First Field Trip

The kids went on their first field trip with their school this week to the pumpkin patch. Mom filled out a chaperone form and got to meet up with the kids for my first chaperoning gig. Whooohooo…I’m a school Mom. I remember my own Mother showing up at school one year wearing a witch’s outfit and bringing snacks to my homeroom. Well I didn’t go that far for my first time but I sure can see doing something like that in the future. Though, I don’t think it’s politically correct to wear a witch’s costume to school any more. Sad really.

Any the way, the kids had a good time playing in the hay maze, at one point the whole class climbed on the walls, running and jumping from one wall to the next. It was only two bales high so I don’t think any of us were worried. Then onto the tractor-pulled hay ride to the field.
(by they way, this is Jo’s “Bestest Friend Ever” Yvonne) The ride was not a slow moving one at all, and heard it was ‘mellow’ because of the age of the kids’! Wow, don’t know if I could hold on if the little ones were not on board. He bumped us along going along the sides of hills, around trees that almost hit our heads and through the corn fields making a new path as he went. Cole thought it was neat that the driver would throw a rock every now and then at metal targets set up along the drive, it would make quite the noise when the farmer hit them. Then he would drive straight for the scarecrows only to turn out of the way at the last second. I truly believe that this farmer enjoys this time of year and looks forward to it all year long!

Cole and Jo wanted to get the “most biggest” pumpkin in the patch and of course Mom said to go for it. But that whichever squash they chose they had to carry it to the wagon and also to the bus. Cole ran right out and grabbed one that was very large. I was impressed that he actually was able to pick it up but when he could not take a step with it he decided that another would be better.

Jo had a good time in the dirt/mud and every now and then she would come across an already smashed pumpkin and would enjoy helping the composting process by smashing it just a little bit more.

Smiles all around, even me…I got to enjoy their first field trip. Ok, I am a little mushy but I don’t care!

Scarecrow Friday

It was dress up like a scarecrow day at school. Rachelle and Mom ran to a couple stores including the dollar store and this is what we came up with. The kids had fun getting dressed up and were excited to go to school.

We thought these might be good trick or treat costumes too but we don’t think they will go for it. Jo has her sights set on being the pink unicorn again this year and Cole changes his mind every time we ask him. Oh he has his standards as in Batman, Luke Skywalker & Darth Vader but then he has added Peanut butter/Jelly Sandwich, Booger and a Vampire. No matter what, this year should be a fun one and we’re excited!

Same Old Things & Our Birds

Well, we received more hand-me down cloths this past week, mostly for Jo but there were a few shirts that we could pass along to Cole too. Jo feels very special at times opening sacks of cloths all that she can wear. At times it’s like she gets to empty out her drawers and start with a whole new wardrobe. This dress & tights set were just received and she just loooooves them. She came right up to me and asked if I would take her picture with her pretty dress on. Who could say no?

We have been very fortunate with the kid’s clothes with family and friends passing along their used goods. The good fortune is shared by us passing along the twin’s cloths as well, and I have heard that the clothing chain continues after us. So a big THANKS to all those who have helped dress the twins through the years.

Cole spent the other day trying on pants at many stores. He was a very good sport about the whole thing and maybe because he knew he would be going home with some new duds for himself. Some times he doesn’t look like he is growing at all but then the weather started turning a little chilly and out came the pants…well…he was looking like he could wade through the flood waters. All but one pair of pants were a couple inches off his feet. Ha…Ha…guess the Little Man has grown some over the summer. He is happy today wearing a new pair of jeans with a cool looking chain that hangs from his belt loops. Oh, and a pair of camouflage pants just like his friend Mason wears was purchased as well. Happy Guy.
We have been enjoying the birds in our front yard. A couple feeders, birdbath, and a few bird houses line the front flowerbed. We had a large flock land on the bath to frolic in the water and darn near emptid it. It was neat to watch so many at once trying to bathe. We have some sort of bird activity all day long so it’s nice to some times just sit and watch. Though there are some days I feel we just provide a sporting event for one of our neighbor cats. I have tried three different cat repellents to keep her away and once I even managed to spray her fir, she just come back and laid right in the middle of all the stink and or blood stuff. I think she is under there sniffing it and getting high myself. The challenge has been set…can I win is the question?!

