Playing Ball.

 Garrett has a lot of power when it comes to sports.  I am not kidding.  If you give him a ball of any kind and a stick, he is going to hit it.  Therefore, if Garrett has a golf club and you see he is getting ready to putt, don't stand behind him....

 ...you may need the "Boo-Boo Bear" from the freezer. 

Bless his heart.  You can tell by his face he didn't mean to hurt anyone.

 All good little ball players, must stop for a good nose picking -

 I love this one -

 Laughing with Daddy....

Halloween 2010

I wanted to get a good picture of the boys together, but what I got was a lot of pictures that just make me laugh out loud!

It started with Garrett standing alone....

....while Aaron and Jackson chased Jackson's hat that kept flying away!

Then Garrett decides he needs to smell the flowers.....

Garrett REALLY likes flowers.....

Here they are both facing the front, but I think Jackson may be "shooting the bird".....

Garrett's back to the flowers.....

I mean, SERIOUSLY Garrett!!

Aaron got to go to the World Series tonight, so he missed out on the trick or treating.  One day, the boys will understand why Daddy picked the World Series over Trick or Treating.  ;)  With that being said, I will hide all of the good candy from Aaron!  It's only fair!  :)

The boys and I went trick or treating with our "New Neighbors/Old Friends."  We went to high school with Crissy and Rob.  Their son Grayson, is Jackson's age and they are expecting another little boy in January!  They live across the street and the boys are loving it!

Rob, Grayson, and Crissy

Garrett, Jackson, and Grayson

This house was so neat!  They had a projector screen on their garage and they were playing a Halloween movie. 

This guy had on a scary costume!  Poor kids, most of them were really scared of him, but Jackson stayed and took as much candy as he could!

Later on, back at Grayson's house digging into their goodies -

We all had a great time!  The boys were worn out! 

Cute quote from Jackson I have to share:
Before leaving the house tonight I was looking for Rigley so I could put him in his cage.  Jackson asked why Rigley couldn't go with us and I said something like "Dogs don't need to go trick or treating."  Jackson said, "Mommy!  Dogs can to go trick or treating!  They are nocturnal so they can see really good at night!  He sleeps during the day and he can see at night!  Right Mommy?  He is nocturnal so he can go trick or treating with us!"  He thought he has it all figured out!

Kids are like little sponges.  I have talked about nocturnal animals and I have talked about dogs being able to see in the dark, so he put it together and assumed Rigley must be nocturnal.  Makes sense!      

Fort Jordan

If you have been reading my blog for over a year, you can probably recall our swing set story.
If not, here is a quick timeline and links to previous blog posts:

September 2008:  Our parents and Aaron and I bought the boys a swing set for Jackson's 2nd birthday.
Link:  Jackson's Birthday Party

August 2009:  Storm destroyed swing set.  (If you're doing the math, we had only had it for 11 months)
Link:  The Swings Swung....A little too High

Our house was actually about to be put on the market when this happened.
About a year or so prior to this, Aaron's dad, Randy, got a new boat.  He gave us his old one since we had space for it and with the intentions of Aaron being able to take the boys fishing on it.  Since both sets of the boys' grandparents live on the lake and own their own boat, the boat in our driveway was being ignored.  
With our house on the market and plans to move to a smaller lot, Aaron's parents were very gracious and told us to sell the boat and use that money to help with the cost of a new swing set for the boys once we were in our new house.
Link:  For Two Sweet Boys

We sold our house, moved to our new house which is in a neighborhood with a HOA.  Although many people have negative things to say about neighborhoods with a HOA, Aaron and I LOVE it!  That is a whole other story......so let me get to my point without debating about a HOA!  :)

We had some rules we had to follow concerning structures in our backyard: 

• Only one per lot. 
• Roof pitch will be similar to that of the house.
• Will not exceed 8 feet in height at ridge line of the roof.
• Less than 80 square feet of floor space.
• Visually harmonious with the house or fence to which it is most visually related or physically attached.
• Shingles will match that of the house.
• Not located in front yards or in unfenced portions of side yards facing streets.

The challenge:  Will not exceed 8 feet in height!  The shortest fort we could find was 11 feet.  We had to think outside of the box.  Even though the HOA Bylaws does discuss the roof requirements, it doesn't require a roof.  

We contacted a company that makes custom sets, Backyard Fun Factory, and they were able to make a fort that was 8 feet tall without a roof.  The HOA quickly approved it and we had the green light!  Who needs a roof anyways?!  A little sunshine won't hurt!   

Our backyard is small, so we also decided to do the space saver swing beam so it doesn't take up more yard space.  I am so glad we did this!  

    

If you look closely you will see some chalk on the wood.  The boys decided to decorate the fort with sidewalk chalk for "Garrett's birthday party" (his birthday is in March....??)  We haven't had a good rain to wash it off yet.

Oh Rigley.  Why do you continue to like the boys?  Although Rigley drives me insane at times, he is a trooper when it comes to the boys.

Jackson has a plan....

Rigley is kissing Jackson's hand......

Lovely....

Jackson found it funny.....

Rigley doesn't run inside to hide, instead he sits on the back porch and watches every move they make to make sure they are okay.