Happy Halloween 2011

Happy Halloween from our house to yours!



Little Eeyore, Princess Peach and Mario ready to go!

With Patrick's Jack-O-Lantern

With Kathryn's Jack-O-Lantern

Actually sitting still!  Our Eeyore is very busy!

For the first time, we both took the kids out to trick-or-treat, so we left a note and the candy on the portch and were happy to see some was still left when we returned.

We took the usual route over to Grandma and Grampy's house and back along another street.  The kids got a TON of treats (and a couple of 'tricks' too!).  We were out for about an hour and a half and by the end Patrick was really dragging his feet and Willy was definetly 'done'. 

After they changed into jammies, they sorted their treats and we checked them.  Daddy made out with a big bag of his own - the kids' rejects.  I'm sure we'll be eating it way past Christmas again this year.

We've got ears, say "cheers"!

Kathryn requested to have her ears pierced.  She had asked once before but had changed her mind when we explained how it worked and that it might hurt.

This time she was definetly ready, so on Friday (a PD Day), we all went to Owen Sound and KJ got her ears pierced!

She didn't cry.  She didn't flinch.  I'm not even sure she stopped smiling when it happened.  We were very proud of her.

And she is very happy with her "Hello Kitty" earings and very compliant to the 2x a day cleanings.

Growing up fast!

Happy 6.5 Birthday Patrick!!!!!

Friday night we celebrated Patrick's 6.5 Birthday with cupcakes and company!  I love celebrating half birthdays - so much fun!  We also weighed (54.8 lbs) and measured the big boy - he's as tall as I was at 7!!

Anticipating cupcakes

Singing and a candle

Mmmmm chocolate with chocolate icing

Soooooo yummy!

Playdoh fun

The kids still really enjoy using the "making cakes" playdoh set that Patrick recieved this Christmas, but this was William's first Play-Doh experience!

 He wasn't too sure what to think.  He did bring it up to his mouth while looking at me, wondering if it was food, but didn't eat it when I said it wasn't.

His attention span was pretty short, but he liked squishing it with his finger tips and pressing the cutters into it when I'd flatten it for him.  

Pass the Pasketti Please

I love spaghetti night.  I love that everyone eats the same thing (with or without sauce).

W also loves spaghetti night.  This past spaghetti night he insisted on feeding himself!

 Despite the mess he did a pretty good job, with very little of it ending up in his lap.  Yay William!

More spaghetti fans:

Yum!

Sick :(

Picked up K before lunch because she puked on her school work :(  She said her tummy hurt but she wasn't tired.  Found her passed out on the couch before supper, poor thing.

Thankfully the sickness was short lived and there was no more puking.

Fair weather fall fun

The weather was lovely for my parent's visit and we were able to get outside a lot.  After lunch on Saturday, we headed to the Apple Orchard.  Shaun, my Dad, Patrick and Kathryn went through the corn maze and my Mom and I hung out with William.  It was rather hot, so we took him for a walk (in one of the wagons) in the shade, shared an apple and met lots of friendly dogs - W was thrilled! We also played at the kids playground which is right near the maze. 

The kids all enjoyed themselves and we took some apples home too!

Posing on top of the kids hay maze

Reluctantly posing on top of the kids hay maze

Attempting to climb the slide... and everything else.

That evening, Shaun's parents came by for a visit.   I am truly blessed that my parents and Shaun's parents get along so well!  They had fun discussing their upcoming trips to Hawaii/Austrailia and we enjoyed some delicious desserts - a lemon pie my Dad had made and a chocolate cake I made to celebrate my parent's upcoming birthdays (they are 2 years minus 2 days apart!)

4 boys and a bottle

The next morning we fed the wildlife at Fairy Lake and then headed to Jubilee Park .  This is by far the best park for William right now as the main climber is not too high off the ground, and most of the ground is that spongy/rubber material which hurts less when you fall into it and he can't pick it up to try and eat it.

Saucer swing

Surfin'

Happy to be swinging

 My Dad, Shaun, Patrick and Kathryn had turns climbing this rope structure:

Getting climbing/footing instructions. She is such a dare devil!

Shaun posing

Even Patrick joined in the climbing for a bit.

 Kathryn even went RIGHT to the top!!

Look at me!

 Willy had a blast learning to slide (can almost go it alone now), doing a bit of swinging and climbing on absolutely everything. 

Pumpkinfest 2011

We enjoyed both days of Pumpkinfest this year.  Saturday was shaping up to be rainy and cold, so we had planned to go to the main pumpkinfest grounds on Sunday morning.  Saturday afternoon turned out to be a really nice sunny day, so we bundled up and walked downtown to see the classic cars, the crowds and the dogs (especially for William!). 

Sunday morning after W's super-early nap, we headed to the main grounds and arrived at 10.  We went to the rides first before the lines got too long.

The kids had been talking about the maze so that is what they did first:

 It ended with a long slide:

 After the rides, we headed up to the Science North / Agricultural tents.  The Science North tent had lots of hands-on activities for the kids as well as a few animals (rat, snake, scorpion and trantula).  Kathryn spied Patches and Pettals and had her picture taken with them:

 In the Agricultural tent the kids kids milked a fake cow and coo-ed over a cage of 5 kittens (no, we didn't get one). 

After this, we decided to have an early lunch before it got too busy to get a picnic table.

MmMm Fries!!:

 Waiting patiently for fries.  It was cold!

 Waiting for fries:

 After lunch, we checked out the vendor tents and got a stuffed bear for Willy.  The kids played in the hay-bale maze and we checked out the kiddy carnival.

It was a nice time and we enjoyed!  Thanks Pumpkinfest, see ya next year!

Pumpkin Patch at Hi-Berry Farm

We took a trip today to Hi-Berry farm so our Pumpkins could pick out their Pumpkins.

Last year we didn't even get W out of the van so he was quite excited to get into the pumpkin patch.

He had a great time exploring and touching them all.

Pumpkin Patch Kids

 Oops!  Where's the baby?

Ha ha! Here I am!

Back at home, William was reluctant to leave the pumpkins outside and tried to water them. 

We had fun but it was bitterly cold so it was a very brief visit.

My Journey, October

First of all, I'm well aware I missed September! But I did preservere to work towards my goals. I did eat more fruits and veggies. I did drink more water and almost completely cut out pop.

For September, I continued to eat more fruits and veggies, drink 2L of water, and not drink pop. I think I did very well, and I also see lots of room to improve.

Near the end of September, I also cut out coffee and switched back to plain tea. I was finding it a rather bitter change, as I drink it black, so I have been adding a small amount of honey which helps a lot.

Also in September I started walking. I have walked to pick up Patrick/Kathryn almost every day since school started and I am very happy about that. I hope to continue that.

I've also learned something about myself. I do like fruits and veggies but I don't gravitate towards them when I'm hungry. I think this is because I like room temperature or warm foods, and also because I'm lazy and its easier to grab a box of crackers than to cut up some veggies/an apple. But I am preservering.

I still have 8 months to work towards my goal. I'd like to include more exercise but I'm not sure when or how to make that happen. I prefer to exercise in the morning because I find night-time work-outs keep me from sleeping well. I was hoping that W would be sleeping later in the morning by now, but he's still up between 5:30-6.