindergarten, Cooper started preschool and a new daycare, Sunday School started for Coop and I (Mom teaches Cooper's preschool Sunday School class) and we are active in sports (I am playing soccer, hockey and taking swim lessons and Cooper is in swim lessons).  Routines feel refreshing and we have settled in nicely to our busy schedule.

Papa and Grandma Sharon came for their final visit before heading back to Grandma Sharon's home in Indiana next week.  They watched me play soccer and saw me begin skating for the GOAL Program  (instructional camp).  We had a great time visiting together and having lunch at a local cafe.  

 I only have 2 more soccer games left this fall!  It has been a quick season.  I have learned a lot, thanks to my spectacular soccer coach (OK, it is my Mom)..... my basic skills are improving and I am kicking the ball "a few" more times during the game!

 I didn't mind coming off the field to take a break during our last game- that way I could cuddle with Papa.  We will miss you guys and look forward to seeing you around Christmas!

Swim Lessons- Cooper and I are 2 crazy fish during swim lessons.  We love the water and are quite comfortable with jumping off the diving boards, submerging our heads and swimming on our fronts and backs.  Cooper loves to wave at our parents every chance he gets.  They love that he is excited to see them as they know the day will come where he will hide from them.

 He is waving so fast in the picture above that you can hardly see his hand.  He loves to show off :)

 He also flashes the #1 sign with his finger (although this picture looks more like a 0).  We are not sure where he came up with the #1 signal- we typically stick to thumbs up and fist pumps in our family.

We can't complain about this amazing fall weather the past few weeks.  We take advantage every chance possible.  Mommy and Cooper tell me they have "no fun" at all when I am busy in Kindergarten.  Again,  I find proof otherwise in these pictures.  They hit a local park with Lily and Lucy one beautiful fall day. Mommy tells Cooper not to tell me what they do during the day and Cooper makes sure the minute I arrive home, I hear all about their adventures.  That's OK though because I tell everyone how much I LOVE KINDERGARTEN!

Yes, we realize Cooper is too big for the baby swing, but he still insists from time to time.  Pick your battles, right?!?!

 Lucy and Lily had to double up without me that day- this picture is honestly......super cute!

With fall weather comes preparation- we released Squirt, Genevieve's (neighbor) beloved painted turtle. We released him in a creek on the golf course.  We now visit the creek almost daily to look for Squirt and although we haven't had another sighting, we hope he is loving his new home :)

 Once again, on one of those days where Mommy and Cooper "stayed home and just thought about me all day" they must have hit another park.  They spent time playing with the animals, not really, but these bears were quite social I hear.  Cooper kept saying, "Me SCARED!"  It was like a train wreck- he couldn't resist the danger while talking about the danger.  Mommy started to wonder how thick that plexi glass really was behind them.

Cooper is a paparazzi's dream- he asks constantly for Mom to take his pictures- like every little photo op.  He then scrolls through her camera and gives a play by play account of their events from the day- it is so annoying.

 "Me a scary bear!"

 Cooper's cute/homeboy pose.

 Yep, we get it Cooper... you love the bears at Irvine!

 And since Mommy hasn't had the camera around as much as she normally does (OOPS!) you can see that Cooper is the golden child around home.  He gets lots of camera time.  Above photo is his first "regular" day of preschool.  He absolutely loves preschool and his teachers adore him.  He is a good friend, an excellent cleaner-upper (according to the teachers) and he is a go-getter (loves to paint, count, read, play, learn, etc...)

And just to end it on another "poor me" note.... Cooper gets special lunch dates with Mommy when I am at school.  The good news is the next post you see will be of our lunch date at my school.  Rumor has it Mommy and Cooper are coming to Kindergarten to eat lunch in my cafeteria, woo-hoo!  We hope your September was a good one.  Now onto a favorite fall month full of fun, OCTOBER is here!