Christmas Wrap-Up

Christmas is a busy time of year for us at the Moon house.  Mostly because we're not at the Moon house that much.  We headed over to Grandad's house for an early Christmas with my dad's side of the family, then a couple of days later we headed out for a very quick trip to Dodge City for a Christmas with my mom's side of the family.  We got home in time to head to our church's Christmas Eve service, frost a couple of cookies and leave a plateful for Santa.  Then once the kids were asleep we did our best at our "some assembly required" toys.  That always takes longer than we anticipate.  Sam got a train table set this year and setting that up took quite a while.  We had Christmas morning at our house and then after naps headed over to Chris' parent's house for another Christmas.  The next day we went back over for the big extended Clark Christmas, and then last night we went back again to spend a little more time with cousin Lucy before she left.  Tonight the kids are having a movie night sleepover at Grandad's with their cousins.  Busy, busy, busy. 

The kids were so worn out last night that I told them if they slept until 9am I'd give them a prize. I just wanted to sleep in so badly!! Isabella, who is usually up right at 7am didn't get to our room until 8:52. She was so sad because her clock didn't say 9. I told her it was close enough. At 9:01 Anna and Sophia came up and proclaimed themselves winners. Sam and Daddy got out of bed at 10am. It felt amazing and was totally worth the package of gum I gave them for winning. I will have to think of more sleeping in bribes the rest of the week!

Sam with his new NASA helmet from Uncle Chris.

Dads and the cousins getting ready to sprinkle food for the reindeer.  The moms were smart and stayed inside.  It was cold out!

Fun with Kaitlynn and Emma.

Instead of frosting his cookies, Sam decided to add the snowman's candy corn noses to his bowl of frosting and eat it.  Gross!

Sophia reading us the Christmas story from Luke 2.

The big present!

Papa got the kids a giant bounce house for his garage which is quickly turning into a playroom for the kids.  They LOVE it!

Head first of course!

Sophia got a couple of dinosaur excavating kits and has been chiseling away at her first one.

Her Daddy has snuck away to the garage to enjoy it too.

What a fun and busy Christmas we have had.  We've even managed to stay healthy so far!  We hope you are all enjoying yours as much as we are.  Merry Christmas and have a fabulous new year! 

Visions of Tree Houses Dancing in Her Head

As I've mentioned before, Sophia is a tomboy at heart.  She LOVES to climb trees.  And since our neighborhood is only a few years old, she has to go over to her grandparents' houses to find trees worth climbing in.  She spends a lot of time trying to convince her Papa to build an elaborate tree house connecting two trees in his yard.  She draws pictures of tree houses and has told me she has every intention of living in a tree house in our back yard when she's an adult.  So, Santa was pretty clever in bringing her the 1960 Disney version of Swiss Family Robinson. 

Since Christmas morning I can't even count the number of times she's watched it.  At least two times a day.  And no, normally I wouldn't let them watch movies that much, but it is Christmas break so I'm indulging them a bit. I wasn't sure if it would capture her attention since it's almost as old as her Grandparents.  But she can't stop watching it.  So fun to see her enjoy something that I enjoyed as a child!  Santa also brought her the 1980 Space Camp since she also has an interest in that since going to the Cosmosphere.  But so far the tree house plan seems a little more realistic to her!

Hark the Herald....

This morning, Sophia was talking about the Christmas program she's in tomorrow when she turned and asked me why one of the songs said, "Our God, Herald... Mom, his name's not Herald."  Then I realized she was talking about "Hark the Herald Angels Sing!"  So funny!  I had to explain the correct words and then what they meant.  But it was a really sweet way to start the day! 

Teacher Gifts

Having four kids means lots and lots of teacher gifts.  Between school, preschool, parent's day out, and church....that's a lot of teachers!  I'm just thankful that so many people care so much about my kiddos!  We were feeling crafty this year -- mainly out of financial necessity, but also because who doesn't love a good craft project.  Besides, this many teachers would really throw off my gift budget if I did a $5 gift card (which I'm sure they'd prefer). After Christmas I'll have to post what the kids made for their teachers.  They turned out pretty cute and were really pretty simple! 

