Max is Six!

Max had decided on glow in the dark bowling many months ago. So when his birthday rolled around, so did the bowling balls.

Max has a great group of little friends. And it was pretty fun to get them all together.

This was my second go at a Minecraft cake (also in Max's plans for months prior).  I will never be a cake maker, but this one did turn out better than the last.

  

I could write it out again, but the thoughts would be the same, so here is what I posted on Instagram on October 29:

Notorious for refusing to be in pictures, I got lucky this morning because he was just so gosh darn excited that it's his birthday today. So excited, he made himself a card last night. So excited, he said in the car yesterday, "Mom!! Can you believe it's my birthday tomorrow?!?! And can you believe that 5 is my last baby number and 6 is my first big boy number?!? I CAN'T WAIT!!!" So excited, he's been counting down for a month. He is so precious to me, though this year has been one of the more challenging as his mom. He is extremely stubborn and very sensitive. He went to his first football game, had no idea what was going on, but danced the entire time. He loves kindergarten but can't imagine going to school for more than 3 hours ever because he misses me too much. He plays equally well with boys and girls and can make a friend wherever he goes. He may be the instigator of sibling brawls at home, but at least when he's out of the house, he is amazingly good at keeping the peace. He has so much love inside of him there are times he literally cannot contain it and he bounces around hugging everyone until our eyes nearly pop out. He is a big, big boy but there are few more tender. In fact, with each excited birthday outburst, he would so sweetly comfort me, "But don't worry, Mom, I'll always be your baby. Even when I'n a dad, even when I'n a grandpa, even when I'n dead." You better believe I'm going to hold him to it. ‪#‎happybirthdaymymax‬ ‪#‎six‬

Halloween 2015

Originally we were planning a Wizard of Oz Halloween.  Luke wanted to be the Tin Man, Finn was going to be a lion, and I somehow convinced everyone else be the scarecrow, Dorothy, and Toto (Jack didn't need much convincing).

But as Halloween approached, Luke's interest in the Tin Man began to wane.  Slowly the plan fell apart as everyone came out with what they'd really like to be if their mom wasn't forcing them into a theme.  

So I let it go, and we had the perfect random cast of characters.  

A bat,

 a witch,

 a lamb, 

Clark Kent, 

and a lion.

And we had a great time.

Sometimes it feels like we're celebrating Halloween for a week between all the different activities. But I guess that's not all bad.

Max seems to attract the ladies.  Here he is with one of his "admirers" and best friends, Kamryn.  And on the other side is one of his other best friends, who also happens to be his 2nd cousin, Connor.

Finn was not feeling this picture, obviously.  But  like any good mother, I forced him into it with his best little friend, Mercedes and his 2nd cousin friend, Matthew.

I had planned to recycle Finn's Yoda costume from last year for Jack, but I couldn't find it.  So at the last minute I grabbed this lamb costume from a classifieds site.

He hated the hat but forgot about it as long as he had a lollipop.  The only time he was reminded was when access to his mouth was blocked. 

We threw in some Max birthday celebrations along the way and it made for some fun times.


Pumpkin carving,

And a spooky dinner,

opening presents, 

And we capped off the night with Trick or Treating, and it was a perfect night.

Fall Fun

 As early as we could manage this fall, which ended up being the 2nd weekend of October, we headed west to see the leaves at Kenosha Pass.

Along the way we saw things like this,

And this, 

And this, 

The lighting couldn't have been better and we were starting to get really excited about what awaited us.

Until we were about 10 minutes from our destination and the leaves really started to thin, that is.  After a little more than an hour in the car, we pulled into the parking area and we were surrounded by tree skeletons.  Not an aspen leaf in sight.

Needless to say the kids were a little disappointed.  But they got over it when I gave them the popcorn and apple juice we had planned to eat amongst the trees.  Instead they ate it in the car and we enjoyed the leaves again on the way back down and I stopped to take pictures.

 There's always next year. And we will be there at the end of September if it kills us, because in it's glory I am sure that place is breathtaking.

My other consolation is that my backyard is home to two big beautiful ash trees.  

So every morning I would wake up, see the trees, say something like, "Oh my gosh!" or "Wow!" and I would take a picture.  

But I'm a weirdo because I took that same picture every single morning.

Maybe it's because I was lucky enough to live in the fall color capital of the world (New Hampshire), followed by the fall color black hole (Texas), that fall here just feels really, really good to me.  Colorado can't even touch New England, but at least there are some really enjoyable and authentic fall things to enjoy here. 

Like leaf wars, 

being buried in leaves, 

Jumping into a pile of leaves, 

And making leaf angels,

Raking is going to be kind of intense, but the enjoyment that's been had will make it worth it.

We went to Anderson Farms this year and it was pretty great. We could have stayed all day.

We explored the corn maze and took a hayride.  And I realized as I remarked how beautiful the mountains looked, that I am really happy to be enjoying fall here, in Colorado, that Colorado is finally starting to feel like home.  And that's kind of a big deal.