harvest

The harvest season arrived (and is almost over) and my rambunctious boys turned into little farmers with the patience to sit in a combine for hours....and hours....and hours! They went in the field with Grandpa several times this year, and each time I was amazed at the amount of time they stayed out there. I think one day it was 7 hours! They don't do anything for 7 minutes, much less hours! But there is something about sitting in that combine with Grandpa that they both love. And something that I hope they will always remember. I still do from 25 years ago when I was the one sitting next to him.

Sever's Corn Maze

So it's been weeks since we went to Sever's Corn Maze, but none the less, here is a blog post about it. It was warm! And in this first picture, Paxton was crabby and decided he didn't want to be a Johnson sibling and refused to sit with his brother and/or sister.

At some point, he got over it. But usually once throughout every day, that boy goes through an "I hate everything about life" phase and no amount of sweet talking will snap him out of it, he needs to get through in his own time. 

Hudson would have truly been in his glory had Grandma allowed him to pick this pumpkin! But at 40 cents a pound, we couldn't afford it, or fit it into our vehicle.

They bounced and jumped....

Flashed some cool signs....

Pet some odd looking animals....

And covered themselves in corn.

And to end the day, we all took a wagon ride around the farm site. 

valleyscare

Annual tradition- Valleyscare during the day with the Friederichs. It seems we have always lucked out with good weather, and this year was no different. 80 degrees and sunny! The only downfall is that the kids aren't able to wear their costumes when its so warm. Harlow was the most festive in her skeleton dress that she LOVES! And the boys wore Halloween t-shirts thanks to Aunt Sheri. What is not pictured in this post is Paxton's attempt at going through the haunted school. I find it best not to photograph a crying face filled with fear! He thought he was brave enough to walk through with Dad (Hudson knowing himself better and opting out of the bloody haunted school.) but he didn't quite make it. He couldn't stop talking about it that day, but thankfully I haven't been woken up with any nightmares yet.

Harlow's face...the excitement...I love it.

Love this face too!

And this was Hudson's first Valleyfair experience tall enough to ride the "big rides". I could tell he was a little nervous as we waited in line, never letting go of my hand, but once he started riding, he loved it! His face was priceless. The perfect mix of scared to death and excited as can be. The Wild Thing was his favorite, and he and Jamie rode it at least 5 times.

And what's a fair without winning a giant stuffed animal that no one needs!?!? However, we all agreed that these zombies with oversized heads were pretty cute.

The cutest, colorful skeleton ever!

And we ended the night watching the sunset from the top of the ferris wheel. Perfect, fun day spent with family. I love getting these cousins together. Even though their genders don't match up with the ages, they fit together so well. And having those 2 girls around Harlow is like a dream. They take care of the stroller pushing and hand holding. Thanks for the fun tradition Friederichs!

Pumpkinfest

A couple weekends ago we headed to the annual Pumpkinfest put on by a local school. Although cooler temps were in the forecast, it turned out to be a beautiful day for a fall festival.

After the festival, we went to my friend Meredith's house so the kids could each pick a pumpkin from their patch. Somehow, Hudson got a hold of a chicken and was pretty proud of himself. And with all the excitement, I got a picture of all of them smiling real smiles!

flag football

Hudson stepped outside of his comfort zone this fall and played flag football through Park and Rec. I asked his permission prior to signing him up because I didn't want to battle with him about having to go twice a week for 4 weeks, and to my surprise he said, "Sure, I'll try it." What??? Excuse me?? You're agreeing to play a sport?!? And football none the less! OUT OF CHARACTER for our Hudson to say the least. And it probably took him a couple practices, but once he got more comfortable, he really enjoyed it. Every picture I took of him, he is grinning from ear to ear. And he tried! He actually ran, got involved, participated, cheered. This is all normal for most 7 year old boys, but not this one. He wasn't the star of the team, but I was very proud of him. It made sitting outside in the dark, teeth chattering under a blanket, freezing in the rain, a little more tolerable.

He's on the green team, to the far left, in his ready position.

SMILE!!!

Hudson and some buddies; Tegan and Brody.

homecoming parade

The boys thought and thought over whether they wanted to ride IN the Homecoming parade, or WATCH the parade, but when Hunter invited them to ride on the float with her, in the back of a truck and throw candy...they were ALL FOR IT!!! The pictures are kind of hard to see, but the boys had a great time! They were so excited to throw candy. They told me all about everyone they say that they knew. I think they felt pretty darn special. Thanks Hunter! 

And Harlow had a great time watching the parade. Look at that happy smile!

And the excitement and anticipation of CANDY!!!! 

the last couple months

Here are some random pictures taken in the last couple months all compiled into one blog post. I'm not nearly as good as I used to be keeping up on here, so here you go.....our life....

Harlow and I dug out my old Pretty Pretty Princess game at my parents house and brought back many memories for me. Clearly, she's always the princess!

Getting extra smooches in on the night before he is a kindergartner.

I treated the boys to Target treats and Nerf guns for their first successful week of school. Man they're spoiled!

Harlow came to work with me on a Friday for a few hours. She loved it and felt so proud coming to work with Mommy, and I loved having her with me.

Jamie was best man in his friend Steve's wedding, and Harlow was his cutest date!

All the kids dressed up for the wedding reception and dance.

It was Moon Over Herman so we climbed up after dark and then went to McDonald's for ice cream sundaes. It was a fun, late night.

We went to a wild animal show and my kids could have joined right in!

My first visit to lunch with Hudson this year.

And thankfully their lunch times are back to back so I can spend a solid hour with them at the school.

My girl, dressed up so pretty in her Hello Kitty dress. She made sure everyone noticed her.

All the girls went wedding dress shopping for Logan. I love having a girl to do girl things with!

She had the brilliant idea to paint rocks one rainy day.

The entire family has had a dang cough and cold for weeks, this was our dual trip to the clinic.

Sister had been waiting a long time for rain so she could walk into school with her umbrella.

Bella (yep, did you know we have a dog?!?) has really come to love Paxton. She follows him around, sits on his lap, sleeps next to him. This is all extremely out of character for our dog who has never liked kids! And Paxton is just eating it up!