Minor surgery is only minor when it's someone else's child.

That's what our ear doctor told us the first time we took one of our children in for tubes in their ears.  I agree.  Nothing seems minor when they're putting your child under anesthesia.  On Wednesday we went in for our third trip for tubes.  Isabella and Sam have both had the procedure done, but hearing tests after Sam's tubes came out showed that he needed them again.  This time they were also removing his adenoids to help clear up things even more.  One positive note is he may not snore anymore.  I'm thinking his future wife will appreciate this procedure.

The night before surgery... 

He was naked after his bath showing me the new dance moves his Daddy taught him.  I won't show you the other pictures!!

Here's Sam in his little tiger gown with his sleepsak.  While he no longer wears it to bed, he still snuggles with it like a blankie.  Looks like my own little Linus.

He was quite insistent that he wanted his "watch" off.  (The medical bracelets were pretty tight and he told every nurse and doctor that he wanted that watch taken off.  None of them agreed much to his disappointment.

After surgery, Sam woke up really disoriented, crying and he really couldn't calm down for a bit.  I don't blame him.  His biggest issue was the IV taped onto his hand which of course had to stay in for 30 more minutes.  Once that came out he was able to calm down and relax a bit with me.  We were released and as I buckled him into the car seat he promptly threw up.  Uggh.  I hate cleaning out the car seats.  Had he done it 2 minutes earlier, someone at the surgery center could have cleaned it up!  Just saying. 

We came home and all he wanted to do was snuggle on my lap.  He sat their silently not moving for an hour and then fell asleep for an hour.  Not a bad way to spend a morning!  By lunchtime I had to get things ready for the girls so he decided he could finally eat.  (McDonalds pancakes of course). 

And after his 5 hour nap he woke up feeling a little less grouchy and a little more like himself.  By bedtime he was finally back to playing with his toys and talking my ear off. 

I'm really hoping that's the last time we have that procedure done.  But we'll see.  But I do agree, it's only minor if it's not your own child!!

The Digital Television Conversion

Chris and I have always had to make choices in order for me to be able to stay-at-home.  While it would have been easier for us if he made gobs of money and I just stayed at home to take care of my kiddos - well, it rarely works that way for most people.  So we constantly evaluate things on a want/need basis.  And after reading a book while pregnant with Sophia we sometimes have had to look at things with the idea that "if this was the one thing preventing me from being able to stay-at-home, would it be worth it?" 

That being said, we haven't paid for cable in eight years.  It wasn't a necessity and we could always use our rabbit ears to catch the main local stations.  Then came the big digital television conversion.  It was supposed to be amazing.  The quality of the picture would improve, it would be everything we never knew we were missing.  I'm sure for most cable or satellite subscribers the transition has been wonderful.  But for those of us stretching out one income, the switch has not been so great. 

After buying special new digital rabbit ears and upgrading our main television we've noticed a few things: 

1.  We lost PBS.  No more free cartoons.  Yep, the government sponsored station's signal (which my tax dollars pay for) doesn't reach our house.  We are not in the boonies.  We live on the north side of Wichita - the biggest city in our state, less than 15 minutes from downtown.  But as representative from the station have told us, small things like houses and buildings can get in the way of the signal.  Houses?  Really?  Awesome signal you've got there. 

2.  Weather can affect the signal.  Yep, apparently clouds can get in the way too.  Not too comforting in tornado alley to lose a signal during bad weather. 

3.  But our most recent realization is probably the most absurd.  Geese get in the way too. 

Yep, birds.  We back up to a pond and geese love it this time of the year.  But as a flock of geese fly over our house, we momentarily lose our signal.  Seriously the TV freezes because birds fly over our house.

