Nature Walk

I took the kids for a nature walk the other day. . . it was lots of fun. I printed a list of things they needed to find and each had a pen to mark it off once they found it. We're trying to enjoy being outside while the weather is still tolerable! I'm DREADING winter!

Looking for a spider. . .

Ahh- aren't they sweet!

Trick or Treat

I know- I'm behind. But here are a few pictures of Hulk and Princess trick or treating!

Eric LOVES to trick or treat and was really excited to take the kids. I wanted to go to the community Harvest Party where they have fun games and the kids win a little candy. Eric insisted we trick or treat "for real" so we went from house to house for almost 2 hours. The kids had a blast! At one point, Brandon started refusing candy saying that he had enough. We ended the night by stopping at Granny and Pappy's for some home made marshmallow popcorn balls. Yummy!!

Poor little guy- he was SO tired!

Carving time!

Of course the kids picked out the BIGGEST pumpkins they could find. It was lots of fun watching them scoop out the pumpkin guts. Surprisingly, Lexi really loved it and Brandon wanted nothing to do with it. I thought it would be the other way around. Since when does Brandon worry about getting messy!?!

I love Lexi's face. . .

Brandon "trying to be a man"- that's what Eric kept telling him :)

Pumpkin Patch

Ok- It's catch up time!

We headed out to the pumpkin patch Halloween Day. Eric was working 3pm-11pm and Lexi is in school from 8am-3pm. Obviously those schedules don't mix and we had no time to go to the pumpkin patch or carve pumpkins together. We were really sad to see that there were no good pumpkins left at the pumpkin patch. The most important thing is that we got some cute pictures right? We have taken the kids to the same patch for 3 years now. It's kind of a fun tradition. (We ended up getting pumpkins at the grocery store)

Look at how they've grown!!

October 2007

October 2008

October 2009

Rub-a-dub-dub 5 kids in the tub!!

I'm watching my sister's kids for a few days. . . this is what bath time looked like tonight! Aren't they cute?!

Seth (5) Lexi (5) Ashlyn (3) Brandon (3) Brenna (2)

5 kids under 5 years old. . . . the house looks like a bomb went off but we had fun! Needless to say I'm exhausted! Bed time wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. There are 2 kids in my bed and one in the playpen in my room. . . maybe I'll sleep on the couch. We need a bigger house!

Parent Teacher Conference

I went to Lexi's parent teacher conference this morning. Her teacher had nothing but good things to say about her. *Phewf* I'm happy that she's doing so well, I really worried about sending her this year. She's one of the youngest in her class. I worried about her behavior too. She can get pretty ornery and bossy sometimes. . . but her teacher didn't mention any behavior/social issues. She can name 26/26 letters in upper and lower case, knows all their sounds and is beginning to read. She can count to 38, has good fine motor skills, and is exactly where she should be with math. Any way, it's okay to brag sometimes right?

Smarty Pants

Lexi's starting to read! It's so cute to hear her sound out the words. The concept that letters make sounds. . . and sounds make words. . . has finally clicked! Here she is reading her first book. . . .

Brandon was begging me to video him doing something. I asked him what he wanted to do and he said "I can sing the alphabet". . . what?! I've never heard him say the ABC's before. He's tried a few times but has never gotten past "E"- he's just never been that in to learning it. He's been in preschool for about a month now and is finally starting to like it. He calls it "Day care school"-kinds funny. Any way, here he is. . . singing the alphabet with hardly any help. (Notice the Hulk gloves. . . once he was done singing, he got a mad face and was ready to go beat something up. . . he's such a boy)

The end is my favorite part. . . "next time don't sing with me. . . ." :)

Ahh! Aren't the cute?