Beach Babes

One last trip to the beach before it gets too cold. Although, it's kind of bizarre that we can still go to the beach at the end of October...I'm not complaining though! We have had a few friends in tow that made the day extra special!

First up...the Jorgensen's version of Baywatch.

I call these, "fun in the sun and sand"

And I just love this Daddy moment

Little Pumpkins and One Big Pumpkin

One of the great things about living in a large metropolis is the plethora of choices when it comes to activities.  In the fall, one of our favorite things to do is go to our local pumpkin patch. We have a really great one on the west side of town. It's a whole day event. There are tons of kid friendly activities, animals and food. It's a blast to get to go there. But this year, with our schedule being as full as it is (and my belly being as full as it is), we aren't going to make it out there.

Fortunately, just down the road, there is a local church that displays and sells thousands of pumpkins on their property. Even better, the proceeds go to their missions program. So the boys and I decided to go and pick ourselves some lovely pumpkins for the fall. I always think of my mom when we go "pumpkin-ing", it's one of her favorite things to do this time of year. Love you mom.

My favorite photographer (Jacob) even snapped a shot of my little "pumpkin"

This one, is just for Nathan...

Austin was trying his best to be a helper (even though he was picking up all the pumpkins and throwing them back on the ground. Forcing me to buy more pumpkins than I wanted!)

Happy Fall Y'all!

What I Never Knew...

We live in Texas. We are familiar with pesky mosquito's and their nasty bites. What I wasn't familiar with is their ability to deform your child!

I took this picture of Austin a few weeks ago. Normal Austin.

Now Deformed Austin. This was taken this morning a few days after a mosquito bite to the forehead.

Apparently it's common in children with mosquito bites to the face to have swelling that can last up to 7 days! How did I not know that already? It doesn't bother him. He doesn't even itch it. It just LOOKS really bad.

Hoping my alien baby gets better soon. 

Library Day

Spooky Treats

We're not big fans of Halloween around here. With all the evil looking and scary stuff, my kids are happy when it's over. (even though, they are not opposed to an opportunity for a sugar induced coma once a year.)
And we do enjoy it as an opportunity to meet and greet with neighbors and see more of the people in our community.

Anytime of the year, my boys love crazy and funny looking things. So, when I saw this idea on a decoration kit from Target, I thought it would be fun to try.

Ghost and Goblin Brownie Bites

They were fairly easy to make. I just put together a box mix of brownie's and baked them in a cupcake pan as directed. When they cooled, we put large marshmallows on top of each brownie.

The next step is to mix two bowls of powdered sugar glaze. We made one white for ghosts and the other green for the goblins. Then spooned it on top of the marshmallows. Then we let the fun begin as we decorated their faces and hair.

And even though they looked funky, they tasted quite nice! What other time of year can you get away with making such weird looking treats?

Field Trip Fridays

I have to admit, as much as I love taking my three little boys out for fun adventures, it is not always a priority to plan to attend field trips. When we get busy, as we usually are, the choice between accomplishing tasks and goals for the day are more appealing to me than spending half a day on a field trip.

However, a wise homeschool friend once encouraged me to enjoy the eagerness of the younger years and take advantage of field trips. "When you feel you're too busy and you have a choice to go on a field trip, do it while they are young and enjoy it" she said. It's hard to look into the future and know what to anticipate with the older years of school so I am thankful for any shared tips from experienced moms.

So we took her advice and joined up with a planned field trip with some friends from church. And, I'm so glad we did. It was nice to have a full week of school behind us and then, get to enjoy and learn about God's creation at the Wildlife Park.

At the Wildlife Park, the animals are essentially roaming free (in their designated areas).

You board a tram that takes you around a trail through the park. Of course, the big boys like to sit up front, in hopes of getting the most action. Then, the mom's crowd into the inside, hoping they don't get swarmed by the animals.

Austin was very unsure about these "free" animals that could just come up to him. So he spent the beginning of the ride like this...

If I don't see them, they don't exist!

Jacob and Nathan were super excited though.

The park guide gives you a bucket of food to feed the animals and the ride begins. Once Austin figured out he could throw pieces of food, he enjoyed the rest of the ride...

Camels, emus and ostrich...oh my! We got to feed/see/pet all kinds of animals but here are few...

We even fed a deer...the guide did not provide the pb&j!

And last but certainly least (this part was not my favorite), the petting zoo. 

Thanks to the wonderful ladies who coordinated this field trip! It's my goal to utilize more of these opportunities and enjoy the precious moments with my boys.