Pumpkin Carving

We almost didn't have pumpkins this year. The one time we made it to the pumpkin patch, we left in a hurry and didn't get any. I just figured we mosey back over there early the next week for some. But we didn't. And because my weeks go by in a STREAK, we didn't make it back at all. Last Wednesday I finally asked them about their pumpkins. Brandon was in a panic because I'd waited so long! He said he didn't care WHERE we got them as long as we had pumpkins! Beggar's Night was the very next day and we'd be gone all day at co-op!


So we went to Kroger :) Not the most fun place for pumpkin picking but like I said we were desperate! The plan was for them to scoop out the insides in the afternoon, draw their face on paper, then Todd would help finish them when he came home from work.

Megan's face cracks me up! She was less than thrilled. I had to do it. Ugh

Sadly, I didn't get many pictures of the actual carving. Brandon carved his own! I was in full-blown get-ready-for-co-op mode.

I think they turned out good:

Kroger pumpkins do good ;)

Trick-or-Treat!

Our kids had so much fun last night! They've been looking forward to getting dressed up all week and finally it was the night! It was really a crazy  day though with co-op being all day then we have some friends over right after for a bit. Whew! We also had basketball evaluations last night! It was busy but fun and everything went off without a hitch!

The wood sprite:

 The Despicable Me minion, Dave:

 The ninja:

 What a cute group!

Brandon took them all around our two culdesacs then they came home so we could get to basketball evaluations!

On the way, we stopped by Larry's (my mom takes care of him) to surprise Grandma!

While we were there, we helped pass out candy:

And arm-wrestled Larry ;)

 So much fun! Our candy gathering isn't over though ;) We still have some fun events coming up this weekend! The party just never ends :)

Crazy

Yesterday was just crazy busy! Tuesdays are usually busy for us anyway because there's dance and cubscouts both in the evening one shortly after the other making dinner tricky. But yesterday our morning was busy too! We had a play to go to! (thank you, Angi!) The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Perfect for October fun.

Our day went like this:

Megan fell on the hardwood floors knocking a tooth loose and busting her mouth. She's fine, thank God, just swollen and bruised. We needed to ice it though so we were a bit late for our play. Luckily we didn't miss any! It was so fun!

Afterward, we went to lunch with my cousin and kids. We sat in there talking forever :)

Took Todd lunch.

.Ran errands including Target for socks. I should never hear the words, "I can't find any socks." again ;)

Stuck at Target during tornado warnings. ~sigh~

Home for a tiny bit.

Dance class.

Picked up dinner for Todd and me. Chipotle! The kids hate it so I whipped something up for them at home real quick before running out to cubscouts.

I finally pulled my camera out of my purse for a couple of pictures :) I was so glad I did! They had a guest speaker who talked to them about the American flag. He was so good with those boys teaching them all sorts of flag stuff. Because of the high winds, they didn't go out to raise and lower the flag as planned but they still had a full lesson including flag folding (which is when I pulled that camera out ;)).

Nicholas is so focused at cubscouts. It's really fun to watch him! He wasn't feeling well last night, this cold is still kicking his behind, but I reminded him about the special speaker and that it's a bobcat requirement (he has to get his bobcat level before he can earn any other badges) so he decided to go.

Today, Megan is still swollen and sore. Nick is still under the weather. We have more running to do. (seriously??) Hopefully we can get it all done so they can spend the rest of the day resting up for tomorrow! :) (Another reason to not like fall? The busy just doesn't stop!)

