Picking Pumpkins 2007

One of our favorite traditions is going to Spencer's Farm and picking our own pumpkins from the pumpkin patch. We've done this for 4-5 years now and it's loads of fun.

We almost went on Saturday before Halloween, but it was raining that day so we decided to stay in and bake cupcakes instead. This turned out to be a great decision because Sunday was a beautiful, clear day -- blue skies everywhere. Spencer's has a hay ride through the woods down to the pumpkin patch. The kids picked their own pumpkins and Thad and I decided to share.

Everyone had to clean out their own pumpkin and the carving began while Mom roasted the seeds. This year was the first year Emma carved her pumpkin by herself. Not bad for 5 years old, huh? She picked a really, cute cat stencil.

It turned out to be a really long day, but we all enjoyed ourselves and it was fun spending the entire day together.

A Camping We Will Go....

Well, I promised to try to keep our blog up to date, so here's my first attempt. Thad spends the majority of Labor Day weekend at the NHRA Drag Races, so the kids and I decided to trek to Perryville, MO to meet Mom and Dad. They stay at a local KOA there and we made reservations to camp (yes, in a tent).

We arrived late Friday night after a long, six hour ride. Traffic leaving Indy was horrific, but once we got outside of town it was smooth sailing. The kids really enjoyed seeing the St. Louis Arch at sundown. It was a beautiful view.

We arrived much after sundown, but I was able to pitch the tent using the lights of the truck. Thad had packed the truck assuming it would be dark, so the tent, mallet, and flashlights were all together. After a couple glasses of wine, it was bed time.

We woke up early Saturday and Mom cooked pancakes and bacon. We moved the tent so it woudn't be completely in the fire pit (oops) and unpacked the rest of the truck. The campground was having a customer appreciation day, so they offered lunch and hayrides. The owner's son was pulling a cow train on his lawn mower and Emma had the most fun doing that. She especially thought it was great that she got to go more than once.

After lunch, Mom and Dad left to go to Dad's Class Reunion. I took the kids on a two-mile nature walk and that's where Emma lost her first tooth. She wouldn't let me carry it -- in fact, she carried the tooth in grubby hands all the way back. I knew this had been coming, so I'd prepared her that if she lost her tooth on the trip, we'd have to save it so the Tooth Fairy could come get it from home.

That night, the boys and I cooked hamburger's on the grill for dinner. Everything tasted great. We had s'mores for dessert and after a very welcomed shower, we hit the sack.

Sunday morning, Troy became the fire master. He and Justin both helped cook sausage and warm up biscuits for breakfast over the open fire. It tasted great! We cleaned up and headed up to play putt-putt.

First hole, first shot, Emma gets a hole-in-one. Just as we were finishing up our round, Mom and Dad came back. Emma had to show Grandma how well she played. We spent the afternoon swimming and fishing. Emma caught the most fish and Justin caught the biggest. Poor Troy didn't get a fish, but he deserves all the credit because he was the only one willing to take a fish off the hook. Grandpa took us all out for dinner at a china buffet. We came back, had a fire and a shower, and we were back in bed. The last night was the only difficult night in the tent. There was no breeze and my old, tired body was over sleeping on the hard ground. Apparently, two nights in a tent is max ;-)

We woke up early and started packing. It took a little over an hour to load up all the gear and we headed out about 11:00 our time. We had a great trip back. The kids were wonderful and we didn't hit any traffic coming back, so the trip was smooth. We were all really tired, but we got the truck unloaded and had a quiet night.

Emma and Daddy put her tooth under her pillow that night and the Tooth Fairy came!

To view all our camping pictures, click here.

1st Day of School

Thought we would post some pictures of the first day of school. JT (7th) and Troy (6th) both attend Riverside School.

Emma is attending New Britton Elementary. She started kindergarten this year.

We have more pictures on our picasa page if you are interested,
click the following link: Pictures

Her Future's So Bright, She's Gotta Wear Shades

Emma graduated from Jr. K at Abacus. She is really growing up -- too quickly for me.

Here is Emma with her Jr. K teachers, Ms. Ana and Ms. Alecia.

Soon she'll be starting kindergarten at New Britton Elementary. Her last day at Abacus is August 14.







Emma getting her certificate.

With her best friends, Jackson and Colton.

Disney Trip - May 2007

For Emma's 5th Birthday we took her to Disney. The boys had school and Justin had a band concert, so they could not make the trip. We stayed five days and had a blast. We were very worn out by the end of the trip, but hopefully, this will be a birthday she will always remember.

This picture with Mickey and Minnie is special. Disney built new, separate villa's for each, so we took one of the last pictures with them together.

Emma was playing in Pooh's Corner. It was very hot, so she and Daddy shared a very large strawberry sundae and she cooled down in the water.

One of Emma's favorite rides was the Mad Tea Party ride in Magic Kingdom.

This was the end of day one. This is the year of the princess and they light the castle pink at sundown.

If you want to see more pictures of our Disney vacation, click here.