All Things Fall

Autumn is, without a doubt, my favorite season. I love the crisp morning air; the vibrant colors; picking, drying & saucing apples; pumpkin candles; big pots of homemade soup; dressing in sweaters & boots; hot drinks and the list goes on. Apparently, I've been too busy enjoying fall to update the blog, but with winter now upon us (or so it feels), here are a few highlights from the past couple of months.

We had an unusually warm and beautiful fall this year, which led to many an afternoon playing in the leaves. Raking, jumping, throwing, burying, and of course, posing for pictures!





What is fall in Spokane without a trip (or four) to Greenbluff? Apples, pumpkins, cider, tractor-rides...so much to enjoy. The kids and I went up on our own, then with Grammie & Poppa, AND I went with Grace & Isaac on their first ever school field trip!









The kids like helping me use our peeler-corer to prep apples for applesauce & dehydrating, however, this year's favorite was making caramel apples.






We spent a number of mornings exploring new kid-friendly hiking trails this fall. Eli is at that tricky stage, he loves to "hike" with his siblings, but his little legs wear out sooner & he can't quite keep up with them. He is 30 pounds now so I can still carry him in the backpack, but I am thankful he prefers to be on the ground some of the time. We did have one disastrous adventure a few weeks back which ended with me carrying a fit-throwing Grace as well as Eli on my back the last 1/2 mile. It is a good thing Isaac was in good spirits!




Halloween this year consisted of a pink dinosaur, a tiger, and Clifford the Big Red Dog. We had a great time at a party with our small group friends, decorating pumpkins, making pizzas, & playing games amid the bubbly chaos of twelve small children.





Time in Moscow. I remain very grateful for the ways in which my folks are a huge part of each of our lives, I cannot imagine it any other way. THANK YOU Grammie & Poppa!



I am also grateful for the opportunities this fall for grown-up fun, including:

An Arbor Crest concert with NB & Eric



A 24-hour trip to Portland to celebrate a special friendship. Nicole & Brad (both of whom were my RD's in college and have since become my good friends) have been best buddies for 20 years. So, they threw a fabulous anniversary party, complete with a DJ, fantastic food, lots of people & even a registry! :)


Me, Nicole, Mindy (and Baby Smith)


Cheers to 20 years of friendship!


And, a gorgeous hike to the top of Mt Kit Carson, a favorite of ours.




So long, autumn. Hello hats, gloves and SNOW!

Times, They Are A Changin'

It has been a time of transitions in our household.

Transition #1: Grace & Isaac are now in week two of pre-school. How did my little munchkins get to this point already - SCHOOL?! They're going to pre-school out at our church, which has helped tremendously in easing them into this new routine. They were already comfortable in the setting, knew a few of the teachers & even a couple of the students before the first day. They have been eager to start school and hardly let me hug them as I dropped them off the first day. Eli thinks he is ready too. I had been carrying him and put him down to hug Grace & Isaac good-bye, when he began to walk off, but stopped to smile, wave & blow me a kiss! Sorry buddy, you're stuck with me for another two years. :) Really though, I am looking forward to have a couple of mornings each week to focus on Eli, while knowing the other two are learning, growing & enjoying their time away from us.






Transition #2: A few weeks prior to the start of school, Grace & Isaac made the switch from toddler beds to "grown-up" beds. Sleep had not beeng going so well & these two were ending up in bed with me far more regularly than I care to admit. So...sticker charts, a week of rough nights, and viola! They're now doing well sleeping all night in their own beds & I am a much happier mama with better rest! Once the kids filled up their sticker charts, they were able to pick out their own new bedding, pictured below.



Transition #3: With the start of school, we did have to face one sad realization. Grace & Isaac are on the complete opposite pre-school schedule as their buddies Olivia & Isabelle. We've had a nearly weekly playdate with the Jones girls since the twins were born. I knew the day would come when school would prevent our treasured playtime, but I didn't expect it to happen just yet! We'll somehow figure out a way to see each other, but Julie & I are both feeling bittersweet about what this next stage means for our time together.



Transition #4: Our dear Kelli, who was with us all summer, decided to move to North Carolina at the end of August! We are excited for the journey she has ahead, but miss her already.



Transition #5: Because I know a few of you who read this are parents of toddlers, I have to mention one last transition. I recently read Love & Logic Magic for the Early Childhood Years, by Jim Fay & Charles Fay. It has honestly changed things around here in a matter of days. I love the respect, empathy & choices these parenting techniques give children while ensuring that the parents are the loving authority figures. There is plenty more I could say, but I'd rather just encourage you to go check it out for yourself. It is a relatively expenisve little book, so I just checked it out from the library, but may be ordering a copy of my own to keep!

