A Perfect Fall Day.

After six weeks of nearly constant rain, it has finally stopped dripping up here. I'm hopeful that the clouds got it out of their system and we'll get very little snow this winter (much to Logan's dismay; he's already excited for the snow to come).

And, it should be noted that this post is dedicated to my sister-in-law, Erin. On her blog, she commented that Alaska had no fall. NOT TRUE! Apparently, she must have blinked and missed the whole thing! Seriously, I miss the autumn of the midwest as well, but I do NOT miss the heat of the summer.

So now that it's hitting the freezing point overnight and it finally creeps up to almost 50 degrees by afternoon, we decided to head outside. Ryan wanted to get some firewood ready and he thought it would be a good idea for the boys to "help."

Logan instructing Daddy in the order that the logs should be cut...Hey, Daddy's the one that wanted the "help."

They couldn't lift the big pieces, but also weren't about to settle for the small ones (Aaaah, the ego emerges!)

Same song, second verse...a little bit louder and a little bit worse!

I give up on trying to figure out my boys and all of their "phases." Over the past month, Logan has surprised me with his maturity (less arguing, less whining, etc.). In fact, I've bragged about it at times, relieved that it's "finally over." And so, God has chosen to humble me once again. Today I dealt with absolutely the two worst tantrums I have ever seen from either of my children...and they lasted a long time! 20 minutes for the first, about 10 for the second (both courtesy of my first-born). Complete and total meltdown, kicking, screaming, banging fists on the door. In between was a day filled with crying over just about everything. I guess we're not "in the clear" just yet.

On another note, I've been failing miserably with updating our blog. Busy, busy. Here's a quick summary:

We took a quick trip up to the State Fair the last week of August. We borrowed Grandpa's camper, which means the boys were up until 11:00 p.m., just a short 4 hours past their usual bedtime! And they still woke up at 7:00. Two days of late nights and no naps, with very little meltdown moments.

Carter actually enjoyed the fair a little more this year; last year he just liked watching, but this year he wanted in on the action a little...which means the money went faster. But, they each got a certain amount of ride tickets and they seemed satisfied once they were gone. We took in a couple of shows and got to pet some baby chicks, so it was all-in-all, a fun day.

Getting dizzy.

Ferris wheel ride.

Both the boys driving. Logan was hitting on the little girl on the motorcycle next to him the whole time: My name is Logan. I'm 4. I'll be 5 on Christmas Eve. That's the day before Christmas, yunno...

Down the big slide!

Grandma Jan also came to visit the end of August. It was a fun-filled week of just hanging around the house, soaking up a bunch of time with Grandma.

Wrestling in our jammies

And, Grandma fulfilled her grandmotherly duty of giving Carter a messy toy...moon sand. For those of you that haven't tried it, you really must. It looks just like wet sand. It floats, it molds, but doesn't dry out (like our favorite play-doh). It also makes a sweet mess. On a happy note, it vacuums up easily and doesn't get ground into the chair...or carpet...or hair...or dog...or clothes...or...

Notice Carter's tongue...he's concentrating.

We were VERY excited about the mess!

A few days later, we decided to give hiking a try...with the boys. Although Ryan brought his "bear protection", we're quite sure the boys yakking at the top of their lungs scared away any wildlife within a 5-mile radius. I won't volunteer to give out my children as protection for hikers, but I'm pretty sure anyone is safe to hike with us as long as the boys are with.

At a resting spot before turning around (keep in mind, we didn't need a rest from hiking...just a rest from all of the QUESTIONS - those of you that have had a 4-year old know what I'm talking about!).

Apparently the after-hike ice cream is no laughing matter.

Ryan also decided to take Logan fishing with Grandpa. He was perfectly content on the boat, but really wasn't all that interested in the fish. How could he be? He was too busy playing "20 questions" with Grandpa about every button, nook & cranny on the boat!

So, now that I'm not scheduled to fill in at work until Thanksgiving, I'm hoping I'll be a little better about keeping things up to date on here. Then again, I got very few things checked off of my "to do" list all summer long...

Eeeewww, yuck!

The big birthday bash took place last Saturday. We had a sunny afternoon and lots of friends joined in the fun. Carter made quick work of the gift-opening and cake-eating and then all the kiddos were in the backyard to play. For those that didn't get an invitation, we had a "gross" theme this year.

Nobody lost their lunch.

Bloody fingers.

Earwax snacks.

Boogers on a stick.

The classic dirt cake with gummy worms and bugs.

A little toilet water to wash it all down.

Blowing out those big candles to make it official...CARTER IS THREE!