Starting the Holidays at Home - Part I

While California feel less and less like "home" the longer we are away, it is still where both of our families live...so in that sense it still is.  And while the boys and I have been back several times,  Arthur hasn't been back in nearly two years.  So with flight school complete, and leave to burn, it was time for all four of us to make a visit.
The traveling part was certainly much easier with a husband.  I honestly don't think I could have done it alone this time now that James is so busy.

So instead of dramatic runs through the air port...we just got to play in between flights.

But is still makes for a LONG day...so in order to make the travel "worth it" and to give Arthur lots of quality duck hunting....I mean family time, we stayed for an entire month.

It was a long time, but for the boys it was great...even necessary!  They got to really reconnect, bond, and create memories with their family.  I want to make sure that even though we live far away, that we foster strong relationships with their grandparents and aunts and uncles...even if that means I have to share by boys more than I would like while we are there. :-)

The trip couldn't have been at a better time of the year because we even got to celebrate a couple of holidays while we were there!  In other words, I forced everyone to participate in my family traditions...like it our not. :-)

Liking it...or not at the pumpkin patch

Arriving just days before Halloween, our first stop was the pumpkin patch.  Jake is quite the animal lover, so found the petting zoo to be far more exciting the actual pumpkin picking.

James had a great time too...he just is not as gentle as his big brother yet.

Luckily there were plenty of other things for him to get into...

In the end we did go home with pumpkins...

And some very happy grandparents. :-)