Flag football

This session of flag football for Hudsen was a blast! He had so much fun and made new friends. Every Sunday he was "super pumped to play FOOTBALL!"


Hudsen and his team mates before practice talking about strategy.

Showing off his muscles at the first practice of the season.

Eleanor ready to go watch her brother play.

First game of the season and Hudsen's first carry.

Cheering on brother at the game

The last game of the season where it was muddy and stocking caps were needed. Hudsen scored his first touchdown and was SO EXCITED!

While Hudsen was waiting his turn to go back into the game, we had a quick family shot all bundled up.

High fives after a great game and season!

Des Moines Half Marathon

We are SO PROUD of Dad!

This last weekend Jarren ran the Des Moines Half Marathon. This was his first half. He started training in June. What an accomplishment to finish his goal! Along the way he lost 20 lbs, endured a few strained muscles, and listened to many sermons on his IPod. Great job Dad!

The kids with Dad in the morning before dropping him off to run the 1/2. Hudsen made him a card to wish him luck and Eleanor clapped for him :)

Eleanor at the finish line waiting for Dad to finish.

Hudsen at the finish line. We had a great spot to see the finish and we cheered really loud when Dad sprinted accross the line.

The 1/2 marathon finisher with a time of 1:45:25. WOOT WOOT!

Finger painting day

What better thing to do on a cloudy rainy fall day, what better thing to do then finger paint!

Eleanor used mostly the purple paint and Hudsen did two painting. One with Green and purple and one completely orange. They both did a great job and Eleanor only the tasted the finger paint a little bit....(which I tasted as well and it is disgusting!)

I love it when they will sit together at this table and work together. I just see how Eleanor follows Hudsen's every move and how he loves to teach her new things

This little girl had so much fun!

Hudsen loves arts and crafts time (any time he can get messy he is a fan!)

As the weather starts to get colder we will have more arts and crafts days in the afternoon. I'm glad my kids enjoy doing this stuff and they love to show Dad their projects when he gets home.

5..4..3..2..1 BLAST OFF!

One of the great things about being home with the kids in the afternoon is the fun things we get to do by using our imagination. Hudsen doesn't take naps, so while Eleanor is taking her afternoon snooze, Hudsen and I are able to get out the big kid arts and crafts. Hudsen's latest project is a spaceship. Below are a few pics of the creation and the fun that a little boy can have with a box, glue and some markers.

Hudsen got right to work building his spaceship. I could see his mind just thinking of different ways he could decorate it and make it go really fast!

After the spaceship was complete, it was time to take it for a test drive. Hudsen counted down while I pushed him around the yard. I wished we could have somehow had Charley push him around :)

Charley even had a chance to ride around in the spaceship.

Eleanor was not a very big fan of being in the spaceship. But she did like pushing it around

When Dad came home, he had a chance to push Hudsen around. There were some big smiles on both their faces.

The Color Run!!!

Jarren and I had the chance to run the color run for its first year in Des Moines. Jeff and Lina came and watched the kids while we ran in the 1:00 pm grouping. It was a blast! There were over 27,000 people registered for the 1 and 4 pm groups, so it was hard to run the whole time as there were a lot of walkers. At the end both Jarren and I were covered in color and laughing at how good we looked. It was a fun day and the kids had fun hanging out with Jeff and Lina while mom and dad went on a date.

Some pre pictures before the run.

After the run covered in color. Check out those awesome sunglasses :)

Meet Jack

It's that wonderful time of the year where the weather is perfect, the leaves on the trees are colorful, and it is time to make a jack-o-latern. While Eleanor was taking a nap, Hudsen and I did just that and carved Jack.

Eleanor was pretty happy to see Jack when she woke up.

We also roasted the pumpkin seeds. Eleanor did not get to try the seeds but Hudsen was not a big fan. He thought they needed chocolate...I have to agree that chocolate does make everything better :). When Dad came home we were able to go outside and all play some baseball while Jack watched on the deck. A great Autumn day!

Iowa State Game with Dad!

On Saturday Hudsen and Jarren went to the ISU vs Texas Tech football game. Hudsen was SO excited! He was excited for the game, excited to hang out with his dad with NO girls, and excited to see CY. The game didn't start til 6 and Hudsen's usual bed time is 7:30. Needless to say he was also a little excited about staying up past his bed time. He did great during the game and they stayed til the very end. Dad had a great time watching the game with Hudsen and pointing out where CY was every time Hudsen would ask. Even though ISU lost the game, you would think they would have won with how happy Hudsen is when he talks about it.