Mainstay Farm

The Saturday after Halloween we took all of the kids to a local pumpkin patch called Mainstay Farm.  I had been to the farm several years ago on a school field trip and have always wanted to take the kids.  I had heard they had added some activities since I had gone, so I thought it would be a fun place to spend the afternoon.  Plus Addison, Aubrey, and Ryan were able to come with us so I knew they would have a lot of fun!

Usually this time of year, people come to Mainstay to pick out their pumpkins.  But because it was the weekend after Halloween, you could bring your old pumpkins and watch them get smashed.  The kids loved watching them bust into lots of pieces. 

I was surprised when we arrived at how much there was to do.  They have added so many things like a zip line and huge trampoline to jump on. We stayed busy for over three hours and they never got tired.  We started out in the new kids area that included a slide, small zip line, tricycles, and a duck race. 

 

 

 

Next up was the giant trampoline and the huge swings.

 

Ryan lost interest in the trampoline pretty quickly and decided that digging in the dirt was much more fun!

The zip line was next and the four bigger kids loved it!  I was so proud of Eden.  She was the first in line and showed no fear!  I assumed she would get scared and back out at the last minute but she ended up loving it and riding it over and over again!  I think this was the favorite activity of the day!  Even the grown ups got to take a few rides on it!

After zip lining, we took a hay ride up the hill.  At the top of the hill, the kids enjoyed pedal cars, a huge wooden maze, and a giant slide. 

As we were leaving, we let the kids play in the barn filled with hay for a few minutes. 

We all had a great time at Mainstay! The weather was perfect and I'm pretty sure the adults had just as much fun as the kids!  We will definitely be making this a yearly fall tradition!

Halloween 2013

After school, we came home for an early dinner before heading back out to trick or treat.  I hate trick or treating in the dark so we always get started pretty early.  Once again, both of the girls refused to wear the Doc McStuffins costumes they had picked out and instead chose princess dresses from the dress up box.  Parker, on the other hand, was thrilled about his Ninja Turtle costume!   

Eden learned to curtsy like a princess- so cute!

Our first stop of the night was Mrs. Becky's house.  Lily remembered exactly what she needed to do!

Then we met up with Addison, Aubrey, Ryan, and Aunt MerMer at Mr. Reed's church for their Trunk or Treat.  We've learned from experience that it is best to get there right when it starts to avoid the huge crowds.  We started inside with the games and then moved outside to trick or treat for some candy. 

After the Trunk or Treat, we went to Parker's favorite stop of the night... Mrs. Brightwell's house!  He loved getting to see where she lived and picking out some candy from her big bowl!

Finally, Parker insisted that we go to the Trunk or Treat at our own church, even if it was just for a few minutes.  Even though it was getting dark, we decided to stop by for a little bit.  The kids enjoyed the bounce houses and train rides before heading home for bed.   We had a very fun evening and got way too much candy! 

The next day, one of the local orthodontists was offering to give kids $1 for each pound of candy they brought him.  I let each kid pick about 20 pieces of candy to keep and then we took the rest of it and turned it in.  I was amazed when we earned $7 for all of our candy!  The kids were excited because I let them split the money and I was excited because it got all of that unneeded 7 lbs of candy out of our house!  It was definitely a win-win situation!

Thursday School Halloween Parties

Because Halloween fell on a Thursday this year, Eden and Lily had a fun day full of trick or treating and parties at Thursday School.  They got to wear their costumes and go trick or treating in the church office and then they had their class parties that afternoon. 

 

I had bought both of the girls Doc McStuffins costumes and they promised me they would wear them, but when they woke up on Halloween, Eden insisted on being Snow White and Lily told me she didn't want to wear her costume. 

I didn't get very many pictures of their parties but they were the normal play-a-game-eat-a-cookie-and-go-home type of parties.  Lily was mad for most of her party because I insisted that she at least put her costume on for the 15 minute party.  By the time we got home, they had both already consumed enough sugar to last a month and we still had our evening trick or treating to go!   Thank goodness Halloween only come once a year!

Eden's Community Helper Fair

Eden had her Community Helper Fair at Sunshine Preschool the day before Halloween.  After learning about different community helpers during the entire month of October, they had a community helper fair.  The students rotated to different stations and participated in an activity that helped them learn about different jobs in their community. 

 

Eden was thrilled that her partner for the fair was her sweet friend Grace.

Some of the jobs they learned about were postal worker,

musician,

veterinarian,

baker,

grocery store clerk,

and construction worker.

Eden's favorite station was the baker because she got to decorate a cookie.  She couldn't wait to get home and eat her masterpiece!

Lily's Big Girl Bed

This summer Lily started begging for a big girl bed.  Since she was fully potty trained (even at night) and could crawl in and out of her crib on her own, we decided she was ready for one.  We wanted to keep the rest of the furniture in her room but couldn't find anything to match the wood color so we settled on an iron bed that would match anything.  Unfortunately, that meant it was a special order that would take 6-8 weeks to deliver.  I'm pretty sure Lily asked us every.single.day. for 6-8 weeks if her bed was coming that day!  Finally, in mid-September, we got a call that it was ready!

Lily's last night in her crib!

We had to take down her crib the night before delivery so she had to sleep on the floor that night.

She was one happy little girl the day her big girl bed was delivered!  She has done great sleeping in her bed.  She does not get out of it at night without permission and calls me any time she needs to get up to go to the bathroom. 

About a week after the transition, she started begging for Eden to have a sleepover on the trundle in her room.  I finally agreed, which upset Parker because he wanted to be included in the sleepover too.  After some creative thinking, we used Lily's old crib mattress and let all three of them sleep in Lily's room.  I'm not sure how much they actually slept that night, but they sure did have fun! 

 

What a bittersweet time for me! It made me sad to know that no one in this house will ever sleep in a crib again but it was so fun to watch the excitement on Lily's face as she officially became a big girl!

Happy Birthday Cullen!

Today Parker got to help his friend Cullen celebrate his birthday with a tour of The Ballpark in Arlington.  Cullen, Parker and several of their other baseball teammates got to see the Rangers dugout, underground batting cages, announcer's box and press room where the players/coaches talk to the media after games.  He had a great time with his friends and I secretly wish I could have gone with him!  What a fun way to celebrate a birthday!  Happy Birthday Cullen!

Jace, Carter, Cullen, Ashton, Cole, Parker & Malachi