End of Season

This past Saturday was Carter's last soccer game of the fall season.  I honestly wasn't that thrilled about coaching when the season started, but I'm really glad I did it.  I'm going to miss our boys!  I'm not really sure if we taught them that much, but most of them had fun (and I don't think that any of the kids on my field ever scored an own-goal)!  We had 3 of the 12 quit before the season ended because they didn't want to play and Will (Missy's son) only participated in practice.  But the rest of the kids generally got more interested as the season progressed and played harder (and got distracted less).  Carter already had descent skills in my unbiased opinion :), but by the end of the season, he finally got aggressive and had the drive and desire to score.  Instead of just being sad and giving up because he wasn't scoring, he got in there more and created opportunities to score.  It's been great to see his confidence increase on the field.

We planned a end-of-season party after our game on Saturday but the temperature dropped a lot that night and it was windy and damp.  I made cupcakes and we were ordering pizza but we cancelled the pizza and did a quick good-bye giving all the kids a cupcake and their trophy.  I wish we had been able to do more and say good-bye to each kid but at least it was something.

I made the cupcakes and put soccer ball and rocket toppers on them that I made.

The team was nice enough to give Missy and me each a Target giftcard as a thank you.

Caleb's family also gave us a separate card and charm.

Aidan's dad works for Reckitt Benckiser and gave us a bunch of their products (Lysol, Air Wick, etc).

(We really appreciate the gift, but Brian asked if he would have gotten cleaning products as a gift if he was the coach :) ).

We only got one coach's plaque and Missy was nice enough to let me have it.

I plan on coaching again in the spring.  I believe the Y tries to keep the teams the same for the spring season.  Missy though is not going to coach due to Will's lack of interest.  She may sign him up again in a couple of years.

Pumpkins

We have been surrounded by pumpkins lately (go figure, it's October).

A few weeks ago the boys and I picked up a couple of pumpkins at the grocery store and added their choice of Mr. Potato Head Character Push-Ins.  We have several and Carter quickly picked a pirate and Rylan picked the skeleton (though if he were quicker, I'm sure he would have chosen the pirate).

I used a screwdriver to make the holes and then the boys added the parts (it took us a couple of years to figure out that the screwdriver made this a million times easier).

Two proud boys with their pumpkins (the pumpkins in the background are the ones we got at Cheekwood from their pumpkin patch).

Our little comedian (classic youngest child!).

School has been filled with lots of pumpkin crafts.

Carter's:

Rylan's:

Carter and I also made this garland for his window.  I bought a bunch of Halloween and Fall stickers at the Dollar Spot at Target and Carter used them to decorate pumpkins that I cut out.

Starting tomorrow I guess we are on to turkeys and such!

Madeline's Birthday Party

This morning one of Carter's classmates had a birthday party at her house (which was referred to as "Maddie's Castle" on the invitation).  She invited the class and all but 2 were able to come.  The party was princess themed and the kids were supposed to dress up as their favorite character (written that way so the boys could dress up any way they liked).  Carter was going to wear his Halloween costume but changed his mind to wear the construction guy stuff he got at Chase's party (Rylan tagged along wore the same stuff).

Top: Sadie Mae, Sarah Kate, Lyla, Madeline (the birthday girl), and Quinn
Bottom: Carter and Hunt

The kids got to decorate bags when they got there to use for collecting candy from a pinata at the end of the party and then went to the playroom for games.  One game was "Pin the Nose of the Pumpkin".  I think the kids could see because they all got it almost perfect :)

After games we went downstairs for snacks and cake.  All the kids had crowns with their names on them.

The birthday girl with her cake ...

Before leaving the kids got to open a pinata.  Instead of breaking it open with a stick, the kids got to pull strings attached to the bottom to open it.

Carter got a huge bag of candy and lots of other cool stuff to take home.  He had a blast but before nap said he wasn't feeling good.  Hopefully it's just the sugar overload!

Rylan's Tongue

I called the nurse at our pediatrician's office this morning and she said Rylan should be fine (which is what we thought but wanted to be sure).

I tried to get a picture of his tongue this morning and this is the best I got ...

It doesn't look bad here but the "icky" thing is when he moves his tongue this gash opens up a lot and seems to be though at least half his tongue.  But he still says it doesn't hurt and it isn't too swollen.  He's talking and eating fine too.

