Octoberish stuff

 

We visited the corn maze/pumpkin patch.

A balance labyrinth took a while to solve with Adam as the counter weight.

The chickens

and goats had to be fed.

Trying out the swings.

More swinging.

Hopefully we will find the way out.

(Remember when I dressed my kids up to go to the pumpkin patch, totally does not happen anymore.  I am not even sure Adam coordinates at all.)

A bird's eye view.  Adam kept repeating "wrong way Dad."

 

Nice and sweaty in the Florida October weather.

A little dirt digging.

Then on to selecting a pumpkin, or climbing trees.

 

Merry was the pumpkin rolling champ and won me a bag of kettle corn.

Grace with the perfect pumpkin. 

And now it is time to go home.

fishy, fishy, fishy

We visited the aquarium yesterday.

 Checking out the jellyfish.

My favorite was the red drum exhibit.

After all the hours I spent fishing with my Dad, I couldn't help but want to reach in a grab a fish.

See I caught one in 1996.  Mine is slightly smaller.  Now you see why I wanted to take one home.

I am sure Brian has caught some too.  I will have to find a picture.

What life is like for the oldest and youngest child.

Who doesn't love seahorses.

This is the real reason we visit the aquarium.

About 1 hr to look at the fish.

Then 3 hrs at the splash pad.

Whatcha lookin' at?

Adam at 2.5yrs

When we came home from church, Grace begged me to take her pictures in the purple flowers.

Since it was still too hot for me to chase her around outside, I opted for our living room instead so I could get to my Sunday afternoon nap.  Adam, being a great fan of anything Grace (or as he calls her Dracie), ran to get his picture taken first.  Merry and Jacob were too busy chasing lizards to be bothered.

Adam at 2.5 years.

 Adam then didn't want to move so Grace opted to sit by him.

 He loves his Dracie.

Some other random pictures.

The aftermath of chocolate cake making.

I must have just wiped down the counter because it is way too clean.

 Cake batter makes me happy too.

One week later.

I thought that I let Adam bake in clothes, but apparently not.

(Jacob was very precise in distributing the cinnamon and sugar over the dough.)

Saturday night fun

What do we do on Saturday night in the country?

 Golf in our front yard.

Luckily there isn't much we can damage with golf balls in our front yard.

I am a big fan of spanish moss.

 Here is the new house color, now we need the trim, shutters and some landscaping.

 Grace made us a nest to keep the golf balls safe.

She also demonstrated the emotions she has been learning about in school.

I see sad, surprised, happy and angry.

I am not sure if what Merry is going to do with that stick.  Maybe casting a magic spell.

Mean while, Adam slept. 

1st day of school

Here are the kiddos ready to head to school.

Notes on above photo:

I did not pick the matching shirts, Jacob did.

Merry is starting 1st grade, I think that is her nervous smile.

Grace is starting preschool, green is still her favorite color.

Jacob is starting 3rd grade and he still does not like to pose for pictures.

Adam is just along for the ride.

Our house is yellow now, not blue. I feel much better about life.

We really need to mow the lawn or better described the weed patch.

I wish some one would put her bike away.

Patriotic finery

 Taking pictures after church never is a good idea.

This is why I hardly take pictures anymore, I have such a cooperative crew.

Merry's kindergarten graduation

Merry's kindergarten graduation (luau).  Thank goodness her teacher remembered to bring her camera.

Her teacher took 1st and last day of school pictures of her.  I think she grew 4 or 5 inches.

Here are a couple of samples of Merry's writing that I thought were pretty entertaining.

Ham and cheese with rolls, who knew?