Fall roundup!

Hi dear family and friends,

 Sorry it has been awhile since my last post. Honestly, I've been busy and all my spare time these days seems to be devoted to my beachcombing obsession! But today, I'm waiting while Caleb is at his piano practice and the tide is too high for a beach walk, so the blog I've been thinking of for weeks can finally be written!

Apple picking!

Here's what's been happening in our lives! First off, Thanksgiving. It was a quiet weekend for us, we all had colds so we just stayed close to home. We did a 1000 piece puzzle, watched some movies (Disney Tarzan and Swiss Family Robinson), did a lot of cooking and organizing the house and playing outside in our wonderful play house that Alan built for the boys.


I must say that organizing the house felt wonderful. I've really been appreciating how incredible it feels to live in one place for more than a year! I feel like we've had many houses over the years, but this is truly our first home. I love having the time to rearrange things, to really make things our own, to decorate and just be in our wonderful space. I'm so thankful to not have to think about packing, unpacking, storing tons of moving boxes or getting rid of things in anticipation of an upcoming move!

Playhouse/Mud cafe!

I'm also very thankful of course, for the three boys in my life. It's been great to have Alan home these past couple of weeks. He's off again soon on a cross-Canada tour for a month, so we've been enjoying family time as much as we can. Caleb is as wonderful as ever. He is so funny, creative, musical, thoughtful and becoming more athletic and brave all the time. He loves climbing trees, swining from monkey bars, playing soccer, swimming, painting, creating amazing lego structures, playing Harry Potter with Odin and learning as much as he can about everything he can. He also has been spending tons of time on our keyboard, patiently listening to the demo version if songs and learning them note by note. He's mastered Down by the Riverside and Killing Me Softly so far!

Odin is hilarious. He is still completely consumed with his imaginary friends - the 3 Joe's, their mom So-So, their grandmother Cho-cho, and numerous other relatives and family pets. The Joe's live at mostly at a hotel in California, but they visit us a lot and stay for sleepovers quite often. They are a daily part of our lives and often pop up in situations that make me laugh out loud. The other night I was walking through a parking lot with Odin and he said to me 'I don't need to hold your hand, mom, I'm just going to hold Joe's hand.' I also received a hilarious text from Alan one night when I was away in Halifax. He said that he was playing hide and go seek with the Joe's and he was having a tough time finding them (they were hiding in his desk drawer!)! Another time, Odin was pestering me for a granola bar, as he often does, and I told him he had to wait until after supper. He immediately said 'Oh, sorry mom, but Joe is the boss of granola bars'. I had to have a little talk with Joe! Caleb is actually working on a musical about the Joe's...video to come, I hope!!

Here are some pictures of our latest adventures!

Airplane ride

Camping curls at Keji National Park

Lego party with Coral

Corn maze!

We did manage to finally launch Cale's rocket kit that was an amazing gift from Greg. The launch did not disappoint! The rocket went at least 300 ft with the test motor, and more like 700 feet with the larger motor. It was so fun for all of us to watch, and we can't wait to invite some friends to witness our next launch!

Tractor fun at Noggins Farm