So far, I'm not impressed with the conversion.  We get fewer channels and they freeze up all the time.  Thank you US government for mandating the conversion.  So impressive.  No wonder we own so many DVDs. 

Adventures at Bedtime

Every night Chris and I check on the kiddos before we head to bed.  It's nice to see them sleeping peacefully and after some days where there is a lot of arguing or disobeying it's really nice to go to bed remembering them in this state - sleeping angels. 

We often get a kick out of some of their sleeping positions.  Isabella makes us giggle the most.  I can't even describe the way we've found her at times.  Last night we went to check on them and Anna and Isabella had apparently gotten out of bed a few times.  They went to bed wearing what we deem "winter jammies" - long sleeves and pants.  We found them in shorts and little tank tops which doesn't work since we keep our house pretty cool at night.  They must have gotten cold again, because they got out socks and put them on their feet and their hands. 

Isabella chose colorful knee highs of course!

Anna doesn't like the light that Chris turned on to take the picture!

Sophia falls asleep like she's involved in a very intimate conversation with Polar Bear -- her constant bedtime companion since she was 21 months old.  I'm sure I have a picture of her when she was 2 or 3 that looks identical to this.  It's hard to believe she's 7 1/2!!

Silly girls!  I don't think I've missed a single night of checking in on them at bedtime in the last 7 1/2 years.  I'd like to think I'll still be doing this when they're 18.  I'm guessing they won't appreciate the camera then!

Christmas Lights

Saturday Chris and his "little brother" from Big Brothers Big Sisters set out to put up the outside Christmas lights like they have together for the last three years.  Growing up, watching my father do the same task, I know there are a few key steps in the process.  First, you take them out of the box, plug them in, test them, and THEN hang them up. 

Chris and Takoda took a different approach this year.  Ladder up, lights up, plugged in (it's daytime so it's still a little hard to tell which lights are on and which are off).  Then I asked why they didn't test them first - inside.  Hmmm.  They weren't sure.  So they left the ladder up thinking once it was dark they could then replace the bulbs that weren't working.  How do you think that went?

The ladder was left out but nobody climbed back up.  At bedtime, I suggested the ladder not be left out all night, so it is now safely put away in our garage.  I'm guessing our burnt out bulbs will remain through Christmas, but we'll see. 

One small step for man...

Today we took the girls to the Kansas Cosmosphere.  It is such a great museum to take kids too, though, in order to really take the time to read everything,  we would have had to go without the kids!  Sometime Chris and I will go back just the two of us.

I had bought 1/2 price tickets on Groupon several months ago and they were about to expire. We made a fun day out of it after dropping Sam off to play with Papa.  We ate at McDonalds (because, where else do you take three girls) and then headed over to the Cosmosphere.  After checking out the museum, we went to the IMAX theater.  With four young kids we don't go to a lot of movies.  Sophia has been to 3 movies, but Anna and Isabella had never been to a movie theater before.  Going to an IMAX for their first time was quite an experience. 

We were watching the movie about the Hubble telescope and the final space flight up to fix it and make modifications.  Very cool. 

Isabella looked at me and said, "Mom, they should have fixed this before they sent it up to space."  Very true!  Pretty smart for four. 

Threes

Since they always come in threes....

# 1  Alternator died in van.
# 2  Ice maker broke in 9 month old refrigerator.
# 3  Can't wait to share with you what happens next. 

Hope you have a peaceful and financially pleasant day!

On The Road Again....Another (expensive) adventure in Motherhood

Last weekend we loaded up the kids and headed to Colorado. It wasn't for a vacation, but a funeral for an aunt that died suddenly and entirely too young.  Saturday we attended the funeral and then loaded up the van to head south to Chris' family cabin.  We were emotionally drained and tired from spending a night with 6 people in one hotel room and the day before in the van.  We knew the kids couldn't endure another day of travelling back home.

It was going to be a 2 1/2 hour drive.  We decided not to change all of our clothes before the drive.  We knew snow was coming and wanted to get on the road and to the cabin before dark.  When we got in the car we saw our first snow flakes.  This is how my cuties were dressed!