Enjoying Fall

I do not ever look forward to fall. I used to when I was younger, but I haven't for a really long time. Although I'm not sure when, exactly, the change in my attitude happened, I believe I can attribute it to the fact that cold, short days follow it and the more kids we had the worse my dread of winter became. I don't think I suffer from the disorder that affects some people in the winter, but I do long for summer all winter; maybe from the first day that is noticeably shorter. I miss the warm, sunny days. And I LOVE getting up in the morning, throwing on shorts, a tee, and a pair of flip-flops and being ready for the entire day! In the winter, it takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to get everyone out the door only to be freezing cold. UGH! I think I live in the wrong part of the country ;)

But anyway, fall always sucks me in ;) I never look forward to it's arrival but it doesn't take me long to change my mind. I can't resist it's beauty! Gorgeous deep blue skies and trees full of color; it's just lovely.

And then this happens:

  Maybe fall's not so bad :)

COSI Part 2

Gadgets is our favorite COSI place. We LOVE it! And because our kids are running from one thing to another so very excited to do everything, I take alot of pictures ;) I can't help myself. They're so stinkin' cute!

 These pulleys are a huge hit! Everyone has to try it.

 Megan does this every time we go :)

 Nicholas can't get enough of this contraption. I wish I had one of these things in the basement!

 We caught a chemistry show this time. So worth it!

 That guy did a great job.

We all love Progress. The change in our way of life in such a short amount of time is really remarkable!

 We stepped out for just a bit. Megan had to lift a car. ;)

 Blast off!

We had a great time at one of our favorite places.

The Best Homework Ever!

That's what Brandon had to say about Mrs. Slone's assignment for their nature class this week. They've been learning outdoor skills including building a fire using a flint-type starter. The boys have all all sorts of fun with that these last couple of weeks, and so has Todd ;)

This weeks assignment was to build a fire and cook over it. You can imagine their excitement! Todd took out my little garden/weed patch. Between the fact that the soil needs major work and the critters come in from the woods and eat everything that manages to grow, I've given up. I'll be rethinking the whole garden thing next year. Anyway, it was the perfect place for a fire pit! So that's what we did :)

 You can see Nicholas still isn't feeling better. He played football today though. See what I mean about not keeping him down??

It was really a great night for this! It was so much fun, we've decided to make a permanent pit out there :)

Taking it Easy

I had a field trip planned for today. It got scrapped for now. We have a man down which means there's a need for rest.

Nicholas has been a bit under the weather since Tuesday night. He slept in Wednesday morning which was my first clue. He's usually the first one out of bed in the morning sometimes even beating me! Wednesday, he was the last. Not a good sign. He's coughing and congested. No fever, just ran down.

So today will be a day of quiet school work, lots of reading, brief periods of activity (you can't keep a good man down!), lots of rest.

He grinned when he saw me taking his picture ;)

Field Trip Friday

We've been inspired to get out this fall! I dread fall every year and I think the reason is that I know what's ahead for us. Fall is gorgeous but the cold, gray winter that follows just stinks. Plus, I'm just a summer person :)

Anyway, I scheduled some fun/educational things for us to do on Fridays that get us out of the house (while we still can without layers of claustrophobia-inducing coats/hats/gloves ;)). The kids have been really enjoying our little field trips as an added bonus to our Family Night. Fridays are just plain fun around here ;)

A couple of weeks ago, we headed to COSI. I haven't blogged it yet because I took a ridiculous amount of pictures and I can't seem to choose! I've decided to post as many as I want split this post up ;)

One of the reasons we went was to see the Lost Egypt exhibit. We're studying Egypt right now so I thought that would be some fun hands-on learning for them. It's no longer there. It's on their website but not actually at COSI. Confusing. And disappointing.

Another reason we went, though, was not! Adventure is back! We loved that exhibit and was very disappointed when they closed it. But it's back! And we had a great time exploring it! The kids thought it was very "Indiana Jones" ish which, of course, is exactly what it's supposed to be ;)

 Can you tell Nicky was thrilled with the songs?

 They have a big Clifford display right now. It was a big hit with Megan! She had a great time serving us all at Charlie's dad's restaurant ;)

We also caught a very cool science show right in the hallway!

No matter how many times we see this, it's still thrilling ;)

Up next: Gadgets!