Fall Fun

All aboard the Hay Wagon for a ride out to the pumpkin patch.
Joshua selects his pumpkin. Just don't drop it.

When we went to the County Fair at the end of August one of the booths was giving out free admission tickets to the Chesterfield Berry Farm. The tickets were only good for this weekend so we decided to go. Even though the weather was threatening rain, we had a great time. The kids loved all of the activities and I enjoyed being out of the house on a nice cool Fall day. Some of the activities that were our favorites included the barrel train, the corn maze, the hay rides, and eating pumpkin ice cream. Fun was had by all. We will have to hope for more free tickets next year. Now we are just all the more excited for apple picking in a few weeks.

Samuel tries to select his own pumpkin.

Kjirsten selects a little bit smaller one she can actually carry.

Trying not to get lost in the corn maze. It was pretty easy as long as you knew your Virginia farm history there were questions along the way that pointed you in right direction. Just don't get a question wrong.

Kjirsten the Farmer

Joshua the Farmer

Samuel the Farmer

Home With Mom

Samuel and I have really enjoyed our quiet mornings together. Jonathan keeps teasing me that I have too much time on my hands now. I have been doing school papers weeks in advance. He just likes my motivation.

Anyway, Sam and I have been enjoying the quiet company. He likes playing with Mom and just hanging out. The other day we were making cookies and he got to lick the beater an opportunity that he has not yet had having to always compete with older siblings. He loved it and made a big mess, but isn't that what childhood is all about.

Live Like You Were Dying

So for one of my classes we had to write our own eulogy and basically contemplate how we would live life more to its fullest. I don't think we often think about our goals in the basically short time that we have on this earth. So if you have something you really want to do in this life. I say do it! You just never know. I thought a few of you might enjoy this video. It makes you think.

New Blog

To all of the followers of the "Amanda" blog I wanted to let you know that my sister and I have collaboratively started a new blog just about all of our various house and craft projects. It is full of great before and afters as well as project instructions. We are hoping that it will open up our dialoging with fellow crafters and give us a place to archive all of our ideas together. It isn't completely finished but we went public last night. Check it out! at www.centsiblychicsisters.blogspot.com

My Baby is Growing UP and Up and Up

I think it should be a monumental moment when your baby turns two. The are moving out of the baby world and into being a kid. I just wish Samuel hadn't seemed to skip two for three. We went to the doctor for his two year old check-up this week and at 37 1/2 " he is officially on his way to great heights. That is >97% for those of you who might know how that relates to children's growth charts. That also means he is officially an inch taller than his brother was at the same age even though their weight was the same.

Of course this should come as no surprise with parents that are also tall, but I thought maybe I wouldn't have to look up to all my children before they reached 14!

He is growing up in a lot of other ways too. His vocabulary has really shot up. Jonathan easily counted 50 words the other day but he seems to add new ones every day. He has also started to combine them. We thought Kjirsten was our talker but he is stiff competition.

Here are a few of our favorites:

"please ma, or daddy"
"Josh bye-bye, bus"
"book?"
"no, potty"
"stop, ma, josh, sis, or daddy"
"night-night"

First Day of School

The first day of school is probably just as much fun for the kids as it is for me. Kjirsten was up at 6:45 and couldn't hardly wait to get out the door. She said she was a little nervous but I know she will do great. Joshua was a little less obviously excited but still up early and of course he had to play the "I am too cool" game. I didn't know third grade suddenly qualified you for "cool" status. I guess it does when your little sister is in kindergarten.
The only set back of the morning was that it has been raining since yesterday afternoon. So we stood out at the bus stop with our umbrella's this morning. I think my favorite mom back to school tear- jerker has to be seeing the little faces that have hung out with Mom for five years peer out the school bus window and blow you kisses as they drive away. I will never forget that. Gotta love my kids!

This fall also started a new chapter in our family as I go back to school too. I am working on my Master's Degree in Education Counseling. Kjirsten took this picture of me ready for my first day. I have two weeks done now and have been loving it. It is amazing how differently I approach college almost ten years after graduating with my bachelor's. I am much more interested in the course material and have even found myself reading extra material just because I am enjoying so much. It is great to be learning again. I am such a geek. Oh well, I am a happy geek!