My Boy

In late August, I was fortunate to get to spend over 24 hours alone with Isaac. We titled our day Isaac & Mommy's Excellent Adventure, and did our best to make sure it was an adventure. I made up clues the night before so that Isaac would have to figure out what was next throughout the day. We started out with an early morning mystery run that ended with breakfast at Petit Chat, the bakery down the street. We then went to Other Mothers (one of his two requests for the day!) and scored an entire fall wardrobe for him on store credit. He was excited to pick out "new" clothes, which is a good thing since he has now outgrown all of the hand-me-downs we've had from generous friends. We spent a little low-key time playing at home and then his buddies Adam & Colin introduced him to the Fish Hatchery, where we all shared a picnic lunch. The highlight for the boys was, of course, feeding the fish & watching them fight over the food. After his rest time we removed one of the swings on the swingset so that he could try out the trapeze & rings, which quickly became his new favorite part of the set. A few good friends came over for a Papa Murphy's dinner and a chance to be a part of Isaac's adventure. We ended our day out at Eric's. He was still in Scotland with his kids, but let me know Isaac & I could go tromp around out there (Isaac's send request for our day), which was a fabulous finale to our adventure.



Checking out the fish with his buddies

Upside down or right-side up this kid is a bundle of energy!

Laughing with Kyle

Tickle war with Coco

I told you he is strong!

Look at those muscles

He could swing for hours out there

Our self-portrait


Isaac Justice, I thoroughly enjoyed our adventure! You are a joy and a delight. You challenge me to be a more intentional mother, you play hard, you make me laugh, and your sharp mind continues to amaze me. I love you, buddy.

A New Favorite

What do you get when five women, four men, and TEN children under the age of six spend a long weekend together at Glacier National Park? An incredible amount of beauty, a few melt-downs, a stash of empty wine bottles, tons of laughter, multiple outings and a whole lot of fun! Grace & I spent the weekend in Glacier with the other families from our small group and had a really memorable weekend together. I quickly fell in love with Glacier and would absolutely recommend that you go - it is well worth the drive.

A few of us took the kids for an evening walk around the campsite after dinner. We certainly got our share of looks as we ventured out with our little crew! We found a log and lined up all the kids for a story, Who Pooped in the Park, about animal tracks & scat. Shortly after we got everyone settled, the ranger came by and told us we'd have to move as we were disturbing the vegetation. Seriously. We were about five steps off the road in the middle of the campground! I understand (and respect)the ways they're trying to preserve the park, but really?! Sheesh.




Meals were always a little chaotic. Here are the eight kiddos that could eat on their own, looking rather calm at the moment, I'd say.


Adorable Quinn


The Edmonsons around the campfire



Saturday we took an all day outing by heading up Going to the Sun road. It was about 25 miles from our campsite, but took nearly an hour and a half of driving to get there, as it was steep and windy. However, it was one of the most scenic stretches of road I've ever journeyed down (or should I say up?). We checked out the visitor's center at the top, where the kids turned in their ranger booklets and were sworn in as Jr Park Rangers. We then ventured out on a hike to the Hidden Lakes. It was a three mile hike round trip, and I was really impressed with how well the kids all did. Grace hiked all the way in, about 1/3 of the way out, then proceeded to fall asleep as soon as she climbed onto my back. The hike and the lakes were gorgeous!

Being sworn in. Raise your right hand & repeat after me...


Grace & Addie giggling about something along the trail


The Valentines


At the viewpoint


A chilly but refreshing swim in Lake McDonald after returning from our hike.


Silly faces


Sunday we walked a mile loop along Trail of the Cedars and Avalanche Creek. This was mostly a boardwalk path through lush forests of cedars. It was perfect for the kids and again, gorgeous.

Almost all of the kiddos


Grace is really into babies right now and she was often found by Quinn's side. Note: she named her baby doll Quinn after "the real Quinn" was born, and of course, had to bring her Quinn to Glacier as well.


My favorite spot along the walk. This picture doesn't come close to capturing it's beauty.


The Seidels


The Keenes


Avalanche Creek


The Mamas


The drive home. Grace played hard all weekend and really wore herself out which was evident as she slept most of the drive home.


I haven't posted about it yet, but I was very fortunate to get to spend some one-on-one time with each of the kids this summer. I'll post about my times with the boys soon, but I will say that I sure missed them this weekend! A number of different times I wished they were with us, but I knew bringing all three would be too much, perhaps in another year or two...

I really enjoyed this time with Grace, she was a delight to be with. She played well with the kids, was a trooper on the hikes, went to bed easily, entertained us with her songs, helped wash dishes, at one point was deemed the "perfect" child (before a few of her new fits), and may have even developed her first crush or two! :) I am so grateful for my sweet, sweet daughter and am proud of the gentle, thoughtful, creative, outdoor loving girl that she is becoming. I love you, Gracelynn Isabelle!

Many thanks friends for this great adventure. I'm convinced it needs to be an annual event!