While We Were Walking...

If you know me, you know how much I hate sitting in a car. That's one of the main reasons I am not looking forward to winter time.  The kids usually ride their bikes to school in the morning without complaining. It's just what we do. But when we go to pick up Noah at 3:20 in the afternoon, it's a different story. He is tired, worn-out, and hungry. The last thing he wants to do is bike up a rather big hill. So we find a nice spot somewhere and have a picnic. Then he is ready to go. 

On his birthday, Noah chose to walk to school instead of ride. Fine by us! They had a great time walking, running, skipping, and climbing their way to school. It isn't a long commute but, believe me, one mile can take a reeeeeaaaally long time. Good thing it was Karl that took them! 

At noon I made my way back over there with a big bag full of cookies to give to a bunch of crazy 1st graders. Then Max and I walked back home to enjoy lunch and some down time before gearing up for yet another walk to school. Good thing it was a beautiful October day and we were loving the warmth and sunshine! 

Noah had a great day at school and on our final trip home we stopped by Mama Burgers for some lemonade. We took a nice little short-cut on some smaller roads and had a great time taking pictures. It is actually a detour but the kids think of it as a short-cut and I am not going to enlighten them anytime soon! So much better than the busy road straight home. 

I love these guys! 

This kid is growing up and I am loving it! This is the first time in 7 years of motherhood that I am thinking it would be nice if time slowed down a bit. I enjoy watching him become more independent in so many ways and yet knowing that he would rather be with his family than anywhere else. (Except for  at soccer, of course.)

Yep. I am also loving his hair. Now that he is old enough to take his own showers and take care of his own hair, I could care less what length it is. I want my kids to make their own choices. And his choice right now is to look like a European soccer player. I guess his birthday was the one day this month when he wasn't wearing a black band in his hair...

Although Noah is tough as nails when it comes to playing sports, he is also very sensitive. Yesterday morning he was in tears because I wasn't coming to eat lunch with him. The school offered a Thanksgiving lunch and parents were invited to join their kids in the cafeteria for it. Aehm. No thanks. I'd rather ride my bike outside on the last nice and warm day this year! I mean: Hello! Max was fine. He couldn't have cared less. But because I don't like to see Noah heart broken, I promised him we'd go on a date this weekend and I'd join his class on a field trip next week. Yikes. It'd better not be nice enough to ride next week or I am in trouble! 

Max was a trooper walking a total of 4 miles that day! But how could you get bored if you get to look at cool art work like Ninja guys with pumpkin heads that your older brother drew for you? 

We finished the day off by playing with birthday presents, eating Pizza, and having our friends and neighbors, the Ernsts, over for desert. 

We did indeed have a party for Noah and his friends the following Friday but we were too busy making sure the party was a success to take a single picture! Sad!