Chase's Birthday Party

On Saturday afternoon we went to Chase's 2nd birthday party.

He had a construction theme like Carter had for his 2nd birthday.  There were a lot of similarities (including the invitation)!

The kids each got a construction hat and vest when entering the party.  Rylan and Luke immediately found the table with a bucket of little trucks.

Hannah and Carter at the train table that Chase got for his birthday from his parents.

As soon as Jen mentioned cake, the first two to find a seat (right by the cake) were Will and Carter!

The birthday boy!

When we got home the boys had a little while before bedtime so they played with the goodies they got to take home from the party.

This cone sippy cup is a huge hit!

And poor Charlotte has been hiding upstairs since Saturday night because the kids each got a dump truck balloon!

Nashville Zoo

When my mom was visiting, we took Rylan to the zoo while Carter was in school and met Missy and her kids there.

We started the day at the Jungle Gym.  Rylan finally got brave enough to jump off the seats in the mat area!

Lately the goats have been hiding when we go by the petting zoo but one was out that day.

Rylan got upset when he discovered hair in his brushes and had to get new ones :)

Lots of "back of the head" pictures!

We broke for lunch in the picnic area by the zebras and got a few pictures of the kids climbing in the trees.

On the way out we saw this sign by the anteater exhibit.  Apparently the zoo is getting kangaroos!  And  from the drawing, it looks like you can walk into their exhibit?!?!?

Murfreesboro

We had nothing planned for today and no big landscaping projects that we had to work on so we decided to spend the day in Murfreesboro (which is about 20 miles east of us).

We are not really into Civil War history, but a lot of battles occurred around here that seem to have been important (or at least very deadly).  In Murfreesboro, there is the Stones River National Battlefield which is part of the National Park Service.  We decided to check it out first.

The battlefield area is actual really pretty.  We only hiked a very short trail because it was pretty cold (it's been so warm the last few weeks that we are not used to the cooler weather that just came in).  But there is a nice driving loop and a super nice visitor center with a museum.

The boys got to get their passport books stamped with 3 stamps each (though they had 8 or 9 stamps for individual areas of the battlefield).  It's been almost a year since we've been to a new national park with them!

In the museum we watched a short video explaining the battle that occurred here with reenactments.  I asked Brian a couple of times if he thought it was too graphic for the boys and we thought they were doing okay.  Tonight we decided it was fine when Carter was telling us about the film and said "A guy shot a canon and hit another guy in the hand and it turned red."  Rylan added, "And his hat fell off."

Carter loved seeing all the canons.  When we first entered the park, he screamed super loud about each one he saw (and there were plenty).

"This *#@*$ map!" ...

"Okay, now where are we going?" ...

These cutouts were on the trail we walked on from the visitor center ...

We drove over to the Hazen Brigade Monument.  It is the oldest surviving Civil War Monument (it was built during the war).

The best picture I could get of all the boys (the wind was whipping through here and they were cold!) ...

If it weren't so cold and I didn't have everyone with me, these fences would be really pretty to photograph.  This is the best I got.

After the battlefield, we went to lunch at Bojangles (we don't have one close to us so when we get over here, we usually have to stop there).

After lunch we went to the Discovery Center.  The boys and I have been there several times but this was Brian's first time there.  We had fun exploring the museum and it was practically empty which was awesome.

Carter in the "haunted" firetruck ...

Brian and Carter built this ...

Before we left, Rylan tripped and hit his chin on a train table.  Unfortunately his tongue was between his teeth at the time.  It was bleeding and he was upset but after a minute he was mad at me for holding him and wanted to play again.  We knew it was his tongue that was bleeding but Rylan wouldn't let us get a good look at it until tonight when I bribed him with a toy from our toy stash.  It's a deep cut and I'll be calling the nurse at our pediatrician's office in the morning to see if we need to bring him in.  But it clotted quickly, it isn't swollen, and he says it doesn't hurt so he's probably (hopefully!) okay.

Before heading home we walked through the Murfree Spring Wetland that is adjacent to the Discovery Center.

There is a letterbox hidden behind this sign on the trail that we stopped and found ...

It was an appropriate stamp for Rylan ...

We had a fun family day!