Happy Halloween

Bridger was kind of struggling with Halloween this year.  He didn't know if he wanted to go trick or treating.  But at the last minute, he decided to go.  He borrowed Thomas' costume and was a sumo wrestler.  His friend Bracken came and went to the trunk or treat with us.  Tanner has been determined to be Black Panther.  I tried to talk him out of it but he wouldn't budge.  We borrowed Caleb's costume but it was too big.  A few days before Halloween, I ordered a Black Panther costumer in his size.  The costume was delivered the day before Halloween.  But unfortunately it was the wrong size and had Hulk gloves.  Tanner burst into tears.  I had to improvise so we pulled out Caleb's Black Panther costume that was too big.  I used lots of safety pins and made it the right size.  Tanner was SO happy! He loved trick or treating with Bridger.  Bridger was so sweet to include him.  

After the trunk or treat, the boys came back to the house and counted their candy.  They scored big time!

Shantelle sent us this picture of her girls right before they went trick or treating.  The girls look so darling!  Aliyah is Jasmine, Lilly is Anna from Frozen and Hazel is the cutest witch!   I miss the days when  Shan and her family would come up and spend Halloween with us.  That's one of my favorite Halloween's when Aliyah went trick or treating with Chase and Bridger.  I always get a little homesick for Shan on Halloween.  I miss those days!

Barbara's Funeral

My sweet aunt Barbara's health has really deteriorated the last few weeks.  She was diagnosed with c-diff and had to be admitted to a nursing home.  She just got too sick for her family to take care of her at home.  The last week she suffered so much.  My heart broke for her and her family.  It was so touch on them watching her suffer so much.  She and Nolan had been married for over 60 years.  They've had such a sweet relationship.  Their daughter Linda told a story at the funeral about how Barbara got all dressed up for Nolan on his last birthday.  She had Linda and Christy help pull off a dinner for her to have with Nolan.  They said she wanted to look her best and even wore perfume.  They talked about how much they loved each other.  Barbara was such an amazing and sweet lady.  She endured so many health problems yet never complained.  She always was so positive and saw the best in people.

Bridger's Fall Soccer

Bridger's had a great fall soccer season.  He's the top scorer on his team.  At his last game, he got really mad at another kid because the the kid kept shoving him.  With the last shove,  Bridger couldn't take it any longer and he shoved him back.  The referee blew his whistle and gave Bridger and the other kid a yellow card.  I was actually so proud of Bridger for fighting back.  His couch pulled him out for the last couple of minutes of the game.  Coach Alex put his arm around Bridger and they went for a little walk.  He talked to Bridger about being in control of his emotions and not letting the other team get in his head.  He was so great with Bridger!!!  He didn't scold him but he told him to play smarter next time.  Coach Ben and Coach Alex are so great with the boys! They've improved so much since the summer.

At the beginning of the season, Bridger was having some contention with a couple of players.  The coaches really focused on team work and by the end of the season, things had resolved.  Bridger has really enjoyed getting to know the boys better.  He and Bentley have become really good friends.  He comes over to our house after school until practice.  We love having him at our house.  He's such a polite young man.  He and Bridger really get along well.  

Bridger played a team from K town.  Mylissa, Julie and Caleb were so sweet to come to his game and support him.  Bridger loved playing in from of his family.  He was able to score a goal while they were watching.

Fall Break in BL

Kaye and Allan invited us to use their cabin over fall break.  Mom, Dad and Marilyn, The W's and the C's came.  It was a little tight but we piled on top of each other soaked up our time together.  We have so much fun being together.  On Friday, we went for a hike.  It ended up being really muddy and snowy and icy so we couldn't hike very far.  But we still had a great time.

Maddie and Chase were picking out their choices for HEFY.  They spent hours online looking at the different choices.  They got their hopes up but unfortunately when we came home and tried to register, their choices were all filled up.  They were so disappointed.  They had it all planned out.

I love this picture of the kids squished together on the couch.  They play so well together.  It's so fun to be together and make such great memories.

On Friday around 11:00, we went for a hike.  The weather was so beautiful!  The lake was so blue!  Most of the leaves had fallen but there were a few left that brighten things up.  Because we didn't get to hike very much, we decided to walk home.  Unfortunately the wasps have been really bad and Tanner and Caleb both got stung by some wasps.  Caleb got stung 3 times!

I've been able to get in a couple of bike rides.  My bike rides are the best therapy.  Sunshine for the soul!  When I'm having a bad day, I think about biking in BL and IP.

On Saturday afternoon, we took the kids down to the town park and let them play.  It's so fun to watch them run around and just play together.

The kids really wanted to go "dip" their feet in the lake.  Even though it was cold, the kids splashed around in the water.  Some of the kids were crazy enough to be in their swimming suits and got all the way in the water.  I didn't think Tanner would want to get wet but he did.  So I ended up taking everything off except his underwear.  He loved playing with the big kids.  The kids were frozen by the time they got out! But they had big smiles on their faces.

On our last night, we let the kids sleep together on the floor upstairs in the big room.  Look at those big smiles.  We're so grateful to Allan and Kaye and their generosity in letting us come to their cabin. There is something so relaxing and rejuvenating about the cabin.  We love our time there!  We love being together as a family.