And these were my adorable new shoes I was wearing. 

As we headed south and left Denver our "voltage" light came on.  Normally Chris ignores these for a while, but we looked in the owner's manual and it said to get help immediately.  Great.  It was Saturday afternoon.  We started looking for some place to stop and everything was closed.  We finally found a mechanic in Aspen Park that was open.  It was not our battery as we had thought, but our alternator was dying.  Fast.  We started saying some prayers.  As he looked at the car, you could hear it  dying.  He first said he couldn't help us until Sunday night if he could get a part in.  Our alternative was to drive back to Denver and try to find some place that was open.  He said he could charge our battery, but we still might not make it.  Awesome, "have you seen our four children in the back seats?" I wanted to ask.

The mechanic went in to see if he could track down a part and we said a few more prayers. He came out and said we were in luck.  He could get a new alternator, and could work late to help us out.  He told us he could have it ready by 7pm.  Yeah....except that it was 3:45 by then.  He said he could drop us off at a local family restaurant and said they'd "take care of us." 

If you know Sam, you know he's a typical two-year-old boy.  Sitting in a restaurant for 30 minutes is a struggle at best.  We had 3 hours and 15 minutes to kill.  And we were not even a little bit hungry.  You know you're not hungry when you completely ignore the free bread they set at your table at an Italian restaurant.  But, we ordered dinner.  Luckily the restaurant had a small basket of toys for the kids to play with and crayons to draw on the paper laid out on the tables.  We ate, we stalled, and then we asked if there was anything within walking distance.  A grocery store.  Well, not my first choice, but I can kill a lot of time wandering around in a grocery store.  We got directions and headed out.  By then it was dark and very cold.  The sidewalks were covered in snow.  Remember what we were wearing and those shoes.... Not ideal for this adventure.

The streets weren't lit well and the sidewalk ended, and really it was much too far for our kids to walk.  We headed back the way we came.  There was a gas station there and I thought maybe they'd have a booth we could sit in.  Nope, closed on Saturday afternoons.  Really?  Our only choice was to head back to the restaurant and hope they'd understand. 

Looks like fun doesn't it?

We had an amazing waitress who was very accommodating especially since the restaurant was filling up with the dinner crowd.  We ordered hot chocolate, we colored, we played with little toys and we waited.  The clock ticked slowly that day.  We were so tired and emotionally drained.  At 7pm, the mechanic came back and picked us up.  We paid for our newly fixed van, checked the weather forecast and finally headed south.

We were exhausted, but we were safe.  If we hadn't found that mechanic exactly when we did we would have been broken down on the side of a mountain road with four kids in the car.  It could have been very bad.  If he wouldn't have been so generous in staying late to help us - it could have been worse. 

We said some more prayers of thankfulness.  And we all slept hard that night.  I'll try to share some pictures of the fun we had the next day.  We just love visiting Colorado, but hope we don't have another adventure like this for a while. 

Family Pictures and the *Almost* Broken Nose

Every November we go in and take our family picture.  For several years, it seemed like we had a new baby each time we went.  It's fun to look through all of them and see how much the kids have changed from year to year.  Saturday we were scheduled to go in for our pictures.  It's never a lot of fun.  And we never expect to get all of the kids smiling at the same time.  We just want them all looking at the camera.  That's good enough.  A picture without one of them crying -- even better!

But, 45 minutes before we were supposed to be out the door we had an accident.  Not a car accident or anything major.  But it felt major to me.  I had just gotten Sam out of bed.  He was so excited that Chris was still home (he usually leaves for work before Sam gets up).  Chris was about to get into the shower.  So I wanted to rush Sam in to see his Dad.  Major mistake.  I grabbed him and ran through the house.  I started to fall. 

