The Pumpkin Patch

The "Pumpkin Patch."  My yearly reminder that I no longer live in the Midwest - as if August wasn't reminder enough.  There is no such thing as a pumpkin farm in Houston.  There are farms that sell pumpkins in October, but they are shipped in and placed in cute little piles for all of us to pretend.  I know this, yet I research each October in hopes of finding a better re-creation of my childhood memories.  New year, new "farm." 

 This Year: Frogerg's Farms.

We've been to this one before, but not for pumpkins!  This was their first year to attempt the fall re-creation, and they did a pretty good job!  It was actually completely age appropriate for our little crew, but a group of elementary schoolers would have been bored.

We started off in the "pumpkin patch."  Cute photo ops, and two kids excited to be around hey and pumpkins!

Next up, the games.  Without question, Sam's favorite was the Duck Race.  A water pump, a trough and a plastic ducky he got to bring home.  One ticket got him the duck, and he raced that thing over and over and over again.  And, in case you haven't noticed, Sam sticks his tongue out to the side when he's working hard on something.  Just like me.

He quickly figured out that the bottom pumpkin mouth was the easiest to get the bag through.  I actually saw him get more in then most other kids!  And he brought home two tiny dinosaurs, a star ring and an elephant bracelet.

Both kiddos wanted glitter tattoos.  36 hours later and they're still hanging on there.  They both sat very still, paying close attention to the work being done.

And because its really a strawberry farm, we came home heavy one strawberry plant.  Anyone want to place bets on our ability to keep it alive?

Finally it was time to board the hay ride.  Annabelle's face when the tractor started to move was perfectly priceless! 

At the end of the ride was the corn maze.  Believe it or not, Sam was pretty good at picking his way through it.  It was a bit muddy, but Sam could look through the stalks and find paths that we could fit through without destroying our shoes. 

A grabbed a few pumpkins, picked up some treats in the store and were headed on our way.  Not a perfect farm, but a fun family day.  Sam is already asking to go back! 

Big City Adventure

We've been planning it for almost a year, and it finally happened.  Our whole family on a big city adventure to Chicago!  Why?  Well, why not – Chicago is awesome!  But why now?  Chris has an annual conference for work and it is often held in Chicago.  And since Uncle Matt and Aunt Kate live there, we were all in. 

We stayed in a hotel on Michigan Avenue, which was awesomely convenient.  But get this- I didn’t shop at all.  Really, the only store I even stepped into was a chocolate factory.  Boo!  But we could walk or take a bus to Matt’s condo in River North, get a bus straight to union station or the museum campus from across the street.  Nice!  Of course when Chris and I went, just the two of us 5 years ago, we were upgraded to a fancy suite.  This time no deal.  Oh well.

A big city is like a wonderland to small children.  Especially boys.  Riding on planes, L trains, commuter trains, cabs, buses, and watching everything out the windows of these vehicles, is fascinating.  And then there were all the “things” to do.

Sam woke early on our first morning, so he and Chris did a little sightseeing before heading to the condo.  That day we found a really awesome playground around the corner from their place that they barely knew was there – different perspective on life, for sure!  The kids christened Matt and Kate’s place with matchbox cars and doll strollers; we walked to lunch, and settled in for the OSU/Notre Dame game.

Day 2 we visited Matt and Kate’s church and rewarded Sam’s attempts at sitting quietly through the whole service with a trip to Dunkin Donuts.  Mmm.  We walked off our calories at the Lincoln Park zoo, where the adults awed at the baby monkeys and the kids were awed by the giant tractor in the farm exhibit.

 Day 3, my dad’s last day there, my parents and I drove the kids out to Glenview to visit a children’s museum.  It was a cool place!  Annabelle had a fabulous time, and if you ask Sam he will say the same.  In reality the boy melted down and made a scene numerous times.  Deep breath.  Papa was heading back to Ohio from there, so the rest of us rode the Metra train back into Union Station. 

 

Day 4 was a long time coming.  Last Christmas some friends of ours finally got the opportunity to move closer to family, a new job in Chicago.  I mentioned in passing that this conference would be there this year, and both Sam and my friend Sarah grasped onto the idea of a visit.  And we made it happen!  I was actually a little proud of the three of us – we got up, got dressed and ate in the hotel room, walked across the street and onto our bus, where Sam stood with me most of the way to the train station (seriously, and woman alone with two small children and not ONE commuter even offered Sam or me a seat!).  We bought our tickets, found our platform, boarded our train and settle in for the journey.  And then we had a lovely day in Naperville.  Sarah showed us around and we lunched at Chick-fil-a, the “big” kids played and the little ones napped.  The mommies chatted.  And then too soon it was time to go.  Sam fell asleep on the 10 minute car ride to the train, and then sobbed when it was time to say goodbye.  Dinner at the Rainforest Café made everyone feel better.