Fall is Here?

Once in a while we get a photo of sibling love. We have caught them slow dancing in the backyard which was darn cute too but we didn’t get the camera in time. They sure seem to laugh, love, share and take care of each other more the older they have gotten. We sure love that about them too. Their understanding of each other has grown and we get to hear actual conversations between them now, which is fun and interesting most of the time.

We have been busy the past month or more with friends, family, neighbors and our house. Busy but fun. Our house, or should we say our yard, and garage is full of kids these days, neighbors along with our own. The noise and activity that can last hours upon hours is taking a little getting use too but we like the fact that we have a kid friendly yard.
The boys go from riding scooters around the driveway and over a wood jump to playing some sort of ball in the yard and then falling down in the garage to watch some t.v. and wrestling with whomever else is on the floor. It’s like we have grown from two kids to ten some days when we have to remind them of the garage rules. Like, yes, you can grab an ice-cream out of the freezer but please make sure the door gets shut and eat outside of the garage. And then again we say…PLEASE SHUT THE FREEZER DOOR! Ha Ha! All the boys keep coming back so it must be all good. We know Cole sleeps well at night with all the activity and his scooter riding skills are growing every day riding with the older boys.

Jo gets in play time with the boys too but she still prefers the dirt, bugs and snakes. We actually have two girls on the street now all about the same age so Jo is getting some girl time and that’s good. Here Jo and one of the neighbor kids got to pull up all the carrots she planted. Oh, they had a good time digging them up but then Jo started to find bugs and slugs in the dirt and her real fun began. Jo and her friend, Alexis, ended up picking up every brick and laying them in the grass that lined this flower/garden bed looking for bugs. Just made our stomach flip seeing all the bricks out of place and then laughed thinking things sure could be worse. Still need to dig them back in but other things were on the list to do first.

We have our garage almost done and organized and then we tackled the barn on Sunday and even finished that job. Needing a week or more of nice weather to get the outside ready for winter but we are feeling good about where we’re at. One job at a time and soon the winter list will show up with all new family projects. :O)

Happy Fall To You!

Bakery Tour – KD Lang - Grandpa Lovely

It’s been a busy couple weeks, driving North & South, working on our house, kids back in school and Jill back at work. Some times it’s just hard to keep up…but you all know how that goes from time to time.

I took the kids to the newly built bakery in Glenwood and we just had a good time. Took about an hour or more to get into the door and walk the tour but the kids loved watching all the bread and how it moved throughout the building. The smell was very strong and made us all hungry but Franz took care of that for us too at the end. We sat down to a hotdog meal with chips / sodas and a cookie to top it all off. Franz sure treated us well and hey…we even got cool hats!

Jill and I took a short camping trip down in the Ashland area a few weeks ago, mostly to watch the KD Lang concert in Jacksonville. It was my first time seeing the outdoor stage there and it sure is beautiful. We took the camera but really didn’t take any photos so just use your imagination…Jill and I with quite a few friends all sitting on the lawn…warm air all round us…food all around us…(lots of folks that we didn’t know just passed us their food too)…the torch n twang music
filling the night air as the stars twinkled in the night sky…Hmmmm….Good times.

While camping we got a phone call from my Mother that my Grandfather passed away. This would be my Mother’s Father…Gpa Lovely, or Bud, to those who knew him. I have had a few trips along with my brother to Granpa's home since then, helping out where we could and just being with family and Mom. Grandpa’s ashes were laid to rest with my Grandmother on Mt. Hood over Labor Day. This is where my family has always camped and hunted and I know my Grandfather is happy now, back with his wife who he missed dearly and becoming part of the mountain that he so loves.

Teener Beener will miss him…