Signs of Fall

Football

Costumes

Pumpkins

Leaves

and Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino from Starbucks. (they're back!)

Ethan had soccer this morning and Chris said it was pretty chilly so I bought him a couple of long sleeve shirts to wear under his jersey. Owen wasn't feeling well so he and baby slept in until about 9am and skipped his soccer game.

I made a trip to the Dollar Tree and Target today while Eliza slept and Chris watched football. I have never decorated much for any season except Christmas, but this year that is going to change. I love these fall leaves and pumpkins and want to get some more. My mother in law and I were looking at the leaves at the beach but I didn't really know what to do with them. Then I got home and started looking online at decorating ideas and ah - ha! Our mantle. Now I want to get more for our staircase which is where my mother in law suggested I put it in the first place). And I want to get more of these little glittery pumpkins for the basket and some bigger ones to put around the fireplace. And it would really tickle my fancy to get some apothecary jars. I might end up looking at Home Goods for some of these.

I think it is officially fall y'all! And I love it!

Beach 2010 Highlights

We just returned from our annual Bordman beach vacation after having a week full of good food, pool fun and wonderful family. It was particularly difficult this year to take photos of the children at the pool and beach this trip because they were constantly hopping from one to the other and I didn't want to leave my camera laying around while I chased them so all our pictures are from our outings away from the hotel.

Mini Golf at Cancun Lagoon

Owen cutting loose with some dance moves. Notice his left hand with the finger pointing going on.

My three favorite men

Heartbreakers

Dinner at Thorny's

We went to a Halloween store while we were down there and the boys picked out their costumes for this year. Owen is going to be Mario and Ethan is going to be Luigi (from Super Mario Brothers).

Eliza carried this one around but I had already purchased her a costume. She is going to be a strawberry. Of course, when I told Chris this his response was "isn't that a fruit and not a character?"

We went to Family Kingdom so the boys could ride some rides. There was a lot of talk about riding the roller coaster this year. I told them they could even though I suspected they wouldn't meet the height requirements. When we got there they watched it make one round on the track and then quickly changed their minds. Ethan said "actually, I don't think I will do it." Instead they decided they would ride this one. The Galleon. It used to be the Pirate Ship and it used to go upside down. This one doesn't, but it does go fairly high.

I think they were probably losing their stomachs at this point. After they got off they agreed they didn't want to ride it again. So we headed to rides that were more their speed.

The height requirements on these were greater than 36 inches and less than 48 inches. Ethan is right at 48 inches so next year he won't be able to ride these anymore. And I am not sure he will be ready for the bigger rides.

This roller coaster was more their speed.

Owen's first time on the log flume. And just as a wonderful father should, Chris rode it with him. When they got off he must have asked Ethan 10 times if he wanted to ride it with him. Ethan, of course, said no. Owen loved it!

And a few pictures of Eliza watching her brothers every move.

And just for kicks, I found these photos of the boys from 2007.

And 2008

Pretty cute that I have pictures of them through the years on the same rides.
We are home for a few days and then the children and I are hoping to head for the hills for a few days of WNC fun.

Learning Experience: Apples

Ethan had his first learning experience this week.

They made apple tree family trees with their hand prints.

They turned out really cute! And the kids liked splatting their hand down in green paint.

They also had an apple tasting to see which type of apple was their favorite. They tried Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious and McIntosh.

Most of the children liked the Golden Delicious the best.

Ethan's favorite was Red Delicious.

For the outside activity they ran a Scare Crow relay. They each had to put on a hat and scarf and then run through a series of obstacles.

And finally they had homemade applesauce, apple juice and graham crackers for snack.

I think the first learning experience was a big hit!

Owen's First Day of Preschool

Owen started a half day, 3 day a week preschool this week.

I tried to get a picture of him on his first day but wouldn't you know I went to take the photo and the camera battery was dead. So take two happened on day two.

I know. I know. I know what you are thinking. I quit my job to stay home with my children and next thing you know I am pushing one out the door. Well, it didn't exactly happen that way. I was perfectly happy having Owen home with me and was going out of my way to meet others who have children his age so that he would have friends to play with. Only the two friends that he met and really liked started preschool shortly after he met them. That combined with taking Ethan to school every day, it didn't take long for him to start questioning me as to when he was going to school. I tried explaining to him that he would stay with me and I would teach him things (stop laughing!) but he grew tired of my rhetoric. I knew all too well that half day programs fill up early. I am telling you, these moms are on it! So the likelihood of me finding anything for him was close to zero. None the less, I put him on a wait list at our church and then waited. Last week he asked me again about starting school and I looked up another church that had been recommended to me only to find that they had 2 spaces come available due to cancellations. Ha! Now I am the mom that is on it! :-) I called them up with a quickness and there you have it, Owen is in preschool again.

He is doing well adjusting to being back in a routine. He seems to enjoy the interaction with others and I know he operates better in a structured environment. His classroom has two class pets (they are stuffed) that are bees, Buzzy and Beatrice and each Thursday two children get to take them home. He is so excited about it being his turn and I promised him we would do something special that weekend with his class pet.

I am very proud of him and he is very proud of "his new school." I will admit though I am looking forward to having him home with me tomorrow (Friday). I miss having him around.