Day 5 my mom and I took the kids to the Field Museum.  The grownups found it fascinating, the kids not so much.  Even the dinosaur bones, the primary reason we went, were only minimally exciting.  Oh well.  We checked out of the hotel, said good-bye to Gommy, and settled in for a night with Matt and Kate.  Chris finished up a little early, so he and I actually enjoyed some time in the beautiful 73 degree sun on the balcony while the kids rested.

We didn’t see Chris much while we were there, they kept him pretty busy!  It was great that Gommy and Papa were able to drive over to spend time with us, and Matt was even able to take an afternoon off of work.  We hadn’t seen their place yet and it felt good to see how they live there.  I just hope my kids didn’t leave any scuffs or scrapes on their walls!  I left thinking that I really could live in Chicago, even downtown, with the kiddos.  But I also left thankful for my suburban-sized home!

As I prepared mentally for this trip, I asked my bible study group to pray for smooth logistics.  They must have prayed hard, because so many aspects that I was worried about went off without a hitch. 

-Airplanes: No delays.  Reasonably behaved children.  Snacks.  Friendly, helpful flight attendants.  And on the return flight, the bulkhead seats.  That's right, leg room, space for Annabelle to play on the floor, and "cool trays" to entertain Sam.

-Hotel Sleep: Everyone slept through the night every night.  Sam woke up early, but he always does.  What's amazing is that Annabelle continued to sleep - for some days up to an hour - after Sam woke.  We all know that silence is not a skill that Sam possesses, even in his sleep.  She must have been exhausted!  I even left the trip rested, maybe because I fell asleep with the kids 2 nights.

-Public Transit: The kids were so fascinated with it all that they paid attention, followed directions, moved quickly

-Trip to the suburbs: After several back and forths on the best way to get us there with the complications of traffic, car seats, preschool schedules, etc, Sarah bought a minivan.  Long story short, our commute was seamless.

A Weekend With Mr. Owl

Sam's teachers have decided on an Owl Theme for their classroom this year.  One element to this theme is the class pet, Mr. Owl.  Mr. Owl participates in some class activities and spends a lot of time watching over the class.  Each Thursday he picks someone to go home with for the weekend.

Last Thursday Sam's bag came home with one extra passenger on board, along with a note that read, "Your child has been chosen to take Mr. Owl home for the weekend!  Mr. Owl has been watching over our class and has spotted your child following the rules and being a great student!"

He was the first one to be selected.  Color me floored, and proud.  And Sam was pretty excited about it, too.

We took Mr. Owl everywhere with us that weekend.  I can't say that we took him on any terribly thrilling adventures, but we did our best.

On Monday we printed out some pictures, Sam dictated a summary, and he cut and taped it all together.  We turned in the first page in Mr. Owl's adventure book on Tuesday morning.

I can totally get on board with this kind of homework!

New Year, New School

Sam finally – FINALLY – had his turn to go back to school!  With a September 10 start date, I think it’s pretty safe to say that he was about the last child in the state to go back to school this year.  And let me tell you, we were all ready for him to go back!  We did a lot this summer, but Mommy was out of ideas and we are all a little bored with swimming every day.  

Sam has been concerned with the idea of a new preschool since last spring.  I can’t blame him, Zion was like a second home for him and the new school held nothing but unknowns – hard for an adult, even harder for a young mind.  We visited a couple of times over the summer, and by the last week he was just so ready to be back in school that he was finally excited.  Hooray!

I learned through the grapevine that “meet the teacher” gifts are a “thing” in our new neck of the woods.  As much as I feel this practice is primarily for the purpose of winning the teacher’s affection early in the year, I would also be mortified to be the only one showing up empty handed.  So this happened:

The morning of the big day.  I wanted it to be full of excitement rather than fear or nerves.  What is more exciting than sprinkle pancakes?  Not much when you’re 4.  If only it were this easy to bring such joy to everyone in my life!

Sam walked into the new school with purpose and enthusiasm.  I was so proud of him!  He saw his name on a shelf with a few other lunches already on it and quickly asked for his so that he could put it in the right spot (putting your own lunch away was a big deal starting in the 2’s class at the old school!).  He walked back to the door at the teacher’s suggestion to give me a hug and then he was gone.  It was fast and it didn’t feel like I settled him properly, but I walked away.

And then I spent all day missing and thinking about the boy that I’d been in need of a break from for the past 2 weeks straight.

We were first in line to pick him up that afternoon.  He seemed to have a good day, but he said that “some things made me boring and some things made me nervous.”  Upon further digging it was all a combination of the unknown and a more formal learning environment (which would have come this year regardless of his school).  He loved the playground and is much fonder of the Spanish class at this school.  He has been singing little songs to me and slowly I am hearing more about their classroom.

