Movie!

Ok, so Owen and I didn't get all dressed up but we had our own fun night! Owen was still recovering from being sick so we dozed on the couch for a bit and then went to a movie. He wanted to see Middle School and had read the book the week before so he had a pretty good idea of what he was in for...and so he awesomely revealed the big secret of the movie without realizing it! It made for a pretty funny moment and ultimately allowed me to watch the movie from a different perspective.

Daddy Daughter Dance

Paige and Pat got all dressed up to attend their 3rd Daddy/Daughter dance! Could these two be any cuter? Nope. Adorable. In the past, Paige would always abandon her corsage at the beginning of the dance so Pat gave her a bouquet of flowers before they left instead. They also had a special dinner together the night before at the Olive Garden, a restaurant Paige had been asking to go to for awhile! The details I heard were that they danced some dances, ate a ton of junk food and had a great time!

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Hot Chocolate!

These two needed some hot chocolate after a cold morning of soccer!

Pancakes, Please?

I mentioned a couple posts ago that Owen had caught a cough. Well, it turned out to be a little more serious. He went to school Monday and we got a call from the nurse around 1 saying he had a fever and needed to be picked up. When I walked into the school clinic instead of seeing Owen I saw Paige! Turns out that she had been involved in a collision at recess and bumped heads with another girl. They were in the clinic getting checked out and getting some ice for their bumps. The nurse knew I was there for Owen so she was a little confused about why I was comforting some other kid...It was pretty funny when she pulled back a curtain and Owen was sitting behind it happily sipping a juice box. Paige and Owen were basically right next to each other and had no idea! He ended up missing school the next two days and had a fever that got as high as 103. One night I couldn't sleep and Owen woke up talking to me about wanting pancakes and how soon could I make them? He was very surprised to find out it was the middle of the night but went back to sleep and I made him the pancakes the next morning:)

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Fries

I used the spiralizer again! So that's a total of two times. But both times have been very tasty. Very tasty indeed. This recipe was super easy and yummy but you have to like your fries crispy!
Crispy Baked Curly Fries

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Pie!

I've been doing a really terrible job with CSA ingredients this year...we've thrown out a few things and given some away. But we have one more week left and I was feeling guilty about a bag of plums that no one was eating. That brings us to this Vanilla Plum Crumble Pie. Because I need more reasons to make pie! And Paige helped! The problem is that I don't like plums all that much (hence, why the whole bag was sitting untouched in the fridge) and this pie was very sweet. The best part was the crumble on top! I wouldn't buy plums just to make this but it was a decent way to get rid of them!

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Leaves

Fall seems to be arriving late this year but Paige and her friend found a leaf pile last week and jumped right in:)

Sleepy Kid

Last week, Owen finally caught the cough that's been traveling around school and ended up napping two days in a row! We had a packed weekend and he didn't want to miss anything but he made it through with help from the extra sleep and some tea!

Harvestfest!

Paige and I were on our own for Harvestfest again this year while Pat and Owen went to the high school soccer game (we went without the boys two years ago and I don't know what happened last year...no pics on the blog!). Her Batgirl costume turned out great and the day was so nice that she ended up being too hot. Hopefully it's that nice on Halloween! Paige had fun picking out her pumpkin (the third she's managed to collect this month!) and then trick or treating through town. The lines for the inflatables and face painting were too long but she was a good sport about it and was mostly excited to eat some candy!

Batgirl pose before we left!

Yes, the cape and mask are reversible.

This was the only special picture that Paige requested while we were out:)

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Mapleside

It's mid-October and we finally made it to our first apple orchard of the season! The kids didn't have school on Friday so I thought maybe it wouldn't be so crowded. Nope. Super crowded! We still managed to fit in a lot activities before we had to leave. We started off with the giant slide, watched some pig races and went on a hayride before we stopped for some food at the corncession stand. Owen ordered an overpriced burger that ended up being amazing and Paige opted for some nachos, some of which were the same color as her hoodie...apple cider and kettle corn rounded out the meal. Totally balanced. After eating we worked our way through a giant corn maze and ended the afternoon at the jump pillow. That's right, the only apple-related portion of the afternoon was drinking cider!

Waiting for our turn on the slide. 

I was there too!

The Jump pillow had the longest line but it was a good way to end the visit!

Friends

I found these pictures from last week when I tried to get a picture of Paige and her friend! We were about to go watch the high school boys play soccer and these two couldn't stop being silly for a second:) So fun to see them together!

Pumpkin Picking

In the middle of tournament games on Saturday we stopped at an outlet mall for lunch and to use up some time. The boys all walked around to play Pokemon Go and to play at the playground but me, Paige, and a couple of our friends took a train ride around the complex and picked out a pumpkin! Our ride took us past the playground so Pat took a picture when he saw us.