But as any mom knows, if you're tripping or falling while holding a child, you protect the child first.  That leaves nothing to stop your own fall.  So, as I fell, my face slammed into the side of the couch.  Graceful I know.  That caused my back to snap backwards.  Nice.  We landed and I just yelled for Chris to come help Sam.  I thought he could be hurt and luckily he was fine.  I, on the other hand, was not.  My glasses were broken and my nose began bleeding at an alarming rate.  I dragged myself over to the linoleum floor and just laid there.  I was in a ridiculous amount of pain.  And 2 1/2 hours later, my nose finally stopped bleeding.  Seriously.

We dropped the kids off at their grandparents and Chris drove me to immediate care.  I thought my nose might have been broken.  Luckily the x-rays showed I was fine, just badly swollen and very sore.  My nose, forehead, teeth, back and arms were killing me.  All from falling in my own house.  Completely embarrassing.  Doped up on pain medicine, I quickly left because I was in charge of the elementary school's parents' night out and 58 kids were eagerly waiting for a night of fun. 

The doctor said by Monday I should start to feel better.  Here's hoping she was right!  We never made it to the portrait studio so I'm going to have to reschedule those family pictures.  Maybe after I pick up my new glasses.    It's never dull around here!

Nose Running Away....

Our family has been battling colds this last week. Chris and I were not doing well this weekend and found ourselves falling asleep on the couch at the drop of the hat on Saturday.  I started getting better, but Chris is still miserable.  I think he's got a cold and the flu - and since he is the only one in our family to not get a flu shot -- well, it's possible.   He spent most of Monday in bed with our dog, Sadie. 

Sam has had a small cold too.  Usually, when he wakes up he says two things to me.  "Done napping, Mommy," and "eat."  Today, he said, "Nose running away, Mommy."  Too cute!  When his nose is running, it's always running away.  Makes sense I guess. 

Here's hoping the two men in my life feel better quickly! 

Halloween 2010

Sophia is in to all things bugs. For some odd reason she asked if she could be a cricket or a grasshopper for Halloween. Really? I just didn't think I could pull that off. So I suggested a butterfly. Luckily she was okay with that. The girls LOVE to coordinate or match each other.  Last year they were all superheros. So, this year, Anna was a ladybug and Isabella was a bumblebee. Sam still had a cowboy costume that fit him from Dodge City Days this summer. So he was pretty excited to tell everyone he met that he was a cowboy. He even said it with a draw that only a two-year-old could produce. Very cute.

I told the girls to turn around so I could see the back of their costumes.  Sam turned too. 

  

Izzy the Busy Bumblebee

 Cowboy Sam

 Sophia the butterfly

Anna the ladybug

We went around our neighborhood and also drove to the kids' grandparent's and great-grandparent's houses.  We even ran into my sister and her kids, twice.  Strange timing. 

Emma is a rock star and Kaitlynn is a pizza zombie.

Unfortunately for us, four kids can amass an alarming amount of candy.  So, in a few days Chris' co-workers will be receiving the bulk of it.  Mainly because I can't seem to exhibit any sense of self-control over my own desires for the chocolate.  Specifically Reece's Peanut Butter Cups.  They are soooooo good!  

Superman

Sometimes I sit and wonder at how God works.  The way he puts certain people in our lives at exactly the right time is such an incredible thing. 

I met Chris my sophomore year in college.  I was briefly dating his roommate's best friend.  We hung out in Chris' room a few times.  He was not your typical college student.  On a Saturday night, he was sitting at his desk reading a book.  I was getting ready for a party.  His impression of me was equally unimpressive and deserved.

Fast forward a year.  I was getting ready to study abroad in England.  There were a dozen or so students from Baker going and Chris was one of those.  I had this ridiculous idea that I was going to marry the person I sat next to on the plane.  It wasn't an idea really - more like an excuse for why I wasn't dating anyone at the time.  But, the idea was there.  I sat down on the plane and who sat next to me?  Chris.  And on the next flight?  Chris.  God was putting someone in my life for a reason.  But I wasn't sure what that reason was.  Over the next 4 months we became best friends.  Eventually we started dating. 

