We went to a pumpkin patch this morning; we got there before the crowds arrived.  We started with the hay ride together, then Connor and I rode the short train ride while Logan played at the hay maze with Daddy.  We then walked around the field in search of a pretty pumpkin while the boys had their fun with the hay straws.  We took a break to try their pumpkin bread, and even Logan liked it.  Connor wanted to go into the small petting zoo, but he was quite shy to pet the animals when we were inside.  He finally took the offer from the zoo keeper and petted a couple of chickens and a goat.  We took turns pushing a wheel barrel and we finally chose a couple of pumpkins to take home with us.

    I went in to work for a few extra hours today, so the boys had some daddy time.  They went to check out a local park in our new neighborhood, then brought home some lunch to eat.  When it was time for quiet time, Logan went to his room to play with Legos while Stuart took Connor to nap in our bed as his usual weekend routine.  But the funny thing was five minutes into laying down as  Stuart was almost dozing off, Connor suddenly said “Daddy, you go now”.  I guess napping with Connor is a special treat for me only.

     Since school started, Logan has been brought to the office twice.  The first time was a few weeks ago with one of his friends.  The two of them apparently agreed on their stories which was Logan chasing the friend to play tag, but when the girl asked Logan to stop, he did not.  So the girl bit Logan.  The teacher iced Logan and gave both of them a talk about being respectful to each other.  Two days ago I got another call to report Logan had fallen at the playground; he scraped his elbow and he complained of a head ache.  Logan told the teacher that someone ran into him and knocked him down.  While I was talking with Logan over the phone, the teacher talked with the recess teacher and found out the real story.  Logan was actually the one running; he ran into someone and fell down.  The teacher did not mention about any impact to the head.  While I talked with Logan, he was soft speaking as usual and told me about some pain in the elbow and the head.  After some questioning, he just said the side of his head hurt and he wanted to go home.  I asked him to stay in class, but I would check on him by phone in an hour and he should tell the teacher if he felt worse; Logan agreed with the plan.  When I checked in later, the teacher reported that Logan was doing fine and was running around as usual during their PE.

   We have noticed Logan being a bit more assertive in playing these days, and he has been getting into a bad mood a bit easier or not listening as well.  I can totally imagine him getting in trouble at school.  Hopefully this is just a brief growing phase.

      This weekend while we were out exploring the backyard, poor Scottie was eyeing us through the backdoor.  We normally keep Scottie indoors for awhile after each move in the past, but since he is older now and we want to let him enjoy his moments, so we let him hang out with us in the back.  Scottie really had fun, checking out every corner of the backyard.  The boys and I had fun keeping an eye on him and brought him back whenever he tried to wander away.  Today Scottie wanted out again when Stuart spent sometime outside.  He was hanging by Stuart while he was watering the plants.  But next second, Scottie was gone.  Stuart went to look for him but unsuccessful.  Over the next few hours, Stuart took a couple more walks but had no luck.

     When I returned home, there were still no signs of Scottie.  We were starting to get quite worried that Scottie was stuck or lost and unable to return home.  Just then, I received a call from a neighbor from two doors down who found Scottie at her house.  Although Scotties tag still has our prior address, at least it has my correct phone number.   The neighbor showed us to their backyard and Scottie was just comfortably laying there next to the water bowl she offered him.  Scottie was slightly dirty but looked content in my arms.  He jumped right into eating after I cleaned him up at home, and took a long nap afterward.

     The neighbor also shared and warned us that she had seen coyote and bobcat in the neighborhood.  So I guess now both Scottie and us have learned a lesson and he will be staying indoors at least for now.

    With the help of the movers and after a total of 8 hours, all of our belongings, from the apartment and from both of the storage units, were finally moved into our new house on Wednesday (10/2/13).  As soon as the movers left, we had to rush out to pick up the boys from school.  We then gathered up Scottie from the apartment and all headed to our new home.  We all were very excited and enjoyed our first pizza dinner in the house.  The boys were so hyper that it took awhile before they calmed down for bath later.  After some scrambling, we managed to get ready for bedtime.  We read some stories, then the boys went to bed in their own rooms.  Logan was a bit nervous, so Stuart sat and chatted with him for a little bit before he went to sleep.  Connor did his usual couple of callouts to daddy, then he fell asleep too.  Scottie ran around to check our the house and he seemed very content with this new place.  After being in the apartment on a noisy street for two months, the new house is so quiet.  Stuart, Scottie and I enjoyed our first evening relaxing in our new family room.

    The boys slept well through the night.  I was able to get Thursday off too, so after dropping off them off at school, I returned to the house to attempt some unpacking.  It is crazy how much things we have; currently the garage is filled with our boxes, and our cars have to park outside.  Stuart and I managed to unpack some essentials and I organized the house a bit.  Now at least we are in a livable condition and the rest of unpacking will probably take weeks to complete.

    The past few months have been very difficult for us.  Now Stuart and I are extremely happy and relieved to be in our new home.  We are totally ready for a new fresh start.

     Our time in apartment is coming to an end.  Being cramped in this 1000 square feet place definitely took some time to adjust to, but this apartment has a few things that I will miss: the beautiful lake, the onsite VTA and the swimming pool.  The thing I love the most is definitely our daily walk after dinner.  Logan has gotten used to walking and seldom complains about tiredness now.  Connor loves his bike and learned how to bike during our stay here.  Fortunately with these walks, Stuart and I do not feel as bad that we have not done much of any other exercises.  The daylight is getting shorter now and the timing is just right that we are moving away from this summer excursion.