Swimming with Friends

Adam went camping with the guys this weekend, so it was just me and the boys. Boys that were boycotting naps and the weekend of the time change. So my goal was to wear them out. Our friends Susan and Scott  invited us to go swimming at one of the local Y's with a zero entry pool. And everyone knows that swimming=exhausted children, so I was all in! The boys had a great time swimming. Ben wore his puddle jumper and took off. He was all over the pool - swimming, jumping off the side, running through the water features. He and Lily were all over the pool! He had a blast! Nick just wanted to play basketball and jump off the side of the pool. He did very good at 'swimming' after the basketball, using both his hands and feet. I have decided that should linebacker/offensive lineman not work out for him, we are going to water polo as a backup sport. It's pretty much the same as football except there is the potential to drown your opponent as apposed to give them a concussion. But I digress... We had a great time at the pool, followed by dinner at Lily and Lucas' house, where the boys got to play with Lily's fun toys. And everyone enjoyed a good nights sleep. At least until 5:15 the next morning, when Ben woke up.

I'll Take Whatever I Can Get...

Someone refused to take a nap Friday (and Saturday and Sunday). But at least Friday I got a little nap on the couch.

A Coloring Fool

Nick has been very into coloring lately. He loves to scribble on any piece of paper he can find. 

An Awesome Tantrum

I forgot about this video! It's from last Saturday. Nick laid on the floor and cried for over 30 minutes. Anything I asked or said was answered with NOOOOOO. I thought it was funny. Nick did not. I never did figure out why he was crying. I guess he was just tired.

Trick-or-Treating Time!

Wednesday we suited up in our pirate costumes and hit the sidewalk for some trick-or-treating! Ben was Jake and Nick was Cubby from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. They had quite the entourage for trick-or-treating. Grandma and Dziadziu came up and Grandma Mary was still here, too. Adam, Grandma and Dziadziu headed out with the boys while my mom and I stayed home to pass out candy. I have walking pneumonia right now, so it wasn't the best idea for me to be walking the neighborhood in 45° weather with drizzle...The boys rode around in their wagon. They met up with Cameryn and Avery on their route. Ben and Cameryn held hands while they trick-or-treated. Ben continually referred to Cameryn as 'Honey'. Tiffany has pictures of them trick-or-treating and I'll post the link to her blog once she has the pictures posted. Update: Here are the cute pictures of Ben and Cameryn holding hands while trick-or-treating http://www.ktsecrest.blogspot.com/2012/11/trick-or-treat.html

Nick participated in some pre trick-or-treating pumpk'n chunk'n He gets some good air on those pumpkins.

He tried to chuck the bigger pumpkins, but I put the kabash on that one.

Ben was too busy and excited to have his picture taken. Thank goodness I got some good pictures before we went to the zoo a few weeks ago!

A beautiful day in Ohio...

Ben's Honey coming up for a treat

Pumpkin Painting

We didn't really have time to do pumpkin carving this year, so we did pumpkin painting again. I think Ben enjoyed the painting more than he would have enjoyed the carving. I made the mistake of putting black on his pallet, so his pumpkin was on the dark side, but with the metallic blue in there, it wasn't too bad. 

Halloween Cupcakes

Tuesday we made cupcakes for Ben and Nick to take to daycare for a little party. I frosted the cupcakes and then Ben applied sprinkles. We also made cupcake toppers. It was an exercise for Ben's cutting skills. They turned out pretty cute!

Swim Little Fishy, Swim!

Nick started swim lessons this week. We figured that with his bath tub antics, swimming lessons were in order. Well, little fishy did not disappoint. He's kind of a natural water animal. He puts his face in the water, can kick his legs and chased the ball using both his arms and legs to move in the water. When it was time to sit on the side and jump in, someone wouldn't sit on the edge. He just kept jumping in again and again. 

The Last Nice Day

Yesterday was the last nice day of the year. It was 80° and sunny and beautiful. I left work a little early so I could take the boys to the park in the high hopes of getting a few pictures. I say high hopes because it was me versus two boys, no stroller and a river. The odds were definitely against me. But I forged on, none the less. I got off a few. The light was amazing, but alas, my models were of the uncooperative nature. Oh well. So, part of the uncooperative nature was due to the river. The boys had to throw stuff in the river which ultimately led to Nick falling in the river. Shocking. We randomly met up with our neighbors at the park and we ended up all taking a walk together. I think the girls enjoyed walking with the boys. It was definitely a highlight for Ben. 

Just pretend like you know what their faces look like...

 Post river. The river won.