Pinehaven Farms

I accompanied Ryan's class field trip to Pinehaven Farms on Thursday.  The weather couldn't be beat - it was a gorgeous, sunshiny day.  We had a blast.  There were 23 kids in his class plus 2 other kindergarten classes on the field trip.  We ate lunch on the picnic tables when we arrived, fed the animals in the petting zoo, took a wagon ride into the pumpkin patches to pick out our own pumpkins, and ended the day playing on the massive playgrounds there.  It went far too quickly - it could have been a full day event!!!  Afterwards, I asked Ryan what his favorite part was, and he said "feeding the animals".

Ryan's print awareness has increased ten fold since he started school.  He wants to sound out and spell every word he sees.  Here he is sounding out Pinehaven:

 Every child got a cup full of feed to go through the petting zoo:

Mrs. Busch's Class:

With Mrs. Busch in the picture:

Heading to the petting zoo: 

Mrs. Busch:

 

Feeding the goats:

Exactly why we don't have bunnies:

Feeding the goats:

Scottish cows:

With our tour guide, Denise:

Our little ladies' man:

Ryan's turn to hold the bunny:

Ryan and Alexis:

Heading out to the pumpkin patch:

Ryan with his bag, excited to look for his own pumpkin:

It didn't take long and he found the perfect one:

Indian Summer

We are enjoying Indian Summer in Minnesota.  It is unseasonably warm with temperatures in the 80s in October - we are breaking records and while doing so, our family is enjoying as much of it as possible outdoors.  We know that snow and cold looms ahead, so we will take in every bit of this that we can.  This is a typical day at our house - our boys digging in the dirt along with a few neighbor kids as well.  I enjoy every minute and I wouldn't have it any other way!  I once heard a saying "you can tell how much fun kids had by how dirty they are by the end of the day".  If that is any indicator, the boys had a lot of fun today! :)



Carter's Preschool Bible

Today Carter was presented with his Preschool Bible during church services.  Ryan received the same Bible 2 years ago when he began Sunday School.  Carter was very excited/proud to get his today:

Showing it to Kyle:

Fall Photos

We took pictures with Mom and Dad and the boys, in hopes of getting a good Christmas card picture for them.  Getting all of the boys to look and smile at once (and Grandpa included) requires a good assistant.  The photographer is only as good as her assistant.  Mine, being tugged away from working on his snowmobile, was noticably distracted, but I think we did a fairly good job all in all.  Which is your favorite shot?

I took this shot only to gauge colors, but I loved the serenity of the shot - this is Ryan's dirt bike/four wheeler path through the woods:

I promised them one "mad-face" shot if they cooperated for the rest! :)



Jewelry

I am starting to make Christmas gifts already - I love early planners!  It will make my life so much easier come December!  Here are a few items I made this weekend (I can't post them all since some of the recipients might see them!)



Volunteering

Thursday I volunteered in Carter's classroom.  It just so happened he was Star of the Day so I got to be there for his big day.  He chose to bring Spiderman, a spiderweb, and Iron Man for his secret sack.  What a fun day!

Carter was supposed to give clues to his secret sack contents so the kids could guess what he was describing, and he did, but as soon as he got done with the clues, he told them what it was before they could guess...all 3 times! :)

Playdoh Time:

Carter made a bee-line for the sandbox when we went outside for playtime and never left!

Carter and his friend, Colton, playing in the sand:

Prayer and snack time:

Star Wars Bedroom

This weekend I turned Ryan's race car bedroom into a Star Wars bedroom.  He is at my Mom and Dad's, so he hasn't seen it yet - I can't wait to see his expression!  The dark blue paint proved to be a headache to work with, but I am very happy with the end result.  I hope Ryan likes it as well!!! :)

The red wall taped to prime and paint blue:

The primer coat on (I added some of the dark blue paint to the primer to turn it light blue):

The finished product:

Some of my favorite elements of this room - I suspended a Star Wars fighter jet on fish line from his ceiling:

and (re-)designed a light in his room with Star Wars adhesives and a Story book I picked up last month from a garage sale - circa 1970s!

Just for comparison sake, this was his race car bedroom (inherited from Kyle) - what a big change!!!!!