Dewberry Farm, Astronaut Night, Etc.

The boys LOVELOVELOVE making crafts, so . . . around this time of year, we try to do a craft each weekend. This month we made carmel apples, a pie, acorns (though ours look dif. from the pic since I forgot the mini choco chips), turkeys, and we also hit up Dewberry Farm (courtesy of Groupon 1/2 off tics). It's been a fab month for sure!

Our garden is on crack this fall. The tomato bush is seriously like 5 1/2 feet tall. The broccoli and cauliflower are crazy high, my romaine lettuce are 3 1/2 feet tall, and then, I also have a squash plant that randomly started growing. I guess that's what happens when you get a warm winter. Anyway, pics to follow. In front, my salvia, marigolds, vincas, and hibiscus continue to do amazing! I thought for sure they would already be dead. I'm very pleased with the gardening.

We had astronaut night at the school. This was actually Matthew's Halloween costume. He knocked his own tooth out, playing with a basketball. It was kind of funny, but then, I realized he hurt his mouth really bad. I felt terrible. Then, we realized his tooth really was gone. I don't think he swallowed it, but we searched high and low. After a while, he started crying, because he thought the tooth fairy wouldn't come. Well, no worries. The school nurse, who happened to be at the event, wrote Matthew a note to the Tooth Fairy, so she would know he didn't lie about it. It was hilarious how serious Matthew was and the peace he felt after the nurse wrote that note. Priceless!

And I didn't actually get a pic of the kids on Halloween. Ethan ended up going to bed early. He was cranky and not feeling well, so Ryan stayed home with him and handed out candy on our neighbor's lawn.

The funny thing about that was that we held a block party on our driveway before trick-or-treating. Then, everyone left to go around the block. Well, we only invited like 15 or 16 houses (the ones in our little area). Because of time, we just left the 2-litres, the hot dogs, and everything on the table. And you know what? Everyone that stopped by our house took the candy from Ryan, who they didn't realize lived at our house, since he was sitting on our neighbors' lawn with them, and then, they stopped on our driveway and made themselves a hot dog or grabbed a drink. It was HILARIOUS! Ryan said that people made comments like, "Wow! They really showed everyone up." So funny. Anyway . . .


I alos helped throw the ward Halloween adult party at a friend's house. Of course, I forgot my camera, but it was still a blast. We had games, root beer tasting, a fire pit with smores, music, and big-eating contests. Btw, I love that contest.

We also made turkeys. Again, I didn't do all the little details, so these don't look as cool as the ones I saw on the internet, but . . . the boys loved them!

This little one gets busier by the day, says the cutest words and phrases you have ever heard, snuggles you and kisses you, and he's had the worst ear ache too. Two rounds of antibiotics, but no blood, so that was good. Just a month of no fun for him.

We hit up Dewberry Farm again, and the kids loved it. Ethan's ear was still really infected, so my friend actually switched me. I took her son and she kept Ethan. These three boys had such a fun day! We picnicked at the farm, fed goats, saw pig races, rode bikes, played in the hay and on swings, did a corn maze twice, played at the park, played with sand toys and in the sand, saw baby chicks, went on a hay ride, walked through the pumpkin patch, went on more swings and slides, played at the park some more, and then, ended the day with snow cones. We were there 5 hours. They LOVED it!

This year we have not been able to attend all of Ryan's games, but we've tried to hit as many as possible. These are pics from Ry's final game. They lost in the first round of the playoffs; however, their regular season record was much better. THey won 7 or 8 of the regular season games and only lost 2 or 3 games. We are proud of our coach.

WE also put up our Christmas decor early this year--about a week early actually, because we will be out of town, and we just needed a little bit of cheer early this year.

Last year I was able to get a Christmas tree for the kids, in addition to my Christmas tree. It was really fun to have them decorate it this year. Even Ethan helped. It was so fun to see their faces light up.

We have had fun making Christmas gifts and crafts too.