1st Sleepover!

Benny had his first sleepover last night. He went over to his friend Ryan's house. Ben wanted to make sure he was prepared so he packed 25 stuffed animals. My little boy is getting big.

Benny and his giant bag - a change of clothes, a toothbrush and 25 of his favorite furry friends!

And the boy is 12!

Jacob turned 12 today! He is getting so big. I think this will be the year when he grows taller than his mom! Here are some pictures from today's celebration.

The perfect present - a book about Legos!

And the handmade card by Aunt Liz!

Happy, happy, happy!

12 candles to blow out!

Lego League - They Did It!

Jacob's Lego League had their regional competition at UNH yesterday. Last year his team had the best performing Lego robot and went on to the state competition because of their high score. This year's team has not been as successful with the Lego robot but focused more on their research/service project. I also jumped on board this year and am officially an assistant coach for the team.

They chose the topic of obesity and learned more about the causes of obesity and its impact on people's lives. They then came up with a solution to prevent obesity and shared what they learned with their school, friends and family.

At yesterday's competition they took 1st place for their research/service project on obesity and are now heading to the state meet in Manchester!

Way to go team!

The team!

Jacob and his buddy Hunter.

Jacob running the robot for one of the missions.

Relaxing and enjoying the warm weather.

At the practice table trying to improve the robot.

X-Country

Jacob's cross country running season is over. He had a great season and did well for his first time running and his first time on the team. At the first meet in September Jacob finished 37th out of 80+ boys. At the last meet of the year he finished 24th out of the 80+ fifth through eighth graders. He plans to run over the winter and has signed up for a 5K later this month. Way to go Jacob!

The boy and his new rec-specs. He looks tough!

The entire team. The girl's team finished first in the league and first in NH!

Jacob and the assistant principal. Jacob and Mr. Leatherman have a Steelers-Bengal rivalry going on!

Trick-or-Treat

It was a cold and windy night for Trick-or-Treating but we did our best. The Lewis Family joined us and our boys had fun with their boys.

Here are some pictures of the crowd before we headed out:

Jacob with the red mask, Gavyn as the spooky skeleton and Ben as the clone trooper. And the cute Mickey Mouse is Amari. I am the scary lady in the doorway!

Another shot of the gang.

Happy Halloween!

We carved our pumpkins tonight. George did a great Steelers design. The boys did a nice job with their pumpkins and did not injure themselves. And I got out the power tools, drilled some holes in my pumpkin and then pushed some Christmas lights through the holes. It looks pretty good!

Jacob and Ben working hard.

I had to focus so I did not injure myself with the knife!

The "Christmas" light and Steelers pumpkins.

Jacob's one with the great face.

Ben Vs. Food

Ben enjoys the TV show Man vs. Food. We treated ourselves to dinner out this week after Benny's flag football game was cancelled due to rain. Here is Benny's best Man vs. Food victory pose after polishing off a plate of nachos at Libby's Bar and Grill.

See how he can make the "M" for man!