Pumpkin Carving

To be quite honest, I have never really been into pumpkin carving. I don't remember doing it much as a kid, and it seems whenever I try it as an adult, I have great intentions only to be disappointed in the results. That being said, I take almost any opportunity for a party, and this always seems to be a fun activity in groups. We had some good friends over on Sunday for carving and cobbler and had a grand old time. I think Nora had the most fun of all. She is definitely the social butterfly of our family.

Halloween at MIT

MIT throws a pretty awesome party for the kids of all students and employees. I can't believe they can even host such an event. I can only imagine what sort of numbers a similar event would involve at BYU. Some of the highlights were a visit from the MIT beaver, lots of crafts and games, face painting (which I NEVER let Nora do- I know, party pooper...) and Nora's favorite, a cotton candy machine (this makes up for it)! The kids looked adorable and had fun dressing up in their costumes for one of the first times. It was convenient for Josh to take a break from school for some family time since, even though it was on Saturday, he was there anyway (shocker!)

Halloween, here we come!

Halloween is one of the funnest times for a parent. I hate to jump the gun in posting the kid's costumes, but I feel like my life lately has been one Halloween party after another. Here are some of my favorites from today. This gathering of friends has been a tradition since Nora was a baby. We always manage to get some great shots from it. As a bonus, I first included what the kids looked like a couple of years ago. We've lost one friend to a move, but since then, all of the big kids have gotten a younger sibling. Look how they've grown!

Another Day at the Farm

This time the weather was gorgeous. I simply love this New England tradition! I think my kids are getting pretty sick of my camera in their faces, though...

We made it to the farm!

I'm so glad that we didn't miss farm season completely. It has gotten so cold here and my week was a little crazy with Josh out of town, but we made it to three different farms and had fun. These pictures are from my favorite. Nora's favorite involved a semi-spooky hayride that she talks about constantly. Wells' favorite was the one with cider doughnuts at the farm stand. Check out all those pumpkins!

THIS is rare.

I was cleaning up from lunch after putting Wells down for his nap and things suddenly got very quiet. It was almost creepy. I went upstairs to check things out and found this on my bed:

She drug her little quilt from the playroom upstairs and curled up in it. Miss anti-sleep herself! I wonder if she's feeling okay...

Together

I realized today that it's been a while since I have posted anything on our blog, probably because we haven't been doing anything too exciting lately. Josh has been so busy with school I can't even believe it- like as in not coming home AT ALL for days at a time. When he sleeps is anyone's best guess. I did notice a couch in the lab with a communal sleeping bag on it (ick! MIT students = smart but sometimes not too "smart" if you know what I mean...) the last time I visited although Josh insists that he's never used it. So I've had a lot of long days and nights battling it out alone. I decided to include a spattering of some of the recent pictures that I've taken including both of the kids' "mad" faces. Hopefully to come will be some fun fall activities but I make no promises.

Camping

Our ward camp-out was last weekend. I committed the cardinal sin of all bloggers. I forgot my camera! I realized it as we pulled away from the house for the hour drive (at 8 pm, that's right) after Josh finally got home from school and helped me throw everything in the car. I just couldn't ask him to turn back. The camp-out was a perfect way to unwind and reconnect after a very stressful week. So I did what any self-respecting blogger would do in my situation. I stole pictures. These aren't the best because I think some kids took them, but they will give you an idea. The part that they don't capture is that on Saturday we got to go sailing, canoeing and kayaking! Apart from freezing all night, it was quite a fun trip!