Pumpkin Patch

Our trip to the pumpkin patch was a success this year. We went to a different pumpkin patch than we usually do because we had 2 free passes. And we had a blast (even if the night still some how cost $50....seriously, how!?) There were tons of fun things to do and we were more than entertained for hours. John's favorite was the little racing bike thingy's (not sure what to call them.)

While I came in dead last, I'm sure that had Emmie not been on my lap, squirming, I would have been a winner for sure!

According to Owen his favorite was the bouncy mat thingy....they should label these things so I know what to call them :).We spent some time in the corn maze. Very limited time. We stuck to the mini corn maze. And were grateful we did when we ran into some friends later in the evening who had been stuck in the corn maze with little kids for 3 hours. Not fun!I love this picture because it shows Emmie's true goofy self. Seriously. She walks this way often.Next was the cow train. (This I know the name of.) Try to find Owen. He was hiding. Stinker.

Finally a picture of Owen just smiling. A difficult feat.While none of the kids claimed that the corn box was their favorite, it was where they wanted to spend the most time. And I'm still finding corn. Everywhere.

We had to get some yummy food. This may have contributed to our massive bill for the night. Maybe. Fresh mini doughnuts and carmel apples....yumm!

And of course the pig race. Do you see Owen. By freak accident (or divine intervention) both of our children were chosen to come to the front to represent a pig during 2 different races. Unfortunately neither of them won. But they got a piece of candy. So in their minds they were still winners.

And last but not least....a pumpkin for all! 46 pounds of pumpkin to be exact. I know because we had to weigh them....and pay for each pound :). Well worth it though. There's nothing like picking your own pumpkin off the vine and then hauling it through a muddy field while carrying a toddler.

Plus it was worth it for this awesome shot of Emmie. I should be a professional!And last but not least, a group photo. With Owen hiding...or something?

Catch-Up

I've been a terrible blogger lately. So it's time to catch-up. This may not be the best time to do this since I'm completely stressed with having to speak in church on Sunday and do sharing time and prepare for teacher interviews.

But, this is how I will spend my time today.

First up....Emmie.

This little girl is so stinkin cute it kills me. She is talking like crazy and putting together sentences. Unfortunately for her she is a poor annunciator, and therefore noone understands her. Except me. And a lot of her words are the same. My favorite words of her are definately, Owen: Owey, ya: ya, I do it myself: i-doe-dee-dee, and when she belts out HELLO!, or BUH-BYE! Everyone that knows her fully appreciates her greetings because they're hilarious and she says them over and over with such enthusiam.

She also will stop what ever she's doing and yell "uh-oh" whenever a phone rings or someone knocks on the door. And she always repeats the beep on the microwave and oven, so we're sure to know they went off.

Here she is pointing out the airplane she spotted. She's always sure to let us know about nearby aircrafts. With a loud, "Ayeeee" or "hedepdopdopdop". And we are grateful for her services.

She is also really into the doll house lately. She loves the little babies and will bounce them and say, shhhh, and then put them in their little crib. On this particular day she lined up all the pe0ple and then did a crazy dance for them. (no pics of the dance, sorry).She's also very helpful. Here is the basil she picked from the garden for us to put into our oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. She's become familiar enough with gathering basil from our garden at dinner time, because our basil plants are out of control this year, and now just likes to add a little to random meals. I just think it's funny because I will have no idea where she is and then suddenly I'll turn and Emmie will be at my side standing on a chair with a little pile of basil in front of her.Next up......Owen

Our poor middle child and only boy. He is loving kindergarten. I love that he has something to do everyday. He needs it. Although his days there haven't all been peachy-keen. I got a note sent home one day for being in a little fight. But he wasn't really punished because his teacher pulled me asside and tole me she had to give it to him because he fought back, but he had been attacked. So what's a kid to do? I guess I'd rather him be a kid that will fight back than a kid that just sits and takes it. Maybe. Ask me for my official take on that in 10 year.

I also got to go on a field trip with Owen last week. It ended up being more traumatizing than fun however because the moment we got there I witnessed him and a little girl kiss. On the lips. If I'm honest, I'm still traumatized. He now has a no touching rule at school. I'm not sure how to enforce it however. And last but not least......Ainsley

Some days I seriously wonder how this child came from my genes, or John's for that matter. I'd worry there was a mix up at the hospital except she an Emmie are twins born 5 years apart. And the chances that I was given 2 wrong children is slim to none.

I was almost brought to tears last night when her primary teacher called to say thank you for a treat we had left on her porch. She told me about how amazing Ainsley is. Which I already knew. But she also told me how she had been a little teary during her lesson that day while teaching about eternal families and telling about her mother that died when she was 13. She told me that she could see the concern and saddness on Ainsley's face as she told the story. After the lesson Ains went up to her teacher and took her hand and said, "That was an amazing lesson." And she was sincere. Apparently Ainsley always makes a point of telling her teachers thank you for the lesson and what a good job they did.

