On the go

    While Jake and Josh went hunting, Joe and I went to the skate park.  Joe started with this...

And soon we progressed a little to more of this...

 And then we got brave enough for this...

 

Pottery...with a spin

    Thanks to a contact through a friend, we were able to move to a whole new level with pottery.  Jake took a spin on the pottery wheel "throwing" the clay.  I guess he has watched enough (combined with his amazing attention to extreme detail)...because he did it like a pro. 

     Joe was unsure about "throwing" the clay and using the wheel prior to our arrival.  So, he planned to make some pinch pottery.  While he is anxious to make something on the wheel now that he has seen how it is done, he did a great job creating this piece.   He started with a bowl that he wasn't pleased with.  So, he re-worked the clay and created this bowl.  And he added a "spin" on it by rotating the bowl to add lines and holes on the outside.    I love the intensity on his face as he works!

    They will glaze the pottery soon!   Can you guess the colors they will each choose? :)

Harvest Time

Falling leaves around these parts means corn and beans being harvested.   That always gets the boys..especially Joe...excited.  As we drive, we are constantly passing tractors, combines, grain wagons, and the such.  It is not unusual for Joe to be pushing himself up from the armrests of his car seat so he can peer out the window to point out tractors and combines in the fields.

This year has had some fun moments.  With Josh working for Bill, Josh got instructions on how to drive the big red tractor that pulls the grain wagon.  This wagon has to be brought to and from the combine over to the grain cart where the auger is moved around to empty the grain from the wagon to the cart so another tractor/auger set up can send the grain to the grain bin.  The boys and I got to stand at a distance and watch the learning process...which held a lot of learning for each of us! The boys had a lot of interest and a lot of questions.  And Bill patiently answered each question...sometimes leaving their question with a math problem to solve for the answer! :)

Josh jokes that he is a big boy now.  He had a successful first day driving the tractor and emptying the grain from the bean field.  So much so that Bill quickly asked Josh to help him at his dad's farm...which meant a lesson in driving that combine.  It is an older, slightly smaller combine. Bill felt it was easier to learn on.  So, Josh learned to drive that combine and had a successful day with it as well. Then, that combine broke down later the same day and Bill had to get the other bigger combine to use before the 5 days of rain came.  Thus, Josh got to drive the big combine!  

Needless to say, Joe can't wait until Josh and Bill are harvesting down the road from us so he can ride next to Dad in the combine!  At this point, I'm not sure who would be enjoying it more!

What have we been doing?

   Adding a few things to this blog has been on my "to-do" list.  But apparently we have been too busy for too long for me to sit down long enough to do "it"!  
   So, here it is, a month later...all the highlights of this month.

   We enjoyed a trip south...well, once we got there (after 2 hrs in stopped traffic)...to Grammie and Grandpa's.  Here are some shots of some rides...

Grammie agreed to round 2 of the teacups.  Mom did not!

One of Joe's favorites!

     Grammie and Grandpa treated us to a show...which the boys enjoyed a lot.  In fact, this was the replica Joe built out of Lincoln Logs the next morning.

   Jake loves having Grandpa read war books to him. 

    During one non-rainy stretch of time, Grammie, the boys and mom went out for a walk in the neighborhood.  Joe happily pulled (read as..."yanked") the wagon around while Jake collected creatures from the wet ground.  Once home, Jake made habitats for each...the slug, the snail, and the grubs.  Don't worry, though.  Grammie and Grandpa were spared the responsibility of keeping them alive until our next visit!

   Although it pretty much rained the entire time we were there, we did enjoy our trip...Joe especially liked the 2 rounds of birthday cake and ice cream.


  And, speaking of Joe, he lost tooth number two...as soon as he woke up in the morning. Mom was out on a run...so Jake helped get a bag and put the tooth and a note in the bag. Joe was glad to get it out!!!!

   And I had to take a picture of these peppers...the last harvest from Joe's 10 cent plants!  They have been quite the bounty for 10 cents!!!! 

Last weekend, Jake swam in a meet that our team hosted.  He hasn't practiced (except for 15 minutes the day before) since July.  So, we weren't expecting much.  But...we expected wrong!!! 

He went from 28.20 to 24.02 in the 25 fly.

He went from 26.82 to 21.13 in the 25 back.

He went from 29.93 to 28.28 in the 25 breast.

And he went from 44.13 to 40.49 in the 50 free.

  Josh and I think the "few inches" he has grown has already shown its advantage!  Jake was excited!

  I'll end with a funny Joe story. It's not unusual for Joe to state things matter of factly...yet in a wondering way.  Well, a couple weeks ago, I woke up around 11 pm and realized the bathroom light and the boy's bedroom light was on.  I jumped out of bed and checked the bathroom...only to find it empty.  So, I headed to the bedroom...both boys were in bed, sound asleep.  So, I headed back to bed in wonder.  

   Well, I asked the boys about it the next morning, but nobody seemed to know how or why the lights were on.  Until...later...when Joe was in the bathroom and suddenly stated..."I don't know why or how, but I have 2 pair of undies on!"    So...we aren't really sure what went on, but he definitely had on 2 pair of underwear...and didn't remember how in the world that happened!  What a laugh!!!!