Annual Pumpkin Patch Trip

Last year when we visited the pumpkin patch, it was warm and sunny, but of course this year it was not.  We even said "no thank you" to the hay ride and corn maize, because we knew we just wouldn't make it in that wind!  But it was our day to go, so we bundled up and hit the road.

 

We know our way around that place, so we grabbed a wagon, stuck the two littlest in it, and hiked it out to the pumpkin patch.

 

 

We passed by the funny graveyard:

 

And 6 seconds after we got to the patch, Matthew had picked out his pumpkin.  That one turned out to be half frozen, so we put it back.  He then promptly picked out 13 more pumpkins, and we finally settled on the very perfect one.  It was quite a process.

 

The rest of the kids somehow have the idea that pumpkin picking is some sort of contest.  Each of them try to get the biggest one, and usually Dad wins.  My only rule is, if you can't carry it, it's too big -- put it back.  Needless to say, there was a lot of fumbling around, heaving and ho-ing, to prove that they could carry their gigantic pumpkins.

 

I told Haley that she looked like Hagrid in this picture:

 

Dad and Andrew are very picky about their pumpkins.  The other kids just want every single one they see, but it takes awhile for these two to make up their minds.  I'm pretty sure it's the same as parking -- they have to go around and scope out every single spot until they find just the right one.

 

This was one of Matt's picks.  I'm not sure if it's his final one or not:

 

Andrew made it to the wagon -- barely.

 

Joey was more sensible:

 

I think this was the third or fourth try for Matt:

 

***

 

After we had picked and paid for our pumpkins (and raided the farmer's candy dish), we stopped at the Batman cutout, just like we do every year.  Someday I'll make a collage of all these pictures from year to year:

 

I love seeing Matt's little bum sticking out.  He thought this was a very fun game:

 

And new this year, we stopped by the growing chart to mark our places.  Haley was really excited when I told her that she was covering the 5-foot mark.  That just made her day.

 

We bought 106 pounds of pumpkins.  We definitely don't need 106 pounds of pumpkins, but that's the way we roll!



Back to School

I was a little delinquent on the back-to-school pictures this year.  It didn't even cross my mind on the first day, so these are actually from the 2nd day of school.  Man, I've got to get my act together.

 

And Matt wasn't even going to school for 3 more weeks, but he needed to be a part of this shot, for sure!

 

He started preschool this year, with Miss Darcy, and he loves it, of course.  He literally runs from the car to her door each morning (well, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday).  He's been reading for over a year now, and he can count pretty much as far as he wants to, so he doesn't learn very much academically.  But he is learning how to be in a classroom, take turns, make a line, etc.  So we'll cross our fingers that he doesn't get into too much trouble in kindergarten.

 

 

Grace is in 1st grade, and she was lucky enough to get the same teacher that Joey had last year, Mrs. Barbeau.  She is everything a 1st grade teacher should be, and Grace just loves her.  Grace is already reading at an end-of-2nd-grade level. Her teacher told us that she is the top reader in the class.  And she is also the youngest kid in the class, so that's awesome.  As soon as she gets home from school, she sets up a little classroom in her bedroom and teaches Matt.  I think she'll make a great teacher someday!

 

Joey is in 2nd grade, and his teacher, Ms. Howland, is new to the school this year.  She is so awesome, too.  She just loves Joey (who doesn't?), and she really gets him.  He's a very passionate kid, but she gets him.  And she is totally on top of his food allergies.  And the best thing is, she loves frogs.  She has them all over the classroom (even live ones -- but they're in a tank).  She also does really fun projects.  I hope Grace gets her next year!  Joey is also reading at the top of his class, at an end-of-3rd-grade level.  There are a couple of little girls that were in Joey's class last year that are very sad that he's not in their class this year.  They hang out with him at the playground, though.  Joey is pretty oblivious (actually, he probably not -- he just acts that way) to all the girls that are in love with him. He's just too darned cute for his own good.

