Pumpkins

The pirate is Jacob's and the haunted house is Joshua's. Never mind that John did all the carving.

Bobcat Badges and Pumpkins

We had the cub scout pack meeting tonight. Both the boys earned their bobcat badges. They got pins for now since the scout store has the badges on back order. John had to go up with each of the boys and put their pins on them.

The pack meeting only took about 30 minutes so we were home just after seven. John and the boys got busy carving their pumpkins. I have always managed to avoid pumpkin carving. While they have fun with that I am trying to catch up on some of my chores. I am already needing another weekend.

Weekend Recap

Wow. Where has the past week gone. It seems like I blinked and we went from Wednesday to Sunday. Anyway, it is hard to believe we have to start a new week in the morning. We have had a wonderful weekend.
Yesterday morning we slept in a little. I think I am getting old since getting up just before eight is sleeping in. Anyway, I spent the morning enjoying my coffee and reading the paper. John spent the morning cutting down trees. We have very different opinions about what Saturday morning are for.

After the morning fun we headed to the Clarion Ledger to learn how the daily paper is made. Jacob did a great job of listening. He really enjoyed getting to do something with his cub scout friends. I think the parents were more interested in the tour than most of the kids.

When the tour was over, we went and had lunch and then headed home to get ready for our next adventure. We went to the Mississippi Agriculture Museum for a Halloween Carnival. We walked through the haunted houses and went on the hay ride. We also went to a magic show. The boys enjoyed getting to wear their costumes. We only stayed about two hours. Since I absolutely hate crowds, that is pretty good for us.

Today was pretty busy as well. We went to church, had lunch, and then came home to start our many projects. While I went to the grocery store, John started a fire and split the wood from the tree that he cut down yesterday.

After I got home from the store, we covered the pool. It is kind of depressing all covered, but it was time. We haven't swam in over a month, and I am hoping not running the pool pump will help our electric bill. I had to post the pictures of the dunnage pillows we used to keep the tarp from sagging into the water. We are a bit redneck at times. The pillows are used to keep things from shifting while they are transported. Since John works for a transportation company we got them for free. They just throw them away at work, so John had them save some. We are all about free stuff. In addition to the free pillows, we used the logs from the tree John cut down yesterday to weight the tarp around the edges. It works and we saved a ton of money. We thought about actually buying a pool cover this year, but since they start at around $800, we decided the tarp would work great for at least another year.The fire burned down really well today. It was a perfect fire for roasting hot dogs for dinner. We followed it up by roasting marshmallows and having smores. It was a nice end to the day. The fire was so pretty as the sun went down. It made me wish that we could stay out and enjoy it for a while. Unfortunately, we all have to return to work and school tomorrow. The kids need to be in bed before eight and I need make sure we are ready to start another week. There is always next weekend.

Eiei oops

That was the name of the third graders musical this morning. Joshua is in the center in the blue shirt and gray hat.

Isn't he cute walking in. You can tell he is trying hard to do just what he is supposed to.

Joshua made a very handsome Farmer in the Dell. It was so fun to see the smile on his face when he saw John and I there. He remembered all his lines and did a great job. The singing and dancing were really cute. John got it all on video, so we can enjoy it again and again.

In other excitement today, I learned that Joshua has poison ivy on his stomach and both arms. This morning while I was combing his hair he said, "Mom I need to tell you something that has been bothering me." Then he pulls up his shirt and says, this is distracting me because it itches. I asked why he hadn't told me sooner and he said he didn't think it was a big deal, but now it was causing him to be distracted because it itched so bad. We put ointment on it and sent him on his way to school. I don't think it is still contagious at this point. I am sure he probably got it on our hike on Saturday. I wasn't feeling like the best mom this morning. Before I sent him to school, I told him that he should probably keep his poison ivy a secret. When he got home he told me that he told his teacher, but she said she would keep his secret. He has a great teacher.

Tonight at church the kids will start practicing for the Christmas play. It will be on December 14, and it is called "The First Leon". John asked me the other day if I had noticed the name of the play. I hadn't so he told me what it was. I didn't get it. He explained that Leon is Noel spelled backwards. Sometimes the obvious is lost on me.

Tuesday already

John and Joshua are gone to scouts, and Jacob and I are holding down the fort. Since Jacob's group will have a field trip to the Clarion Ledger on Saturday, they did not meet tonight. Yeah for me. It is nice to just stay home and not be so rushed. I was able to get the kitchen cleaned up from dinner, and Jacob has already showered and gotten ready for bed.

Joshua has a part in the third grade musical, and their performance is in the morning at eight. That means John and I will be going into work late. Joshua will play the Farmer in the Dell. He is pretty excited. I know he will do great. Hopefully, I can get some pictures to post tomorrow. I think John may be planning to video it as well.

Saturday Hikes

We went to Chautauqua Park in Crystal Springs this morning to go hiking. Since it is only about 35 miles from our house it is an easy trip to make. We had lots of fun. They have a trail called the treetop trail. It is basically a boardwalk built in the treetops. In addition, they have plenty of more traditional hiking trails. It was nice to have a Saturday with nothing planned.

We decided to forgo the above trail. I think it was a little too advanced for us.

On the way home we stopped at the swinging bridge in Byram. It was built for cars to go across, but it has been closed to traffic for some time. Now it is in a pretty sad state of disrepair. I was only a little nervous with my kids walking across it.

Friday Night

The boys helped John make dinner last night. They need to learn early how to make a good steak.

Oscar sits like this most nights while we have dinner.

It could be because he occasionally scores a bite from the table. Yes, John feeds him from his fork. To be fair he only feeds him once he is finished using his fork.