AHG Fall Festival

This past Friday one of the older American Heritage Girls troops at Anna's school put on a Fall Festival for the girls and their families. It was small and sweet and a fun couple of hours with just my big two.

They started the festival with food. The kids loved sitting out in the grass having pizza and snacks with their friends. I loved listening to their conversations - conversations that I'm quite sure don't happen at every school. "You would be a perfect Horatius because...." giggle giggle giggle. Or, "Well you're just like Romulus because.....". They love their Famous Men of Rome studies, and I love how they apply something not-exactly-practical to their everyday lives and have fun with it. 

After eating they had various craft tables set up around the campus. Anna, Noah, and their friends made some cute Fall trees and Q-tip skeletons. Next up was games, and they really loved that part. Those older girls did such a good job. There were so many fun games to choose from, but they loved the races the most, and they were hilarious. Most of the girls had their skirts flopping out the backs the whole time, and most of the boys tried to go so fast that they wiped out as soon as they started.

Three legged races were next. Anna and her friend thought they were faster if they hopped the whole way, no matter how exhausting it was.

As you can see in this video, some kids were even dragged/crawled to the finish line. That's her mom cracking up with the rest of us!

Searching for a (big, wooden) needle in a haystack.

After an hour or so of games, all of the kids started running up a hill - signaling the start of the Trunk or Treat part of the evening. I originally told Anna and Noah that we weren't staying for this part, but when I saw that it was only about 15 cars I decided to let them walk through once. 

There were some really cute decorations. I loved how all of the kids saw a trunk with a grey tarp as a mountain, a flag, and a paper lion cut out of a magazine and they all yelled together, "It's Narnia!". Not sure I would have gotten that on my own! As much as I can feel (really) overwhelmed by the huge amounts of school work and the very high standards of their school, in moments like these I do love it so much. I'm so glad they're at a place where they can learn a ton and have fun all at the same time.

Friday Favorites

Not from this Friday, but last weekend my sister and I took our mom to see Chonda Pierce and Jason Crabb for her birthday. Much hilarity ensued.

This book is fantastic. I can usually only read in bursts of a few pages in carpool, a few while I stir dinner, etc. It's perfect for that kind of reading, but it makes you think too.

The Chinese squat again. Even a shopping cart can't stop her, but she's always sure to buckle up.

This nail polish, Essie Mochacino. I love it so much that I accidentally bought it twice. It kinda makes me look like a witch, but I don't care. The ring is fake. The crooked fingers are real.

This library book. So nerdy excited about this one! Corncob dolls here we come!

No words needed. Except maybe, back off kids. These are mommy's.

This tree in my backyard that is glowing brilliant yellow but never shows that on camera.

This blind and half deaf doggie who still enjoys a good snooze in the sun.

This video (does it work?) of students at my old high school - Best Theatre School in the Midwest, thankyouverymuch - doing a flash mob for their newest theater show. So cute. They look like babies to me.

These rascals that keep me company on Fridays. The fact that Ben can't look at a camera. That Kate always has one pant leg up like a mini L.L. Cool J. 

And the best thing about this Friday is that my hubs comes home from California after a 3 day work trip!

Preschool Open House

Ben had his preschool open house this week. It's always a fun casual time for all of us to go in and let him show us around his classroom. It's the same classroom and teachers that Anna and Noah had, so I'm praying they will stay one more year for Kate! 

Had to get a picture of him under his owl and in front of his cubby. If you need a picture of Ben you will get his eyes for about point two seconds, so good luck!

He was excited to show me the touchless sink. Exciting stuff.

Anna and Noah got right down to coloring and playing. They really do love visiting their old classroom.

And I know I always talk about this stuff, but since he was there I had to have a picture of Noah now, standing next to the height marked for Noah then. His finger is on his height from 2011. Sob! Oh and he wore his school cardigan over his shirt because he felt the cardigan looked like, "A conference type thing to wear".

Anna cozied up in the reading tent.

Kate was a bit shy when we first got there and the room was crowded, but she quickly found some things to play with and took off.

Had to have one picture of my giant babies with their teachers. Here is Anna with them when she was in preschool, and here is Noah. I am enjoying watching the kids grow up and take on new things and new schools, but I will always have a soft spot for the sweetness of preschool.

Zoo Halloween

Last weekend we went to the Halloween party at the zoo like we do every year. All of the cousins were happy to wear their costumes. I lucked out this year because I only had to buy a costume for Anna and Ben. Anna saw her peacock costume in a catalog months ago and has been dreaming of it ever since. She refused to wear a jacket or sweater even though it was a little chilly that evening. Ben is a floppy little ninja. The suit is too big, but he loves it so I let him wear it even though I would have picked something much more baby-ish for him. He does do some pretty sweet ninja moves whenever he puts it on, so there's that. Noah borrowed the cardboard Minecraft head from his cousin who wore it last year, and Kate, of course, had to be tortured in the chicken suit just like her brothers before her. And how much do you love the other costumes? Max's Ghostbusters suit is so him, and Sam in the taco? Everyone we passed laughed out loud at that one. Claire was in good company with the 400 other Annas and Elsas running around that night. Love her little braids!