Of course I heard plenty at Parent Orientation night.  Although his teachers are technically new this year, Miss Erin used to teach elementary school (before staying home with her baby) and Miss Jackie has taught here in the past.  I am excited about them and I think they’ll have a great year.

And finally, a story.  I told Sam that this year he will start to learn to read at school.  This really excited him and helped motivate him for the first day.  On our way to school on day 1 he told me, “Maybe I can read a story to you at bedtime tonight!”  On our way home he said, “I didn’t learn to read today.  How am I going to learn?”  If only it were that easy buddy…practice makes perfect!

Florida Trip

Because we had Chris's family at our place for Thanksgiving last year, it had been 15 months since we had been to Florida, (well, technically it was 13 because we DID stop at the river on our way home from Hilton Head last summer, but that was for about 36 hours, so...) this years trip turned into quite a long one!  We left on a Thursday night and returned on a Sunday morning, but that length turned out to be a good way to break up our last month of summer.

 

We spent Friday through Monday morning at the Hunnifords' house in Sarasota.  The kids played a lot of "pool table" and swam a bit in the pool.  Mommy and Daddy went on a date.  We played in their cul-de-sac and visited Great-Grandma Nordin at the nursing home.  That was interesting, because everyone there knows who we are "because of all the pictures" in her room.  My children certainly bring a spirit of livelihood when we visit - hopefully its a welcome one!

On Saturday evening Dave and Debbie hosted a family get-together (26 people from every branch of the family tree!) at their home.  Pizza for everyone!  I loved watching Sam play so well with all of Chris's cousins, who range in age from 4-12 (well, there are tons more, but that was the group playing in the pool that day).  It continued the rest of the trip, but that night we saw how well he plays with bigger kids!  It was great to be able to catch up with so many people at once!

Monday morning we all headed north to the river, where we met up with Becky and Benton, as well Aunt Val and Uncle Mike (whom Sam now calls "Uncle" or "Unc"), and their sons Nathan and Alex, and Nathan's girlfriend Gina.  Good thing we stayed at the borrowed big house again!

The river was high this year - the highest that I have ever seen it in person.  Most of the docks along the river were under several feet of water.  This definitely made for a different dynamic in the water than we are used to - with the water so high, there is virtually no current.  Usually you have a hard time standing in one place and things float away quite quickly.  "Runs" were taking twice as long as they usually do, and much paddling was required to make it down the river.  The kids didn't quite have the attention span for sitting in the tubes that long, so Chris and I actually only went on 2 or 3 runs the whole time we were there!  Sam did enjoy stopping by the floating docks to jump from them to a grown-up's tube - fun!

But we played in the water off the dock A LOT - so much more than usual!  Debbie bought a huge float that Chris anchored off, and we hung in tubes and stood on the dock (under water!) and swam.  Sam worked his way up to swimming back and forth between the dock and the raft, but the cold water temps (generally in the 70's) was hard for him to get used to.  Annabelle actually really enjoyed being down by the water.  She was NOT a fan of her life jacket, but fortunately the slow current allowed us more freedom to take it off of her.  She liked to be held and dipped in the water and tried to jump off of my tube right into the water more than once.  Silly girl.

The slower current also allowed me to try another new river activity: kayaking!  Chris and I took the double kayak out one afternoon during a chilly on-and-off rain.  I could never paddle upstream under normal circumstances, but it was a really fun way to see the river a little bit differently.  


Speaking of exercise, I have now decided that there is no better way to end an early morning run is by plunging yourself into a cold, still, quiet river, swimming for a bit, and then returning to a house filled with family and coffee. 

The playing was not limited to the water!  The kids made sure there was plenty of playing during all of their waking moments.  Sam made rounds through all of the adults, building Lego's with Nathan, making music with Alex, planning a scavenger hunt with Gina and Val, running around with Papa, golf cart rides with Benton, etc etc etc.  Annabelle stole a few hearts herself, loving on her new vet kit (animal obsessed - she excitedly touched a frog at some point!).  That girl love the golf cart!

 

I MUST mention the scavenger hunt - they took several days to plan it and it was awesome.  Detailed puzzle clues that made you think, made you run.  Nathan and I (team Poop Deck!) won, but don't tell Sam.  He still think that he and Papa won.  The grown ups enjoyed some awesome games after bedtime, too.  A good game group!


Lots of relaxing, lots of laughing, lots of eating.  And then it was time to go home.  Sam wasn't himself the last afternoon, so neither of us were surprised when he threw up in the car on the way home.  And then the next day we pulled a tick out of his head.  And then the next day he had a cavity filled...but I digress.  Another good trip, our third week-long trip of the summer.  And I think we're all ready to be home for awhile.  We are definitely ready to get back into a fall routine!