Pumpkin Carving

The kids wanted us to carve their pumpkins so Lisa and I finally gave in and did it. We figured out that we really DO love our children. We must. It took a lot of strength, manipulation, and precision to accomplish this task. It seems simple enough to open it up, scoop the goo, and cut the pattern. Our arms began to disagree and our hands hit muscle failure sometime halfway through the first pumpkin - and Lisa did two! I have never carved a pumpkin before but now I know why this activity only occurs once a year. By the way, the kids were playing while the moms were doing the hard work :)

Terrific Tots Fall Party

Bucky's class had a school trick-or-treating adventure and then a special day with a movie and lots of snacks. Bucky loves his teacher and school and really enjoyed the party.

Another Birthday...

...came and went. My friends were asking me what I wanted to do and my answer was "nothing." Well, that wasn't going to cut it so we all went to a friend's house and danced to the "Just Dance" game on the Wii. It was so much fun. I even got a few grown-up minutes because the older kids took the younger kids next door to the playground...after the tiniest cake in the world that is. (They made me wear the "happy" hat) They ordered pizza for us all and then sang to me while I held my cake. I ate so much pizza and the cake was so sweet, I only ate one bite at the time. I also got several phone calls and facebook messages wishing me the best. I felt very loved. While the kids were outside we enjoyed our adult beverage. Ok - it was actually just the MOST potent grape juice I have ever tasted. We were all looking at each other and checking the bottle to make sure but it really didn't have any alcohol in it.

Pumpkin Patch

Oct 4 - Bucky took his first field trip on a bus to the Venetucci Farms to visit the Pumpkin Patch. They allow each child to pick out a free pumpkin as long as the child can carry it. The story behind this generosity is that back in the 50's Mr. Venetucci had a cart full of pumpkins and stopped for some reason. The children were looking at the pumpkins but could not afford any so he told them just to all take one for free. Such a generous man! Bucky loved the bus ride, loved the pumpkin farm, and loved all the animals at the farm. I volunteered to chaperone b/c I figured "why not?" All in all, we both had a good time.

Bucky and Ben

Ben, Bucky and Owen

Looking for the perfect pumpkin

Too Big

Concentrating on Shucking Beans

Class Picture

1st Session Done

Bucky is really enjoying school this year. He has only been in 6 weeks but he tells me about it everyday and we enjoy our talks on the way home as he excitedly explains what he did and the songs that accompany each activity. I am thrilled that he not only enjoys school but also loves his teacher!

Just a Funny Picture

And, yes, this is a real sign :)

Fall is Here

Sept. 25 - Katie and I went on a drive for our 2nd attempt at seeing Fall Colors. Since I am from Florida and she is from Texas this was potentially very exciting for us. We both come from places where the leaves go from green to dead :). We did notice right away that there was more yellow than the weekend before so we could feel our anticipation building from the start. The further we drove, the more yellow we saw. It was absolutely gorgeous! We eventually stumbled on Eleven Mile State Park. We didn't even know there was a park where we were headed. We didn't pay to get into the park because we were running low on time and wouldn't get our money worth. I did pull into the parking lot, though, so we could walk around. We walked up some rocks and we were able to see the mountains, the lake, and the trees. It was very serene and beautiful. We had a great day!