Pumpkins and a sandbox…

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
-Henry David Thoreau

Since we have so much free time we thought it would be a good idea to build a sandbox.  A delivery truck dropped off 3 yards (roughly 7,500 lbs.) of sand on our driveway and like a moth to a flame the children of the neighborhood came over to climb all over it.   Not to let an opportunity for free labor pass up us by, we put the kids to work hauling sand into the backyard in buckets and small wheelbarrows.  Unfortunately they had to go home for lunch and so we ended having to do the bulk of the moving ourselves. 

Ironically, while the neighborhood kids were toiling away, their parents invited us to a birthday party later in the afternoon.  The party had blow up slides, a jungle gym, and a petting zoo.  It was a lot of fun and made us feel slightly guilty since the birthday boy and girl (twins) may have still had sand on them at the party.

With Halloween one day away it was time for the annual carving of the pumpkin.  This year we went with a stencil and Ashlyn chose an upside down bat.  It was a little tricky but we’ll see how it looks when the candle is lit on Halloween night.  Ashlyn and Isla wanted to help, and even though they screamed “ewww!” every time I scooped out some of pumpkin guts they didn’t let it stop them from playing with it and spreading it all over the lawn.  Such bravery.

Once back inside the kids decorated the small pumpkins they picked up at the pumpkin patch.  I’ll just let the pictures speak for themselves on how it went.

Airplanes, birthdays, and the start of the sandbox…

"I think when I was two years old in the sandbox. I think I formulated my basic philosophy there, and I haven't really had to alter it very much ever since."
-Boyd Rice

A Lockheed Martin employee came by James’ school this week to talk about the F-35A aircraft.  It seems a bit strange to me to have someone come by a pre-school to talk about fighter jets but James thought it was cool.  He was even more impressed when he learned that Mom worked on it.  James came home with a goody bag which included a simple model kit that he and Mom put together.  Luckily the real F-35A flies better than the model.

We’ve been talking about building a sandbox for a while now.  The sandbox is one of the few things in the backyard that would be consistently played with and we felt it was time to upgrade.  James and Isla were both interested in helping dig the pit for the sand.  We’ll have a busy weekend coming up since the sand will arrive this coming Wednesday.  I suspect we’re going to be doing a lot more vacuuming soon too.

We attempted to take some family portraits at the pumpkin patch and it went as well as could be expected.  By this I mean we didn’t get any good pictures because a child was either not looking at the camera, not smiling, not sitting, falling off a pumpkin, or otherwise doing anything other than giving a nice smile for the shot.  The kids had fun at least, and we got some pumpkins, so it wasn’t a total loss.

Later that day we drove to Fort Worth to say happy birthday to Cousin Ben.  He had a Star Wars party, which was perfect for a nerd family like ours.  We forgot the camera so had to use a cell phone (apologies for the picture quality.  Happy birthday Ben!

Sunday was a fun day with Grandparents.  PePa came over for breakfast Sunday morning and gave Ashlyn some lessons on cooking bacon.  Ashlyn must really like bacon because I think she ended up eating four pieces before everything made it out to the table.

Later in the afternoon we had dinner with Grandma at La Hacienda Ranch to celebrate her birthday.  We realized after we didn’t take any pictures, but that won’t stop us from wishing Grandma a very happy birthday.  Happy birthday Grandma!

Neighborhood parties and a journey through the skies…

"There is an art to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
— Douglas Adams

Our neighborhood had an outing and there were a surprising amount of kids that showed up to it.  We contributed our share of course, and they all had a fun time running around the lake, eating Mac n’ Cheese, and attempting to break the bean bag game.

We had a few extra bubble maker things from Ashlyn’s birthday party which Ashlyn and James decided to try.  There’s nothing like a little polyvinyl acetate dissolved in acetone to brighten up your day, am I right?

When the bubbles run out sometimes you need to resort to playing with your little sister.  I suppose it helps when she’s totally ok with it.  In this case it was dress up with Isla and she happily stomped around the house in her fairy princess outfit afterwards.  The look on her face says it all.

The neighborhood outing at the top of this post was an official gathering.  Later in the week an impromptu cul de sac party broke out.  Zippy scooters, soccer balls, nerf guns, remote control cars…  you name it and it was out there for the kids to enjoy.  There’s a reason why we love where we live.

Over 3 months at my new gig and I was finally able to take advantage of the free flight benefits to fly the kiddos to San Antonio for a day trip.  It might have been short but we accomplished a lot in a short amount of time.  We were able to visit a Chinese tea garden, the Alamo, and the Riverwalk.  The favorite part for the kids was the airplane ride itself.  They loved the takeoff especially.  Both kids did great, although James got a little impatient at times.  Hopefully this is the first of many adventures.

Ashlyn turns 7!

"Birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake."
-Jo Brand

When you’re a kid and your birthday falls in the middle of the week it can seem like the birthday celebration lasts for days.  This was the case for Ashlyn.  Her actual birthday was Wednesday and it also happened to line up with parent teacher conference day.  This meant she had the day off with Mommy and Daddy.  It started with a few presents in the morning.  Her favorite was a Pie Face game, where you put whipped cream on a spring loaded hand and turn the handle until it smacks you in the face.

The day was spent doing whatever Ashlyn wanted to do.  As it turns out, her list of preferred activities included geocaching, Chuck E. Cheese, and lunch at McDonald’s.  Chuck E. Cheese was a lot of fun for her, after spending who knows how many tokens on Skeeball she acquired enough tickets to buy a few pieces of candy at a tiny plastic toy.  Totally worth it.

That evening involved a few more presents and of course the birthday cake.  This part of the day was appreciated by James and Isla since cake is something everyone can enjoy.

Her birthday party was a big success and I give all the credit to Mom who put everything together.  From picking the location and putting together the goody bags to sending out the invitations and arranging everything at Skate Town, she did it all.  Grandma helped by making an awesome Pikachu cake, which was a big hit.  Ashlyn must have a lot of friends because our party had more kids than any other party there, which was great for our bank account.  The kids had fun though and that’s all that matters.  At least that’s what I’ll be telling myself as we eat nothing but bologna for the next week.

We spent a good 30 minutes opening presents after we got home from the party.  We were impressed with the Pokemon drawings on the birthday cards, and I don’t think there was a single present that Ashlyn wasn’t excited about.  She has a good group of friends and family.  She’s a lucky girl, and thanks to all of you for making her 7th birthday so special.

Happy birthday Ashlyn!!