Halloween

We went to the truck-or-treat in town on Friday evening.  It was SO crowded this year--maybe everyone is afraid they won't be able to go on Halloween because of the hurricane coming.  Paul was a dinosaur and Benjamin was a paper plate monster of his own creation.  

Jonathan got creative this year, and made a cat face.  The boys thought this might scare away the mice that usually nibble on our jack-o-lantern.  Bella recognized it as a cat immediately when we were skyping.  Jonathan said it made his day!

Hay ride with the group from the early childhood center.

Mystic Seaport

Mystic Seaport is a re-creation of a seaport town in the 1870's.  There's so much to see--the village, the ships, children's museum, animals.  We'd never taken the boys, and they had a great time.

Love their facial expressions!  Paul looks so happy that his brother just fell overboard!

Benjamin's Questions

Benjamin has always been full of questions, but lately some of them have been a little more deep.  Here's a sampling of some of the things that have come out of his mouth lately:

• I hope I always believe in Jesus, don't you?
• What happens to the people who don't believe in Jesus?
• Will I be old enough to take care of myself when you die Mommy?
• I hope Daddy doesn't get hit by a car and die.
• What happened to Judas after he betrayed Jesus?
• Why do I have to go to school everyday?  
• I wish I could stay home and live with you forever!  (Might have to look back on this one when he's a teenager!)
• Who will teach me how to drive?
• Uncle David asked me what I was doing in school.  I responded that I am learning my letters and how to sit quietly and raise my hand when I have something to say.  (Seriously, he used the word "responded!")
• What happens if I miss the bus?
• Does God make tornadoes happen?
• When is the world going to end?
• What if we had a fire in our house, and there was a tornado outside?
• And there are the incessant questions when I'm cooking.  Ever since Jonathan accidently put an electric kettle on a stove this summer at a cabin, Benjamin wants to know if everything is okay while I'm cooking.  Doesn't help that they just went over fire safety in school! Wherever could he have gotten "worry genes" from?!  No one on either side of the family ever worries!  (Nor are we sarcastic!)

Fortunately, we have not gotten this question yet:  "Where do babies come from?"

Coloring and tents

Benjamin has really been into coloring lately, which, of course, means Paul has been coloring a lot too.  Benjamin loves to use markers because they don't ever use them at school.  Paul learned how to write the letter "P" recently, so he spends a lot of his coloring time making P's.  "Line down, and a bubble."  

The boys made tents for themselves the other day.  They constructed them with very little help from me.

Apple picking

We feel fortunate to have apple orchards 20 minutes from us.  Unlike other family members, we don't have to drive hours to another state to pick our apples.  =)

Waterfall

Benjamin didn't have school Monday, so we took a drive with an older couple from church.  Our destination was a state park with a waterfall on the western side of the state.  We had some lunch at a barbeque place, and then the younger folks hiked up to the top of the waterfall.  As you can see, some of the trees have started turning, but not all of them yet.  It also wasn't sunny, so the colors we did see weren't as brilliant.  We also drove over some old covered bridges, two of the few you can actually still drive over.