Halloween!

 We had a very busy Halloween. In the morning we drove to Rochester to meet up with Uncle Chad, Aunt Laura and cousin Gianna. It was a fun day at the museum since all of the Fairy Tale characters were there handing out treats. This tied in perfectly with our fairy tale themed week we'd been having at home.

 Gianna had a great time! She soaked it all in and played really well.

 Riding a truck full of Wegmans food.

 Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" was visiting. This picture is for Grandma A.!

 Theo walked everywhere! He didn't want to leave. Here he is riding a car.

 Later in the night the boys were super exited to go trick-or-treating.

 Here are their scary faces.

 Our little lion stealing some candy.

Here is an attempt at a group picture.

Roar says Theo the lion!

A visit from the grandparents

Grandma and Poppa came up to visit! We had a wonderful weekend. Mom and I went to see Matthew Kelly, a speaker for DyanmicCatholic.com., on Saturday morning. He was awesome. He has some great ideas that he is helping to implement in the Catholic Church.  It was a wonderful morning and a great reminder of how imporant it is for us to spread and promote our Catholic faith!

 Theo attempting to squeeze into a pot.

 Hanging out with Poppa. The boys all enjoyed a trip to the hobby shop and spent some quality time with the "guys."

 The boys can never have enough books read to them. Thanks for visiting, the time just zipped by! We love you!

 A glimpse of what homeschooling has looked like lately since Jay has been home.

 A fun idea for a rainy/windy day, crazy crayons that we made in muffin tins.

Playing outside right before Hurricane Sandy, we had days of rain even before the storm.

The Pumpkin Patch

 We made the annual family trip to the pumpkin patch this past weekend. We once again went to Kelkenberg Farms, but to a different site.  The picture above is Jacob telling us that the turkey pen is stinky. He seems to have a sensitive nose.

 Raphael is standing next to a giant rabbit (it is sitting on top of the garbage can). He is also carrying his "information book" (a book about animals), that we can't seem to leave home without.

 Boy in a basket....

Unforunately, Raphael has a shiner near his eye that he received when he tripped on the stairs the other day. He's also feeling a bit under the weather so it was difficult to get a smile out of him.

 An attempt at a group shot.

 I just love these boys!

 Here are the boys weighing their pumpkins.

 My little snuggle bug.

 Here are the boys cracking some corn to be fed to the animals.

It was a beautiful afternoon and we are now officially ready for Halloween in a couple of weeks!

Another week

 Pretending to be a bean burrito.

 Somebody got a hair cut!

 We headed to the Explore and More museum in East Aurora to spend a morning with some friends. It was such a perfect fall morning to drive out there and all the children played well together.  In the craft room, the theme of the day was sweaters.

 Theo playing with play dough.

 The rice table was a hit.

 Mexican masks!

 John and Theo playing in the toddler area.

 Daddy and Theo have a nighttime ritual that includes looking at family photos, viewing the sky, saying a simple prayer and blowing out the light.

 I love when I see this, even if it only lasts a few minutes.

 On the homeschooling front, everything has been going well.  It really has been a fun challenge. I have been reading up on lots of different homeschooling techniques and methods.  In the picture above Jacob is making his own "story machine" (idea courtsey of "Alphabet Glue).  I love when I see the boys take to an idea and run off with it.

Here is Jacob's completed story machine. He wrote a story about mice getting bread at the store.   

Daddy and Raphael looking at bugs under the rocks.  Raphael is interested in anything related to nature and animals.
p.s. The themes of the week are birds and Africa.

How we love fall!

 This is how I found the boys playing with my kitchen utensils one morning.

 Gotta love this face.

 Kinda cool...(Jacob made his name out of clay).

 Some fall/Halloween decorations.

 Some leaves we pressed and hung up on the mirror.

 Fun ghosts made from the boys' painted feet!

Fun skeletons made of q-tips.

Jacob experimenting with magnets, one of our science units.

Learning to rake leaves.

I've been waiting for the boys to help out with chores!

We went to an awesome consignment sale and picked up this fun hat for Theo! Oh and at his fifteen month appointment he weighed in at 21 lbs 14 oz.

This little man has given us a run for our money lately, but he sure is cute!
p.s. Next week we make our annual trip to the pumpkin patch...stay tuned!