Carving Pumpkins

Well, we finally made it happen.  Today we carved the pumpkins they each picked out this year.

They were the best scooper outers.

Silly by day...

 Spooky by night!

Guess who's learning to dress himself...

Yet another Lukasism....

Final Soccer Game

Charlie had his final soccer game of the season Saturday.

His aggressive playing comes in handy for this age group and once he can get it a bit more in control and learns the concepts of the game a little further, he'll be a force to be reckoned with on the field.  At Saturday's game he made a great pass which helped a teammate score, and made a goal himself (shown in the video).

He had a great team and we'll miss spending our Saturday mornings on the field.

 He had a great cheering section too...

 

Generations

With all of the good times we had, some of the most special moments we had on our trip were getting to spend time with our grandparents.  We are so lucky to have them in our lives.  It is neat that Charlie and Lukas have gotten to meet so many of their great grandparents.

GiGi

GaGa

Grandpa Louie - this wonderful man turned 100 during our trip!  He is AMAZING!!

I was also happy to see that wine is the secret to his longevity...I should be good to go...

Cousins

Charlie and Lukas loved spending time with the cousins (Hunter and Ashley) - we wish they lived closer (hint, hint)...!

Wrestling and soccer occupied these boy's time together

Who needs a jungle gym with this tree?

Precious moments

The Ultimate Pumpkin Patch

We hit the jackpot and discovered a little gem while in Modesto.  This pumpkin patch had everything-- a playground, bounce houses, mazes, a train and more.  It was even more fun that we got to have cousins join us.

One of the favorite attractions was a race track - so fun!

A quick pose...

Choo Choo!

 Papa Moo and Grammy with all the grandchildren.

Cooling Off

Did I mention how hot it was in California!?!  Doesn't the season know it's OCTOBER!!  Charlie and Lukas spent plenty of time cooling off in the fountain at Mimi and Far Far's house.

Fall Camping

Then, after meeting up with Paul, we were off to Sonora.  The weather continued to be hot, hot, hot, so we headed up the hill in search of cooler temps.  We squeezed in a quick overnight camping trip at our old stomping grounds, Pinecrest Lake.

Getting cozy in the Cozy Cruiser

Good thing there were only about five other camp sites occupied in the entire campground...these two used their "outside" voices with the volume turned  all the way UP.

There was no shortage of boulders to climb

We wouldn't have been able to pull the camping off without these two (Far Far and Mimi)

 

Rock throwing

Lukas' favorite perch

And, of course S'Mores! 

California Adventure

What a whirlwind trip the past week and a half felt like.  It always goes too quickly.  But I always enjoy getting back home so that I can re-live all of the fun moments of our time with family and friends.

My trip started in the bay area for a baby shower of one of my best university friends.  While mommy had a girls weekend, the kiddos stayed with Grammy and Papa Moo for the first leg of the trip.

Charlie with one of his calves he named 'Jersey'

Always lots of treasures to find

The weather allowed for lots of outdoor time

More Lukasisms

More adorable shots of Lukas' sweet personality - California style...

Showing off his muscles...

Stopping to smell the flowers...

More Soccer

Here are some pictures from the latest soccer game over the weekend.  It was actually a great game of back and forth play.  Our team had plenty of opportunities to score, but the ball just wouldn't go into the net.

Charlie has developed some great dribbling skills.

Another one near the goal - oh so close!

Check out these little studs!!  There were only 4 players at the game from Charlie's team, so they got pretty worn out by the end.  Charlie is the only preschooler on the team but he keeps up with the "big boys"!  The only thing that gives away his age is his size.