Seriously the most interesting thing we've done since we've been home is make a berry pie one night. (Please excuse the little misunderstanding at the beginning of the video where one person thought we were taking a picture and the other thought he was shooting a video.)
Yeah for downtime!
Here's the picture I thought we were taking first...

We’re back and to answer the most obvious question – yes! We got one! Well, Terry got it actually, right off the bat on opening day. Yeah Terry!



A general gallery of pictures is posted here.

Posts from prior years have pretty thoroughly covered the ins-and-outs of elk camp so here are some notes about what made this year unique...

The “new” trailer
When it comes to trailers, size matters! The increased space was fabulous for life with two kiddos. Carson loved being outside, but also enjoyed playing inside. Nolan was fine outside once we got there, but (loudly) expressed his desire to stay in every time I tried to get his coat on him. Trailer time featured table dancing, live concerts and muffins. Quite the wild establishment we were running!


The bathroom
You can either continue to teach your three-year-old how to wash his own hands and use the bathroom by himself OR conserve the limited water available in the trailer. Not both.


A lot of bull
Multiple people, including Scott, saw multiple branch bulls in the woods this year, but no one held a branch tag. Frustrating, but also pretty cool to see the larger animals.

The windows
Before we left Scott designed and made Plexiglas storm windows for our trailer so we would not have to use the plastic that you tape on and blow-dry to tighten. This was a good thing. The plastic would not have made it through a single day with the boys.


Snow pants!
I like to think my sister and I were this cute when we used to run around in our snow pants and long johns, but I’m not sure that’s possible. The boys were adorable!


Bogart
…is a saint. ‘Nuf said.
 

The Boys
Carson’s energy level is either admirable, or frightening. Nolan can stuff just about anything he can reach into the two inch crack behind the couch in our trailer. I found rolls of paper towels, sippy cups, hats/gloves/scarves, toys and yes, Nolan himself back there over the course of the week.


The Kids Laughing
Is priceless.

If you need us we'll be here...

Witches, princesses, cows and an evil lego villain descended on our house this afternoon for some Halloween fun. We ate sausages, painted pumpkins and made Kleenex ghosts until everyone was gone and then enjoyed some much needed family down-time. Carson was very excited for trick-or-treating so in the evening the Geico money, Mr. Dragon, a Hershey's Kiss and momma with her little horns made the rounds in the neighborhood before heading down to our church for some Halloween activities there. Happy Halloween everyone! Thanks for making the day so special!

Carson had his first field trip this morning - to Farmer John's just outside of McMinnville where they learned about vegetables and farming, made rattles out of hazelnuts and took a tractor ride to the pumpkin patch. 18 three-year-olds on a field trip is a little, no, actually just like herding cats, but with the help of a lot of parents, everyone had a good time!

Dinner = Olive and Pineapple pizza!

 

Last night was pumpkin carving night... of which Nolan lasted all of about 10 minutes before he needed to go to bed.
But the rest of us enjoyed making our festive creations.... Boo!

The events are all done.
The football team is now 6-0.
And I've just attended my 10-year college reunion (what the heck?!!?), which was a ton of fun.

It's Homecoming at Linfield, which means mommy is working extra hours today and tomorrow so Daddy, Poppy and Nonna decided to take the kids up to the zoo!

 

Some people don't know there is a big sandbox tucked away at the zoo... our kids think the zoo is a giant sandbox with some animals around. Thank goodness for our membership - if the kids want to play in the sandbox and only see a few animals, oh well.

Nolan’s teeth take so long to come in that it’s almost comical. He was walking for a good couple of weeks before he had any teeth… then he got four at the same time around 10 months old… then nothing.

 

I check most mornings when I lay him down to change his diaper to see if there are any new ones but typically the answer is ‘no’. (Average for 16 months is about 12-16 teeth - for whatever ‘average’ is worth with kids.) So this morning, at exactly 1 year, 3 months and 16 days old I was surprised to look in his mouth and see the very tip of tooth #5 had finally broken through!

 

It doesn’t really matter… it’s just sort of funny. My only fear is that if they fall out at the same rate they came in, he’ll be getting his permanent teeth in about Junior High!