Pumpkins!

I love fall. I love the cooler weather, the colors, and pumpkins. The past few years we got our pumpkins from a semi-local farm where we also pick berries throughout the year. This fall, I was feeling the need for cooler weather (there are years that we get our pumpkins in shorts!) for our pumpkin patch trip, so we headed north to the mountains. We arrived a bit before lunch to outrageous crowds and a line for the hayride that was easily an hour long. Hmmmm. Time to rethink our plans! We decided to take our picnic lunch to a nearby state park to eat and hang out for awhile. It was a beautiful day!It has been awhile since we've had time to just be together....it was so fun! We went back to the pumpkin farm later in the afternoon, only to be asked to leave because we had our dog! :( We're new dog owners.....who knew pets weren't allowed on a FARM?!? Oh well....Michael wasn't too excited about the hayride anyway, so he and JJ took a nap in the car while the kids and I did that. It was fairly cool, so he was able to roll down the windows and leave the dog asleep in the car while he came to help the kids pick out their pumpkins after the hayride. It was a very productive day.....3 big pumpkins, several little ones, AND a dog-etiquette lesson! What more could you ask for?!? :)

I Feel Like I Have a Newborn!!

Never having been responsible for a puppy before, I was surprised how very similar it is to having a new baby! :) He sleeps a LOT during the day......

And is awake a lot during the night!! The first week was crazy! It didn't help that Michael was out of town that whole week, we were hosting a Fiesta to celebrate the end of our 'travels' through Mexico, and I had a bone marrow biopsy (nothing serious, but good grief...I was SORE!). We did take an extra week to get through Mexico and to recover....that made a world of difference. I feel like we're ready to start Canada on the right foot tomorrow. And as an added bonus....he slept through the night last night. Woohoo!!

Mexico has been very fun. We started the two weeks by setting up a "bus" in our kitchen. Caleb was to be our bus driver for our trip to Mexico, but once we all boarded, he got shy and Abby took over for him! He keeps asking when we're driving to Canada, so maybe he'll be willing to drive tomorrow!

Our fiesta was SO fun. We had 6 families, for a total of 15 kids. We never did get to our pinatas, but my friend, Wendy's kids did, and they were kind enough to bring one to display and one to break (AND due to my "soreness" she came early to help me set up and decorate! Many thanks to her!!!) The kids had a great time!

We have thoroughly enjoyed our study of deserts. There has been some talk on the Yahoo groups about the Science being dry or light in ECC. To be honest, there are some pages that we skip, but my girls have really enjoyed notebooking after the daily readings. I feel like between that, a couple of extra things that we've done from Janice VanCleave's Science Around the World, and a couple of DVD's...they've learned a lot. We are fortunate enough to have access to BBC's Planet Earth DVD's. I have been SO pleased with how well they have coordinated with what we're learning. I would not recommend allowing especially young children to watch these without parent supervision....especially if your kids are squeamish. We have fast-forwarded through a few things, but overall....well worth it!

We are settling into a new routine...puppy and all, and we're looking forward to travelling to Canada!

Meet the Newest Member of Our Family

We are now the proud owners of a dog! Kelsey has been wanting a puppy forever, so we decided that she could have one for her 10th birthday. He is a little bit early as her birthday is not for a week and a half, but she is so excited to have him. He is a short-haired Havanese, and she named him J.J. We picked him up right after lunch today. So far all has gone well. He did start to cry as we got in the car. My girls were both soon in tears thinking that he was crying over leaving his litter-mates. As soon as I convinced them he just wasn't too sure about the riding in the car thing....everyone was happy again! He soon fell asleep and did great the rest of the way home. He is now passed out cold in his kennel....so apparently it has been an exciting day for him as well! This is a video that Kelsey took of her new puppy.

Mini-golf Determination

While we were camping, we played a round of mini-golf. Here is just part of a video of my son's determination to conquer this particular hole.

Camping

We just returned from our second annual Labor Day weekend camping trip with the Timms Family. We had BEAUTIFUL weather....sunny and warm enough during the day to spend some time at the lake,

but just chilly enough in the mornings to allow us to pull out our long lost sweatshirts and enjoy some hot chocolate!

The girls all brought their Nature Notebooks and sat down together to work on those.

Michael had a close up encounter with nature while we were there.

These signs were posted everywhere, so I was careful not to let my kids wander around off the paths.....no one told me the snakes would come into my campsite!!! We were all over at the Timms' campsite (it was late and DARK!), and Michael ran over to get our extension cord. After unplugging our lights from the cord he felt something hit his foot (did I mention he was wearing flip-flops?!?). He put the light from his very little flashlight down by his foot and sure enough.....copperhead snake! It wasn't super big.....12-18" but hello, it was by our table!! I had just sent 2 of the girls over there alone to get water bottles from the cooler that was on the table! He threw his hammer at it and injured it enough to keep it still. Then he and Michael Timms went back with a bigger, brighter light to look for any snake friends and to finish it off. Needless to say, we didn't sleep super well that night! :)

Caleb had a much happier nature encounter....he caught his first fish!! Of course, I wasn't there and so neither was the camera, but here is a pretty cute picture of him fishing with his daddy.

