Apple picking

Last night we left for the farm as soon as the boys got off the bus. Mom and dad were there so we planned on staying the night then going apple picking today. 

Fall leaves haven't started around our house so it was fun seeing all the trees as we drove up. The trees and fields were so pretty at the farm.  This morning the kids went out to the fields and picked some pears. 

We loved this one yellow tree at the farm.

 Colin dragged these chairs out to the tree, sat under it and just looked up. 

The kids played a little outside this morning and we got to see Uncle David and then we left to go apple picking.

Norah was a little less than thrilled at first.

We picked a lot and now for apple pie, apple crisp, applesauce....

Love Languages

A few weeks ago when Joel was having a hard time on the bus and at school, he and I were in his bed snuggling before he went to sleep.  I started telling him all the things I loved about him and how great I thought he was.  I was trying to encourage him.   He listened for a while then then asked if I was finished.  I said yes and he replied "good because this is boring.  can I get a toy at the store tomorrow?"  hahaha so good to know that his love language is NOT words of affirmation.  Its also safe to assume that gifts are his love language. 

30 seconds

Colin loves trader joes apple cider. He likes to drink it while he's doing homework. The other day I heated some up and handed him his mug. He started counting with this hand touching not the handle but the mug itself 1...2...3...4... And then he stopped and then started counting again. 

I asked him what he was doing and he said it was too hot. So he's learned to count to 30 and if his hand is too hot to stay there the whole time he's counting then it's too hot to drink.  30 seconds is his perfect temperature. Any longer and it's too cold. 

He's so calculated and so much thought goes into things like this. Remember  how he remembered one year the precise time he would get hot at school each day. 

He has a great mind to be an engineer so it will be fun to see what he ends up being. 

Makeup

It's probably not a good thing that my makeup is in the vanity drawers now 

I need to hide my lipstick and Chapstick

She was so pleased with herself

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend we went to several pumpkin patches.  Joel had a fundraiser at his school at one so friday afternoon I took the kids.  They had huge bounce houses and since we went early in the afternoon there wasn't a lot of people so the kids ran from one bounce house to the other.

One would think that someone would be in a great mood since he had been asking all week to go.  But that was not the case.  Poor Joel was in an awful mood.

He is NOT making a funny face in this picture.  That was his sunny disposition almost all afternoon/night.

Oh Joel! It makes me laugh now but at the time I wasn't sure either of us would survive to bedtime.

Thankfully the next day he woke up in a great mood and after karate we met some friends at Bergeys for the morning

Except for literally losing our kids in the corn maze it was a really fun morning.  We had all done this one last year together but somehow they made the maze even bigger and more dead ends.  The boys all went ahead and the parents/little kids followed but after 30-40 minutes of still in the maze and not finding the kids we were a little worried. Then when we came out we couldn't find one of the boys but thankfully a maze worker was with him and the kids learned the lesson of if I can't see you then you cant see me and to also always stay together.

After that pumpkin patch I took the kids next door to Brookdale pumpkin patch to pick their pumpkins

 

 Colins pumpkin was perfectly round but is already rotting away on our front porch so we might be going back to the pumpkin patch again (or realistically go to walmart to get a cheap one)  Joel begged to get a pie pumpkin so we can make a pumpkin pie from scratch so I better get on that before that one rots away too.

Our neighborhood is having a crockpot cookoff and cornhole tournament this weekend, then the next weekend is a costumed bike parade and scavenger hunt in the neighborhood and then the following week is halloween.  I really REALLY love our neighborhood.

School

Sweet boy had a rough start to school. 

It's bad enough he gets on the bus at 6:55 but he was also getting bullied on the bus.  Guess it's a good thing we signed him up for karate this fall (which he's loving) 

Some boys one day took a game too far and tried to duck kiss him and hold him down. The girl across the street stuck up for him and the bullies pulled her hair. And then the bus driver gave Joel and this girl assigned seats and no one else. 

The girls father and I had talks with the bus driver and I contacted the principal. Now everyone has assigned seats and Joel is much happier now. 

But no wonder Joel wasn't wanting to go to school. 

And the fact that he keeps bringing homes notes like this:

He is his fathers child (all Brent's report cards say talks too much)

I have met with his teacher and think Joel is in the right class but it's hard when you question what is the best fit for your child. His teachers son sounds a lot more strong willed than Joel so I do think he's in great hands at school. She gets Joel so that put me at ease.  He is starting to come out of his shell at school and have more confidence in reading out loud in front of the class.  His teacher reads a lot of books and Joel loves her reading time. He also loves art class and recess. His school is really old and has all the old playground equipment like swings and metal slides which the kids all love. 

So it was a rough start and I really struggled with what to do because he was in hysterics every day for a week about school but for now we are leaving him where he is and he's enjoying it more and more.  

One good thing is that Joel and this girl have gotten to be great friends and play all the time together. Saturday night during a break in the rain the kids were all outside playing in the dark. We gave them glow sticks to be able to see them but the older kids were playing a zombie game and kait was a zombie trying to eat Joel's brain and then the little kids were following. Her little brother also wanted to be a zombie and Norah will do whatever Preston does except she declared she didn't want to be a zombie - she was a tutu ballerina princess! Ha! 

But I'm glad things are getting better and Joel is enjoying it more and more.