We're going to the Zoo, zoo, zoo...

(if I just got that song stuck in your head, you're welcome!)
 

Yee haw!

 

The bear came so close to us (you know, through the fence and all)

Yep. We go to the zoo to play in the leaves.

We had the BEST time throwing leaves at one another...

...watching them fall.

The boys really got into it.

 

Apparently my mom and Joel became a part of the exhibit. How did they get behind the fence?

Walking along the train tracks

 

The tale of a construction worker, a mom, their little shark and an anemometer

or Halloween 2013!

Micah was a shark.
(We got three years out of this costume. Best buy ever! And who knows, we might get another year or two out of it)

I kept asking Joel what he wanted to dress up as for Halloween.
A farmer?
A surfer?
A pilot?
Jacob Moon (our favorite guitar player)?
A singer?
Joel's response: an anemometer.
I asked multiple times. I suggested the above ideas. But this kid is adamant.
He wanted to be an anemometer.

For those of you who are wondering, an anemometer is a device that measures wind speed. Those little cups spin around in the wind and the amount of revolutions lets us know how fast the wind is blowing.

Why does my two year old know what an anemometer is?
Grandma!
When we were in Oregon, they are on almost every roof along the water. He wanted to know what those "fans" where. Perhaps that's were this obsession comes from. Joel sure likes fans.

Needless to say, I dressed him up as a pilot as backup in case he wanted to loose the anemometer along the way. He made it half way through our 2.5 hour adventure before he decided that it was too heavy and too annoying to have on his head. It did get caught in bushes, stairs and railings quite often.

The kids had a great Halloween. They loved walking up to people's houses, walking in and talking to almost everyone they met. Micah would hold up his bucket for candy, and once they put candy inside, he would examine the loot, and hold up his bucket again. Sometimes he would even say "more." He definitely got a lot more candy that way. Way to be cute little guy!

Joel asked almost everyone if they liked firecrackers. He doesn't and made sure everyone knew that.
He was quite observant along the walk, pointing out octagons, pentagons and semi-circles along the way. He would often give an shapes lesson to homeowners. They loved it!

What we took away from this Halloween:
If you got cute little guys, you get more candy.

This neighbourhood is awesome. Many people knew us from the area and would pull out their, "I recognize you, therefore you get more candy or full size chocolate bars" stash. These kids scored big, netting an entire reusable shopping bag FULL of candy (or 3 ice cream buckets full if you will).

This neighbourhood loves the Barkmans. Our trip took twice as long since most of our neighbours were asking about them, wondering how they were. (yes, even streets over from us). It was awesome to know how much they are cared for and how much they love us just because we live in their house.
Barkmans, EVERY neighbour loves you guys and you left quite an impression and reputation to live up to. You guys are loved here!

All in all, a great day!

Weaver Creek Spawning Channel

After releasing the salmon fry in the spring, we decided that it would be important to show the boys the spawning channel in the fall. Sort of a 'circle of life' kind of thing.

Needless to say, they loved it.

Watching salmon

 

...the dead ones were particularly interesting.

 

Pumpkin Carving

We carved a pumpkin the other day. Micah was totally fine with the pumpkin as I carved it. But I turned it away to carve an ear. When I turned it back...

Micah FREAKED out!

I guess the face scared him.

But Joel with a knife scared me! Yikes!

Fall Walk

We went for a walk around Fish Trap Creek

It was a perfect time for a photo shoot

LOVE this picture of Joel. A real Joel smile

Micah didn't really feel like cooperating.

Joel didn't like the falling leaves...but it was cute anyway.

Raking Leaves

Ahhhh.....fall is here.

These two boys are a great help when it comes to raking leaves.

Plus, jumping in a pile of leaves is a GREAT incentive to help out.

Or, getting to make street sweeper tracks in the pile. Oh Joel! What will you come up with next?

Yes. Dumping leaves on your brother. That would be the next logical conclusion.

Silly boy!

Time to clean up. He filled the entire garbage can with leaves using a snow shovel.

Of course, Micah helped a little. Someone had to stop down the leaves to make them all fit.
Ahhh....child labour at its best! Thanks boys!

Knife Skills

Independent as all get out

Insists on doing it himself

DANGER DANGER DANGER

6.5 years

Today, we celebrate six and a half years of marriage.
They have been full of good times and bad, like most marriages are.
This past year was challenging, mostly due to lack of sleep.
But though it all, I've realized how committed I am to this man.

So, why are we celebrating six and a half years?
Cuz our sixth anniversary was spent in a daze and the thought of doing anything other than sleep was too much effort.

So today, we celebrate six and a half years.
Six and a half years of silliness,
road trips,
raising two kids,
preserving food,
exploring nature,
and
pursuing the future together.