Soccer Tournament

Owen's travel team played in a tournament last weekend (the same one they won last year!) They had a game at 11 on Saturday and won 6-1! Paige had her own soccer practice so we missed the first game but we joined up with them for lunch and the second game at 5. The second game didn't go as well so they were essentially out of the championship game after that but still had a game on Sunday morning. The boys were pretty dejected after another tough loss but we were really proud of how they stuck with it and didn't give up! It was beautiful soccer weather too!

Action shot, sort of. I didn't get a lot of game pictures!

We had a Jimmy John's feast on the way home Saturday night! Paige and I ordered the food while we waited for Pat and Owen to arrive.

We drove one of Owen's teammates to the game on Sunday.

Cupcakes and donuts were given out to celebrate a teammate's birthday!

Batgirl

Paige got some new pajamas! And they're awesome!

Walk to School

Last week we participated in that wacky school event where we drive past the school to meet up with other people to walk to school even though it's something we do every day from our house! But it's always fun:) We get to walk with friends who normally take the bus and McGruff the crime dog is usually there too!

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Last Game of the Season!

Owen's team had their last game of the season (already??) last weekend and they ended on a great note! The teams seemed to be well matched and were eventually tied 3-3 up until a minute before the end of the game. Owen kept having great breakaways but would kick it right to the keeper. With a  minute left he had one more breakaway and scored the winning goal! The genuine excitement from the whole team was awesome to watch. Owen turned around with his arms spread out and accidentally fell in the mud while some teammates jumped on him:)

One of the breakaways...

Normal team picture...

Crazy team picture

Owen's team had a pretty good coach this year:)

Aww!

1/2 Birthday

It's been half a year since Paige turned 6! Can you even believe it?! She woke up acting totally normal but then she saw her card and seemed to immediately start acting more 6 1/2ish. Normally we celebrate with sprinkle pancakes but Paige had been wanting to have this Blueberry Breakfast Cake we ate in Michigan so we went with that instead! It came out great!!

New Foods

First-a store bought item. I picked up these mochi ice cream bites at the store because it's nice to have already portioned ice cream treats ready to go and no one argues about who got more... It's made of a sweet rice dough surrounding some ice cream. Our box had mango, strawberry and green tea flavored. So far I'm the only one brave enough to eat the green tea ones (they're good, I promise!) but everyone likes the other two flavors!

Up next, a homemade dinner veggie-Baked Cheesy Zucchini Bites! So. Mixed reviews on these. Owen couldn't stomach them but everyone else thought they were alright. They don't maintain their texture when reheated so definitely eat them all the first night!

Family Playlist

The kids are still fairly young but we already have some songs that are important to our family. Not all of them are super kid appropriate but might contain a couple lines that specifically applied to us at the time. We'll continue to add to the list but so far here is a list of songs that instantly bring us back to a specific time!

Yellow by Coldplay - This song reminds me of Owen in the NICU and the windy drive through the park we would take to visit him. He was very jaundiced so the yellow reference totally applied but the rest of the lyrics are pretty touching when you think of them in relation to a newborn- "Look at the stars, see how they shine for you," "You know I love you so."

Lola by the Kinks - This song was also for baby Owen! The lyrics have nothing to do with anything related to us except we heard it one day and sang it as "la la la la Owen" and that line became something we would sing pretty often.

Turn the Page by Bob Seger - Baby Paige needed a song too and this one was chosen because it had her name in it! It's also a little moody and references being on the road which are two things we were dealing with pretty heavily while Paige was in the NICU.

Dream a Little Dream of Me by The Mamas and the Papas - I've loved this song for a long time and it's important to our family for a couple reasons. Pat and I danced to it at our wedding and we used to sing it to the kids every night at bedtime.

Outdoors (I'm Yours) by Jason Mraz - Jason Mraz's original song, I'm Yours, was rewritten as Outdoors when he performed it on Sesame Street and I like to think it's better than the original. I get completely thrown off when the regular version is on the radio and the lyrics are all wrong.

What I am by Will.i.am. - Another Sesame Street favorite that we listened to a lot and I hoped that the kids were internalizing the message of all the positive things they could be and not just being distracted by muppets:)

We are Young by FUN - This is one of those songs that you don't realize is a problem until the kids are singing it but by then it's too late...and then you just sing your heart out and hope they're not paying attention. We used to blast this song in the car.

One More Night by Maroon 5 - We used to listen to this song on the way to and from indoor soccer when Owen was little so it reminds me of those dark, chilly nights!