What We Did Today...

Lots of yard work, that's what! The yard had gotten a little out of control lately with the nasty weather not cooperating so I took full advantage of the sunny afternoon to get the grass mowed and some shrubs trimmed :)

Then I saw this...

Yes, that is a snake in my shrubs! He's very lucky he was silently warming himself and not slithering through my grass when I was mowing. Or maybe Todd is because I would never have mowed again ;) I'm very glad he wasn't in the shrubs I was trimming either. Oh, they would've heard me screaming in the next county :)

He was scary enough holding still!

And while I was working hard cleaning up our yard, my little ballerina was bug-finding:

Sorry about the fuzzy picture, Brandon snapped that while I was mowing :)

That's my pink-loving girly-girl walking around with a bug on her finger. She called it "Baby". (notice the pink nails even?) I think maybe we need a pet ;)

Circle "S" Farm

Last Saturday, the children's division at our church took a trip to Circle "S" Farm. It was a bit chilly, but overall a pretty day to be out so we decided to go. Everyone met at the church for hotdogs then on to the pumpkin farm.

They have so many things to do! There's a huge barn with hay everywhere to jump in and slides set up inside. Outside there's a sunflower maze, corn maze, a scarecrow cave and a petting zoo.

Like most homeschooling families, I don't do alot of "field trips" on the weekends. Why? Because the crowds are ridiculous and there are lines for everything! This place is pretty spread out so really it wasn't that bad. The only real line was for food. I wish I had brought my own! We had to stand in line forever for bottled water...ugh! We really wasted alot of time there and didn't make it to all the fun activities they have.

A hay wagon takes you out to the field where you can pick your own pumpkin. The kids really loved that wagon ride! There was a misunderstanding about when to buy the tickets for the pumpkins so my kids didn't get to pick any, but they had fun anyway :)

Here's a bit of our afternoon:
Scarecrow Cave:
In the barn:

Upwards Closing Program

Last week was the last soccer game of the season, but this past Saturday was the closing program. Since Upwards is a Christian program, there was lots of praise and worship throughout the program.

Some pictures from our morning:
Each child got a medal and a soccerball!

We very much enjoy this program and look forward to the next one!

The Actual Birthday Day :)

Eleven years ago today, we had a little, baby boy. He almost didn't happen (another story) but I'm so very glad he did! I spent time this morning thanking God for the gift of this boy.

He still enjoys hearing the bedtime stories and being snuggled. He loves all sorts of outdoor stuff; walks, fishing, camping all of it! He loves having special time with his family like game/movie night and he's generally pretty even tempered. He loves Jesus and I look forward to seeing how God chooses to use him in this world.

I have so enjoyed watching him grow and I'm so glad I get to for a while longer yet :)

Now for the party stuff!

The celebration continued today for Brandon's actual birthday! Todd and I still had presents to give him and so did Kristen and we had to have some cupcakes :) My mom popped in later this afternoon to gift him and wish him a happy birthday too :) I wasn't very good with the camera today so I missed alot of things but here's a few of the birthday boy:
Yes it's another Bionicle :)

And a new dart tag game to add to the other one:
A new bike! (he had way outgrown his old one)
Yummy!
From Grandma Diana:
Legos, of course :) My guys could never have enough of these!

After we filled ourselves with chocolate, we settled in to watch our beloved Bengals play some football! The games have been super exciting this year, keeping us on the edge of our seats right up til the end. Today was no exception! The Bengals won at the very end of a full fourteen minute overtime! They played five quarters! It was a very exciting game and the fact that they beat the Browns on his birthday made Brandon one happy, little fan :)

A Birthday Weekend

Today was Brandon's birthday! Our oldest boy is now eleven! That really is just amazing to me. It seems impossible that he's that big. He's almost as tall as I am!

We had planned a little party Friday evening with just a few friends, but Todd came down with a horrible cold so we decided to postpone. I decided that instead, I would just make the day as special as possible! It started with NO SCHOOL! That got him smiling :) Then he got to pick the place for lunch out. He chose California Pizza. And I know why ;) It's right across from the Lego store! So, of course, we stopped in for a little browsing after lunch. And, of course, we came home with a few things ;)

Nicholas and Megan had already told me what they wanted to get Brandon for his birthday. Since they wanted to get him the same thing and the item was a little pricey, I suggested that they could go together to get it. We made Brandon wait right outside the doors while we made out purchase. Then I made them all wait outside while I bought "goody bag" gifts for his guests (Megan and Nicholas!). Once we got home, I quickly wrapped them and allowed them a small gift exchange.

Here's their little gift exchange:
Of course it was a Bionicle :)

The goody bag gifts for Megan and Nicholas were Bionicles too ;)
I had to help Megan build hers but she loves it. Yes, even Megan. I feel like the whole house has been taken over...
For supper, we had hamburgers and veggies also a request from the birthday boy. Then they all watched a movie...in the tent! Yep, I put the tent up for them in the family room so they could have a little movie night sleep over :) We watch the new Bionicle movie! (bet you didn't see that coming ;)) I had Megan lay down and go to sleep after that. She's been coughing a bit and I didn't want her to be up late. The boys were allowed to pick another movie so they picked "National Treasure 2". Nick was asleep soon after it started, but the Brandon stayed up until the end. He's such a night owl!

All in all, I think for a botched birthday party day, he had a very good day...and it wasn't even his birthday!

And This is Why We Do It

Why did I have my camera at co-op? Well, it was to document this:

Megan in Montessori with Greer and Erin doing "work".

Brandon with his chess club.
Nicholas learning bells:
Lunch with a few friends.
They love their co-op! So really, it just doesn't matter if this session has been a little high-maintenance. They're worth it :)

And I thought the Construction Was Going to be the Death of ME!

This session of co-op has need slightly more stressful than others. The problem is that there is major construction being done to the road in front of my church. Basically, there is no road at the moment ;) Since I'm the church liaison, I've been working to let people know which routes are currently open to get into the church each week.

That's not too hard.

Except when they close ALL the roads leading to the church. Or when they only have one driveway into the church open so that we have to enter/exit using the same, narrow driveway.

That last one was the case today. which was actually going better than I had expected.

Until they (the construction crew) decided to block off all church driveways. While we were in co-op. With some parents trying to get back in for lunch. Yeah.

But by the time I checked with the church office and the associate pastor went out there to plead with them on my behalf to please open a driveway, they were opening not only one but two driveways!

But not before this happened:

My friend, Angi, had gone out for a quick grocery trip and returned to find out she was closed out; unable to get to her kiddies.

That will not do! You cannot keep a momma away from her kiddies! She did what any of us mommas would do....she ramped over the curb :)

And...

Yep, she got stuck.

Let me just say she usually drives a giant SUV.

And she has a great sense of humor ;) When she saw me walking toward her dangling my camera, she was cracking up!

Her husband came to her rescue though and she was able to get that rental minivan on it's way ;)

Angi, I hope your day got better!