Fall Happenings

Isaac's Kindergarten class had the cutest Teddy Bear Picnic! They used their Tongs to put their Treats in their Teddy bear bag, then we went outside for a picnic on the grass. It was so cute watching Isaac interacting with his classmates. 

The kids got to put all their teddies on a parachute. Classic elementary school. 

Isaac's school picture is worth documenting. It's up for debate if this facial expression is a grimace of pain or a soulless stare into the abyss. 

The cub scout pack went to Apple Annie's. It was our first time going.

Elliot and James did a great job navigating us through the beginner and intermediate mazes. Apple Annie's was not messing around- the mazes were LONG! It was nice the boys were locked in, and we could blissfully meander after them. 

We took the hayride to the pumpkin patch, were we frolicked and looked for the lumpiest pumpkin while the kids asked when it was going to be pie time. 

The apple orchard was a short drive away. We picked Asian pears and a couple of varieties of apples, Then rounded off the day with apple cider donuts and pie. 

In case we didn't have enough produce, we went in on a borderlands rescue produce box and ended up with mangos that were literally the size of Isaac's head. They were so good, too!

The Library gave out free tickets to the Children's museum, so we spent a lovely morning hanging out there.

The jump screen

Felix enjoyed climbing in the tinker toy bins probably better than any other activity there

Another dad was seeing how many blocks he could jump in the courtyard. Aaron whispered to me that he could clear 7. Naturally, I forced him to back up his claim. He could indeed jump over 7 to the amazement of all the people of the courtyard!

A series of jump related challenges ensued. 

Grumpa and Mimi dispatched two rattlesnakes by their pool, leading to the creation of our "Snake Rules."

Aunt Trisha came to town! She wanted to go to a Monster Truck Rally in Phoenix. My family spent the night before with Mary, and Annie and I went to see Rebekah in "Legally Blond: The Musical." We met up with Trisha, Breezy, and her friend Maja at the rally. It was more fun than I thought it would be! The Classroom Crusher pictured above was my favorite. He smashed himself to pieces then jumped into what remained of the pool at the end. We were delighted to find that they had the most Annie coded truck of all time- a unicorn truck named Sparkle Smash driven by Kayla Blood (we will claim her as a distant cousin), a beautiful woman that ripped off her helmet, let down her long blonde hair, and did a roundoff after each of her runs. 

The kids crashed hard on the long drive home from the rally. 

We started having the Wickley family over for weekly dinners while their Dad is deployed. They are vegetarian and we are attempting to be more vegetarian, so it works out great! Cruz loves the quail. 

Cub scouts had a rocket launch day! Felix cried for the first several launches- too noisy. Annie's was lost in a tree. The wow factor of rockets launched hundreds of feet in the air wore off, and many of the kids found more immediate joy in having their rockets land in the mud. 

Blake had a birthday! We celebrated at Texas Roadhouse. 

Grumpa and I made some cutting boards out of the mesquite wood from the front yard tree! They are perfect for cutting up the morning bananas and slicing apples. I use them as plates when I'm feeling aesthetic. 

Isaac's Kindergarten teacher is a saint! Notes like this crack us all up. Apparently he had a 'no shoes' coupon and forgot to put his shoes back on before going to lunch, which is actually a bit of a hike to the cafeteria that is shared by SPS, SIS, and SMS. Somehow the solution to the no-shoes problem was that he ate his lunch in the office with the principal? I'm still confused, but Isaac things it was a great adventure. Mrs. Chittum emailed me to say that Isaac would be taking a break from 'no shoes' coupons for a while.