Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Today we had a really fun time going with Joshua's pre-school class on a field trip to a local farm. We got to do a corn maze, pick a pumpkin, play on hay bales, and drink cider made at the farm. What a perfect fall day!

Joshua playing in the hay and picking pumpkins with his friend, Patrick.

 

Just can't get over what a beautiful place this is to "do" fall!

Kid Craft Space -- Details

I was inspired by this family's organization board on "The Idea Room"...and wanted to have a spot in our house to help keep my brain straight!  With not quite so many kids to keep track of...I thought we could all fit on this little calendar (just found it at Staples).  It's magnetic, so I just mounted each person's activities on a different color of card stock, and then added a little magnet to the back.  Wish I could say it meant that I'd stopped forgetting things!  But, at least we're reducing the probability right?!

Nathan's class participates in the "Book It" program...where you can earn the Pizza Hut coupons for reading a certain number of minutes daily.  We thought it would be fun if Joshua had a chance, too.  So these are their two calendars of for reading.  If they each fill them up by the end of the month...Nathan will get a coupon from school and Joshua will get a coupon from us.  Good motivation for me...as much as them...to get reading! 

Other things in the crafty space...

The table we're using is just a Sam's Club folding table. I got some fall fabric as a "table cloth" and then just a strip of plastic "picnic table" covering from JoAnn's to cover it.

Above the magnetic calendar are two clipboards...one for each boy.  That is where we hang their latest artwork from school.  It's nice to have one spot...so when something new comes home I am forced to take the old one down and either chuck it or put it in a "keepsake" spot.  My new goal is, "Keep things well or don't keep them at all."  (We'll see how long it lasts.)  I've Modge Podged them with scrapbook paper to make them slightly decorative.
 
It's been fun to "project" again a little...especially to create something I think will help our lives run a little more smoothly.  Now back to the reality that is my life...the dishes, the laundry, and maybe even the children!  =)

General Conference

Well...what a great General Conference weekend.  (True confession...we didn't manage a "King Benjamin" tent...but that's probably safer considering what happened to the last "King Benjamin" item we constructed.)

Two things I remember being General Conference traditions when I was a child are:

Pulling out my brother John's old gray shoe box full of Lego's, and building while we listen.  So fun to have my three "boys" sit around the table "constructing" together this weekend.

Making "Conference Treats".

We'd roll mini marshmallows in butter and then a cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Then we'd flatten tube biscuits into little pancakes, place 8-9 marshmallows in the center of each, and gather then sides up...hiding the marshmallows in the center.  We'd them dip the pinched end in butter and put them in a muffin tin to bake. 

Magically while cooking, the marshmallows disappear and leave a gooey sweet "empty" roll behind.  They're still as good as I remember!  And the "magic" fun to pass on to the next generation.  =)

So Much Fun...We Had to Try Another

Monster Rap

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Our Monster Mash!

We've had a crazy week!  See the evidence below!  (You'll want to turn off the music at the bottom of the blog before you push play.)

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October "Falling Leaf" Tree

I was checking one of my favorite blogs and saw this fun idea for making fall leaves from melted crayon shavings and waxed paper.  We decided to try our own.  Some are hanging from the ceiling and get especially exciting when the heater turns on and the air blows them around.

I also read an idea in a "bulletin board" book that suggested making a tree with 31 leaves...and having one leaf "fall" (and get re-placed on the "ground" below) for each day of October.  We made our tree from a brown paper bag.  It has little branches so that as the leaves disappear it will look like the "bare" tree it's supposed to be.  =) 

Autumn--Knocking at Our Door

Winter is an etching,

Spring a watercolor,

Summer an oil painting and

Autumn a mosaic of them all.

~Stanley Horowitz~

(Beautiful fall creeping in on the street where we live.)

In Her Monkey Suit

When Elizabeth saw this outfit today she started saying "EEE! OOO!" and scratching under her arms. This girl loves monkeys! It's no wonder a bit of animal print had her convinced she was one!

Can a face get sweeter than this?!

 The knowing look in her eyes is becoming more clear each day...and it means only one thing...

Mischief!!

Under Dog!

Summer Summary

Nathan was asked early on in school to create a t-shirt of something he did this summer.  I just love that our great trip out West (that I've agonized for months over how to properly "record") my 6 year-old has managed to document so well in one darling drawing!  (The spelling is my favorite!)

Science Museum Adventure

Our library has "museum passes" you can check out that get you in free a several great local spots.  Nathan had the day off of school on Friday, so we decided to go on a little "adventure".

 The T-Rex and the Chicken (?)

Digging for bones

 Curiosity and a determination to learn come in all sizes!

 Nathan loves to play with his Webkin -- Slink.  (A pet on the computer.)  One of the games he loves to play is a "Gem Hunt".  He's got a collection of amazing gems on the computer...and somehow it made the gem collection at the museum the most exciting exhibit of the day!  (Who'd have guessed?!)  This is Nathan by the "Glow in the Dark" (fluorescent) Gems!