Teach a child to fish

We headed over to Patagonia Lake and State park about an hour from a house and a place we've wanted to visit, but had not made the time.  It was an incredible day!

 We started with a picnic lunch by the lake.

 Watched the ducks and boats go by.

 Then it was time to get serious and fish!

 CJ did a good job cleaning the moss off the hook and getting the worm back on properly.

Sweetness thought you needed to see the cool worms up close.

 Sweetness quote of the day: "Fishing is a game of patience"

 This duck tried to take the bobber. It was the closest they got to catching anything that day.

 Eric was disappointed that no fish were caught and that he didn't get much time to fish himself.  However, the kids had a BLAST! They were genuinely happy and grateful and let us know with many many thank yous for taking them fishing.  It was the activity not the outcome they loved.  Plus they knew there was chili in the crock pot waiting for us at home and they were all okay eating chili instead of fish. I had told them they had to catch their supper or eat chili.

 The water was cold, but they enjoyed the swim.

Our little man got cold and once he got dried and warmed up felt that it was time to play some catch. He's got an arm and does pretty well watching the ball.

 The girls hung out down by the shoreline a bit longer working on making mud holes, mud pies, mud cakes and the likes.

It is obvious why this place is very popular in the summer time. We will make more of an effort to spend some time just chilling out by the lake in the future.

Cooler weather

As the temps have begun to drop we have started to grill out more. That may seem odd, but trust me, if it is 110* F outside, the last place you want to stand is in the sun next to a grill.

We have found a couple of new favorite grill foods.

 Grilled peppers disappear quickly!  As do sweet potato fries! Thank you Bountiful Baskets!

 This particular night the daytime high was 95* -so when I say cooler, it's all relative!  Now it has cooled off even more to the low 80s and sometimes we don't even make it to 80*. This pregnant momma is very happy.

 It gets dark here early, or it seems early. So we added lights to our umbrella giving us the feel of a very fancy patio meal.

Enjoy your fall foliage and weather!  Soon winter will be knocking on our doors.

Great Kids

We are still blessed with fall break, however, we are well aware that in a few short days, it is back to school.  We have enjoyed it! The kids have played and played and played as kids are suppose to do. Minor squabbles that are quickly resolved. Helpful in their normal chores and enthusiastically helping with the baby prep.

Since this is my blog and I can say what I want, sit down 'cuz this might come as a shocker or as a prideful moment, but:

WE HAVE GREAT KIDS!  Love love love love them!  In fact, I think they're the best on the block, and beyond, but I don't want to end up with a mob at my front door, so I'll just stop with, Our kids are the BEST!

Tuesday was a busy day and a test in patience. It turned out to be just a spectacular day re affirming that we have great kids.

First, I had a midwife appointment that included monitoring the baby for at least 20mins. That means for 20 mins I just lay on the bed listening to the heartbeat. Not so bad for mommas, a very long wait for children.  I did bring an ipod for them to share and that kept them entertained for the entire appointment.  Without that, our little man and sweetness like to test every medical device in the office to ensure it is working and CJ is non stop questions about all the posters and more.  Great appointment and the midwife suggested we get going on having this baby. She asked me to make an appointment for next Tuesday, and to NOT KEEP IT due to already having had the baby.  I'm working on it!

We grabbed a quick lunch in which Sweetness and our little man showed they were in a growth spurt by each eating 5 chicken nuggets, apples a few fries and then each eating half a hamburger and a few more fries and both asking for more after that.

 We then headed to the dentist for all of us.  I kid you not, but these awesome kids ran into the room and "fought" over who got to go first.  I got a room next door and listened to them excitedly get their teeth cleaned and looked over.  Sweetness decided the dentist could pull out her first tooth, it was very ready.  Dad was a bit disappointed he wasn't the one who got to pull it, but it was time. Her other tooth is nearly completely in and waiting to move forward in her mouth. There is second tooth a little wiggly as well.  Sadly, she has 7 cavities that need to to be taken care of, so we'll be making more trips. I'm hoping this will show her the importance of brushing.  She is our sweet tooth child who finds brushing her teeth an activity that takes time away from better options.

Our appointments were for 1pm and 1:40pm. The four of us walked out of the dental office at 1:40 with shiny teeth and new tooth brushes!

I then took the van to get an overdue oil change.  Another hour of waiting and they did fantastic!  They played nicely with each other, took turns and remembered their inside voices, most of the time.  I tell ya, we've got great kids.

It was time to get CJ to gymnastics. Dropped her off and the three of us made a quick stop at the grocery store. Yes, after all that, I dared the grocery store. We were in and out quick with both of the kids being helpful.  Then the three of us went home.  It seemed that I should feed them and to wait at gymnastics for 3 hours felt like something I should not push on this particular day.

Which means, this is what I missed at gym that night:

1. Cartwheel on the high balance beam
2. back walk over on the beam
3. casting off from low bar to high bar
4. triple back handspring
5. back tuck off a block.

She rang the bell a for a couple of these and got praise for her wonderful straight lines on her back walkover on the beam.  That'll teach me to feed and bathe the other kids and not stay to watch!  On the other hand,  be still my heart, not sure I can watch any more!

Fall break is too much fun to be ready to go back to school. I have offered to keep them home and home school, the girls do actually like school so a no go on that.

Today, in an effort to get things moving and be ready for Halloween, we put out our fall decorations in the yard.  That means I was up and down unstable chairs, digging out items, looking for extension cords, watching the clouds roll in with a wonderful low cool front, getting aggravated, all in an effort to have today be the day.  It's only 10 :30 AM here...we have time.

These wonderful kids made this arrangement.  This morning they each proudly got their own breakfast. One spilling accident was cleaned up. Overall they did very well. I mentioned this meant that if I'm busy, they CAN take care of themselves a little bit.

I'm off to find more things to do, take a walk, and play with our kids.

Just for laughs

If you have not encountered these things, then I would say you have not ridden an elevator with my family.  Now don't get me wrong, they all have the capacity to be well behaved and often they do choose to use their manners.  But let me break this down for you.

1. Someone standing in the corner -most likely is in a time out, or didn't get to push the button so is pouting -usually one of the children

2.  Great everyone with a crazy name and handshake, well there are a couple of men in my life who would do this or have done this

3. Meow -moo- bark- ribbit & hop -hisss -an array of animal sounds from any of the children and the husband.

4. Stare at someone...well again any of them have been known to do that, especially if they have gotten to do something that I have told them they can't do, like go barefoot.

5. Say Ding....or say  "fourth floor" in a lady's voice, yep, my husband can't help himself

6. Explosion sounds....any sounds, if it is there is a hint that it might be a peaceful ride, my husband will add a ton of sound effects.

7. draw a square, claim a tile, make a water puddle that is your own, all pretty much the same thing and can quickly become an argument if that space is infringed upon.

8. play a game of "it's not me" or you can't see me...yes been there. Eric will lead this one.

9. Drop something, refuse to pick it up until someone else tries to pick it up then flip out and scream, "IT"S MINE!" -the daily story of my life

10. Group hug, any chance they get!

I hate to even mention this, but never jump on an elevator. Never ever, jump on an elevator with your brother as grown men, with your mother also riding with you. But in general, never jump on an elevator.  If your mother is with you, she will tweak your ear like any good mother will do, if she's not, she'll tweak your ear when she hears the story of the dumb game of jumping on an elevator and breaking it, between floors.  Life should be fun and filled with laughter and games.  I'm not sure an elevator is the best place to have all your fun.