AMAZING!

So this past weekend we went to the most amazing thing! We went to Balloon fest!!!
I seriously was like a little kid, it was beautiful! I couldn't figure out what to look at, what to take pictures of, who to show things to, it was all sooooo amazing! The kids had a wonderful time, they were able to see something that they will remember for the rest of their lives!
We got to see step by step what it takes to get these balloons in the air. UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL!!
This is for sure something that I want to see every year!

What a lovely trip!

We had a fabulous weekend! Friday we stayed in and watched movies, Saturday me and Katelyn went into town and volunteered at a "walk about" in town. and then saw the ribbon cutting for the reopening of one of the streets in the down town area. Then we went to Jacob's football game which was GREAT!! They have really turned things around since one of the coaches was asked to step down!!
Then...we loaded up the van with snacks, kids and Grandma and went to VA!! We drove on the prkwy and went to Mabry Mill. It was Beautiful, as you can see from the pictures!
The kids were able to see them making apple butter and blankets. They got to crush apples into apple juice, see a black smith at work and play some checkers! They had a wonderful time just running around checking everything out, and the colors of the trees were just perfect!!
After we ran around the mill, we went to pick out some pumpkins at one of the many places along the prkwy. We have went to the same one the past three years now and the kids just have ball looking for the perfect one! Jacob's weighed in at 39 lbs, Katelyn's at 37, and Emily's at 36 lbs!
We cant wait to carve them up!!

Sunday we had a great day as well, we were able to visit with some friends of ours and I got to see THREE babies!!

I spy with my little eye...

The kids made some more "eye spy" things for everyone to try!
GOOD LUCK!!



Car picture:
*a penguin
*fire
*an Octopus
*the number 1
*a red star
*a spider
*the number 5
*3 "pair" of cars
*an upside down car


Castle picture:
*a dime
*a penguin
*a crab
*two flags
*a scorpion
*a red bull
*the number 4
*silver feet
*an Octopus
*a goldfish

just talking...

Driving down the road in town...

Emily: Mommy what are those big rocks?

Me: That is a cemetery.

Emily: What is a cemetery?

Me: Remember Mommy telling you about them? When people die their body goes to the cemetery.

Emily: Where at the cemetery?

Me: Well, the body goes into a pretty wooden box and gets burried in the ground and those big rocks have names on them of the person that died so other people can come and know where they are.

Emily: Does it hurt? When they put that big Rock on the person?

Me: Well no honey because that person has died and they don't feel it.

Emily: Well, I am NEVER getting dead!! Or maybe I am because I have a really bad stuffy nose now!

Me: Oh, honey, you are not going to die from a stuffy nose! You are going to live for a very, very,very long time!! Mommy is to!!!

Emily: When do you die?

Me: Well, its different for everyone. Some people die in accidents and some people get really sick and others just get really old.

Emily: Is Grandma old?

Me: No honey, she is NOT old, she is going to live for a really long time to!

Emily: I don't know about this dead stuff!!

Me: Me either baby!

Just one of the many talks with one of the kids that brings me back to reality! Children have a way of doing that, Bringing us back to reality! Most of the time they help us to see WONDERFUL things around us that we miss in a normal day because we are so busy and task focused, Those moments I cherish with everything that I am!
Moments like the above, just make me want to cry my eyes out! I Hope that I was able to shed a bit of light on her questions and not scare her, but my reality is that I don't have ALL the answers and I can only TRY to give comfort. All the while knowing that some day in our future I will have to help my children deal with the reality of death.

Stop,Drop and Roll!

This month is fire safety month, and to celebrate and help educate the children at Emily's preschool, they got a visit from the fire truck!!
She was SOOOOOOO excited about seeing the truck and sitting in it! We had no idea that she was going to be able to use the fire hose!! She was very serious through the whole experience! when I asked her to stand by the truck wheel, she looked at me with rolled eye and said "Mom". Those of you with children can hear that "mom" I am talking about, the one that says "are you serious?"!!

The class also made fire hats the wear and also made their snack for the day, a fire truck from graham crackers and cookies! YUMMY!