Jack
Since we hadn’t carved the pumpkin yet, we decided to do it Friday night. In years past we have gotten a pumpkin a kid, or a pumpkin for each “big” kid; this year we just got one. Since the kids are still too young to do everything themselves, having multiple pumpkins usually turns into John cleaning and carving them himself. Getting the guts out and watching dad cut the pumpkin is only fun for so long. The one pumpkin worked this year. Attentions were on the pumpkin for the most part through the entire process. John let Noah and Caleb help cut the top of the pumpkin. Then everyone was able to stick their hands in and clean it out. Eli didn’t really want to and he was being over the top about it. He did let John touch his hands with some of the pumpkin guts, but not too much. I think his fussing made Makaela nervous and she didn’t dig in either. I’m a little glad she didn’t dig in. I had already given her a bath since we had spaghetti for dinner and she was a MESS afterwards. I could just see her digging in to the pumpkin and needing another bath. Caleb and Noah both agreed that cutting the pumpkin was hard work. Ian showed off by telling everyone the parts of the pumpkin. We had gone over the parts in Mommy School. We decided on the carving of a jack-o-lantern face with the word “boo” in it’s mouth. Not sure if you can really tell from the pictures. When we were all done I called the pumpkin Jack. Noah asked why. I told him because he is a Jack- O- Lantern. They thought it was pretty silly, but it works!
Soccer
Saturday it was brother against brothers again, as Noah’s team took on Caleb and Ian’s. In the last meeting (Brother Against Brothers) Caleb and Ian had just played a game before taking on Noah’s team. They were tired and Noah’s team came out the winners. This time both teams were fresh and we were all interested to see what would happen. We were a little curious to see if Noah and Caleb had any speed left after the Buckaroo Race. We tried to make sure Friday evening to rehydrate and eat some carbs, hence the spaghetti for dinner.This Saturday of soccer was different, we only had 1 game! We didn’t even pull out the chairs from the car. When the game started we really had a tough time trying to keep up with cheering for both teams. It was funny to everyone else around noticing us yelling at the boys. I’m glad we could keep them entertained. Caleb and Ian’s team just didn’t seem to really have their heart into the game. We know Noah and Caleb were both sore from the Race the day before and were a little slower than normal. Ian tried so hard, he had a few shots that were SO close to being goals. Caleb scored the only goal for his team. Caleb’s coach had noticed that the goalies for the teams kept putting the ball down and then kicking it after they catch the ball. The rule is they have to throw it or drop kick the ball into play. So the coach told the team that if someone put it down go for it and Caleb did. Sitting on the side lines we had to explain to the parents on Noah’s team that it was legal. When all three boys were in for the first part of the first half, there were a few times when I laughed as they threw a ball in to the wrong brother or they would be covering each other. Noah knows that Caleb and Ian are some of the top players on their team, and the others know that their big brother is a top player on his team. Noah had a lot more hustle than I thought he would have after Friday. During the second half of the game he was put in as a defender and did a great job keeping the ball away from the goal. At one point he had an open field and carried the ball in for a goal. As always we were very proud of the boys. They played hard and did their best. Noah’s team won 4 to 1, but because of Caleb’s goal there really wasn’t any hard feelings between the boys. I think even Noah was excited that Caleb remembered the rule from practice and was able to make a goal.
