The Big Red Barn and Pumpkin Farm

Last weekend we went to one of the local pumpkin patches. Unfortunately, this is not a picture of the place we went - I just had to have one for the blog. I was in such a hurry getting everyone ready that I forgot to bring my camera. I was pretty sad that my blog wouldn't have pictures of what we did :(. Anyway, it was pretty fun - although not really worth the $5 to get in and $1 for the hayride, but that's okay. There were lots of animals around - goats, pigs, horses, cows, llamas, rabbits, and chickens. There was also a cat walking around that Rachel had fun petting. Emma really liked the corn box (imagine a sand box made from hay bales that contains dried corn instead of sand). There was a tiny village of little houses. David and Josh really liked trying out the old fashioned teetor-totter. We took a hayride and picked out a nice looking pumpkin. It was a fun way to spend a saturday afternoon.

Books, books, books!

I love books. I rarely pass up an opportunity to order books when my kids bring home a book order. I also have discovered an online bookstore called book closeouts that has great deals on books. This also means that I have collected a great deal of children's books. Ever since we moved here there have been books in several different places - kids rooms, living room, basement, and every place in between. I decided to gather all the books and organize them. It was actually kind of fun. This is what I discovered:These are the duplicates. Some of them were gifts but I know of at least one that I ordered twice from a book order. This is why it's a good idea to organize your books!

David loves dinosaurs and I can't resist a cute dinosaur book. So far we have 23. And every time there is a dinosaur book in a book order David thinks we need to add to our collection.
I also love collections. Here is the "If you give a mouse a cookie..." set.

David loves the David Shannon books. It is always fun to see your own name in print. The David books are filled with all sorts of silly things that a little boy named David does. My favorite one is when the David in the book is making a face in his school picture. When I got my David's preschool pictures back, I noticed that David was doing the exact same thing.

I also love books that I read as a child. Beverly Cleary was one of my favorites. We have some books now that I never read as a child so it has been fun to rediscover them.
You gotta love Little House on the Prairie. They are several new ones - about Laura's mother, grandmother, and daughter. There are also some in an easier reading format for very early readers. Rachel is such a quick learner that I think she's already past the level of the easy reading books (she hasn't read them all..) That's okay. Sometimes its fun to read an easy book.
Dr. Seuss books are great. As I am teaching David to read I am learning that these books are great for a young reader. Even though they have some strange names it's all about rhyming and rhythm. Green Eggs and Ham is great for a beginning reader.
Eric Carle is one of my absolute favorites. I remember The Very Hungry Caterpillar from when I was a kid. I have discovered a lot more fun favorites now. Brown Bear, Brown Bear what do you see? Is one of Josh's favorite books. His artwork is beautiful as well.
We have also gathered quite a few books about how much parents love their kids - including the classic "Love you Forever" by Robert Munsch. The cover has a baby on the front in a pile of toilet paper. The author must be a dad.

So, there you have it! Some of our favorite books. And now I know which books we have, so I don't order the same one twice.

Looking at the world through a red-colored hamper

The other day I let Josh watch a favorite TV program in my room. The other kids were at school and he didn't really want to go down to the basement by himself. Since my room is also right next to the laundry room, it is often filled with laundry needing to be sorted and various baskets and hampers. As I was going about my daily routine I walked by my room, glanced in, and saw this. Apparently, Curious George looks much better with a red tint. Josh has a way of making me smile :)

Soccer Boy

This is David's third year playing soccer. He loves having a sport! He does a great job even though he is a little timid around the ball. This year he has weekly practices in addition to games. His games are played 4 on 4 with no goalie. That makes for some pretty high scoring games. The kids spread out a little bit more, too. I'm glad he is learning and having fun. I kind of like sports at this age. The focus is on learning a sport and having fun, not winning.

Soccer Girl

Rachel has had a fun time playing soccer this year. This was the first time she played soccer. Before she either did dance or gymnastics (I have a one sport rule). She said she really wanted to play soccer. It turned out that her friend Marissa was on her team and her Dad was the coach. Unfortunately, 3 of her games are on Sunday. If I had know that, I probably wouldn't have signed her up. She does get to play in 4 games (she's already had 3). She also has a team practice once a week and on Saturdays they have a clinic with a soccer coach from England. I think that it is really good for her. She has a lot of fun playing. Hopefully next year I can find a team that doesn't have games on Sunday.