Pumpkin Picking

About a week after we went to the farm with Joey's class, we went back as a family to pick our pumpkins for the year.  The kids had a half day, so we went early.  But first, we stopped for a pizza lunch, which is our tradition on pumpkin picking day.  This time, we went to Village Inn pizza and were pleasantly surprised with their buffet.  I was impressed that it only cost $35 to feed all of us! 

At the farm, we did all the usual stuff, like a hay ride (it was fun to have our own personal ride, but it did get a little hot), a trip through the corn maize (which went much faster this time since Joey and I knew our way through), train ride, and a walk through their big shed that houses all the "fun" pumpkins.

The kids were decked out in their cowboy clothes, because later that day we were going to the rodeo. 

Matt's Gymnastics

This is Matt's first session of gymnastics.  He really loves it.  At first, he just ran around and did whatever he wanted (classic Matt), but he's got it figured out now.  It's good for him to listen to his teacher (whos name is Devin, but he calls her Haley).  And it's great for mommy to have a tired boy for the afternoon!

The Flamingos

We came home from dinner one Sunday evening last month, and found "a bunch of stuff!" (Joey) on our lawn.  That "stuff" turned out to be a bunch of flamingos randomly spread in the front.  It was stinking hilarious.  We found a note on our front porch, and it turns out the flamingos were a funny way of getting some donations to help with a friend's nephew who has spina bifida.  She is running the NY marathon to help raise money.  Awesome!

The funniest thing was watching people driving by literally STOP in front of our yard to stare and try to figure out why somebody would have such strange decorations.

The kids were SO sad to see the flamingos move on to the next targeted lawn.  Maybe we'll have to buy some just for fun!

Joey's Class Field Trip

I was so happy Matthew and I could accompany Joey's first grade class to the Laurel Pumpkin Patch.  His teacher, Mrs. Barbeau, and the other 2 first grade classes all boarded the bus and drove out to our favorite farm.  Matt and I followed in the van.  We enjoyed a hay ride, made our way through the corn maize, picked out our pumpkins, and ate lunch.  The next day, we all went to Joey's school and did some experiments on the pumpkins. We weighed and measured, found out if they floated, and drew funny faces on them.

The day of the field trip, Joey's teacher had to tell many of the kids in his class that "not everyone can sit with Joey".  Joey seems to be a hot commodity, especially among the ladies, and one lucky girl grabbed his arm first.  This happens almost every day, though.  As we go walking through the crowd at the playground after school, I hear a chorus of "bye Joey!"'s, and have even witnessed a line -- yes, an honest to goodness LINE -- of little girls waiving at my cute little boy.  He barely turns his head and raises a hand to waive.  Interesting.

Even though the 1st grade girls wanted Joey's attention, he usually only has time for his best friend, Reece.  They found each other through the crowd, and stuck together as all good buddies should.

Joey managed to find a pumpkin, even while being flanked by his admirers.  One little girl found a caterpillar and gave it to him, as sort of an offering.  He enjoyed the crowds that came to him to see it, and played for a long time with that fuzzy little creature (the caterpillar, not the girl).

Matt was just happy he got to pick his own pumpkin... and wear his cowboy boots.

Other Things That Happen When I Leave:

Leaving the house is always a risk for me.  I come home to things like Haley trying to make cookies. The flour started to fly, and she reached over to turn it off, only to hit it with her hand and turned it on high.  Yep.

And, when Haley's supposed to be watching Matt, I come home and find him lopped over in the chair.

I may never leave this house again.

Playing Part 2

Here's a few more pics of our Sunday night down the street.  Matthew was showing us his awesome rolling skills, and Dad got a few headers in.

Playing Part 1

I got home after performing our last Opera matinee, and the sun was still up; it was warm; and the kids were ready to play after not seeing me hardly for 3 weeks!  So we hiked it on over to the grassy area (we don't call it a "park" because then Matthew expects a play area).

We brought along the football, playground ball, and the hand toss game.  The boys were happy to kick the ball back and forth with Daddy, hoping he'd show them some of his mad head bumping skills.  He obliged, of course.

We stayed until sunset, then some of us walked, Andrew rode his rip stick, and Joey rode his scooter home.  Fun!

Billy Casper

We had the pleasure of spending the day with famous golfer, Billy Casper. His golfing glory days are long over, but he had many interesting and funny stories to tell, especially about Arnold Palmer.  He is incredibly accomplished, has something like 11 children, and (who knew?) is an area seventy!  He was one of the most gracious, kind people I've ever met, especially because it was a VERY long day for him (plus, he's 80).  And he had entertained people the previous night. And it was pouring rain the entire time. He gave a great clinic, and even spoke at the dinner that night. I was thoroughly exhausted, so I can't imagine how tired he must have been.

While waiting for dinner to begin, Grace sat with Grandpa Fred, and later entertained guests during the cocktail hour before dinner.  She was waiting for Grandma Jane to pick her up for a sleepover.  Grandma was picking up Andrew from football practice and running him out to the country club so that he could lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  He was pretty excited to do it, and did a fantastic job!

Sam came to talk with Billy and joined us for dinner.  It was a terrific evening!

Church Picnic

We had a fun church picnic in the middle of September to celebrate the return of two soldiers in our ward from active duty in Iraq. It turned out to be a really nice night, even though it was threatening rain.  We had to leave a little early because Andrew had to be picked up from football practice, but we had a nice time enjoying our friends at the park.  Matt played with Avery, a little friend from nursery. Those two have a lot of fun together!  He also REALLY enjoyed his chicken. He must get that from his older brother, Mister Meat-a-tarian himself, Joey.

Haley had fun pretending to be mad. She didn't do a great job, though. I didn't believe it for a second.

Catching Up/ Lunch with Grace

The last couple of months have been busier than ever, with music, sports, photography, and just everyday life.  In fact, it's been a zoo around here, and the state of my house is enough to prove it.  But I'm going back through my pictures to try and catch up with this blog!

***

Grace started Kindergarten this year, and was doing fine (or so I thought), until I got a phone call from her teacher one afternoon.  She said, "I don't know if Grace has told you, but she cries everyday at school, usually during recess and after lunch. Today she cried so hard she was heaving, and I just held her until she stopped."  I told her that, no, Grace hadn't told me, but that I'd talk to her about it.  Her teacher said that she didn't think anything had happened, but that she just missed me.

When I asked her about it, she thought she was in trouble.  But I told her it was normal to be homesick, and we thought of some ways to keep her mind off me when she got sad.  We decided that she should start making up stories if she was sad, and that would occupy her mind a little.  The first few days, she came home with 3 long stories each day, and told me about them when I picked her up.

I also made her a deal, that if she could go the whole week without crying, I'd take her to lunch on Friday.  It took a couple of weeks, but she did it!  We usually go to Wendy's.  We take Joey, too, because he has almost the same lunchtime as Grace.  We usually bring something from the restaurant for Andrew to eat, since his lunch is later.

One week, I decided to come eat in the lunchroom with her.  She sat by her new friend, Kali (making some new friends also helped stop the crying!), and had a great time.  And no more tears!  Which is good, because she is eighth overall in her class of 23, even though she is the youngest student.  Glad we made it through that one!