On my birthday we went to the Bartlett Days festival. It was really interesting. We didn't get a chance to go last year. There were several hot air balloons. Apparently you can go up on little rides (on the rope of course) but we didn't do that. I guess it's something we'll consider next year. It's hard to grasp how really big and beautiful those things are until you're right up next to them. It was absolutely amazing. I only wish we could have gotten better pictures.
That same weekend the kids got to go sailing for the first time. Some friends of ours invited us down to the lake for the day. It was a beautiful day. AJ had a great time playing with sticks and rocks and jumping off of things. Kayla got to go on the boat first and then AJ got to take a little trip. I stayed back with Benny, but we had a lot of fun watching and taking pictures.
Benny's birthday went off with a bang. Papa Haywood came down for the occasion. We had a ton of people over to celebrate with us and we rented a big bouncy house for the kids to play in.....even the big ones:) Benny wasn't too sure about the cake. Much like his siblings, he doesn't like to get his hands dirty. It took a little convincing to get him to just dig into it. In the end though, he looked a lot like a little smurf. It took a shower and a bath to get him clean and I think the high chair tray still has a blue tint to it:)
The Great Bouncy House
Benny being shy while we all sing to him
He's checking it out
He's happy to have a utensil
Showing off his singing skills
Really digging in now
The boys all checking out the mess (and wishing it was them I'm sure).
Benny opening his presents
Tags are fun
Kayla's baton classes have been going well. She's going to be marching in a parade or two next month. Unfortunately, the class is only a whopping 45 minutes long and that leaves me with two little boys to entertain. Until it started getting dark so early, I took the boys to the park by the community center.
We took the kids to the corn maze at the fairgrounds. That ended up being a lot of fun for all of us. Our friends Mary and Kristen went with us. They had a "pumpkin patch" and a hayride. During the hayride gorillas jumped out and tried to attack. AJ is still talking about that. At the end of the maze they were blasting out some groovy music so we all got our groove on:)
We continued our October happenings with a trip the Fairy Tale trail, which we opted not to go down. We did, however, have another hayride and played lots of fun games. At the end, the kids got to make smores. The best part, the activities were all free. You can't beat that.
The next day (can you say BUSY weekend) we went to two of the fall/Halloween festivals. AJ was supposed to be a Power Ranger, but he insisted on wearing his fireman costume again. Kayla and Ben both went as pirates. I went as a mom.
James, the fireman
The costume AJ was supposed to wear
While we were so busy doing all of these fun activities, we were also busy moving into our new house. We're not fully settled, but we're getting there. The kids love having all of the extra space and I love having somewhere to send them:) Now we're just gearing up for the holidays. Before we do that though, we need to rest:)
We took the kids to the corn maze at the fairgrounds. That ended up being a lot of fun for all of us. Our friends Mary and Kristen went with us. They had a "pumpkin patch" and a hayride. During the hayride gorillas jumped out and tried to attack. AJ is still talking about that. At the end of the maze they were blasting out some groovy music so we all got our groove on:)
We continued our October happenings with a trip the Fairy Tale trail, which we opted not to go down. We did, however, have another hayride and played lots of fun games. At the end, the kids got to make smores. The best part, the activities were all free. You can't beat that.
The next day (can you say BUSY weekend) we went to two of the fall/Halloween festivals. AJ was supposed to be a Power Ranger, but he insisted on wearing his fireman costume again. Kayla and Ben both went as pirates. I went as a mom.
The kids getting ready to go in.
More posing
James, the fireman
The costume AJ was supposed to wear
While we were so busy doing all of these fun activities, we were also busy moving into our new house. We're not fully settled, but we're getting there. The kids love having all of the extra space and I love having somewhere to send them:) Now we're just gearing up for the holidays. Before we do that though, we need to rest:)
