More leaves, a turkey feather, and a missing tooth!

All the leaves are off of our trees now, so we tried the leaf pile again. . .this time it was perfect for jumping.  We tried to get another picture with baby brother in it this time, but he didn't like the leaves!
Each student in Olivia's class had to make a turkey feather to put on their class turkey.  This is Olivia's finished feather.  She had a lot of fun looking for the items to put on the feather as well as decorating it!
All three kiddos being on their best behavior!!
Sam is starting to really like tummy time, so Olivia and Ben thought they would join him!
The day after Halloween I tried to pull Olivia's tooth, but she wouldn't let me.  Later that afternoon, she pulled it herself while she was in a time out in her bedroom!  She says it's a lot easier to eat now!

Trick or Treat!

We put Sam in "full" costume Halloween night with the addition of the BOO hat--he hung out with Grandma Jane, Aunt Angela, and Uncle Tyler while John and I took Daphne and Spiderman trick or treating.

Spiderman shooting his webs
Daphne (from Scooby Doo) getting ready to solve a mystery. . . .
Angela took a bunch of pictures of the kids making scary faces. . .Olivia loved this part. She wants to be a zombie next year.  Notice her top front tooth hanging from her gums. . . .she lost it the next day!
It was so nice outside, the kids didn't have to wear coats!  Ben shed his mask so he could see where he was going.

Halloween morning and afternoon. . .

Sam had a great day at Carrie's on Halloween.  He and his friend Izzy wore the same ghost onesie!
Ben made a spider hat at Carrie's--behind him is his "Spooky House" that he made for art.  He and Olivia "snacked" on their houses even a few days after Halloween!
John and kids carved pumpkins before Halloween (see background), but Olivia and Ben wanted to decorate some with markers, too.

Making leaf piles!

A couple of weeks ago Olivia and Ben went outside after school/daycare to rake some leaves.  They wanted to jump in the piles. . . . .but there weren't quite enough leaves yet, so they settled for a picture pose instead.

Trip to Afton

A couple of weekends ago we traveled to Afton to see my mom's family.  Ben and Sam rode with John and me--Ben really enjoyed watching his Cars movie and Sam enjoyed sleeping.  Olivia rode with Aunt Angela, Uncle Tyler, and Grandma Jane---her favorite part of the trip was when Uncle Tyler got pulled over for speeding (with only a warning)--she even wrote about it during Writing Workshop at school the next week!
The kids enjoy playing with my cousin Jodie's kids--Colten is in second grade is Austin is four months younger than Ben.  They played a lot of football and used a lot of energy running around the farm!
My cousin bought the kids all some Halloween treats---Sam got this cute ghost onesie--he will be sporting it in the Halloween pictures that I will be posting soon!

Ben is Four!

Ben had a great 4th birthday!  John took the day off, and he and Ben went to the zoo.  Since I had conferences we celebrated his birthday the next day.  He got to wear a crown, and we had his favorite meal, pizza!  He and Olivia were extra silly (as you can see in the picture with the balloons).  Some of his favorite gifts were the pirate ship from Grandma Jane, Spiderman silly string shooter (pictured with Ben and Uncle Tyler), and his Incredible Hulk pajamas!  He's already planning his 5th birthday!