 

Andrew is a big 5th grader this year.  He was a little scared of having Ms. Wippert, who Haley had in 5th grade.  Everybody said that she is a mean teacher.  The other two 5th grade teachers are men, who are both really fun.  He also didn't get his best friend, Ryan, in his class this year -- which is the first time since kindergarten.  So he wasn't too excited about school, but Ms. Wippert loves him and really kind of dotes on him.  All she could talk about at his parent/teacher conference was how great of a kid he is, and how he is a leader, self-motivating, kind, and hard-working.  We told her that he was born that way -- we had nothing to do with it.  She didn't believe us, but it's true.

Haley is a Junior in high school this year, so she was long gone by the time we took this picture. She has her own car now, a Subaru donated lovingly by Aunt Emily and Uncle Ryan (thank you, thank you, thank you!).  She gets to go straight to school from seminary.  She is looking forward to college, and is busy in choir and all of her other classes.  She loves her gym class, which is at the end of the day at the new high-class gym on the west end.  She even gets up to go to a Friday morning class at 5:45 or some horrible hour like that.  I'm very impressed.  She had been working at Old Navy all summer, but now that wrestling season is upon us, she had to quit.  She will be the varsity wrestling manager this year, so we'll get to see her again next March when the season's over:)

 

 



 

The rest of the kids wouldn't stop to pose for individual pictures for me, but I did get one of Shoji sadly watching out the window while everybody left her.  Again.  I would totally take her more places if she wasn't such a psycho.  She's too lazy to get herself into the car, anyway.  She just looks at me like I'm stupid for even thinking she would do something like that.  It's a good thing for the front window.  She stays very entertained there.

Andrew's Football Summary

And the third fall sport was football! I must say, I like watching football much better than soccer, probably because I understand what is happening, and it is much, much more exciting.

 

What I don't love as much is that it usually takes up 4-5 days a week.  The games are two hours long, plus Andrew has to be there an hour early.  Thank goodness for Grandpa Jerry, or I might not have survived another season.

 

Andrew LOVES football.  And I'm pretty sure the thing he loves most is just being with his boys.  He's part of a pack, and he loves that.  He also really liked his coaches this season, and it was really hard to say good-bye when it was over.

 

 

We were really lucky with the weather this year. There were only a couple of games that we were really freezing.  I felt sorry for those boys.  They couldn't wear coats and hats and be under a pile of blankets like we could.  Good thing for Underarmour.  Especially for those evening games!

 

Andrew was lucky enough to get the #12 jersey this year.  My kids don't say "12" without "Tom Brady" being the very next thing out of their mouths.  Here he is playing defense, and tackling the snot out of this kid:

 

Andrew played offense and defense.  On offense he usually was the center (he did a great job protecting our itty-bitty quarterback), and sometimes played tight-end.  He always calls the huddle, and while doing so, raises his hands above his head (reminiscent of 3rd Rock From the Sun's Harry -- "Incoming message from the Big Giant Head!")

 

Andrew enjoyed standing on the sidelines all of 8 plays the entire season.  Since he played both offense and defense, this was a rare sight.  I'm not even joking about the 8 plays.  They counted them up at the end of the season, and he had played every single play but eight.

 

The pack (Andrew's in the middle somewhere)

 

During these 2-hour games, the rest of the kids enjoyed playing soccer, football, tag, or anything else they could do except watch the darned game.

 

We had grandparents there every game to cheer on Andrew, help shuttle him around, and to help take care of the other kids so I could actually watch a couple of plays (thank you, Grandpa Jerry).

 

Sam and Allison came to a few, also, and that made the little ones very, very happy.  I'm pretty sure they didn't get to see most of the game, but I don't think they minded all that much.

Fall Sports Report: Joey

Joey decided to play soccer for the first time this fall.  He did one soccer camp this summer, but that was the whole of his soccer experience thus far.  And our verdict is:

 

Joey is an awesome athlete:)

 

He picked up on soccer really fast, and always played hard.  He had a couple of friends on his team, which always helps; and he had a great father/daughter team for coaches.  They really knew the sport, and although they weren't the most laid-back of coaches, they pushed the team hard and really did teach them some good skills.

 

In 2nd grade boy's soccer, there is no score-keeping.  But rest assured -- the boys know the score, and they did have a winning record:)

Grace also played soccer this season, and their games were usually at different times, so each would have to be at the fields twice in one day.  Plus a football game the same day... but that's another story (that I'm still recovering from).

