Halloween

Halloween was a marathon holiday once again. I guess it's good that they get a lot of use out of their costumes. I have a bin full of costumes that we raided for most of the costumes. But for the first year one of my children was adamant about what they wanted to be for Halloween. I tried and tried to convince Dylan to be tigger but he only wanted to be scooby doo. He was so excited and wore the costume constantly when I brought it home. Gavin was a nerd (a good one I might add), Madison was a vampire queen, and Camryn was a princess and piglet depending on how cold it was. Our Halloween festivities included the trunk or treat, class parties, and the Halloween parade. I was in charge of Madison's party and I sent Mark to Gavin's. They both had a lot of fun and Mark came home telling me their party was better than our party. On Halloween night we went to the parade where the kids got more candy than they knew what to do with.

Apple Picking

We went apple picking this fall at Mills Apple Farm. They have a little playground that the kids loved. They had a maze that was like a big chicken coop. Mark was in his element and dreamed of owning his own tractor and farm. We rode the wagon to pick apples and boy did we enjoy the apples. They told us to make sure and taste them before we picked them and my kids took that quite literally. Gavin ate five or six apples while the rest of us picked.

Scarecrow Contest

Our little town has a scarecow contest and we love to go look at them all. People are so creative. We always choose our favorite scarecrow and snap a picture with it. Madison's was the cheerleader, Camryn's the x-ray scarecow, Dylan's was the fireman and policeman, and Gavin's was the sheriff.

Madison's Birthday

Madison had her first sleepover for her birthday. We invited a couple of her friends from church and it went surprisingly well. I thought for sure I would be calling parents in the middle of the night to come and get their kids. They had lots of treats and watched an American Girl movie with their dolls. They are such a cute bunch of girls. But we made sure they new this was a special treat and wasn't going to happen every weekend. They must have had enough fun to last awhile because they haven't asked to do it again.

Merry go round

A trip tp Grants Farm wouldn't be complete without riding the merry go round. I volunteered Mark to go on the ride with the kids. Those rides make me sick now (I must be getting old). Everyone had fun (especially Gavin) and can't wait to go back again!

Rat Race

While we were at Grants Farm Madison got chosen to do the rat race during the bird show. I was shocked because this girl is so afraid of spiders and bees. I never thought she would have volunteered. They had two teams and you had to hook arms and have the rat race across one arm over your neck and down the other arm. It gives me the creeps just writing about it. But she did it and her rat lost the race because it just stayed on her arm and didn't go any further. It was pretty funny. She is definitely braver than I am!

Grants Farm

We went with the Hawk family to Grants Farm. It started out a little rough when Camryn threw up in the van on the way there. She must have been car sick because she felt better when we got there. Dylan and Camryn were amazed at all the animals. They loved feeding and brushing the goats. We watched the elephant show and the bird show. It was such a fun trip I love watching Dylan and Camryn enjoy these new things. Camryn asked me for a solid two weeks when we would go to Grants farm again.

Cardinals game

Were were able to get tickets to the Cardinals game. We left Dylan and Camryn at home so we could actually enjoy the game. It was so much fun! Gavin is really into baseball specifically the Cardinals and Albert Pujols. So it was fun to see his excitement. It made it even more fun that the Cardinals won the World Series. It must have been pretty intense at our house during the world series because I still hear Camryn randomly chanting let's go cardinals.

Park

It has been so fun spending some time with these two. They are so much fun and make me laugh constantly! My mom has tried to convince me to write a book about all their shenanigans. They are really full of it. But we sure have a lot of fun!

First day of school

We were reaaly excited for school to start this year! Gavin started 4th grade and Madison started 1st grade. As you can see from the pictures Gavin is getting a little too old for his mom to take pictures of him at school. Madison was more than happy to let me take all the pictures I wanted.

Fishing

One of our favorite things we did this year at Grandpa's and Grandma's was go fishing. Grandma has a friend who has a pond on her property. They were out of town so they told us to go fishing. It has been such a long time since I have been fishing and I forgot how much fun it can be (especially if you actually catch fish). Mark was in heaven and so were the kids. Mark, Gavin, and Madison caught plenty of fish. I on the other hand caught one small one but I still had fun. They also had a paddle boat that my mom and I took the kids on. There was also a dock with diving board that the kids jumped off. The water was so nasty and Mark and I still can't believe we let the kids jump in it. But when we thought about it we probably got into some nasty water when we were young too.

Riding horses

One of our favorite things to do when we visit Grandpa and Grandma is riding the horses. This year Madison learned to ride by herself. She did reallly well and even tried galloping on the horse. She could have ridden all day if we let her. This was also a big year for Dylan and Camryn because no tears were shed when we put them on the horses. Mark and I decided if we ever have a pet, a horse would be our first choice. We all love riding the horses!

Gavin's Birthday

Gavin turned nine on July 2 and got to celebrate twice this year . We had a joint party with his cousin Elijah and then he celebrated again with the Binks family. He chose to go bowling on his birthday which was a lot of fun. Grandpa didn't even win this time which is always our goal since he plays once a week in a league. After that we ate the lego cake I attempted to make. It was a lot of fun and I can't believe I have a nine year old. But I can't complain too much because he is such a good kid and brings so much happiness to our family!

Baseball

Gavin played baseball this summer and loved it! He got to catch quite a bit this season but he definitely prefers to play first base or outfield. We really enjoyed watching him play except when it was over 100 degrees outside. I don't know how he could enjoy playing in the heat like that but he did. He must really love the game.