whoa, it's November.

Oh man, guys. Where did October go? I know, I know. I have been negligent with the blog. But if you are reading this, then you haven't entirely given up on me. Thank you. I really don't want to give up the blogging, and I plan to be a little bit better at consistency, I promise. But oh boy, isn't life fun and busy and crazy? Between soccer and lacrosse and diving and school and homework and company and Halloween and oh, yeah, laundry and meal prep and yard work and house cleaning, the days are really zipping by!!!

So in an attempt to start fresh (again), here is a photo dump of the past month…

Merritt loved soccer (so did Gav and Ian, too!). And we survived our first season of 3 soccer teams along with fall lacrosse for Gavin and Merritt and travel lacrosse for Gavin. And we threw diving lessons in there for fun. Busy boys are happy boys, at least in our household!

Ian continues to be his happy little self, finding great pleasure in every little thing and being his brothers' biggest fan. 

There is nothing like hugs from this little guy. 

Here he is celebrating his mad bowling skillz.

His preschool class visited a local pumpkin farm and I got to tag along as a chaperone. What a beautiful day it was! They had a hay ride, played in a huge corn crib, picked pumpkins off the vines, and exhausted themselves!

Here is a happy Gavin on the soccer field - this boy loves his sports and we sure love watching him play. Lately, he and Merritt have been spending lots of time playing football and lacrosse together in the driveway. It's fun to see all three of their personalities interacting and becoming their own individuals and yet remaining close to each other. It's those moments where I feel like my mantra of 'we are for each other, not against each other' is paying off. Don't get me wrong, they can turn on each other like little boys all do, but baseline, these boys are buddies and I love and appreciate that.

Big news: I ditched the flip phone. It was painful...

…but I have adjusted.

A few days before Halloween, Debbie and Chelsea visited. It was so fun to have family here and play tourist in our own town. And the boys LOVED the extra attention. We shopped and ate and shopped some more and talked a lot. Super fun…come back soon, girls! It was awesome having some fellow girl power in the house.

Hubby had 2 weeks off from work, and I felt very spoiled to have him around so much. Monday was a sad day as he pulled out of the garage to head back to work!!! We really enjoy puttering around the house and going out to lunch together. We are such an old married couple - coming up on 15 years of marriage this December! Which would put us as a team for a grand total of 23 years. Love you, babe!

Halloween once again consumed the whole of October, between costume design, costume production, and school activities, and we topped it off with some pumpkin carving with Debbie and Chelsea.

(and sugar cookie decorating)

 I think we all agreed that David's 'Pug-kin' design won best of show.

Merritt and his ladies...

And finally, Halloween day…2 parades (Gav was in his parade too, but we didn't descend upon the middle school because…it's middle school) and a party, and that was all before noon. I am so thankful that David and I both got to participate this year.

To usher October out and welcome in November, we zipped up past DC this past weekend for Gavin's lacrosse tournament, which was in Maryland. The games were played on a polo field converted into several lacrosse fields, backdropped with a woods of vibrant fall colors. I think everyone knew who the Carolina parents were, as we were the ones bundled up the most - it was cold and windy up there! The boys played well and meshed more as a team in this first tournament together. As we pulled into the garage Sunday night with 3 sleeping boys in the back of the van, it was hard to believe we had just left the morning before. An adventure, indeed!

There, I have plead my case. I promise to keep the blog a little more 'in the moment', I swear!