Pumpkin Patch, Playdate and Carving

We went back to EZ Orchards this year for our pumpkin patching.  I asked the kids if they wanted to try someplace new and it was unanimous to go back to what is becoming our traditional destination for fall festivities   They're the place with the amazing donuts (apple cider and pumpkin this time) so I don't mind.

 The crazy balloon clown lady was probably the kids favorite part (although I think A's squid and J's tarantula look an awful lot alike...  Leah's poodle, however, was pretty awesome).

 one of my new favorite pictures

 Leah had just found out the hard way that rocks and balloon poodles don't play nicely together.  The back end of her doggy is slowly wilting.

 Saturday night we had some friends over, and they joined us in our latest pumpkin craft.  The girls decided the pumpkin ornaments worked well as masks too.

 Sunday was the annual Primary Program.  My boys were so handsome and they both rocked their parts.  Their dad and I couldn't have been prouder.

 Sunday afternoon brought pumpkin carving.  I was outvoted this year on painting again.  They all laughed at me when I put on plastic gloves to gut my pumpkin, but at least I was doing it...

 I also sifted through this mess to clean seeds for toasting.

 This face (and the 2 others that go with him) are the only reason I carve pumpkins.  

They're worth it.

 Jake did his entire pumpkin by himself.

 As usual, Dad was the last one at the carving table.

 Austin's Bat in the Moon

 Jake's Fright Face

 My cheerful jack-o-lantern 

(which I shared with Leah after she rolled hers off the table and busted it open)

Hot Chocolate and Paper Plates

Hip Hip Hooray, it's fall!  

For as much as I love summer and all it's outdoor goodness, I love fall as much for the amount of time we spend inside, focusing on time together, holidays, and traditions.  Two of our time honored and closely held traditions are drinking vast amounts of hot chocolate and doing crafts, usually enjoyed together.

 Our first craft of the season was simple, inexpensive, and a ton of fun.  With the exception of the $2 pack of paper plates I bought, everything else we used came from craft supplies we had on hand.  After gulping hot chocolate, we set out to make paper plate jack-o-lanterns, ghosts and Frankensteins.

Crafting tip - use plastic table cloths from The Dollar Tree to cover your work space.  When we use newspaper, there invariably ends up being something spilled between the gaps.  This way the whole table stays covered, and then just wraps up to toss in the trash.  I usually keep 2-3 stashed in with our craft supplies

 Austin prefers to craft semi-nude, and was pretty proud of his inner Hulk coming out.  I really need to invest in some craft time smocks.

 Leah has no qualms about getting really into her work.

 The finished products!  The kids had so much fun making them, and now they can serve as decorations for the rest of the month. 

 Leah's

 Austin's

 Jake's

 After hauling out a good portion of my scrap supplies for the project, I realized they were in disarray and in need of some organizing.

 So much better!  I think this was as much fun for me as the plates were for the kids. 

I have issues...

Fall Means Boy Scouts

Fall around here means the start up of cub scouts for Jake.  After successfully completing the requirements of the Wolf Den last year, he has advanced to Bear, and loves it as much as ever.  Austin loves it because his good buddy's mom is in charge of scouts for our ward so scout activities mean play time with Ethan.

 Attempting the crab crawl

 Handsome Scout of mine

 Last week they were invited to work in the shop of a brother in our ward, and make tool boxes.  Jacob told me he proudly announced to their host that he came from "a long line of builders".

He has graciously bequeathed his awesome tool box to me for use as a flower box, because as he put it, "I don't exactly have a lot of tools, Mom".

30 days

It's been a full 30 days since I blogged a thing, mostly because it's been just slightly nutty around here.  Somewhere in that blur of a month, Jacob had a birthday.  He celebrated with pizza and games at Pietros with his good buddy Connor, followed up by a few 10 pound bowls of frozen yogurt at Limeberry.

We also spent a family day at the fair, and thanks to Brian's generous employer, we all got in for free!  The kids were each given a certain number of tickets they could use for rides, and for Austin and Leah it was an easy choice... anything with a small vehicle to ride around on in circles.  

Jake had a harder time deciding where to best use his tickets.  He finally decided on the pirate boat of death.  This is 3/5 of my beloved family, way too far up in the air for my personal pleasure:

y

 The boys were amazed by the entries in the Lego building contest - they were incredible!

 I fell in love with this amazing quilt:

 The first week of September Leah started her new pre-school/daycare.  Despite my emotional instability that morning, she sailed through the doors ready to meet new friends and "do crafts", which she still tells me every day is her favorite part of school.  Alas, even the first day of pre-school wasn't occasion enough for her to look at the stinkin' camera.

 The next day, the boys started school.  Austin is an "all-dayer" now, and couldn't be more thrilled about it.  From packing his lunch to walking home with the big boys, this kid was made for school!  After a bumpy first week with some recess time/who-to-play-with-issues (these are big deals in 4th grade) Jake has settled happily into one of his last years in elementary school (gulp!).  If the boys look a little red faced in this photo, it is because their scatter brained mother forgot to take a picture in the morning, and made them re-enact that afternoon after we all walked home from school in 90+ degree weather.  Mother of the year folks, right here.

 The following week, Austin started twice-a-week swim lessons.  He has always loved the water, and can swim well enough for his age, so long as he knows he can touch the ground when he wants to.  In hopes of bolstering his water-confidence, he was the first to get signed up for lessons as part of our newly minted membership at the YMCA.  He is making strides each week and I couldn't be more proud of him. 

 To wrap our 30 days, we spent the weekend in Medford with Gma and Gpa, under the guise of taking care of Mom after her recent surgery.  I'm not sure that my 3 crazies and their crazier mother were truly much help, but we had a good time.

The kids with their favorite kind of book - any variation on the I-Spy concept.  This one is 1001 things to Spot in the Sea.

 Jake became an Indiana Jones fan, and watched all 3 movies over the weekend.  

Best line - "We named the dog Indiana!"  Sean Connery, how do I love thee.....

 Much to Gpa's delight, Austin and Leah turned the house upside down 2-3 times a day, and picked it up half that many times.  I love seeing them play with my favorite Fisher Price set, the Sesame Street village.

 While I canned tomatoes and made some freezer meals, Gma found each of the kids a "spy hat" and sent them off on missions - finding bugs, walking Mike's property looking for deer, etc. 

I would like to think with the cooler weather and shorter days upon us, things will slow down just a bit, but I'm not holding my breath.