On Saturday, we hiked ALL the way to the top of Fort Mountain. There was a beautiful view from up there. We would have been able to see forever if it had been a little clearer.

Near the top of the mountain is a stone tower and rock wall.

The where, why, who, and how of the structures is a mystery (did I mention that I hate mysteries?? I'm very much a "need to know the facts" kind of girl!). There are several different legends.....one of which has a Prince Madoc from Wales building the structures in the late 1100's.....some 300 years before Columbus! The big question is if Prince Madoc was even a real person.....or just a made up legend. It's very interesting to me that even with all of the research, there is still so much that we will probably never know for sure.

And now, back to school and every day life...... :)

Here It Is....FINALLY!

The first week of school is done, our first Mom's Night Out for co-op is over and went very well, and tagging is DONE (three cheers and a happy dance for that!). I tagged 160 items....woohoo! So, after a long wait, here finally is the last week of Cousins Camp!

We spent a little bit more time "on the go" the second week. First on the to-do list was a day at the movie theater. They boys saw Wall-E, and the girls saw Kit: An American Girl Movie. My girls and I saw it when it first came out, but this was the first viewing for everyone else. Two thumbs up from everyone....it was darling!! The men didn't seem quite as impressed with their movie, but I think the little boys had a great time!

Mayfield is always a "must-do", so we headed over there one afternoon. This is an especially attractive picture of Tanner! :)

Tuesday, we headed back to the movie theater for the free summer movie, Robots. I had somehow missed that when it came out....maybe my kids were too little....I don't really remember, but I had never seen it. That movie is great on a big screen! After the movie, we had lunch in the food court. Here is the obligatory table picture, because again this is the only time it is possible to get a picture with ALL 8 of them at once.

While we were eating, some men came by and handed Kristin, my sister-in-law, several free passes to the new Monkey Joe's. It was so, so hot that day, so we decided Monkey Joe's would be a great afternoon activity. Here they are, all looking so pretty after jumping for two hours. :)

The next day we split up boys and girls. My mom and brother took the boys to a Magic Show at the library and to lunch. Kristin, Ali, and I took the girls to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro. It was a craft/activity day, so they made hair scrunchies and did a scavenger hunt. It was very fun!

After lunch, we did some shopping and then headed to Nathanael and Kristin's for an afternoon at the pool.

The three big girls and Ali had been working on a project since day one. Towards the end of the week they performed, Actions Speak Louder than Words, an American Girl play. They spent HOURS getting ready for it. They made a set, complete with props, costumes, a curtain, and back stage areas. We all received tickets with assigned seats and printed programs. They even served refreshments during intermission! They all did a great job, and had so much fun working on it. We even managed to get all the boys to sit through it!! Here is a short clip from the play.

When the two weeks were over, and everyone was starting to get sad, Grandpa came to the rescue with a trip to Sonic for ice cream. This particular Sonic is a favorite for the kids because it has a waterfall. I'm pretty sure they were all wet by the time we left.

We were sad to have everyone go home, but we were very thankful for the time spent together and the new memories made!!

Week 1

Well, after one week, 2 birthdays, 2 bottles of bug spray, 1 bottle of sunscreen, approximately 100 bottles of water, a case of Coke (mostly for the moms and grandma), 3 trips to the poola diving competition,

2 parks, 3 sleepovers, 4 manicures/pedicures by Grandma, an entire box of sidewalk chalk, quite a bit of ice cream, and a LOT of paint/markers and paper......I think the first week was a success. Here are more pictures (especially for the ever patient mommy in Seattle that has not said one word to me about the fact that I have not blogged all week long....thank you Carlee!!).

They're HERE!!!

And the fun has begun! First thing's first.....a visit to the rope swing. It cracks me up that this is the first thing they always want to do.

They quickly made their way inside to the toys and dress up clothes:

Then it was dinner time. Enjoy the meal pictures....they're the only ones where all six kids are in one place. In the middle is a very brave Aunt Ali. She made it until the first drink of the meal was spilled.

After dinner they played a VERY creative game of hopscotch

And Spiderman paid us a visit:

We finished the evening with late night milk and cookies

And everyone spending the night together in one room (with more dolls, blankets, pillows, and stuffed animals in one room then I have ever seen before)!!

It's going to be a fun two weeks. Thank you to Chris and Carlee for sending them!! :)

Summer Fun

Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

Caleb with his friend, Layna:

Fun in the Pool:

Time at the Movies:

Caleb saw Kung Fu Panda with Michael on their "date".

We saw Kit: An American Girl Movie, with friends.

VBS:

Free Ice Cream from Chik-fil-a......Kelsey said we should call Caleb "Chik-fil-MESS".

Playing outside and Catching Bugs (that is Michael's finger....it was a BIG bug).

So far, it's been a fun summer!