halloween is here!

the last week had been so busy that I was not able to pull out the laptop so I could post a new post. this last weekend we took advantage of a bunch of fun fall activities that started on Friday with a fall carnival at the community center. The kids got to play games, go through a maze and do the hay ride. We then got up early Saturday and headed out for more fun. David and Wyatt headed to hockey and the girls and I headed to badger mountain. The local YMCA hosts a healthy festival where kids and families hike up Badger mountain and got cool little prizes along the way. Despite what I had expected, Payten hiked all the way up and then back down the mountain. I was so proud of her for making it all the way up as it is about 3 miles I believe. Allyxis had it easy! she was on moms back the whole time. Needless to say mom was a little sore the next day from having extra weight on her back. Once down from hiking, the boys joined us and we played games and had a snack. Later that night we went to a little local diner where they were having trunk or treating and games for the kids. The kids had so much fun but by the end of the night everyone was tired and ready for bed.

a Couple of weeks ago the kids participated in their schools jog-a-thon to raise money for their school. Being their first year in school we were not sure what to expect but the day came and they both did great. I was able to volunteer for keeping tally for runners so I got to see how they did and also got a chance to take a couple of pictures.

 

 

last but never least today Payten and Wyatt's kindergarten classes went on their first field trip to the pumpkin patch at the Country Mercantile. I was grateful to have the opportunity to volunteer and spend some time with the kids. Once we got to where we were going the kids got to climb a hay pyramid followed by taking a hay ride to get pumpkins. I was assigned four kids from Payten's class to keep track of. All the kids in the class seem to get along very well which was impressive to me as I can remember my days in school.  After all the kids had picked out pumpkins and they had all been labeled we headed back to go to the barn to pet some farm animals. The pigs in the barn seemed to be a favorite with cows being a close second. Following the barn the kids found their way through the hay maze and then to the covered area for cookies and "pumpkin juice" aka orange tang. Class pictures were last on the list before the kids headed back to the yellow stretch limo. the pictures I took turned out real cute and Payten had a blast. I didn't see much of Wyatt on the field trip as his class was not with Payten's class most the time. I did manage to get a couple of pictures of him when they were all together for a bit.

 

Fall is here!

With fall in full swing now, we say bring on all the pumpkins and activities we can get. The air has gotten cool and crisp. Payten finished off her baseball season at the beginning of the month just in time. her last game was a bit cool but we bundled up and tried to stay warm as we went into the cool night.

 

This last weekend we defiantly got into the fall spirit. The kids did not have school Friday so we headed out after Allyxis's speech therapy to the apple orchard. my best friend and her kids along with us loaded into their big van and went apple picking. I was surprised at how much fun the kids had picking. It didn't take long to get a bunch of apples with all them picking. Each family ended up with about 16 pounds of apples.

 

Following apple picking we headed to grandma's house to pick pumpkins out of her garden. Mom had a big garden this summer and pumpkins were a big part of it. I was very surprised at how many we actually got. each kid got at least one pumpkin to take home along with a couple of squash. Our porch now fits the fall theme. Thanks mom!

 

Saturday was Fall Fest in the park. although the weather wasn't the nicest we(me and Sam) took the kids out and let them play some games and do the cake walk. It rained on us a little but the we didn't mind. The kids won some little prized at the games and payten won the cake walk twice while we were there so we brought home some cookies and cupcakes. following that we dropped the boys off to be watch for a bit and all us girls headed to the women's expo. We got a lot of little freebies and took pictures in a few photo booths. We had a lot of fun!

After a couple of busy days we had yet another busy day of fall activities. My brothers birthday was Sunday so we went to mom and dads house to celebrate. The kids and Cody painted pumpkins before it got dark then headed inside to have chili and cornbread. Cody opened presents and we all had cake. While we cleaned up dinner and got all the presents ready the kids and guys got to watch The Croods. I think we all had fun and w were so glad that we were able to take Wyatt with us to be part of all the family activities.