I have so much to learn from Ainsley. She is truly an amazing person. Even this morning when Emmie was throwing a tantrum and I was doing my best to ignore her as I was getting everyone ready for school, Ains sat down with her and sang her favorite songs, like Itsy Bitsy Spider. It calmed her right down and the morning calmed down because of it.

I am constantly amazed at how different my children are and how they are each amazing in their own way. Seriously, they are each amazing.

Some Excitement....

Rewards come in all shapes and sizes. Last Tuesday Ainsley was rewarded for taking the garbage out with an awesome slice on the back of her leg from a can that had been thrown away.

After about 45 minutes of trying to get it closed up on our own, talking with a nurse on the phone, and stopping the bleeding, we decided that a trip to urgent care was going to be necessary.

If you were to ask Ainsley now she would tell you that urgent care is a lot of fun. There are popsicles, smarties, and nurses attending to your every need. At the time however she was very nervous and there where many tears shed when they had to numb her leg to put in the stitches.

I was glad we ended up taking her in. They gave her 7 stitches and I was glad we ended up taking her in because the doctor explained that the reason I had such a hard time stitching it up was because the cut had gone through all her layers of skin and the skin on the leg is really thick and hard to get it to come back together. So now we just wait while she heals. And she gets to have them taken out next week. Quite the adventure.

Millions of Peaches

Things have been a little crazy around here lately. The fall always seems to be super busy for some reason. We've been running all over to soccer, back to school activities, and I've been doing odds and ends for our wards primary program this Sunday, on top of all the regular work that always needs done!

And we've (maybe not so much we as I) been dealing with many, many peaches.

I had a friend who found a great deal on peaches and so I told her I wanted to do some canning with her this year. She bought a ton! It's all good though. We now have a ton of canned peaches, peach jam, and a little peach syrup. It got to the point where I wasn't sure what to do with all the peaches, so peach syrup it was! And we still have a few peaches left in the fridge. There will be lots of peach eating during the winter in this house!

Soccer season is upon us

Ains and Owen both had their first soccer games yesterday. Ains is on her 3rd season. And not that she wasn't good before, but yesterday she was seriously awesome! Our kids have never shown much athletic ability and so we were a little surprised as Ains rushed out and scored the first goal. And then proceeded to be awesome on the field. She had strategy and was handling the ball well. She almost had about 4-5 other goals but the ball just barely missed the goal. She was left in most of the game and was exhausted. I think she got left in a little too long (she was really hot and struggling) and had to be taken out for the last quarter. Granted we we're her parents, but she did awesome. We were so proud!

Owen provided us with much entertainment during his game. He pranced all around the ball in a goofy ape like sort of way (for lack of a better description). He was "blocking" ? Still not sure about that. But he still somehow managed to score a goal. It surprised us all.We determined that Owen deserved the "most improved from first quarter to last" award. Because there was much less ape like "blocking" during the 4th quarter than the 1st. He also got in trouble for trash talking the other team. Okay, actually he was taunting the other team a bit saying that his team had 15 points (which they didn't) and that they only had 2 points (which they didn't). We had to then have a brief conversation about sportsmanship on the way home. He's hilarious. And apparently a bit competitive.

Oops

I accidentally grabbed the wrong clipper size when I was cutting Owen's hair. He now has a buzz. And pictures are in 2 days. Way to go me!

Something I re-learned today

Preparedness pays off!

And not just in a food storage sort of way. But more of a, " your day will be much better if you put the effort in to be prepared."

Case in point....

The worst part of my day seems to be between 4:00-8:00. This is for many reasons. Emmie wakes up from her nap around 3:30. This in and of itself is not bad, but this also is typically Emmie's grumpy time of day. Ainsley gets home from school. Homework must be done. Someone usually needs to be getting ready to go somewhere. Dinner is in need of preparation. And clean up. Someone always needs a bath. Etc. It's just a chaotic time of day. And it's kind of new territory for me. I feel like we're just starting the "busy because we're running years", as opposed to the "busy because we have baby years".

Yesterday was no different. Emmie woke up unhappy and cried at my ankles for hours. Ains came home with more homework than usual. Including finding a river rock the size of her fist to paint. The next day. seriously? I don't keep large rocks on hand. Owen had soccer. And I had a baby shower to get to. John and I were both running. And there was lots of crying and yelling. Most of the crying was done by Emmie. They yelling was done by all of us trying to be heard over Emmie.

I'm proud to say that I learned my lesson and was a little more prepared today. Normally I wouldn't have been, but I found myself with a little extra time on my hands because I wasn't able to work during the afternoon because the website was down. So instead I did all of the dinner prepwork. Made afterschool snacks. Laid out soccer clothes for this evening. And now, because I was prepared, I sit here updating my blog.

Ahhhh. Today life is good. Tomorrow maybe not so much. Unless I can remember how nice this moment is. But let's face it, sometimes there's just too much to do during the day to "stage" the perfect night.