Trenton's Halloween Party

Gavin, Addison, and I went and helped at Trenton's Halloween party. We were in charge of the gumdrop spiders. There were different centers that the kids rotated through and it took about an hour and then they had a costume parade. Gavin fit in like he was in the class. He sat on carpet and listened during story time, he walked in the costume parade, and he even went to recess with the rest of the class. He really had a great time and I think Trenton did too. Again, it was nice to be able to volunteer and enjoy the party with out having to be in charge of it!

Where's Gavin?

Can you find who doesn't belong?

Five Little Pumpkins

Each year, we pick out the biggest pumpkins we can find, and then realize when it is time to carve them, that maybe we would have been better off with a smaller pumpkin. Every year, Caleb carves his pumpkin, and then I carve mine and the boys'. This year, the boys wanted to be more involved and so they each drew us a picture of what they wanted theirs to look like. We had them clean out the inside of their pumpkins and then we carved the faces. Gavin really struggled with having to touch the "seaweed" inside the pumpkin. Trenton had such a big pumpkin, but he didn't complain once about having to empty it out. Gavin went for a simple pumpkin, circle eyes and nose and a smile. Trenton's was much more detailed and Daddy very patiently carved it for him. They both were very good sports about the fact that their pumpkins didn't look quite like their pictures. Caleb and I both carved our own pumpkins and decided that this year we might leave Addison's plain! After we were all done, instead of dinner in a pumpkin, we had Addison in a pumpkin!


The boys loved seeing their final products all lined up and lit up. It was
some great family time, but there was quite a mess to clean up!

Gavin McQueen's Fifth Birthday

Gavin celebrated his 5th birthday on October 24th. In fact, he was so special this year he got to have three birthday parties! We had a family birthday for him on his real birthday. Gavin had wanted to go out to eat and had chosen to go to Chili's. The morning of his birthday he changed his mind to Applebee's and by the time we actually went out to eat, he had decided on McDonald's. I was a little disappointed because I was truly looking forward to Chili's, but I guess he knew what he wanted. Because it was his birthday, he was spoiled and actually got a Happy Meal. He was so excited and thankful! They must have known it was his birthday because they put a RACE CAR in his Happy Meal!
The next day we had the family party. Several family members had called Gavin on his real birthday and he informed them that it was not his birthday today, and that mommy had changed it! Gavin assumed that his real birthday was the day he got his birthday cake. All the family came over and brought wonderful gifts. Gavin has been entertained for the past two weeks with all of his new toys and cooking supplies. f

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On Sunday we had a party for all of the October birthdays at Grandma and Grandpa Briner's house. Along with birthdays came pumpkin picking, an annual event. All of the grandkids picked out a pumpkin from the garden and helped load it into the red wagon. They had so much fun and we got some great pictures.

Family Golfing

This summer we were able to go a couple of times, as a family, golfing. The boys have really improved and I think we might have a future Tiger Woods! We all ride in the cart while Caleb walks. Gavin likes to follow Daddy, but he doesn't ever quite make it the whole way. The boys have figured out which club they need and even know the names of each club. Gavin loves his irons and Trenton sticks to the driver. The boys have even picked up from Daddy how to line their ball up with the hole and how to "read the green" to determine which way the ball might go. Addison and I are there for support! In fact, Caleb has played his best both times we have gone with him. I guess my cheerleading experience really paid off! I think our summers are going to become quite expensive once the boys start playing golf full time with Daddy!