a cloudy nature walk...and i'm a picture hoarder

Today was cold, dark, overcast, and dreary. We stayed in the house building forts, coloring pictures, wrestling and cuddling, making smoothies, and reading stories. By 4:00 I was tired of being inside. We decided to bundle up and head out to the hill behind our house. There is a fun little trail back there and the kids love our little "nature walks".

I have a problem, though. I cannot stop snapping pictures when I have my camera with me. It's just too hard to put down when I see so many things to capture. Those boys are always doing something, that of course I, as their mother, cannot resist. They are just too adorable. I love all of the thousands of photos I have of them playing, jumping, climbing, giggling, crying, etc. They make me so happy. I am a happy hoarder. I only had my camera out about 1/4 of the time today...can you imagine what would have happened if I hadn't put it away?!

Callie, our new little kitty, even came part way with us. She is so funny. We acquired her when my brother and his wife couldn't keep her. She is still so young. She plays and climbs, chases and hunts. Beckham is in love with her. He calls her "tallie tat". She sleeps with him and allows him to tackle her and smother her. She never gets mad.

Beckham didn't walk as far today. He wanted to be carried. He's wanted to be held and cuddled most of the day which makes me happy. When he did walk, he picked his own way. He was wandering around paying no attention to the way Kaden and I were trying to lead him. Kaden was so patient in waiting for his brother.

Kaden was running around a million miles a minute like always. He was in this tree and that, running ahead, climbing the hill. He reminds me of a dog. He probably went 4 times as far as we did.

There is a little hidden fort we went to and played in for a while. The boys had so much fun exploring it.

They are so cute together!!!

At one point Kaden was calling to me that he was stuck. I came over and he was up in the little tree fort, climbing down. He said, "Mama, I thought I was going to be stuck here forever, but then I remembered I'm awesome!". He is so funny. I told Matt about that little comment tonight when he got home and he laughed so hard, "Kaden is so rad!".

Another simple day down for the memory books. The simple, unplanned days are always the best ones.

partying with the big kids

Last weekend we got to party it up with a bunch of friends-sans kids. It was a costume party. I had been sick and had a hard time finding a babysitter, so thought we wouldn't go. A few hours before the party my brother said he could watch the boys and I decided to just buck up. I had no idea what we would wear. After a bit I thought of the perfect thing. Matt was totally on board(and he even let me curl his hair with my flat iron) and we both thought we were so hilarious. We think we're cool like that. Plus, it was free. I knew that track suit would come in handy someday.

The food was amazing, we carved pumpkins, and had such a fun time. I love the magic of holidays that comes with having kids, but the adults can have fun too, and we did.

something magical about the light

Don't you think that there is something quite special and captivating about the light in the fall? I swear it's at the perfect angle to make things magic. The light glimmers on the yellow leaves and it makes water sparkle and glitter like diamonds. I feel like I can't even experience it enough. I see it and love it, but I feel like I need to smell it, taste it, photograph it, eat it. That might only make sense to my mom, but it really is just amazing.

Kaden makes things magic in his own way. His eyes sparkle when he smiles. His laughter makes my soul happy. I love to smell him, photograph him, and I could definitely eat him too. We went on a nature walk today and it was so fun watching him explore and find things, hear things, notice little things that most might never see. Bekham walked further than he ever has before. He loved it too. Matt had the special job walking Toby on his leash. I give that dog a serious F- for leash abilities. Matt only gave him a B- which is way too nice; he is terrible.

I love our weekends. We are so lucky to have a three day weekend every week. Matt and I both have Mondays off. Monday usually turns into chore day and Saturday is play day. We spent the entire day at home today and didn't get bored for one second. We woke up late, ate late, boys got haircuts, we played a little, cleaned a little, played a little, and played a little more. It was so fun to enjoy each other with no distractions.

these two, they're adorable...

I really wish I had the audio to go along with these pictures. Despite the terrible quality and lighting, I loved looking through them. These boys were being hilarious, getting a little too wound up before bed. Becks was so sad when I put him back in his bed and turned out the light. I love the fun they have together and how they crack themselves (and us) up.

story time

I love stumbling upon scenes like this...