The Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the pumpkin patch. Well, technically it is a tree farm and nursery. But every year they offer a pumpkin patch and other family activities. For the $10 family pass (which is very reasonable compared to many pumpkin patches in the midwest who have discovered a money making machine in offering their farms for fall festivities to the city folk), the kids were able to do some bouncy toys, rope a "calf," visit a small petting zoo, play frisbee golf and ride behind a wagon to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins. I say "pick out" because the pumpkins have already been picked and the vines have been cleared away for our convenience. It is a little stark choosing a pumpkin from a dirt field, but I guess the kids don't really know the difference, so it's all good. (Incidentally, we had planted some pumpkins in our own garden this year, but unfortunately, the squash bugs got first dibs and the pumpkins didn't make it. We'll do better next year and maybe have our own pumpkin patch to choose from.)

Anyway, the activity went the way most family outings go. We had some fun times with some whining and complaining mixed in. With the balmy 77 degrees, we heard a lot of "I'm hot"s and Emmie had a small breakdown when the wind kept sending her frisbee in the wrong direction during golf. She flat out refused to join the kids for a picture at the end of the course because she was so mad. But we did find some good pumpkins that will add a festive fall look to our front porch until we carve them up.

And with the line for cider topping 20 minutes, we opted to leave without a treat and hit the donut store on the way home. All in all, we had a good time and we will look forward to our visit again next year.

4-Year-Old Soccer

You gotta love 4-year-old soccer. Magnet ball is probably a better descriptor. We love to watch Jack enjoy his first experience with an organized sport.

Sometimes he is fully engaged in the game, going after the ball and staying with the pack of kids.

Sometimes he's a little distracted with the happenings on the sidelines.

Sometimes he leaves the game, right in the middle of the action, to get his shoe tied.

And sometimes the action just doesn't cut it and the only thing to do is turn a cartwheel out in the middle of the field.

Ah, to be 4 again and enjoy a little soccer.

Emmie Runs the Race

This week Emmie participated in her first ever cross country track meet. For the very reasonable entry fee of $3, Emmie, and about a zillion other third, fourth and fifth grade girls, ran the mile at a track meet. She was very proud of her time, 10:04, which beat her personal best by 33 seconds. She placed 87th, which she was very proud of because, in her words, "There were lots of girls at least a quarter of a mile behind her." Well, maybe not quite that far, but she did really well. It was fun to cheer her on and see her work hard to finish strong.

The Halloween Costumes

Halloween is a favorite time of year at our house. . . especially because Grandma Hiltbrand always makes personalized costumes for the kids. The costumes just arrived this morning, via Dad from his trip with Josh to general conference over the weekend. And the kids were excited to try them on this morning to see how they fit. Truly, you would have thought it was Christmas morning at our house the way they tore up the stairs when we said they could try them on.

Here is how they look. We have Queen Lucy from the Chronicles of Narnia, a hippy girl and Robin Hood. They are all very excited for the prospect of trick-or-treating this year. and poor Josh is too old to join in. We will have to think of something fun for him to do in the mean time.

Recess

Today Jack and I went to eat lunch with Olivia at school. (Of course, Emmie never asks us to come. Fourth graders are way too cool for that.) But Olivia also talked us in to joining her for recess. The kids had a lot of fun playing around. Jack blended right in with the big kids. You couldn't even tell he didn't really belong. He only commented once that he didn't like playing there because he didn't know anyone.

I took a little video of the kids crossing the monkey bars. You would have thought Jack was born crossing monkey bars. I just noticed this skill yesterday at the park, but he acts like he has been doing it forever.

I got such a kick out of Olivia throughout recess. A little boy from her class (the one in the brown shirt on the video) latched on to her at the beginning of recess and didn't leave her side the entire time. I asked the recess monitor, who is a friend of mine, if that is usually the case. She got a smile on her face and said, "Yeah, Olivia doesn't play with the girls much. She just plays with the boys." It made me think of someone else I know pretty well who preferred the company of boys. :)

The Infamous School Pictures Arrive

With every new school year comes the well-loved and much anticipated school pictures. This year we did better than some years. But it is always a gamble on these. You can see what you think.