livin' on a prayer

honestly, i have wanted to do an 80s hair band since we only had two boys.  so when this month went crazy and two weeks ago i had not yet started on costumes, i realized that it was finally time.  the boys took some convincing, but a couple nights of viewing the best youtube videos 80s rock has to offer, and they were hooked. we have been listening to the bon jovi pandora station and rocking out every afternoon since!  i catch them singing "you give love a bad name" and "we will rock you" and "here i go again" while they build with legos, or while they are falling asleep for naps or while they eat their breakfast, and i couldn't be more proud. also, steve is officially the coolest for making a video of the boys to one of my all time favorite songs!

:: for a flashback to previous halloween fun, click here, and here, and here, and here, and here and here.

photo explosion :: vol. 13

{early morning fishing at grandma and poppy's}

{post-bath brother watching}

{he laid like this for quite a while}

{being silly at target}

{field trip fun!}

{homeschool day at the corn maze}

{definitely the most daring three-year-old i know}

{"hey mom, check out my new hand!"}

{jonah often "helps" gabe work on phonics}

{someone smuggled a marker into the car.  but don't worry, he reassured me that it was ok, since he was a cat.  apparently cat moms don't mind when their little ones draw all over their faces.}

{just a bean farming family planting their crop under the trampoline, of course.}

{someone thinks that he is working hard}

{this morning... finished up the boys halloween costumes!  can't wait for tomorrow!}

a birthday adventure

for my birthday (since 30 is kind of a big deal i guess), we took a trip to hontoon island state park, where we rented cabins for a night.  it was amazing!  there are no cars, so the kids got to ride their bikes freely anywhere within sight.  it was fairly secluded, so there was plenty of wildlife to see (gabe's dream come true).  we spent all of our time playing at the playground, fishing, canoeing, hiking (and then leaving the trails after spotting a pygmy rattle snake!), playing board games, and eating smores.  gabe was in heaven, and even got his first whittling injuries trying out his pocket knife (we have some work to do in terms of pocket knife safety training).  ezra found frogs and bugs and plants and minnows that he was thrilled to play with. titus rode endless miles on his bike. and sleeping two adults and all four kids in a one-room cabin was not nearly as traumatic as it could have been (although there was some raccoon commotion at about 1 AM that freaked the ladies out just a bit!). we had a best time, and we will definitely be going back soon.





for more pictures, see megan's post about our trip!