Ben is actually off the ground in this picture.

You guys....this chicken suit. It turns already adorable children into scrumptious little fluffy bundles. Remember Noah and Ben wearing it? I wasn't sure if Kate would like it, but she loved it from the first time we tried it on her. When she runs the feathers on her head bounce around and that fluffy rear swings back and forth. Extreme cuteness. That daddy sure is cute too.  :)

It took this little chicken about 4 seconds to get the hang of trick or treating. Every time we would get close to a booth handing out candy she would frantically look around for her bag and then open the top as wide as she could to be sure the candy got in.

These boys crack me up. Love the taco hanging out the side.

Ben jumped in with his cousins.

Hee hee, poor Ben.

Fancy fancy. She loves this costume, and I let her put on a little eye shadow which thrilled her to no end.

It was a fun night, and they're already counting down to the real Halloween when they will get "way more candy!" Oy.

Link Love

Things I've read and loved this week:

Digging into an Asian market. I've only been to one near my house, but a Google search tells me there are at least 5 more not too far away. I've also only made one Asian themed meal since we've been home, and that was largely thanks to Trader Joes. Must remedy that.

Be publicly awesome. When your child is having a meltdown and everyone is staring, let's choose the best response, for their sake and our own.

How to not let a good book take over your life. To the 5 books on my nightstand and the others that are on hold for me at the library - take note.

A no spend month. A spending freeze. Spending zero money in October. Honestly, I can't do this completely because I haven't purchased birthday gifts in advance. But I can do a curb the spending month. Does that count? Her breakdown of the days is certainly motivating.

Intention versus reaction. Being sure that grace wins every time. Sigh...I think I need to read this every day.

Halloween sprinkle popcorn. I bought sprinkles last week with this in mind, and I'm even planning to go crazy and throw in some candy corn.

Another thing I've loved this week.

Anna's Blog

You guys, Anna has started a blog. Nathan and I think it's the cutest thing ever, and I can so hear her personality in the way she writes. It's all about animals and pets, her favorite subjects, and she is so into getting it started and keeping it updated with cute photos. She's been reading library books to get new blog material and she's laser focused on school work (sometimes ;) so that she can have time to blog before dinner.

If you wouldn't mind, could you take a peek and maybe leave her a comment? She really wants comments! She has named her blog Chippy Chatter (click title below), after Chippy the chipmunk that she got in Hong Kong Disneyland and who you see there in her blog header. Thanks for supporting her!

Chippy Chatter

Fall weekends

We love Fall weekends. Lately the weather has been warmer than average but all of the Fall activities are still going strong so we're having lots of fun...just in shorts instead of coats and hats! The weekend after we went to the pumpkin patch with our adoption group, we went up to the Pumpkin Festival that we go to every year. It was fun to meet up with my bookclub friends and their kids (and new babies, yay!). We didn't take too many pictures this year.

Gorgeous day!

Hee hee hee.

Because it wasn't too far away, we decided to head on over to our favorite pumpkin patch just like we did last year after the festival.

Again, Kate is happy to sit on hay...as long as she doesn't have to actually touch the hay.

Love these sisters so much!

They're so hammy. I think Noah was reenacting the time we put gourds on poor Ben's head. 

Look! I was there too!

This girl has the Chinese squat mastered!

Did I mention it was kind of hot? And someone doesn't like to have his picture taken 43 times per minute?

Because we had just done the whole pumpkin patch tractor ride thing, we decided not to go out at this farm. Instead we got donuts and cider and listened to the live music like we did last year, but this time Anna and Noah joined in the dancing.

Last year I remember thinking about how Kate would be with us next time. It was so fun to have her with us this year!

Pumpkin Patch

 A couple of weeks ago we went to the pumpkin patch with our adoption group friends. This is where we met several of them for the first time last year. Our group has grown SO much in the past year, and I've lost count of how many sweet kiddos have come home in that time. It's so fun to go from months of looking at tiny pictures online to watching them run and jump and play right there with us!

I was unsure how Kate would do on the tractor ride. Our other kids haven't always enjoyed their first one (ooooo I miss that curly haired baby!). Kate thought it was pretty fun - once I put her on my lap and got her legs off of the scratchy hay.

Once we got out in the patch she patted a few pumpkins...

But we got a lot of this look. The look that says, "Why are we walking around in all these vines?".

Really, I'm done with this. Let's move on.

Ben kept searching for the perfect one.

Have you met my 28 year old son? Seriously, he's looking so big to me lately!

Just as the tractor was coming back to get us we tried to snap a picture of all four. Two out of four looking at the camera is a win.

Would you look at all these sweet kids?! And this is by no means all of us. They were so cute up there!

They also loved this big hay pit that you can play in. 

It was a fun day. Afterward we went to eat with some of the families and the kids slept well on the 45 minute ride home. I see this being a group tradition for many years to come.