Joey would make good use of his sideline time during Grace's game by practicing.  Not practicing soccer, but football.

Joey has a weird cute habit of dancing around a little bit while playing sports.  It's hard to explain.  You'd just have to see it.  When he gets ready to throw a ball, or when he's changing position or concentrating on the ball, etc., he wobbles his arms and legs around in a kind of seizure.  That's the best I can explain.  To people who don't know him that well, it may look like he does it on purpose, but I'm pretty sure it has become involuntary.

Joey was very good at throwing the ball in from the sidelines.  He listened to his coach and did it just how he was supposed to, even if his feet did cross the line occasionally.  It was almost a legal throw-in!

Joey takes after his dad.  He was never afraid to go after the ball, and put his body in the way!

He went for a goal in this shot, but it bounced off the pole!

 

 

 

 

And this is my favorite "whiff" shot of the season. Even Joey laughed:

 

He was a corner kick pro, too.

 

And best of all, here he is getting a karate-chop back treatment from a teammate on the sidelines:

Ten Eleven Twelve

I love it when the date is funny.  Today is 10/11/12, and I think that's awesome.

 

Our day started VERY early, when Haley came in my room at 6:13 requesting that I draw a mustache on her face.

 

So I rolled my bottom out of bed, grabbed my eye liner, and went to town.  She now is Pedro, and McKenzie is Napoleon Dynamite.  What a pair.  We even fashoned a bolo tie out of a shoe lace and an old cub scout slide.  It was awesome.

 

 

***

 

Next, we got the kids ready for school, dropped off most of them, and then Ben took Matthew to preschool while I took Andrew to the ENT.

 

And now he has to get his tonsils and adnoids (I had to ask the doctor what the heck those were) out next month.  Hopefully he'll be able to breathe like a normal human being after that.

 

***

 

Then came what Matt has been waiting for all day!  I picked him up from preschool (where his teacher told me he had been VERY excited all day about his playdate), and we went home to wait for Emily.

 

We had a quick lunch, made some pudding (which is still jiggly because I used coconut milk), made some foam jack-o-lanterns, and played outside.  And it's super cold today, but pouring water on rocks is just too much fun to miss.

 

And we still get to go to the school ice cream social tonight!

 

 

School Photos (sort of)

I've been a little ornery about school pictures lately.  I just don't see the point of paying almost $100 just to make sure I get one 8x10 of all my kids.  If they'd just put those sizes in all the packages, I'd probably buy one.  But they don't, so I won't.

 

We just set up the backdrop, and did it ourselves!

 

Grace and Joey are pros, so their pictures all turned out nicely.

 

 

Ben decided to help during Andrew's photos, and he was trying not to crack up the whole time.  He couldn't always hold it in.

 

And Matt.  Well, he takes a little bit more work.  To get this:

 

We had to first get these: (I told him to smile -- my fault)

 

I am amazed at his ability to squeeze his eyes completely shut.  It's quite a talent!

Grace's Teeth

Grace has been in need of a frenectomy for quite a while now.  We finally got 'er done, thanks to Doctor Townsend!  It was a really easy procedure.  He just numbed her up, cut her lip open, and pulled it out.  He said she had enough in there for several people.  She did get a little nervous when he was putting the needle in her mouth, but I went over and held her hand, and she got through it okay. 

 

The doctor stitched her up, and noticed that her front tooth was loose (she lost the other front tooth in an elbowing incident with Matthew).  He asked her if she wanted him to pull it out, which she replied emphatically, "No!".  But being the awesome doctor that he is, he looked over at me, and I mouthed, "Do it!".  So he did it, pretending that he was just wiggling it.  She was so numb she didn't know the difference.

 

Then he asked her again if she wanted him to pull it.  She again said, "No way."  And then he said, "Would you be really mad at me if I already did it?"  She said, "Yes."  He just laughed, opened her hand, and dropped it in.  She wasn't really mad.

 

She didn't even ever ask for any medicine at all, never complained about it being painful at all.  She was a champ!

 

 

And someday (after many years of orthodontics), she will have perfectly straight teeth!  We're already saving for that.