Patches

We experienced a beautiful October day, and made the most of it by cashing in our Groupon for a local pumpkin patch :) Buck was amazed at how many people we knew wandering through the corn maze, riding the wagons to the pumpkin patch, sipping cider, playing on the playground, and loading up orange gourds into waiting vehicles. The kids waved to friends and ran in the sunshine, it was such a pretty afternoon!

Our special deal included a wander through the corn maze, complete with games to keep it interesting (because wandering through acres of dried up corn stalks isn't interesting enough right?) Bren was so impressed with his dad's navigation skills, he decided that Buck used to be a pirate! I asked him when was his dad a pirate and he said, "Before you got married." Well, of course :) Funny kid!

Pumpkin picking proved more expensive this year, than in years prior. We made a rule that pumpkins selected must 1. not be rotten 2. be carried by the child doing the picking. They've gotten stronger, our children. We ended up with 65 lbs of pumpkin!! Tomorrow, we plan to carve these beauties into cats and pandas and all sorts of imaginative things . . . Graysen keeps asking, "When are we going to shave the pumpkins, mom?" Ha!

Punkin' Smile

Mr. B went into the business of dentistry, extracting his own front tooth and leaving a massive gap behind. He's so cute :)

Birthday Success!

 
He may be five, but he still thinks the parade is for his birthday :) I can't tell you how many times he said, "Mom, this was fun! I had a fun birthday!"

We were so happy to have the annual crowd of family and friends filling our home, it's so much fun to have all the kids running through together and snatching candy from the leaves in front of the house (thanks to friendly parading candy-tossers).

And it was extra special that my grandma came down for the party, it is a long drive and I'm glad she felt up to the trip.

 Family picture plus bunny ears from my dad :)

 Cutie pie cousins!

 

 Sugar, so much sugar!

 My college friend, who moved to town unexpectedly . . . so good to be in each others' lives again!

 Lotsa little ladies :)

 

"I'm John Wayne!"

Lesson Planning

What a way to spend an evening . . . okay, it took me til 12:30 AM to plan through Thanksgiving and then another 2 hours this morning to get through their English and Science lesson plans. Good thing I rewarded myself with cookies (made by the girls and I earlier that day) for a job well done :)

Mr. Handsome

Meet my handsome new chef! While I was slicing and dicing the ingredients for our stir fry last night, Bren was my assistant. Then he took over the cooking and I was HIS assistant! Either way it was yummy. Isn't my new chef handsome? Just like his daddy :)

Why am I posting a pic of my dirty laundry?

Well, let's just say I was amazed with the epic proportions of it . . . in fact, I took this picture--in the midst of the summer to fall wardrobe transition--before we added another foot or so to it following an unexpected shopping trip which occurred because I was convinced the girls were set for the winter, but it turned out (after sorting through storage tubs) they had 2 pairs of jeans total and not many more pjs, never mind long-sleeved shirts. Oh my! It took 3 days and 12 loads to get through this massive pile . . . it was waist high and hallway long by the time it all stacked up. Hello water bill! :)

Party Time!

Well, look who decided to become a handful! Five years old. Wow! My baby.


He had a busy day filled with gifts from his sibs . . . a paper boat ring of cards plus snow walker from Caelan, a puppy and blanket from Gab (who spent all her ducky bank savings on her gift), and a much-wanted Lego set from big bro (which he paid for in part :) We went to the library, we went out to eat at the Mexican restaurant . . . G had his song sung to him, got to order a glass of pop, and enjoyed a complimentary birthday dessert. Then daddy came home early from work and we busted into the strawberry "car show" cake (complete with Jedi force protection) . . . as usual, I forgot the ice cream. When will I ever learn?? :)

Next stop was the living room to open gifts from Grandma Judi and mom & dad. When the paper settled, he found a pair of Lego jammies, a paintable football, a police car that drives, and a couple of warm winter shirts. Not a bad day for the little man!

He spent the day before his birthday doing a dance and singing, "It's my last day of four, it's my last day of four!" and the day of his birthday doing an equally silly dance, singing, "I'm fi-ive, now I'm fi-ive! I'm the birthday boy, I'm fi-ive!"

Wow. Five.