September

Every-now-and-then, I can find a quiet moment on the porch with one of the boys...and this one time it involved bubbles! 

 He told me all about his day at school, and worked his way through every bubble attachment and then cleaned it all up! It was magical.

 The twinkle lights out on the patio are still a favorite of mine. Rain just doubles the twinkle.

 In spring I planted an entire area of plants, almost on a whim, and it's been a joy to watch them grow and bloom this past growing season.

 I love trying to keep our front porch aesthetically pleasing. Sometimes, that means there's almost nothing out there....but this summer the plants have done well, and that was fun too.

 The ladies and Wilbur. :-)

 Noah's been busy with flag football in September.

 He's enjoyed it, but would much rather play tackle football...or so he thinks.

 The school year has gotten off to a good start. Noah occasionally has homework, but not too often. He's learning to juggle (although it's very low-key) his drum, piano and football practices with his desire to relax and watch TV. He's starting to realize that being involved in activities means less time sitting around doing nothing.

 I used these flowers in church, the bonus is that then they brighten up my kitchen for several days afterward!

 I love that for a few weeks in Kansas you can find these bright flowers in the ditch. The farmers tell me they're weeds, but they're one of the prettiest weeds I've ever seen!

 We spent one evening at the Kansas State Fair.

 The boys were just as enamored with the farm and construction equipment on display as they were when they were toddlers.

 We ate tons of delicious and terribly unhealthy food. The boys each got to ride a few rides. I was with Levi so I've got pics of that, but Noah went on much more adventurous rides that I was too nervous to even watch! Levi did stuff that was more my speed. :-)

 The next weekend I was out in Denver for work meetings. The meetings were good, but after they wrapped up we had enough daylight left to go for a hike outside of Golden.

 It was great to have a chance to breathe in fresh air and enjoy nature for a while!

 I came home to a house full of friends and it was great! Relaxing by the fire while the kids ran around was a nice end to a weekend full of work.

 We have so many eggs....all the time....too many eggs.

 Corn harvest came and went in September. It was a bit stressful due to muddy fields but the farmers pushed through and got it done.

 I even got a lunch date with my favorite farmer in the combine!

 Kansas was putting on a good golden hour show that night!

 More flag football....

 After flag football we took off for our church retreat at Camp Mennoscah. It was an adventure, like camp always is! A lightning strike threw the power at camp for a couple of hours, so we ate supper in the dark but the lights came back on before it was fully dark outside. The rain made for a humid, sticky time but we still had lots of fun!

 Levi even learned a fun new game, Spool-something....

 One night we had our own version of Wipe Out in the living room.

 The eggs...everyday with the eggs...

 And just last weekend, so technically in October, Levi and I went to the pumpkin patch for an afternoon of fun. Neither Noah or Ben wanted to come, so the two of us went and had a great time!

 This past week the Smith's invited us to join them in celebrating Joni's birthday at a Japanese steak house in Salina. Our boys had never been to a restaurant where the food is cooked right in front of you and the chef throws food at you. They LOVED it. :-)

 And for no reason at all, except just because, Ben brought me lunch and flowers one day this past week. It was so sweet!

 I went along with Levi's class to Rolling Hills Zoo. He's growing up. He didn't want to sit next to me on the bus....

 We had a great time at the zoo. It was a cool, calm morning and we had the place to ourselves!

 Levi's class, an interesting cast of characters, to say the least!