Pumpkin Carving

Today we finally carved our pumpkins. We carved two and painted three of them. Caroline came over and helped paint one. Thankfully my Mom was here to help scoop out the guts because that is usually Jeremy's job. I hate that part of carving pumpkins. I don't mind doing all the cutting. Nick actually carved his own this year. The boys enjoyed all of it especially the painting. After Aidan was done I was commenting that his pumpkin was cute but a little crazy with the whacked out teeth and Nick said without skipping a beat that it fit Aidan perfectly because he is cute but a little crazy. We all had to laugh because well it is fairly accurate.

Aidan at Karate Graduation Night

For the last four weeks Aidan has been doing the introduction to Tae Kwon Do after school at his school. He has loved every second of it. Tonight they had their graduation performance where they showed off all they learned. They earned their uniforms and their first belt and got to break a board. He was so happy after he broke his board and you should have seen how excited he was to get his belt tied on. We decided to take advantage of the Springwoods student discount and sign up for once a week for at least the next 6 weeks. We will re-evaluate at that time. Here is a video of his board break and him getting his belt tied on for Daddy to see.

Aidan breaking his first board

Aidan getting his white belt

Nick's New Hair Cut

Nick and Aidan both got hair cuts yesterday. Nick is trying to grow his out so he now has this new do where it is spiked up in the front which he loves. He makes me spike it up with gel every morning. Afterwards, we went to Chick-Fil-A for their school's fundraiser night.

Sight Seeing with my Mom

Yesterday I took my Mom sight seeing. I was finally able to see some of the Memorials on the south end of the Mall. We saw the Jefferson Memorial, George Mason Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, and Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial. It was a gorgeous day to be walking around the tidal basin. The colors along the water were gorgeous and it was 83 degrees outside. The Roosevelt Memorial may be my new favorite Memorial. I loved the waterfalls and all of his quotes in the stones. It was so serene over there. He was a very wise man way ahead of his time. I didn't know he served so many terms as President either. Jefferson is also a powerful memorial as he has a lot of quotes in there that apply directly to our current day like how we should fear the day our society turns away from God. It is sad how integral a role religion played in our government in the early years and how now you get berated for even putting the two things in the same sentence. I love all the history in this area and every time I go I found out new things. Next up on the to do list is Arlington National Cemetery and The tomb of the Unknowns.

Cinnamon Rolls

My Mom and I did some more baking this week. We made a huge vat of vegetable beef soup so I now have about 10 meals worth of it in my freezer and that is after I gave some to both of my neighbors. Then I got my Mom to finally teach me how to make her cinnamon rolls and caramel rolls from scratch. A little time consuming waiting for bread dough to rise but so worth it. They were even better then I remember from my childhood. The kids and everyone in my neighborhood devoured those suckers. The little neighbor boy keeps coming over asking for more. I hope to try it again on my own soon. We also made some banana and pumpkin muffins. This weekend we hope to make some pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. My neighbor said we should open a bakery. I would be so fat if I opened a bakery and probably poor because I would eat everything I made before I could sell it. I swear I am going to be 10 pounds heavier by the time my Mom goes home but it is so worth it.

Last Day of Baseball

Well Nick's team lost their first tournament game 11-8 to the Red Sox. This tournament was single elimination so they are out. They fought hard and played well but they just got beat by a better team. We have enjoyed being on the Orioles this Fall with coach Will who has a heart of gold and is so wonderfully positive with all the kids no matter their ability. Nick has learned a lot both in the pitching realm and in the hitting realm as he faced a lot of really good pitchers this season. Some of the pitchers in this division actually had change ups and could actually place their pitches and are clearly ready to play in the Majors in the spring. I am ready for a break from baseball but look forward to the spring to see both boys play again.

David's Birthday Party

Today Aidan went to his friend David's birthday party which was a costume party. He wore his Halloween costume which is a soldier. His costume has an Olson name tag on it just like his Daddy's. Clearly we aren't keeping up with the Jones' in the birthday party department here. They had 3 bouncy houses, a treasure hunt with real treasure maps, catered food, live entertainment, a face painter, a pinata, a balloon animal guy, and all kinds of activities and junk food for the kids not to mention 2 cakes and huge goody bags. Aidan got a mustache and gotee painted on his face by the face painter lady. Not sure why but later he added on to the mustache and it started looking a little scary. He had a blast though and ran around non-stop with his friends. He is already planning for his birthday now. Hate to break it to him but we are not doing all of that.