Luke... I'm your Father

 Blogging is getting more and more difficult on Sundays with hockey.  Our Sundays are pretty scheduled out and no longer are they really "A Day of Rest!"  We get up and go to church and Sunday school, head home for a little play and then lunch.  Then it's important that the boys get a good nap in and we are off to the skating rink.  The last couple weeks we have grabbed supper after practice and we head back to the rink for open skate.  

Ashton has has a little anxiety about skating "without his Daddy" so we have been using open skate as a reward.  If he gets through practice with the coaches and his teammates, he then gets to do open skate with his Daddy.  After a practice of crying, then a couple practices choosing not to put on his gear or get on the ice, he now can't wait to get on the ice with his coaches to show them his hard work practicing with Daddy.  I'll do my best to continue to snap pictures, however with hockey twice a week that may be the only pictures I have some week ;)

In other news... this past week was HALLOWEEN!

The holidays are getting more and more exciting with some traditions that we can create and the boys really getting into what is going on.

Carving pumpkins with Mikayla is one thing we look forward to.  I look forward to it because she helps with the icky stuff, and I can just stand back and roast the seeds!

Ashy was pretty excited...

 All ready!  Lets get started.

 What kind of faces are they going to carve?

 Izzie even got into the mood, she asked me to put her bumble bee costume on... NOT.

 I love the concentration... he bites his tongue when he's concentrating.

 Aiden wasn't in to the gooey part... he would rather scoop it with a spoon rather than his hand.

 Ashy was so into it, he insisted his shirt come off.  Adam wasn't that into it ;)

 Mikayla's friend, Brenden, joined us after work... just in time to carve one himself and add to the final products.  Aiden and I were pretty proud of the face we carved.

 Ashton was proud of the one he and Daddy carved!

 The Carving Crew

 They were fighting who got to sit on Brenden's lap... and they switched, but I guess I didn't get a picture of it ;(
*Still another cute picture*

 So cool!

 Hockey has been a regular in our week as mentioned earlier.  The three amigos...

Ashton, Aiden, and Finn

 One of the cutest rink rats... Molly.  Maybe she'll be on the ice one day?!?!

 With Ashton hesitant getting on the ice, he was looking forward to the dry-land portion of the practice.  They work on agility skills and strength training.  I would say it was more like trying to control 35 little kids all running around with hockey sticks... scary!  It was fun to see Ashton participate, although he had about two minutes of anxiety once he noticed he was in a different group than his brother.  He got over it.

 Getting directions from the coach.

 Taking turns running around the cones.

 Practicing some quick footwork on the ball.

 Passing tennis balls to a partner.

 Aiden has done a great job getting on the ice, working hard, and listening to his coaches.  He also has done a great job trying to encourage his brother and make sure he is okay.  Here is a pep talk they were having... too cute.

The mad rush for the ice.  It usually ends up with a pile of kids all laying on the ice right by the door.  Waiting for practice to start and the zamboni to get off the ice is part of what gives Ashton anxiety... more time to think about not wanting to do it!

 It's amazing the progress they have made in the last couple weeks.  They went from spending more time laying on the ice to being able to get up on their own and spend more time on their feet!

 Aiden works really hard and doesn't care if Ashton is out there or not.  Mr. Independent.

 Last Wednesday, the parents all brought a bag of candy for the coaches to throw on the ice.  Ashton was sad he would miss it if he wasn't out there, so it was just enough of a push to get him to participate in practice.  He did GREAT and he was so proud of himself.  He made it through practice AND got to pick up candy.  They idea was to keep their gloves on to make it a challenge, but as you can imagine... that didn't last long!

 Ashton with his bag.

 One pretty proud kiddo.  He was excited he did it and he is looking forward to the next practice (which he participated in and could wait to get onto the ice).  He has some pretty great coaches to continue to encourage him.  He is our child that needs a little more reassurance and may be anxious.  We questioned if we started him too early or if he just didn't want to do it.  However, he is our child that watches Mighty Ducks on repeat, sleeps with his hockey stick, and needs his hockey gear to come to school and Bonnie's with him to stay in Daddy's truck.

 On Friday morning, we had two "half dressed" Darth Vaders heading off to Bonnie's.

 After a fun treat-filled day at Bonnie's we were home for a quick supper and off to Trick-or-Treat!

 We had THREE Darth Vaders just in our neighborhood!  I heard the most popular was Frozen themed costumes this year... not in our neighborhood ;)

 We started up our road...

 The Vaders and a cute butterfly.

 While on our road, e met more neighborhood friends.  Nora made a adorable chicken and Gunner made a energetic Mario!

 After walking in our neighborhood and going "Trunk-or-Treating" in a local church parking lot, we visited two other important friends.  Char and Jerry spoiled the kiddos and Elly and Price wanted to see them too!

Price and Elly were getting ready for their own Halloween fun.  The boys are already telling me what they want to be for next year and I am already making the candy disappear to my classroom and Adam's work ;)

On Sundays, we do double time and stay for open skate.  Yes, we all get on the ice.  Ashton can skate faster than me and Aiden doesn't fall as much as me, but it's fun.  I don't really fall - I just don't go fast because I don't know how to stop on hockey skates.  I'm used to my "toe pick" on old figure skates.  Dad is having fun getting his feet back underneath him and polishing the rust off his old skills.

Here's to November.  We are looking forward to what the next set of Holidays bring with our family... but not sure sure about the colder weather the new month is bringing already!

Brrrr. 

Is there really snow in the forecast already?!?!

Brrrrr.