halloween

i haven't blogged for so long now.  time to catch up.  

here are pictures from our visit to a pumpkin patch at arata farm near half moon bay from mid-october.  we have been there once before, a couple of years ago.  it is a fun place.  they have pony riding, a petting zoo, a haunted house, a hay maze and of course, tons of pumpkins!  finn rode a pony and went into the petting zoo area but didn't want anything to do with the haunted house.  max and brent went.  we left with several pumpkins of all shapes and colors.  a successful outing!

lunch in pescadero on the way to pumpkin patch

arriving at a rata farm

 for halloween, max and finn decided to both go as football players, 49ers players to be specific.  on halloween morning, max wore his costume to school for their annual halloween parade.  several of the boys in his class went as football players as they had planned.  in the evening, we went trick-or-treating with the uffelmans just as in prior years.  we met up early, fed the kids and headed out.  it rained for most of the day but stopped in time for us heading out.  we had the best time!

pumpkins in place

max (third from left) with his football player school buddies

our football players are ready

with the uffs

in late august, we rode the train up to san francisco to attend a giants baseball game.  the weather was amazing and we had a fun day!  the giants won!

finn on the train

at the slide within the at&t park

here are some photos from a trip down to carmel from sometime in september.  it is such a beautiful place.  we need to go more often.  the weather was gorgeous and after a late lunch, we spent hours on the beach.  the boys had their boogie board with them and had fun jumping and playing in the waves.

soccer time

in early October, it was finally finn's turn to play sports!  he wanted to play soccer so we signed him up for "kids love soccer" held at a nearby park in santa clara.  he simply couldn't wait for the big day to come!  his sessions are on saturday mornings and he loves playing!  he is good too!  so proud of our little guy!

in the car on the way to soccer!

out on the field

with proud big brother

following week, new soccer clothes

brent has been traveling lately and was gone both this week and last week.  i have been busy with work and the boys!  they have been really good though and we had a really nice time, me and my beautiful boys.  no fighting, good listening for the most part and they did a great job getting ready and out the door in the morning.  last friday, during our traditional friday movie-night, we had cupcakes for dessert. 

cupcake treats

finn's drawing at school - "me and max"

today, max received a student recognition award in front of the entire school at the end of mass.  his award certification reads:

"max's quiet helpfulness sometimes gets unnoticed by his teachers but not by his fellow classmates.  students recognize max's contributions to the classroom, as he often helps others spell a difficult word or explain a new concept,  max is a great example of an engaged learner.  he is always focused and complete his work on time.  max's quiet demeanor does not prevent him from participating and contributing to classroom discussions.  he is always on task and adds a great deal to our classroom discussions.  thank you, max, for your hard work and assistance to your fellow classmates".

i could not be more proud. 

brent got home this afternoon - we missed him so much.  the boys are thrilled to have their dad home. dad and finn went to the driving range and out to dinner.  max chose to have movie-night and i loved hanging out and being close to him on the couch. 

like a friend told me this evening; "life is precious"..