Fast forward 11 years.  Four kids later.  And I still wonder about how God put Chris into my life. Chris and I loved eachother a lot.  Enough to get married.  But I think about it now and wonder at how little we knew.  We've grown SO much in those 11 years.   And our love has grown SO much.  The man that Chris has become - I probably wouldn't have recognized 11 years ago.  And I hope he can say the same about me. 

Chris is a reporter.  He's a managing editor.  He's a freelance writer and photographer.  He's a Sunday School teacher.  He's a father and a husband.  And in his spare time he's a student again.  He wakes up every morning at 5:15am to do his graduate school work in theology while the rest of us sleep. And I wonder what I did to possibly deserve such a great man in my life. 

And right now he's out of state working on a freelance job as he constantly works to find ways so I can stay home with our kids.  And I'm missing him.  And I'm just so thankful for him.  I'm hoping you all have someone so special in your lives.  Isn't God amazing?

246

246.  That's how many marbles it took Sophia to fill up her marble jar.  We started the marble jars this summer as a way to encourage the kids to be better helpers around the house.  In the beginning, they would get marbles for doing things like making their beds or helping with the dishes. 

As the summer progressed I started trying to reward them more for the things they were doing on their own to be helpful.  A switch from basic obedience training to encouraging more helpful and caring hearts.  So they'd get marbles when I would walk downstairs and they were already cleaning up the basement.  One day I told them we couldn't do crafts until I finished the laundry -- so on their own they went downstairs and brought up all their hangers so I could finish faster.  Sometimes it was as simple as an older sister pushing Isabella on the swing -- helping her have fun rather than focusing on themselves.  As the jars began to fill up, the girls really started looking for things they could do to be helpful.  My favorite was when Sophia looked at my cabinet under my computer -- a total disaster -- and asked if she could organize it.   LOVED that! 

As a reward, Sophia got to pick what she would do and she chose to go on a date to the bookstore with her Dad and go shopping with me.  She got a couple of books and some much needed church clothes.  But mainly, we got quality one-on-one time with her. 

Anna is only a few marbles away from finishing so we'll be planning another date soon. Isabella has a ways to go.  She's always been my M.E.R girl. (Minimal Effort Required)  Some would call it lazy -- others might think she's smart.  But really she doesn't do much beyond what she absolutely has to.  Sophia has already started refilling her jar.  I'm looking forward to seeing them find ways to be helpful.  Really, I wish I had my own jar with a prize waiting for me at the end.  Maybe I'd have a better attitude when it comes to laundry and the dishes!!

Another Great Idea...

I get these ideas in my head.  Ideas that, in my head, seem great.  I love doing craft projects with my kids.  I do not love the mess that follows.  Today we went to Micheal's.  Since the kids didn't have school today, I told them we would pick out a fun craft project to do.  I watched two extra kiddos this afternoon and knew I had to be creative to keep them semi-quiet so my little man would take his usual 3-4 hour nap.  Yes, I know how lucky I am! 

I found some unfinished wood jack-o-lanterns that were flat.  I envisioned them painted, sprinkled with glitter and then attached to some wooden yard sign sticks.  Cute little jack-o-lanterns lining my garden. 

I forgot to picture what 6 kids, 1 dog, 1 crazy mom, orange  and brown paint and glitter would look like when we were done.  I was so smart.  I'll do it outside on the back patio.  The mess won't be in my house, it will clean up easily.  Smart. 

I forgot about the wind.  Wind + glitter = a big mess.  I forgot about the kid factor.  Kids can make a mess out of anything.  I forgot when I turn around, they shake the glitter on everything.  In the end, we had six painted jack-o-lanterns and glitter EVERYWHERE!  I mean everywhere.  My entire patio was covered in the stuff.  Somehow my dog was covered in it.  And of course, orange/gold glitter is hard to find, so I had to buy the expensive Martha Stewart (aka fine as dust) glitter.  It doesn't come off.  I hosed down the patio so now our grass sparkles.  But I can't seem to get it off of me.  I need a shower, but have company coming and have a house to clean up.  If they could only see it now.  They might not come over!  

