October in 16 Squares

October passed by quickly.  It was a relatively warm month.  I'm so grateful we had the opportunity to spent so much time outside.  We walked a lot.  We played at the park a lot.  We took a quick trip to Drumheller.  We really made the most of fall this year...

Drumheller - The Hoo Doos

I don't know how long we spent at the hoo doos last weekend, but I took a lot of pictures!  So instead of one really long post, I broke it down into a few:

 Ben at the Hoo Doos

Ruby at the Hoo Doos

Kate at the Hoo Doos 

And here's a few group shots of all three kids together.  I love group shots of children.  They're always so disorganized and speak such truth to their individual personalities. 

Kate at the Hoo Doos

There aren't very many pictures of Kate in Drumheller last year.  She was four months old at the time and either tucked away under Boris' arm or in the stroller fast asleep.  This year, she was right in there with the "big kids".  She walked up and down those hoo doos hand in hand with Boris and her aunt and uncle.  She also climbed, stumbled, brushed off her hands and got back up again all on her own.  Here's my fiercely independent little lady holding her own...

Ruby at the Hoo Doos

My niece, Ruby has done a lot of growing up since our last trip to Drumheller.  On our travels in 2012, she was the same age that Kate is now (give or take a week or two).  Sometimes it's hard to wrap your head around how quickly children change, and change Ruby has.  Look at her now!

Ben at the Hoo Doos

Ben is in his element when he's outside running, jumping and climbing.  He enjoyed the hoo doos last year and he was equally content to scale them this past weekend.  Ben is agile and capable and fast.  This kid is going to spend his whole life pushing the boundaries (and my sanity).  Here's my brave little climber... 

Drumheller - Jumping on Hotel Beds

We spent last weekend in Drumheller.  After sitting in the car for three hours, Ben broke in our bed and got rid of some pent up energy.  We stayed in the same hotel as last year, and looking back, the kids have all grown a wee bit since then.

Our Last Sunset at the Beach

As I sit here editing the last of our Hawaii pictures, I'm already dreaming of our next vacation.  We went to one of my favourite beaches for our last sunset in Maui.  The drive to this lava rock beach, on a narrow, windy road at the edge of the ocean is both breathtaking and terrifying.  However, once you're there, watching the large waves break, listening to the rocks pull back into the ocean, it feels like the most peaceful place on Earth...

Part Two: I Dressed Myself!

Ben is the opposite of Kate.  He has only recently taken an interest in dressing himself and choosing his own clothes.  On our last day in Hawaii, he dressed himself after a swim.  Both his beloved exercise shirt and his jean shorts were on backwards.  When I asked him to stand in front of the tree by our condo so I could take a picture, he had to demonstrate how to put on his shirt first before striking a pose.  Sometimes this kid is too funny!