Fuzz O'Lanterns

If ONLY we had thought to take pictures of the jack o'lanterns BEFORE they turned fuzzy.... oh well, the boys thought the changes were awesome! After they smiled for the photos, the boys' gourds were added to the compost pile; Maddie painted her pumpkin, instead of cutting into it,

 Daddy's, on the left, seemed to be vomiting. Ben's is on the right.

 Will's has the curvy nose with plenty of nose "hairs."

 Jon's was quite gory.

so it is still smiling on the porch.

Saturday at the Pumpkin Patch

Randy and Shelley came to visit yesterday. We already had plans to get our family Christmas card picture taken, and it didn’t take much to add a trip to the pumpkin patch to the end of that excursion. The weather was nice – just cool enough to feel like fall, but warm enough to be enjoyable. The kids had fun climbing hay bales, riding out to the patch, choosing gigantic pumpkins that were too big for them to carry, and feeding chickens and pigs.

Seven Candles... times three!

For SO many reasons, we decided not to do birthday parties this year. First of all, Allen was supposed to be working nights all month for turn-around; by the time we knew of the change of plans and that he wasn't going to be doing T/A, we already had our plan (or lack thereof) in place. Secondly, October was supposed to be the month I took everything off my list that might cause stress. Thirdly, we already have so much going on. Fourthly, fifthly, sixthly, whatever... we plan to do something different with the kids to celebrate all four birthdays with our family.

We still wanted to celebrate birthdays somehow, so we let the kids each pick a restaurant for dinner. Of course, no one chose the same restaurant, so Mama ended up with the treat of not cooking for most of the week. We had a candle for Ben, Maddie, and Jon in each of their requested treats so that, over the four days, they each blew out seven candles -- one for each of their seven years!

Our menu for the weekend had twenty-one candles:
On the Border nachos were what Jon wanted for dinner.

Ben and Maddie both wanted Marble Slab for birthday dessert, and Jon was in favor of that instead of birthday cake.

Ben requested an IHOP make-a-face dinner.

 Saturday morning, Mama made wild blueberry muffins.

 Maddie wanted Double Dave's pizza.

And Jon's dessert pick was root beer floats (they got two candles that time because I wanted to make sure they each blew out seven candles.)

 

I think all three (plus Mama!) were excited at all the meal treats. It was a great way to celebrate birthdays over and over and over and over and over and over again. 

Opening Gifts

Ben, Maddie, and Jon are SEVEN years old! We had a somewhat low-key celebration, and they enjoyed opening gifts from family. I wanted to share a few of my favorite pictures so grandparents could enjoy the fun from afar. All three kiddos got Halloween costumes. Jon and Ben got some science kits and NFL jerseys, and Maddie got a scarf-making kit and some matching PJs for her and her doll. Jon got a Lego set he has been wanting, Ben got an alien-autopsy candy kit that he has been wanting for a long time (and I've resisted), and Maddie got an American Girl doll iceskating set she's been wanting for about a year.

Ladies to Tea

I found some photos I meant to post. Maddie asked for Nana and I to take her to a tea party, so while the guys went to a Rangers game, the gals went for tea and brunch over Labor Day weekend.

Lakeside Fort: Assembly Required

Will’s school is on a ten-month school year that includes many week-long breaks throughout the year. One of the break was this week, and he spent most of it with Gramma and Granddad. When he arrived in Waco, he and Granddad got busy building a fort near the lake. Will called home at least once every day. If he couldn’t reach the house, he called the cell phones. He excitedly told me all that he and Granddad had been doing.

In Will's words, "First we got the old playhouse that was abandoned. Then we dragged it over to the huge tree. And we put a rope down from the tree. Our helper went up the tree and tied the rope at the top. Then we build the xylophone bridge from the tree to the playhouse -- you can bang on it with a stick and it makes noise.

We had to replace the floorboards with new wood. I cleaned the slide with the hose while Granddad and the helper built a handrail. We added the slide and that's it.The rope swing and the slide into the lake were the best parts. It's hard to catch yourself on the slide so you don't fall in the water."

Alike

In Allen's words, "They're all alike."

Photo taken 8/31.