Museum of Flight

The homeschool program that we are registered through does a really good job of providing field trip opportunities for the kids. Last Friday, we were able to go to the Museum of Flight and participate in a little class where the kids learned all about airplanes and how they work.

I was a bit worried about the boys getting bored since we've been to the Museum of Flight once before, but they absolutely loved it. They really enjoyed the class, too.

(Evan insisted on doing this goofy smile. At least they're all looking at the camera, right?)





Evan was pretty jazzed about the Blue Angels plane since we've seen them fly before.





Asher learning how the flaps on the wings work.








Testing out the paper airplanes they made in the class.

Trick-or-Treat!

Halloween this year was super easy and low-stress for me. All three costumes were acquired several weeks in advance and all three of them were costumes that were easy to put on and didn't require any makeup or props. Perfect! We also didn't have a trunk-or-treat or any other parties to attend this year, so I only had to worry about dressing everyone up once, on Halloween night. Fine by me!

I always get frustrated with trick-or-treating pictures because of how dark it is and how terribly they always turn out, so I don't usually take very many. I did snap a few this year, though...

A quick phone snappy of all three munchkins ready to go! Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and a ladybug.



Ellie got the hang of trick-or-treating really quickly. She was quite the trooper, too.... keeping up with the other kids and carrying her basket the whole time even though I was worried it was getting too heavy for her. She had a blast!



We went with a big group of friends, which was really fun for the boys. They ran ahead with the crowd while I waddled behind with Ellie, so I only got distant, paparazzi-type pictures of them.

Evan is at the front of the group in this picture:


And there's Asher...


I was worried about the kids being warm enough in their costumes and had them layer up underneath. When we got done, though, the boys were dripping with sweat! They ran their hearts out from door to door, I guess.

We enjoyed some yummy treats with our friends for a few minutes and then went home to see Ben, who always gets home from work too late to join us for trick-or-treating fun. He helped the kids sort their candy, though.



I'm a little disappointed that there was no crying toddler drooling chocolate picture this year as there have been in years past. Everyone went to bed worn out but happy this year. :)

The Pumpkin Patch!

We tried and tried to go to the pumpkin patch with Ben this year, but things just kept getting in the way. We finally went and bought our pumpkins at the grocery store on the way to the pumpkin carving party instead.

So, the Monday before Halloween, I took the kids to the pumpkin patch myself. It would have been fun to have Ben with us, but a Monday morning sure is a nice time to go to a place like this, where it would have been SUPER crowded on the weekend! We went to Thomasson's Family Farm this year. We had never been there before, but I was really pleased with the place. There was so much for the kids to do: fake horses to ride, fake cows to milk, bubbles, slides, a hay maze, a corn pit, animals to touch and pet, a track for riding bikes, a "train" ride, a corn maze, and of course, the pumpkin patch itself.

(Warning... if you've come looking for great photography, this post is definitely NOT it! I had fun just enjoying my time with the kids and taking quick snapshots rather than worrying too much about the photos. Maybe it's the pregnancy, but I've been doing that a lot more lately and it's kind of nice. :) )

Pumpkin carving!

Every year, some friends of ours throw a pumpkin carving party right before Halloween and it's always so much fun! We all bring our pumpkins and carve them together and enjoy some yummy food while the kids run around and play.

No one enjoyed the pumpkin carving more than Ellie. I didn't think she'd really care much, but she totally got into it! She told me she wanted her pumpkin to have a happy face with two teeth... so that's what we did. She was even a great little helper when it came to scooping the insides out.

(Just snapshots from the phone this time...)













Then it was the big kids' turn! They were super fast because they wanted to get back to playing, so I didn't get a ton of pictures. They did a good job designing and cutting their pumpkins. (If you can't tell, Asher's is a vampire.)











After the party, we took them home and lined them up on our doorstep. Ellie yells, "MY PUNKIN!!!" and jumps up and down whenever we walk out the front door. Every. single. time. She even yelled out the door to the FedEx guy, "Wook a my punkin!!" She's going to be so sad when she finds out it has to go in the garbage now that Halloween is over.