The kids had fun, but I bet I don't use glitter for a while. 

A Minute Out of Your Day

So, I hope you've seen me post on Facebook about the Pepsi Refresh grant program.  If not, then I haven't done my part.  But I'm asking you to consider taking a minute out of your day to vote for the Kyrie Foundation.  There are a ton of great organizations worthy of your vote.  Many of these groups are small groups, where $250,000 would change their organization forever.  Some of them are large national groups that can easily drop $250,000 on a single marketing campaign.  Doesn't really seem fair to be in the same boat.  But, that's the path you take as a smaller foundation.  So.....they need your help.  Vote DAILY.  Like it was your child with brain cancer.  Spread the word to all your friends.  Like it was the little girl next door.  Ask your co-workers to vote.  Like it was your child's best friend.  Together, this is possible.  Please help!

Remember, you can give the group 3 votes per day:

1) Text 103447 to 73774

2) Visit Pepsi Refresh's FB page and click "go to application" to vote.

3) Go to http://www.refresheverything.com/kyriefoundation

School Nurse

I'm starting to believe that I should personally be paying at least part of the school nurse's salary.  Sophia is quickly becoming, what I have to assume, her number one patient.  Over the last three years she had many visits to the nurse.  The usual - sick to her stomach.  Last year the nurse told me she would just take Sophia's word that if she felt really sick then she was.  On that day she visited two times, and on the way to her third visit she threw up in the hallway. (Sorry to the custodial staff - they can't possibly pay you enough to do that particular job).  Beyond being sick, Sophia has visited the nurse for at least four loose teeth.  The appeal of the plastic tooth-shaped necklace is hard to pass up!  

Lately, she's been visiting the nurse during playground time.  She is a monkey bars kind-of girl.  Always climbing.  She took a rock climbing class when she had just turned four just because she loved it so much. 

(When she was 4)

But now, as a 2nd grader, she apparently spends a lot of time on the monkey bars at recess because in the last two weeks she has visited the nurse for a sore thumb, a sore bottom, and a blistered hand mostly the results of the monkey bars.

I know I pay my share of taxes into the school district.  But I would like to designate my portion to the school nurse.  She spends a lot of time with my little girl!

Pumpkin Patch

I LOVE this time of year!  Fall is so much fun.  You can get away with wearing shorts or jeans most days and it's no longer ridiculously hot.  It's also time for the holidays to start.  Halloween followed quickly by Thanksgiving and then Christmas and New Years!  There's always something fun going on.

Last Saturday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and went to Apple Jack's Pumpkin Patch.  I researched all the area pumpkin patches and was blown away by the admission prices in addition to the costs to do other activities.  Those other activities being all the fun things my kids would see and want to do.  Being a family of six on one income means we don't have much of an entertainment budget.  So we make those dollars S-T-R-E-T-C-H as much as possible. 

We came across Apple Jack's in Augusta and admission was only $6.  That covered all the activities (kiddie train, duck races, giant slide, jumping pillow, corn & milo mazes, petting zoo, and playground stuff) unless you wanted to go shoot giant pumpkin guns, and then that cost a little extra.  We are not the "shooting" type of family, so $6 it was.  The kids had a blast!  In the end, we rode out to the pumpkin patch and each kid picked their own pumpkin.  Of course, most of them couldn't hold them!  But they tried. 

And 419 pictures later.....here are a few of the highlights.

Crawling through the tires was a lot of fun!

The zip line was great. 

Isabella needed help, but her legs were moving like she was running on air.

The fun jumping pillow.

I think Chris had as much fun as the kids.

A VERY big slide.

Jacob's Ladder

Sophia in the patch.

Anna

Isabella

Sam enjoyed throwing dirt.

Our pick.